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Gentle, satisfying, and slightly sweet, this yellow curry is ultra-mild if you seed the chiles. It captures flavor notes from India, the West Indies, and Thailand. It's a good early-fall dish: Your farmer's market will still be overflowing with zucchini, the fall spinach should be in, and the sweet potatoes will be arriving.  Pretty locavoracious—until you get to the and the canned coconut milk.Don't forget: You must marinate and bake off the tempeh first. The sauce thin; if you'd like it thicker, simply draw off a bit of the liquid, dissolve one or to teaspoons cornstarch in it, and whisk the slurry back into the hot, finished cum I like this with tempeh, but you could also do it with tofu. And a meatist might enjoy it with diced chicken breast or shrimp.

with Spinach, Zucchini & Sweet Potatoes

Mellow Coconut-Tempeh Curry

Vegetable oil cooking spray

mild vegetable oil, preferably peanut

onion, chopped

cloves garlic, minced

peeled, minced fresh ginger

to 2 serrano peppers, stemmed, seeds left in for heat or removed for mildness, diced

to 1 tablespoon curry powder

Tiny dash of ground cinnamon

Dash of ground cloves

canned diced tomatoes (preferably fire-roasted) or 2 large tomatoes, cored and chopped

large sweet potato or yam, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

salt

vegetable stock

raisins or currants

medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch-thick crescents

About 10 ounces fresh spinach, well washed, coarsely chopped (about 4 cups loosely packed)

regular or reduced-fat unsweetened coconut milk

to 2 tablespoons honey, light or dark brown sugar, or agave syrup

recipe Basic Oven-Baked Marinated Tempeh (page 244), cut into bite-size pieces or left in large triangles for diners to knife-and-fork at the table

Cooked white rice or another grain, for serving

Minced fresh cilantro and mint, for garnish

Finely diced red bell pepper, for garnish

Chopped roasted peanuts, for garnish

Spray a large skillet with oil (if it is not nonstick), place it over medium heat. and add the oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until it starts to soften, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, and serrano, and let cook for about 2 minutes more. Add the curry powder, cinnamon, and cloves, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes and sweet potato and stir well to coat the vegetables with the spices. Add the salt, cover, and let steam for 3 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, raisins, and zucchini, cover again, lower the heat slightly, and let simmer for about 20 minutes.

Add the spinach, coconut milk, and honey and let cook, covered, until the spinach wilts, about 3 minutes. Stir well, add the tempeh, and stir again. When the tempeh is heated through, 2 to 3 minutes more, serve hot, over rice, sprinkling each serving with the garnishes, if using.