Recipe: Chicken Korma with Sweet Potatoes

I love Korma. I have made it at home a lot, but always with the help of a pre-packaged jar of yellow goop that I doctor up to my liking. This is sad when you consider my collection of spices. So, in honor of buying a pantry and finally unpacking my dry goods and spices, I decided to make my own Murgh Shahi Korma from scratch.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

1/4 C. Cashews

2 tbs pureed ginger

6 cloves of garlic (minced)

1/4 C. water

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite size pieces)

1/4 cup melted butter (or ghee, if you're awesome)

6 cardamom pods*

6 whole cloves*

1 cinnamon stick*

1 sweet onion, finely chopped

6 oz plain Greek style yogurt

1 12 oz can of coconut milk

1 Sweet Potato cut into chunks

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbs Garam Masala

a nice sized pinch of saffron

1 tsp of ground coriander

Rice (I used short grain, but Jasmine rice or Basmati are probably the preferred choices of the masses)



Don't get scared looking at that list! This meal is actually a one pot meal. Well... two if you include the rice. It looks daunting, but trust me, it's not a hard recipe.



Cinnamon, cloves and cardamom pods! Oh my!


I'm just mad about saffron...


Some good lookin' sweet potatoes




INSTRUCTIONS:

Grind the cashews, garlic, ginger puree and water in a food processor until thick. Pour this gravy into a plastic bag with the chicken, making sure you squish it all up good. Put it the fridge and let it marinate for at least an hour, but preferably overnight.


Before


After



Pour the melted butter into a large skillet over medium heat. Toast the cloves, 1/2 of the cinnamon stick, and cardamom in the butter for about 30 seconds. Add the chopped onion and sautee until just brown.



Yummy...



Add the chicken and marinade and brown it for about five minutes or so.



In a measuring cup, combine 6 oz of yogurt with 4 oz of coconut milk (leave the other 8 oz of coconut milk aside. You'll be using it). Pour it in the skillet and stir everything up.


i see you there, cinnamon stick!

Just as the pot begins to bubble, reduce heat to a simmer, throw in you sweet potato chunks, saffron and coriander*, salt and pepper, stir it all up, and cover the skillet. Allow this to simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes. If your gravy looks too thick, don't be afraid to add a little water.


i wish you could've smelled my kitchen by this point.


While your chicken is cooking, mix the 8 oz of leftover coconut milk with 8 oz of water in a pot. Bring it to a boil and add 1 cup of rice and the other half of your cinnamon stick. Lower heat and cook rice until all the liquid is absorbed (about 20-25 minutes or so).


RICE!

Just before serving, throw the garam masala in to the chicken and stir it in. Serve the chicken over the rice and garnish with ground cashews.




Enjoy!!


*If you're using ground spices instead of whole spices, skip toasting them and throw them in when you are browning your onions. You can also add your coriander and saffron at this time, most likely. They were sort of an afterthought as I was making this dish, so they went in later. No harm done.

Recipe: Loaded Baked Potato Soup

So much for my big goal of posting daily!

Since my last post, there have been snowstorms plaguing 96% of the nation. While Florida was spared the icy invasion, it did get down to the 30s at night and barely skimmed the 50s during the day. That's cold to a Floridian!

So, as a sign of solidarity with my snowed in countrymen, and because I love me a bowl of hot goodness, I decided to make my Loaded Baked Potato Soup.

WHAT YOU NEED:

5 lb bag red potatoes.

Olive Oil

2 tbs butter

half an onion (chopped)

2 cloves of garlic (minced)

1 and 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour

10 cups of milk

2 cups of cheese (more if you want super cheesy soup)

Bacon, cooked and crumbled (I'll let you be the judge of how much is enough bacon--if there is such a thing-- but I would go for AT LEAST half a pound.)

salt (to taste)

pepper (to taste)

1 cup of chopped leeks (green onions if you prefer, but the leeks are hardier and hold up better)

16 oz sour cream (more if you want sour creamy soup)




First you should know that this recipe makes a heaping vat of soup. So, don't be afraid to adjust the recipe down if this seems excessive.

I start with a 5 lb bag of nice red potatoes. You can use big brown baking potatoes if you want, but I prefer to use the little reds because they're great for skin-on recipes. Wash 'em down, steb 'em good and grease 'em up with some olive oil (I use a garlic infused EVOO). Pop 'em in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

While the potatoes cook, you should chop up half an onion, mince 2 cloves of garlic, and chop up your leeks. Make sure you wash your leeks really well. Then, go relax until the potatoes are done baking.

When the potatoes are done, cut them into quarters and mash them up, being careful to leave them very coarse so that the soup can have some toothiness (is that a word?). Set the potatoes aside for now.

In a large soup pot, melt 2 tbs of butter. Sautée half of a chopped onion and 2 minced cloves of garlic over medium heat until they are soft.

Add 1 and 1/3 cups of all purpose flower in to the sautéed garlic and onions and stir it all briskly together.

Next, slowly add 10 cups of milk to the pot two cups at a time, whisking vigorously between additions. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is thick and bubbly, but be careful not to scorch the milk.

Next, add in your potatoes and at least 2 cups of cheese (this ain't health food, people). Stir it all up until the cheese melts and is incorporated nicely. Now is also a good time to add salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the pot from the heat, and add in your chopped leeks, crumbled bacon and 16oz of sour cream into the pot. To quote Bob Marley, Stir It Up.

And that's it! A huge vat of soup to keep the whole family warm and satisfied. If you're feeling fancy, garnish with some cheese, bacon and green onion. Enjoy!

PotD 1.3.10: The Girl Who Photographed The Hornet's Nest

These probably aren't true hornets, but I found them making a home in the tree out front. My first jump into using manual settings. Go easy!












(this one is for all those naysayers that say there are no seasons in Florida. We just don't get that yucky, freezing one!)

Sustainable Marriage

I read an article from the New York Times last night.

It basically states that a relationship based on self-fulfillment and self-expansion is more sustainable than a relationship in which both partners are sacrificing for the good of The Relationship.

This is rather interesting, if not a bit jarring, for me. I often consider The Relationship as an entity separate from my husband's and my own aspirations and desires. I often think about how it is better for The Relationship if we are both less self-absorbed and more partner-focused, with a goal of ultimately striking some kind of happy equilibrium between the two. Yet here is this notion that "a happy marriage is a 'me' marriage." Whoa, there!!! That sounds like it's breaking every law of relationships! I have seen more than a few marriages end because one or both partners were too self-absorbed to focus on The Relationship they share. I have become painfully aware, through watching the destruction of one marriage after another, not at the hands of self-preservation, but at the hands of self-centrism, that looking out for Numero Uno is detrimental to sharing your life with someone else. How can someone possibly say that a me-centered marriage makes a marriage more sustainable? The author agrees that this is counter intuitive.

The fact is, marriage is in a state of transition. The whole matrimonial concept is rather plastic right now and the old justifications of this institution simply don't hold up in today's society. Marriage has always been about economics and the social order. A father gave up his property to a man in exchange for a dowry. Out of this trade, the father gains some goods or money and the man gains a wife, a symbol of status, and with any luck, someone to pop out some helping hands around the homestead or an heir (depending on status). That's not to say there wasn't any love or affection in these marriages. But those things were after-thoughts. Happy by-products at best.

While it seems that this marital construct has long since past, there are still remnants of it effecting relationships today. There are a great many wives who feel it is their God-given duty to submit to their husbands. Prospective husbands still ask for the permission of the woman's father to wed, and the father still gives his daughter away. Old institutions die hard. So, while it may seem as if we have completely abandoned this archaic system, it is still a part of our psyche, but that doesn't mean it has to stay that way. Our needs have changed. What is important to us now has changed. For the most part, marriage is not about social pressures and economic security. What is important now is being emotionally and intellectually fulfilled. That's it. If you do not feel fulfilled, how can you possibly be happy? And let's face it, unhappiness in your relationship is a big deal. A huge deal. If you can't be happy with your life partner, how can you be happy? And simply sticking it out for the kids, or for appearances, or for convenience, or for any reason will only result in more unhappiness, distress, resentment. Something has to give.

However, this is obviously not free license to be completely self-absorbed, doing whatever you want with little regard for your partner or The Relationship. I still hold to the fact that a marriage is a partnership and, like any partnership, it takes a lot of hard work and compromise if it is going to be lasting and successful. It is still imperative to consider your partner's happiness as much as it is imperative to consider your own. In the best of situations, your happiness and that of your spouse will be interdependent. In a sustainable marriage, one gains joy and fulfillment by supporting the other and helping him or her to succeed. In a sustainable marriage, you will both work to lift each other up, and help one another in achieving goals. You will inspire each other to learn new things about yourselves and life in general. If it is truly a sustainable marriage, it is not just a "me marriage" (although, perhaps there is more room and more need for self-expansion then ever before) bit it will be both individual and collaborative. Over time, your life together may fall into a comfortable routine, but if it is a sustainable marriage, it should never be boring. Or draining. Or unfulfilling.

Curious about how your relationship stacks up? Check out this quiz which may help to give you some insight.

Picture of the day

On New Year's Day, we usually go to my in-laws' house for black-eyed peas, corn bread, collards and what not. This year, however, my in-laws are ringing in the new year with massive head colds. Thus, my husband, Patrick and I decided to make a New Year's feast of Thanksgiving fare. Our first attempt at turkey and stuffing was a smashing success. Patrick has a natural talent. The turkey was perfectly cooked and had been roasted with veggies and fruits, including orange slices placed all over the breast, leaving it sweet and succulent. The stuffing, apple sausage and sage stuffing made by yours truly, was delightful if I do say so myself. We ate a plateful each of turkey, stuffing, cranberries, etc. and then went outside to play, which brings me to my picture of the day!



I started playing with pictures of bubbles yesterday and continued this afternoon. My son Hazen loves chasing them, and I love photographing them. Not sure if Patrick is all that enamored with blowing a billion bubbles for my and Hazen's enjoyment, though.

All in all, I'd say we had a fantastic start to the new year. :)

New Year, New Blog

Happy New Year! Out with the old! In with the new! New leaves to be turned over and fresh starts to be made!

In honor of fresh starts and new leaves, I am staring this blog fresh. Here you will find pictures, recipes, book reviews, anecdotes, musing, contemplations and whatever the hell else I feel like sharing with the world.

As I embark on this new year, my 30th year as it were, I have a few goals. I'd like to get my IT certification sometime in the next 365 days. I have big plans to read more (we'll see how that pans out). I plan to cook at home more, and try new things and not see it as drudgery (which it has unfortunately become in the hustle and bustle of life). I plan to dabble more in photography, especially since I got Nikon D60 for Christmas!

I also resolve to be more mindful, more present in my life. Meditate more. Slow down and appreciate this planet more. Quit worrying about an unpromised future and an unchangeable past. Live life NOW. That is my resolution.

Cheers to a New Year, full of opportunity, hope and wonder!