Curry Delight!!

This recipe was inspired by a fusion of Indian style and Thai style spice blends and curries.  I must say, it turned out great!

Finished pot of Curry!

The stuff in the zip locked bag on the right are chili peppers

Here is the formula:

1-1.5 lbs of chicken breasts, sliced
1/2 teaspoon of Madras curry and 2-3 tablespoons of Madras curry
1/2 teaspoon of garam marsala
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
4-5 whole cloves, broken into bits
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium onion, diced
3 pegs garlic, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 tablespoons  of mango chutney
4 tablespoons of Satay peanut sauce
2 hot chili peppers, crushed, if you want it spicy!
1 inch of ginger, thinly sliced and quartered
3 potatoes, diced
1/2 -1 cup of water.

Method:

Thinly slice the chicken breasts and rinse them in a solution of vinegar and water. Then, add the 1/2 teaspoon of Madras curry, 1/2 teaspoon of garam marsala, 1/2 teaspoon of coriander powder, the broken cloves, black pepper and salt. Mix  together.  Then, add the chopped onions and garlic. Set aside for 10-15 minutes. Add the cooking oil to a large skillet.  When the oil is hot, add the curry and stir in until fragrant.  Be mindful not to burn the curry, or the food will taste like burned curry.  Then, lowering the flame to medium, chop the tomatoes and add them to the skillet.  Leave for 2 minutes. Then add the chicken, combined with the onion and garlic.  Add the potatoes. Cover with 1/2 -1 cup of water. Cook for 15-20 minutes over medium flame.  Then, add the mango chutney along with the Satay peanut sauce. Cook for another 3 minutes.  Serve over rice.

Enjoy!

Corned Beef & Cabbage!

Corned beef and cabbage is the quintessential Irish American dish.  With plenty of time before St. Patrick's Day, you will have time to get the recipe right.  St. Patrick's Day or not, corned beef and cabbage is a good everyday Dutch oven recipe.

Cooking Time: approximately 2.5-3 hours.

Ingredients:

·        2-4lbs of cured corned beef brisket

·        10 whole cloves

·        1 tbsp allspice

·        4 sprigs thyme

·        1 whole onion, diced and 1/2 onion, also diced

·        4 cloves of garlic, crushed &chopped; and 3 whole cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

·        2 teaspoons black pepper

·        3 carrots, chopped

·        4 whole potatoes, peeled

·        3 stalks of celery, chopped

·        Enough water to cover the corned beef brisket once it is in the pot. See method.

·        Salt to taste, if desired

·        1 whole cabbage, roughly chopped (3/8^th inch wide)

·        1 -2 tbsp of coconut oil to sauté the cabbage

Method:

·        Place the brisket into the pot fat side down.

·        Cover with 4 pegs of garlic, cloves, allspice, black pepper and thyme.

·        Add enough cold water to cover the brisket. Bring to a boil. Lower the flame to a simmer.

·        Add the whole onion, carrots, celery and potatoes to the pot.

·        Cook until the meat is tender (2.5 – 3 hrs). If the meat is tough, the brisket is not cooked!

Sautéed Cabbage:

o   Add the oil to a large frying pan

• First, sauté the onions (1/2 chopped onion) and the balance of the garlic.
• Remove from the pot once browned.

o   Add cabbage, and small amounts at a time, once the oil is hot

o   Sautee the cabbage until it is brown, not burned. You may have to sauté multiple batches, removing the already cooked cabbage from the pot. Mix in the sautéed onions and garlic when done.

o   Sprinkle with salt & pepper if desired.

·        Enjoy!

Jerked Turkey!

Happy belated Thanksgiving! I hope it was a good one. 

I know this one is late, but save it to your scrap books for next year. This is an amazing way to prepare a non-traditional Thanksgiving turkey. It's definitely a lot tastier! Thanks to Ms. Eartha Brown for this finger-licking recipe.

Jerked Turkey Recipe

• 1/2 liter (2 cups) of Soy sauce
•  1 hand full of allspice grains or  4 tablespoons of freshly ground allspice
• 1 bunch of scallions or green onions
• 1 head of garlic
• 12 Scotch Bonnet or Habanero peppers. De-seed them, preferably using gloves.
• 2 oz of vinegar - cane or white vinegar
• 1 bunch of fresh thyme
• 4 tablespoons each: Easy Spice Meat Seasoning and Easy Spice Chicken Seasoning, OR:
• 1 tablespoon of paprika
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon white pepper
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 2 oz dark rum (optional) 
• One stick of butter
• One 12lb turkey

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Wash the turkey and rub it with lime halves. Reserve some sauce for basting and dipping. Marinate for as little as 20 minutes or as much as 24 hours.

Heat the oven to 475 degrees. Transfer turkey to a roasting pan. Brush turkey all over with butter, reserving some for basting. Pour 2 cups water into roasting pan and roast turkey, brushing once with more with the butter, for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350˚ and continue roasting, brushing occasionally with butter. Do this until the meat thermometer reads 150˚ - approximately after 2 hours of baking. Remove turkey from oven and baste completely with reserved sauce. Return the turkey to the oven and continue to cook until internal temperature reaches 165° - approximately 25 minutes more.

Jamaican Stewed Peas

Hi! Foodhedonist's  10 Popular Jamaican Recipes is available for purchase on Amazon.com! It will feature this amazing recipe, along with other popular & delectable delights! 

This is a very tasty Jamaican dish that is relatively easy to make. It is traditionally made with salted pig tails, which can be substituted with fresh beef or oxtail (if you can afford it!). This dish can be converted into a vegetarian meal by bypassing the addition of meat altogether.

[ ]  1 lb kidney beans (red peas)

[ ]  2 cups of coconut milk (one can's worth)

[ ]  1-2 lb of meat, cubed (salted pig tails, fresh beef or ox tail. Ignore if you wish to go vegetarian)

[ ]  1 onion

[ ]  1 green bell pepper

[ ]  2 Scotch Bonnet or habanero peppers, whole

[ ]  1 lb carrots

[ ]   2 stalks of scallions

[ ]  3 medium potatoes, diced

[ ]  6 cloves garlic, diced

[ ]  2-3 teaspoons of cracked allspice grains (approx. 25-30 grains)

[ ]  4 sprigs of thyme

[ ]  black pepper to taste

[ ]  Salt to taste
[ ] Approximately 6-10 cups of water

Directions: 

Rinse beans then bring them to a boil (3 minutes) and let them sit for 1 hour for a quick soak. Otherwise, soak them overnight. 

After soaking the beans, bring to a boil in 2-3 cups of water over a low flame. Boil the beans together with the  with the meat, potatoes, Scotch bonnet peppers, allspice and scallions.

NOTE: If using salted pork tails or salted beef, soak the pork tails or beef overnight in cold water, or boil them in 4 quarts of water for at least 45 minutes to remove the excessive salt content. 

Add the onions and coconut milk when beans have softened (the beans are relatively soft, but still uncooked). This is at the point where the beans are approximately half-cooked.

Make "spinners" (rolled flour and water dumplings) and add to the stew. This can be made by combining 1/2 cup of flour and enough water to bind the flour. The "spinners" should not be too wet nor too dry. They should have the consistency of play dough.

Cut up all other vegetables and set aside. Add vegetables when beans are fully cooked. 

Add flour or corn starch to thicken the stew.

Serve with white rice.

This is when I just added the "spinners." :)

 Finished pot of stew peas

Chinese Mushroom Chicken Recipe

If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm a big fan of Asian food. I tried out the recipe below, and it turned out pretty well. Since I also like mushrooms, I will be making the Italian version of this dish as well. Stay tuned.

 Ingredients: 

10 oz. boneless and skinless chicken breasts, cubed

8 oz. of frozen mixed vegetables or zucchini

4 oz. mushrooms, halved

1 teaspoon corn starch

1 teaspoon Shao xing wine, or dry cooking sherry

2 tablespoons oil

4 slices peeled ginger

1 Chinese or unseeded habanero pepper, sliced (optional)

1 stalk scallion

Sauce: 

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

4 dashes white pepper powder

1/8 teaspoon sesame oil

Salt to taste

4 tablespoons water plus 1 teaspoon corn starch (to thicken the sauce). Alternatively, use 1  tablespoon of flour for the same effect.

Method: 

Marinate the chicken with wine, corn starch and 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce. Marinate for 15 minutes.

Mix the sauce ingredients and set aside.

Heat up a frying pan and add oil. Add ginger, scallion and peppers.  Sautee until aromatic. Add chicken into the pot and stir until the chicken is half-cooked. Add mushrooms and  vegetables into the frying pan and continue to stir-fry. Add the sauce into the pan and quickly stir until the sauce nicely coats the chicken, mushrooms, and vegetables. Continue cooking for about 1 minute or until the chicken is done.

Chicken in Garlic Sauce

This delicious, Asian inspired recipe is an all time favourite. It is also pretty easy to prepare.

Prep : 35 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp coconut oil (you may substitute this with olive or vegetable oil)
• approx 2 cups of vegetables, chopped (examples include broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, corn)
• 1/4 cup of sliced mushrooms
• 1 pound of chicken, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne or black pepper
• 1 tsp. of red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp cumin
• 3 tbsp corn starch
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• 1 cup water

Preparation:

Cut chicken into small strips
Mix the chicken, ginger, cumin, garlic, green onions, pepper, cornstarch, soy sauce and the honey together in a bowl. Add one cup of oil to this marinade. Set aside for 30 minutes.
In a large skillet, sautee onions and mushrooms in coconut oil. After this, remove the chicken from the marinade and add this to the frying pan. Continue to cook for another 6 minutes.



Then, add the marinade to the chicken and the vegetables. Cook until sauce thickens, then remove from heat.



Serve over rice or quinoa.  Enjoy