I few days ago I handed Ross one of my curry books and told him to pick a chicken dish. Sometimes meal planning and shopping lists happen more easily when delegated this way. This recipe below was the one he chose. His reasoning? We already had most of the ingredient list. Gotta love the man who knows the content of the pantry.From what I could gather this chicken curry dish is hails from the Chettinad region of Southern Indian. I am hardly an expert in Indian fare, though I adore curries from all over the subcontinent. Please let me know if you have further tidbits on this culinary destination
Adapted form the Curry Bible by Jacki Passmore
serves 4
The Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs skinless chicken thigh fillets, cut into tenders
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch finger fresh ginger, minced
1 onion, diced
1 large tomato, deseeded and diced
2 Tbsp ghee or oil
1/2 cup finely ground almonds or cashews
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 - 1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
2-3 whole cloves
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
salt to taste
fresh lemon or lime
chopped cilantro to serve
The Process:
Rinse the chicken tenders and pat dry,
In a blender or food processor, pulse the garlic, ginger, and onion until a thick paste forms. Add the tomato and set aside.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil or ghee. Add the chicken and saute until lightly browned on all sides. Remove the chicken and set aside. Add the tomato-onion mixture to the skillet and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the ground nuts and spices; stir until well mixed.
Return the chicken to the pan. Pour in the coconut milk and season with salt to taste. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the chicken is tender and the sauce has thickened.
Serve with a drizzle of fresh lemon or lime juice and sprinkled with cilantro.
The Review:
Curries with the slightly sweet flavor of coconut seem to be the biggest hits in our household. The mild creamy flavors were well balanced and complimented the chicken instead of overpowering it. I haven't tried many curried with ground nuts, and I loved they way the ground cashews thickened the sauce...added only the slightest nutty flavor. The cashews have a creaminess all of their own. I suspect almonds wouldn't have quite as distinct a flavor when paired with all of the other spices in the dish. .The easy and quickness in which this dish came together was a huge bonus as well. As most of the ingredients are staple in our household, I'm sure we'll be enjoying this curry again!
When is the last time you had homemade meatballs? I mean homemade, like, at your house, by you. If you never have, get ready to try, and if you are pretty familiar with makin' meatballs, you should definitely give this easy, lighter turkey version a go.
Truly, you can make super delicious, moist and flavorful meatballs in less than an hour that don't taste like chewy meatloaf begging for an extra scoop of sauce. This meatball recipe is practically foolproof and only takes a few minutes to pull together. I'm not a huge fan of ground beef (unless it's organic and recently ground), so I choose to make mine with ground turkey. Bonus, it's healthier too. I've also used ground chicken, which is a bit more delicate.
Roll em up.
Brown em up.
Give em a flip.
Drench em.
Once cooked, these meatballs are great with spaghetti, in soup, sliced on pizza or eaten any other way you like. For an even healthier option, swap pasta for spaghetti squash or broccoli slaw. For the complete opposite, do what I did and bake them with penne and a good pound of cheese. I'm exaggerating. No I'm not. See above.
I had basically one of every vegetable in my crisper leftover from various other recipes I'd made all week. Luckily, the meal that came out of them was sooooooo delicious, easy, AND bonus: vegetarian! Hooray for forced creativity!
I chopped up all of the veggies to roughly the same size, browned and cooked them down until they were tender. Then I deglazed them with white wine and added in some good old marinara sauce and herbs. 
I reduced that down on a low simmer for about 30 minutes and had a fabulous, thick gardeny sauce ready to go in under an hour. I boiled some whole wheat spaghetti, drained it and dropped it into the Veggies to finish cooking. Oh and I added lots of cheese. You can never have too much cheese.
This is a method you can do with any veggies you have in the fridge. Broccoli would be great, as would different types of squash or even celery. Be creative. You'll save a trip to the store, not to mention, money!
I always have cherry tomatoes on hand (unless there is something completely wrong with me) because they are my absolute favorite. They are always slightly sweet and juicy and they go well in everything from salad to spaghetti sauce. I also happen to have a new pot of basil that I'm nursing in my backyard and praying that the snails don't find. Growing herbs is a great way to give yourself multiple meal options as it opens up the variety of flavor profiles you can create. And a leftover tub of baby mozzarella balls gave me the idea to make a caprese salad. But seeing as I can have caprese salad anywhere, I decided to spice it up and make it a Roasted Caprese salad. Since I felt like the salad would need a little extra weight behind it to make it a meal, I added the rest of the whole wheat Israeli (or Pearl) Couscous I had in the pantry. Instant classic.
I coated the tomatoes in Olive Oil, salt, pepper, italian herbs, a little garlic and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Then I broiled them....
And they came out like this, perfectly charred and caramelized.
I chopped up the basil and sliced the mozzarella balls in half. You don't have to halve them, but I wanted more cheese throughout the salad.
And here it is, a perfect summertime meal that took about 15 minutes to prepare. I added a few slices of grilled chicken over the top because my basketball playing husband needed some extra protein, but this would make an awesome lunch or dinner just as it is. You should probably make extra. 
As much as I love making my own pizza dough (and do on the weekends), most supermarkets offer fresh and really delicious dough right in the deli. It saves a ton of time and opens the door for many different meal ideas. Just roll one bag of dough out into a rectangle on cornmeal and parchment paper placed on a cookie sheet.
Layer your choice of pepperoni (I use nitrite free-gotta slip some healthy in there somewhere) and some good sliced mozzarella. Like the entire ball of mozzarella.
Roll it up and seal the edges tightly with your fingers. You want to try and keep most of the cheese inside the roll. Slit a few holes in the top to release steam, and brush with olive oil.
Now, bake at 450 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, depending on your oven. Keep an eye on it, you want a golden brown crust that's firm to the touch. Be sure to let it cool for a few minutes before cutting.
Slice it up and serve with some warmed up marinara or meat sauce. This is so incredibly good and there are many variations you can play with. Try salami instead of pepperoni, or even chicken. Or, if you want to do a meat free night, just go veggie with something like spinach or bell peppers. It's your dinner, so make it how you like it.
It took me a while to wrap my brain around Muesli, a breakfast cereal developed over a century ago by a Swiss physician, and yet Muesli has become a staple at my house. My daughter has it in her lunch 2-3 days a week and loves it. I send about 1/3 C muesli with Greek Honey yogurt. (My post in 2009 was my introduction to Muesli.) I can't always find muesli at the store. So I've been looking over muesli recipes to see how you make it. It looked really easy, and like you can make it to your individual taste preferences.
Raisins with the cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and almond extracts sprinkled on.
Chopped almonds ready to be pan toasted.
Mixed together.
Taste test above. The toasted almonds really sparkle in this and I liked the touch of the almond extract that shone through as well. (I bet coconut would be really good too.)
The grocery store has been out of the cocoa mix that I like, so instead of buying brands I don't like I thought I'd try making my own mix. Here's Alton Brown's recipe so you can make your own hot cocoa mix too!
Last week my dachshund Squirrelly was diagnosed with problems in his back and his neck and we've had to keep him in his kennel when we're not able to sit by him. He's not the type of dog to rest, but the medicine seems to be helping him sleep. I was going to make the family Zucchini brownies last week, but we were all taking turns sitting with him and I didn't have time. Today, during my husbands shift, I grated zucchini, mixed, baked and now the Squirrel is wrapped in a blanket and asleep on my foot, front paws crossed and snoring.
Recently I made a couple of produce bags out of an old green t-shirt while I watched the movie Illusion on Gaiam. The movie was kind of a funky blend of new age meets redemption. Kirk Douglas was very good. The bags have held up with apples, blood oranges and you guessed it, zucchini's! And they've survived the washing machine, I think I'm hooked. :)
The brownies turned out more like a cake/brownie. Chewy, but lighter than a brownie. Next time I'd use more walnuts. I think I'll serve it with some vanilla yogurt. (BTW Squirrely enjoyed the other half of the applesauce cup that I used in the brownies.)
This version of the Hot Cocoa Mix 
The brands of milk that currently seem safest for us (being rBGH, pesticide and antibiotic free) are Horizon and Tillamook. A few years ago we took a tour of the Tillamook Cheese factory in Oregon. Their farmers are part of a co-op. They make great cheese and the factory staff made one mean chocolate shake!
I woke up early today so I decided to try a new recipe spotted on Pinterest thanks to my co-worker Mindy. It's called Cinnamon Roll Cake. Since it makes such a huge pan of cake it's going to the office with me to share this morning. (Cake results? Very good! Like a soft cinnamon roll!)
Combine all of the streusel ingredients in a separate bowl. I used a pastry cutter. Then using two spoons "Drop" the streusel mixture like very small drop cookies evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife as best as you can. I couldn't exactly "swirl" it, but that's okay because I think the effect is similar to a coffee cake. Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes then toothpick test to see if it's done.
The last 10 days have been a serious celebration. It was my birthday week, and as you can see from the giant platter of sushi that I consumed mostly by myself, we went all out. From a weekend in Vegas where I ate, drank, danced and laughed to family get togethers to work parties and a surprise trip to Disneyland, I have had one fantastic week!
Maybe you remember how I said I love lavender. Maybe you remember the above photo from my Lavender Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins. In that post I mentioned how there are countless things you can flavor with this special flower. And this here is one of my favorite obsessions, lavender cocktails. They are rare, and when I see one on any menu, I must order it. The lavender cocktails I have enjoyed are mostly made with Gin. I believe this is because Gin has a very floral flavor already, so they pair very nicely together. Let's imbibe.
I had this baby bottle of Bombay Sapphire hanging around and I couldn't decide what to make with it. I had my little tin of Lavender out while making some yummy thing and I thought, why not infuse the gin with the pretty purple buds?
I let it sit overnight to steep.
Then I strained the lavender buds out of the gin, which turned a tea-like color and smelled absolutely amazing. And tasted even better.
I love love love sparkling water. I also love love love lemons....so naturally my first thought was to make a Tom Collins. This is a very classic old cocktail that usually has gin, lemon juice and club soda.
Being that tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo, I thought it only appropriate to share this delicious and fresh salsa that's an alternative to the classic tomato version. Obviously, fruit in salsa is not new, but I came up with this combo after I found my favorite kind of mangos on sale at the market. These mangos are not the traditional green and red skinned ones usually found in the produce aisle, these are champagne (or ataulfo) mangos that have a deep yellow hued rind that is more pliable and thin than the other variety. They are also a bit smaller and I find that they are much more tender and sweet, making them perfect for a spicy, chunky salsa.
This is the kind of salsa you can make for many different dishes and although I could've gone completely mexican with my meal, I decided to stray a bit from the norm. I'll have plenty of time to eat enchiladas and drink margaritas later. For now, let's get a little bit thai. 
Coconut milk is amazing. It's creamy, flavorful and absolutely delicious. I love it in my coffee, and especially in my smoothies, but now my favorite place to put coconut milk is in rice. I cooked brown rice in a lot of canned coconut milk and a little bit of water, then drizzled the fluffy rice with more of the thick white liquid. I served it with a grilled piece of halibut, steamed green beans, and a huge spoonful of the Mango salsa. O.M.G.
The next day, I took the leftover rice, green beans and salsa and had one of the best lunches of my life. Light, healthy and bursting with unique flavors that you just don't get to enjoy everyday. Please try this meal! Or at least the salsa. Or at least the rice. Again, the salsa would be great for a Cinco de Mayo party. Serve it with tortilla chips, or even better, some fresh shrimp tacos and some tequila.