Tasty Tuesday is one of those things. Being that I come from a West Indian family I love West Indian food. Curry, roti, jerk, stewed fish. So much yummy stuff I could go on and on. I thought today for Tasty Tuesday I would share my recipe for Curry Chicken. Before we start I should tel you there are many different kinds of curries. You have yellow curry, green curry, pink curry, red curry to name a few. I want you to know for this particular recipe I suggest using Jamaican Curry. You should be able to find this in any big grocery store or market in your area. If you can not find Jamaican Curry, don't worry about it you can use regular curry that you find in your market as well. The main difference between regular curry and Jamaican Curry is presence of a seasoning called Allspice. Trust me when I tell you allspice is BIG in a lot of West Indian dishes. Nonetheless lets get to today's good eats-

Curry Chicken



INGREDIENTS-

•  1 whole chicken (about 2.5lb - 3lb)
•  6 tablespoons of Jamaican curry powder
•  2 potatoes
•  1.5 tablespoons of vegetable oil
•  2 cups water
•  1 onion
•  3 stalks scallion
•  5 sprigs fresh thyme
•  4 cloves garlic
•  2 scotch bonnet peppers
•  2 teaspoons salt
•  2 teaspoons pepper

DIRECTIONS-

1. Wash chicken with lime or lemon and then chop the chicken up in to small pieces, set aside
2. Chop the onion, scallion, pepper and garlic fine (***NOTE be careful with the pepper you want to make sure you de-seed & de-vien the pepper or your curry will be VERY spicy. The heat of peppers is in the seeds & viens)
3. Rub all of the ingredients (EXCEPT potatoes, water, and oil) in to the chicken and allow to marrinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours to overnight.
4. Remove from refriderator and heat a pot on the stovetop. Once the pot heats up add 2 tablespoons of vegtable oil and add chicken. Brown the chicken until sealed (approx. 6-12 minutes).
5. Add water to the pan, Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat and simmer until the sauce has a thick consistency (about 1 - 2 hrs)
6. During the last 30 minutes of simmering cut potoatoes up into chunks and add to pot. Once the potatoes are soft you can remove from heat.

Hey Everyone, as I mentioned before Sundays will be the day of the week that I post some sort of confectionery yummy! I decided that seeing as how I am always sending folks cookies, this week I would post one of my all time favorite cookies ever. They are very simple to make and so worth the effort.

Macadamia White Chocolate Cranberry Dreams

For our first Slimming Saturday I wanted to do a quick tasty meal that is low in fat & carbs yet rich in veggies & protein. I am a big fan of Fricassee ANYTHING , fish, chicken, you name it. Fricassee is term used to describe a stewed dish typically made with poultry or meat. I hope you enjoy:-) 

Chicken Fricassee with Asparagus and Peas

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 " lengths
1 cup shelled, fresh peas
4 cooked red potatoes, quartered

DIRECTIONS  -
1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. While the oil heats, season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the pan and brown on all sides. As the chicken pieces finish browning, remove them to a plate and set aside.

2. Turn the heat down to medium and add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to wilt, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.

3. Return the chicken to the skillet. Add the wine, let it boil rapidly for a minute and stir with a wooden spoon to remove any bits that may be stuck to the pan.

4. Add the chicken broth, turn down the heat so that the mixture simmers slowly and place a lid, slightly ajar, over the skillet. Cook until the chicken is completely tender, about 20 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook until it is crisp-tender, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain.

6. Add the asparagus and peas to the chicken. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes to heat through.

7. To serve, heat the cooked potatoes and divide them among 4 bowls. Add chicken, asparagus and peas to each bowl and spoon some of the sauce over the top.

Serving Size: 1 bowl

 

Per Serving

Calories	420	Carbohydrate	35g
Fat	14g	Fiber	7g
Protein	37g	Saturated Fat	3g
Sodium	466 mg

 

So a few days ago I was on Google Talk with my girl  Ms. Puddin and we were talking about our normal randomness. Suddenly she said to me "Hey I need something to do with some fish". So I casually asked her "what kind of fish?" She was at a loss. She replied "I dunno I gotta go see, it was on sale so I got it." I assumed at this point she got up and went to the freezer to see what it was. When she returned she told me it was Talapia while grumbling about not knowing why I need all that information. Nonetheless I told her talapia was easy and I could give her a great recipe. Here it is -

Talapia With White Wine Sauce

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 pounds tilapia fillets
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

1. Place flour in a shallow dish. Season fish with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. Heat oil and 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When butter starts to turn nutty brown, add fish; fry until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes each side. Transfer fish to plates and cover to keep warm.
2. Add wine to the hot empty skillet and using a spatula, scrape any browned bits from the bottom. Let the wine reduce by half and then stir in the garlic, remaining butter and capers. Let sauce simmer for 1 to 2 minutes to blend the flavors. Pour a portion of sauce over each piece of fish and serve immediately.

So last night, Im online and she pops on my iChat hella excited!! Conversation went like this-



Welll let me tell you all one thing about me. I am a firm believer that if a recipe calls for wine, you should also be drinking wine while cooking. So at that point I knew she was on the right track. So as the conversation goes on she tells me how surprised she is that the dish was so easy. I then explained to her that most of the recipes I make for myself at home are quick and easy. Mainly because after cooking all day for other people the last thing I want to do is come home and whip up a Beef Wellington. So she tells me her meal is done, and I ask well what will you be serving the fish with. She said dont worry I will send you pics. Well here is my girlies photo documentation of her dinner last night.

(You know its going to be an AWESOME meal when Pasta Roni is involved)

(In the words of Puddin Bone Ahh Poo Teet)

I think Pudding did an EXCELLENT job at making this dish and I told her last night her plating skill rival that of any food stylist, LoL!! She decided today that she wanted me to send her some more recipes and she would document them. Hopefully I will be sharing more of what Puddin is doing in her kitchen in the future!! She told  me today that we could be like Julie & Julia only we would be slut & whore o_0

Thanks Puddin!!!!

Hey Everyone!!! (Im pretty sure everyone is the 3 people I know read this blog everyday, hey B, Kris, G [yes i included the dog]) As previously stated Friday would be Freestyle Friday because we all need to take a moment and thank god it's Friday!!! LOL!! But seriously this Friday I am going to wrote about a restaurant that I went to for the first time last night!! The name of the place I went to is Carolina Kitchen located in Hyattsville MD.

The first thing I should say about this place is when my friend and I were in the car on on our way there I asked, "umm is this a soul food restaurant" to which he responded "Yes it is". I'll be honest with you all, at that point I lost ALL interest in going to this place. I have been living in the DMV area two years and I have found a few "soul food" restauants. None of which have done ANYTHING for me. Being a military brat I cant say that I grew up in any one place, but  with that being said I can always take cooking back to one person. That person would be my grandmother Helen. My grandmother cooked her ass off. Believe me when I say she put her foot in EVERYTHING she touched. I have been told stories of her  chitterlings. Not to mention my grandmother made the ABSOLUTE BEST BAKED MAC & CHEESE. I say this all this to say  (in my mind of course) that I think I know a little bit about "Soul Food" and it's preparation.

So I am in this restaurant and I decided to keep it simple and order fried clams and a side of collard greens. The person I'm with decides to order jerk wings and a side of Mac & Cheese. We both order a drink. I ordered a "dirty south" which is essentially a top shelf  Long Island Iced Tea & he orders a Novocaine( which honestly I have NO idea what that is and I used to be a bartender). Well the drinks come and they are mediocre at best. then comes the food.

I wont lie, my clam strips were AWESOME. I made it my point of duty to try his Mac&Cheese, which was just ok. Honestly it tasted like mac & cheese from high school. I didnt bother to ask my friend to try the jerk wings as I am a West Indian chick and I just knew when they said "Jerk Wings" it was going to be lacking at best. From the looks of the wings- they were!! Now lets talk about my collard greens. Let me first say this. I really just got into collard greens a few years ago via my girlie Tia Terry, (Owner of T Allure Salon in Durham NC ). I was at her place one night and she made some collards and they were sooo good. After that I started making them myself. this coming from a girl who primarily cooks cabbage. So over the last few years I have gotten more and more into collards. I say all this to say I know how collards should taste. What I was given last night was WAY off base. First of all they were WAY to sweet. Secondly they tasted as if they were made in oil. Now Im not saying I know everything, but I DO KNOW collards arent made with freaking oil. They were so bad in fact I made my friend taste them. They just kind of shrugged. 

all in all the place is nice and has a great atmosphere.The prices were moderate. If you just want to go to a nice bar and have finger foods I recommend it. However if you want to eat, Im sure there are better soul food spots in the DMV.

Well as I am sure you have all read I have a great friend named Rebecca Welch who is an AWESOME "Green Cleaner" in Norfolk VA . (If your in her area and need a good spring cleaning or just a cleaning check out her site here) Well in addition to being a great environmentally conscious person she is likely one of the biggest animal lovers I know. In the years I have known her shes had rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs, snakes & now has the cutest little fur baby named "G".


Well the other night Rebecca and I were on Facebook chat and she said she had found the coolest thing and sent me the lin. It ended up being  to today's trinket.


Silicone Purple Paw Measuring SpoonsBecca was hella-excited about this trinket. She went on to explain to me that this was an item being sold by The Animal Rescue and that a part of the proceeds will be going directly to The Animal Rescue. The Animal Shelter is a great orginiazation that focuses the power of the Internet on a specific need — providing food for some of the eight million companion animals relinquished to shelters in the U.S. every year. Think about it, if you or someone that you know has ever taken a pet to the SPCA , this orginization is one that helps make sure that animal shelter has food to feed all the animals. Sadly unlike our human food, pets cant grow their own food.

Seeing as I don't actually own this trinket yet, I can't review it. However I can tell you all about the benefit of using a silicone measuring spoon. silicone allows for easy & accurate measuring of wet & dry elements. Not to mention they stain resistant, dishwasher safe, will not retain odors or flavors and cools down quickly.



If you would like to order this great measuring spoon set you can do so here