Caribbean Curry

I just finished The Spice Necklace by Ann Vanderhoof, a fantastic memoir by a woman who traveled, ate, and cooked her way around the Caribbean via sailboat. Poor thing--must be rough, right? It's great read, but do keep a snack close at hand as it will make you good and hungry.

Vanderhoof's book is filled with exotic but very intriguing recipes but so far I've only tried one, a bright green herby marinade that made my simple grilled salmon sing. The recipe I'm writing about today jumped off the pages of The Everything Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook by Rachel Rappaport precisely because my mind has been drifting off to lush islands, white sands, and crystal blue water lately.

Rappaport's cookbook, despite its unwieldy name, is filled with tasty, simple, long simmered recipes from around the world and I find myself thumbing through its pages more often as the weather cools. The Caribbean Chicken Curry is a perfect recipe because the hands-on time is minimal and the end result is fantastic. Cubes of chicken thigh meat are tossed in a blend of spices and then quickly sauteed before getting tucked in to the slow cooker with potatoes and coconut milk for a delicious curry that is very satisfying and was a big hit with my picky kids. There's room to experiment and I think both red bell pepper and sweet potatoes would be tasty additions, upping the nutrition even more (but, sadly, rendering it unfit for consumption on my house).

Because this is a "healthy" cookbook, the author recommends using a dab of canola oil and a nonstick skillet but nonstick scares me and I rather like coconut oil so I say use a good couple of spoonfuls and do your sauté in a proper heavy skillet and it will all be fine.

Rice is a natural partner for this saucy curry. Plain basmati is fine, but if you want want to indulge any coconut lovers in your house, this Caribbean-style coconut rice is fantastic.

Unfortunately, I have no photos to share. We ate every last bit of this tasty dish. And you will too--put on a little chutney music before you sit down and you'll be feeling that island vibe in no time!

Printable recipe here.

Comfort Food

With the recent acquisition of my 3-in-1 slow cooker, I've been looking at a lot of new cookbooks in an attempt to move beyond the chili and bean soups I can make with my eyes closed. There seem to be two camps in the slow cooker world: those who slow cook for convenience, and those who slow cook for the added depth of flavor imparted by long hours over low heat.

There are a lot of slow cooker books out there, enough that I've had to develop my own simple litmus test to use while scanning for promising recipes. If onion soup mix or anything from Campbell's show up in the ingredient list, that's when I put the book down and move on.

I've had some hits (arroz con pollo) and some misses (Moroccan chicken) and learned a few things, namely that most things taste better if I take the time to brown meat, saute onions, and warm spices in oil. Oh, and that you really can overcook slow cooked dishes.

Tonight's dinner was delicious. I made a slow cooked kitchari from the wonderful Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Book in which I've found interesting recipes with real ingredients--nary a can of cream of mushroom soup in sight! The recipe called for heating spices in melted butter to release their fragrance for the base flavors and the last hour spice paste addition gives a bright, fresh taste to this protein-rich Indian comfort food.

My modification: the recipe calls for moong dal but I used the split chana dal I had in the cupboard and was happy with the results, but they didn't completely disintegrate into the rice. If that sounds more appealing to you (or picky little ones) by all means use the moong dal or even red lentils. Also, though the recipe directed cooking on low heat, I cut the cooking time nearly in half by cooking on high. If you choose to do this, watch it at the end so it doesn't dry out too much.You'll find the printable recipe here. Enjoy!

Oh--and if, like me, you can't keep your dals straight, this is the guide I refer to.

Mas o Menos

I recently retired my trusty old 6 quart crockpot. The earth toned workhorse, embellished with 1970's era herb illustrations, was a hand-me-down when I got it well over a decade ago. It made countless batches, of chili, white bean soup, and tomato sauce. Admittedly, it looked a little homely sitting on my counter but I saw no reason to replace it until a recent discussion with a friend who started talking about lead in old crockpot glazes. I wrote to the manufacturer a number of times and was never able to get a definitive answer regarding the safety of my trusty old crockpot so, with only a little regret, it has been replaced by a guaranteed lead free slow cooker which is very spiffy as it comes with interchangable, nesting stoneware cooking vessels in three different sizes which makes this thing suitable for anything from a small pot of slow cooked morning oatmeal to a vat of chili for a crowd. How cool is that? Of course it's a little spare looking without the groovy 70's color scheme but I can trade that for lead free glazes any day.

Those of you reading this who manage just fine without yet another kitchen device might wonder what all the fuss is about. What's wrong with a soup pot and a stove? Nothing. Nothing at all, assuming one is home to watch over the soup pot. But there is something truly wonderful in being able to throw dinner together in the morning and walk away, knowing that a tasty meal will be waiting at the end of the day. Or to set up a pot of oatmeal at bedtime and know that there will be a warm, slow cooked breakfast, even on busy mornings.

I used to only use it during the week when I work from 6-9 pm but in recent years I've found the slow cooker to be quite versatile as well as providing a depth of flavor that I really enjoy. I've written about using it for tomato sauce. Chutney works just as well. And recently I've found that slow cooking chicken necks for 15 or more hours makes a fantastic chicken broth. A slow cooker uses less energy than stovetop cooking, it's nearly impossible to burn properly prepared food, and it doesn't heat up the kitchen. What's not to like?

I wanted to share with you the maiden voyage meal as it was delicious. I'd had an itch to try making a Cuban style arroz con pollo but was set on using only what I had on hand which meant chicken breasts, leftover rice, and lots of CSA bell peppers. None of the recipes I looked at quite fit the bill so I just went freestyle and what I came up with was a keeper. If 4/5 of this family like a dish, I am doing well and that was how this was received. The trick was pureeing all those Vitamin C filled peppers along with tomatoes in the blender. My kids won't touch peppers if they know they're there but don't have refined enough palates to recognize them by taste alone. I'm calling it Mas o Menos Arroz con Pollo as I doubt it would be recognized as such by an actual Cuban person but I'm OK with that because it's good stuff!

Printable recipe