Not at all Wordless Wednesday: Random Bits and Yellow Chicken Curry

Warning: this post contains some political commentary and opinions.  They're mine, and I feel the need to share.

While I'm waiting for my injection class and for my meds to arrive there are a couple of things that I feel like I should touch on:

• The one year anniversary of the Affordable Healthcare Act.  I know that because of my endometriosis I have been extremely careful for my entire adult life to never go without insurance so that I didn't run afoul of the pre-existing conditions clause.  This sometimes meant paying premiums that I couldn't afford, and that made it so that I couldn't afford to actually see the doctor when I needed to - because it had spent all of that money maintaining my insurance coverage.  Also - Check out Foxy's very eloquent post on the same subject.
• I found an excellent IVF resource for people who actually love to geek out on technical details:   http://www.ivf-worldwide.com/  check out the education center, and all of the information and surveys that they have done - I'm still wandering around the site after the better part of a week.
• The new law in South Dakota requiring women who want an abortion to wait 3 days, and to visit a "crisis pregnancy center" for a counseling session.  I'll be honest, I don't much like the idea of abortion, and I would like to see it "Safe, Legal, and Rare" but at the same time, I don't think that forcing women to go for a counseling session where the whole point is to pressure them into changing their minds is a good idea.  And I'm bothered by the idea that not only is there a desire to reduce access to contraception, thereby making abortions more likely, or at least condemning some women to a life of poverty, but there is also a desire to berate them after the fact, and reduce their choices then as well.  It's a slippery slope, and many of the same voices who appose abortion and contraception also oppose ART.  Where do they stop?

And on a final note, is the Yellow Chicken Curry - this is a fast and easy recipe, that can be made quickly on a weeknight, adn very easily falls into the comfort food category.  Maybe not your typical comfort food, but how do you go wrong with a thick creamy sauce and saffron rice?

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Yellow Chicken Curry:

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs (or breasts - but I'm cheap)

Curry powder

1 onion

1/4 - 1/2 cup Golden raisins

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Mushrooms (optional)

Olive Oil

Sour Cream (16 oz)

Directions:

I sauteed the onions with a bit of olive oil and curry powder, and set them aside  Add salt to taste.  Jakobe doesn't like them, and I thought they'd make an attractive garnish.  

Chop and add the onion to your pan with a generous sprinkling of curry powder, and cook until soft, translucent, and an even yellow color.  Add raisins, and sautee just a bit longer.  Remove to a seperate dish.

Repeat the process with the chicken - you can slice it thinly, like I did here, cut it into chunks, or leave it whole, just remember to salt, pepper, and sprinkle generously with curry powder.  If you're using thighs, you can completely omit the olive oil for this step.  Cook the chicken until it's just done. (This time will vary depending on how large your pieces are.)

Add back the onions and raisins, and then add the sour cream.  Stir together and simmer on low until ready to serve.

Server with regular or Saffron Rice.

Super Simple Saffron Rice:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups brown rice

2 tablespoons olive or canola oil

2 cups chicken broth

a healthy pinch (or two) of saffron

2 cups hot water

Directions:

Add rice and oil to the pot and put on the burner on medium high.  Stirring occasionally, toast the rice until some of the grains are browned, and you get that toasty aroma from the pan.  Meanwhile combine the hot water and saffron and let them sit.  When the rice is toasted add the saffron water and broth, bring it to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to medium low.  Cook until the water is completely absorbed - about 45 minutes. 

Seafood Paella

I'm starting this post in my living room after making this dinner - and I thought it was Yummy.  Jakobe refused to eat it - He waited until after I cooked dinner to tell me: "I don't like mussels or calamari."  Needless to say - I'm a bit irritated.  He was with me when I bought the seafood, said yes when I asked him if he would eat it, and when I brought up the paella, he said it sounded good - even when I was double-checking with him.  

I guess it means more for me, but at the same time... I'm really irritated.  He want's me to stop modifying what I'm cooking by taking out all of the things I like and he doesn't, so he's stopped telling me he doesn't like something until after I've made dinner.  Then he's "Not Hungry."

I told him once long ago that it actually hurts my feelings when he won't even try something (He humored me by taking a bite of mine tonight), but I don't think it's really sunk in.  I like to cook - I love to cook.  But, I'm not going to spend 2 hours after work making paella for just me most of the time.  (okay, most of the time wasn't active cooking time - but you get the point)

***This is the moment while I was writing this that Jakobe asked what I was doing - I said that I was writing out the recipe for the paella - maybe someone would appreciate it - a major fight ensued.

The fight was good for us - at least when we're fighting we're talking to each other - or yelling.  In any case, it almost always means that we understand each other better when the fight is over - and it's over now.***

This is not a fix it fast recipe - but it's very very good.  A bit on the sweet side, and very rich.


Seafood Paella
Serves 4-6 depending on hunger level.

Ingredients:
3 slices thick cut bacon (I like the expensive dry-cured stuff)
2 chicken sausages (I used Aidell's Chicken and Apple)
1 lb Seafood Mix (Mussels, Shrimp, Bay Scallops, and Calamari rings)
2 sliced carrots
1 diced medium yellow onion
4 garlic cloves
2 diced tomatoes
1 T olive oil
3 cups hot chicken broth
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4-1/2 t saffron threads
1 T dried tarragon
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 can White Kidney Beans (drained)
1 1/4 cups long grain brown rice
1/4 -1/2 t crushed red pepper

Directions:  In a large measuring cup combine hot broth, Lemon Juice, Tarragon, saffron, crushed red pepper, and black pepper to taste.  Let it sit.  Chop up the bacon and add to a large frying pan - Cook over medium heat until mostly crispy.  Slice the sausages and add them to the bacon. Let them brown, stirring occasionally. While the bacon and sausage are cooking, cut up the carrots, onions and tomatoes.  Mince the garlic cloves.  Set all the vegetables aside.  Remove the sausage and bacon to a plate or bowl, leaving the drippings in the pan.  Sauté the vegetables in the bacon grease over medium high heat.   When they're soft (about 5-7 minutes) remove them to a bowl as well.  Pour the olive oil into the pan when it's warm, add the rice and then let it cook and stir for about 2 minutes.  Stir back in the vegetables and meats.  Add the beans.  Pout in the liquid and herb mixture, stir once and bring to a low boil.  Cover and cook on medium low heat for half an hour.  Put the seafood mix on top of the cooking rice mixture, re-cover and cook for an additional 20 minutes.  Remove the lid, and let the rest of the liquid cook off.  You're done!  Enjoy.

Mini-Popovers

I know - this is supposed to be mostly about IF, but the truth is, I'm about to go camping for the weekend (I'll be off camping by the time you read this) and I was trying to work out what I was going to post in the  meanwhile.  A secondary considerations is that I don't really have anything of note on the IF front as we're still in a holding pattern and waiting for our appointment next week.


Anyway, popovers have become a kind of favorite in my house.  It started with the Gruyère-Chive mini-popovers, and has become garlic cheese mini-popovers, and sweet cinnamon mini-popovers, and just about any variation that's convenient.  So I'm sharing the basic recipe - and then you all can modify to your heart's delight.  Plus - they take about 25 minutes to whip up from start to finish.

Basic Mini-Popovers

makes 24

1 1/4 cups milk (room temp)

1 T melted butter or Oil

2 eggs (room temp)

1/2 t salt

1 cup Flour

Option 1: Gruyère-Chive

3 oz Gruyère (finely grated)

1-2 T snipped chives.

Option 2: Garlic Cheese (pictured)

3 oz shredded cheese (Mexican blend or Cheddar)

1 t granulated garlic

(or minced garlic cloves to taste)

Option 3: Sweet Cinnamon

1 T Splenda or Sugar

1 t ground cinnamon

Basic Directions: Preheat oven to 450.  Spray mini-muffin pan with oil.  Put the liquid ingredients into your blender  and put the dry ingredients on top of them.  use the blender to mix them all up (or mix by hand with a whisk - both methods work).  Pour equal amounts into each muffin cup (almost full, but not quite) and put them into the preheated oven.  after 10 minutes, turn the temp down to 350 and bake for 8-10 minutes more.

Changes for Options 1 & 2: Add the chives or garlic with the dry ingredients, and put about 1 t (or more if you wish, you might have to grate more cheese) of cheese on top the batter in each muffin cup.'

Changes for Option 3:  Follow basic directions, adding the sugar and cinnamon in with the dry ingredients.

They disappear as fast as they come out of the oven.  One tip - if you don't want them to collapse in the center, poke them with a toothpick or a fork as soon as they come out of the oven to let the steam escape.

Rhubarb-Blueberry Pie

I made this pie almost two weeks ago - and it's been keeping well in the fridge, so I'm still thinking about it, and eating it for breakfast! The inspiration was that I have this gigantic rhubarb plant in my yard - it's about the only useful thing that grows there, and it's put up with more abuse and neglect that I can dare to share with you all.  In any case, I can't let a year go by without making something from the rhubarb before I kill it.

Normally, I'd make a rhubarb pie, or maybe even strawberry-rhubarb, but I didn't know how just rhubarb would go with the guys, and Jakobe is allergic to strawberries, so I grabbed the blueberries out of the freezer.  I also used mostly Splenda instead of sugar, and replaced my regular pie crust with this great tart crust I've been using for other things.  (the new crust is amazingly thick, and is also perfectly flaky, so it's a win in my book!)

Rhubarb - Blueberry Pie

For Filling:

3 1/2 cups of 1 inch rhubarb pieces

1 1/2 cups of Frozen Blueberries

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup Splenda

1/4 cup cornstarch

zest of one orange

2 tablespoons butter

For Crust:

2 eggs

1/4 cup ice water

1 tablespoon of Lemon Juice

3 1/2 cups of flour

1 cup cold butter 

1 tablespoon Splenda

1/4-1/2 teaspoon lite salt (adjust for salted/unsalted butter)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.

Crust:

I start with the crust, because it needs to be refrigerated for half an hour before you roll it out.  I combine the dry ingredients in my blender, and then pulse it with the butter. (I don't have a food processor to do all the work - but i can cheat the first part with my blender, If you don't have either you can use a pastry cutter or a fork to cut in the butter)  Pour the mixture into a bowl.  In a measuring cup, combine the Ice water, lemon juice, and eggs in a measuring cup and beat it all together.  Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture slowly, mixing after each 1/4 to 1/3 of liquids until everything just holds together. Mash it all together with your hands, and knead just enough to form a big ball.  Divide into two balls and flatten them into disks.  Put them in plastic bags or wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Filling:
Combine all of the ingredients except the butter in a large bowl.  Let it sit while the crust chills

Combining:  Roll out the bottom crust to fill a 9" pie plate (I didn't use a deep dish plate.)  Add the filling.  Cut up the butter for the filling into small pieces and dot it on top of the fruit.  Roll out the top crust, or you can make a lattice crust if you're feeling ambitious.  Seal the crust by crimping or fluting. ( I fluted, there's a lot of crust.) and cut several vents in the top crust.  Bake for 30 minutes and then reduce the oven to 350.  Bake for another 30-40 minutes.  If the crust is getting too brown, lay a sheet of foil over the top for the remainder of the cooking time.

Something Different

I made it through the rest of the day Friday.  I did spend some time in bed, curled up with Jakobe, and crying while he held me.  It helped.  I'm working on being okay with crying in front of him, not because I feel like I shouldn't be having these feelings, more out of concern that I'll make him feel worse.  He's already decided that he's 100% responsible, and that it's all his fault - I can't convince him otherwise, and I wish that I could.  Or at least I could convince him that blame doesn't really matter, we're in the same situation no matter who's at fault. BUT - He says that my sucking it up makes him feel worse than the crying, so I'm giving it a try.

Friday evening I got to indulge in one of my favorite hobbies - experimenting with food. The Menu was:

• Lamb Meatballs with Cilantro Raita
• Pear Compote with cheeses (Swiss, Gouda, and Mascarpone) on
• Homemade Rye Crackers

This was the first time I had made crackers, and I discovered that they're pretty easy to make. (I'm going to try and take a picture tonight of the little bit that's left. If I do, I'll add it to this post.)  They do take some time, and I was glad that I made and divided the dough on Thursday night - it meant I actually had time for my mini-breakdown.  I'm including the recipe for the crackers at the end of this post - all the guys said that they were awesome.

I was going to write a step by step walk-through of my weekend, but I started to bore myself - so you definitely don't want to hear about it.  I was in a fog, and even took a nap in the car because I didn't want to sit home alone and stew, but didn't want to do anything either.  I'm hoping that this daze is short-lived, but it's still hanging around.  I don't feel like eating - which might be good, I started Weight Watchers again last week, and I've lost 2.5 pounds, so maybe a little lack of appetite is a good thing.

I made an appointment with the only RE within about 300 miles this morning.  Bad news #1: the initial consult is in my name - so we have to pay cash.  Bad News #2: the earliest available appointment is June 21st, so we're back to waiting again.  Good News #1:  when they re-do Jakobe's SA, they'll submit it to his insurance, and it should be covered.  Anyway, making that phone call seems to have used up my whole day's allotment of motivation, and forward motion, I'd like to go back to bed now.

We've got company again tonight, so I'm on the hook for more cooking, as well as smiling and having a good time.  Can I have a clone?  Maybe someone could make a Stepford me that I can take out of the closet and turn on when I'm not in the mood? No, we'll then I guess I'll fake it 'til I make it.

Olive Oil Rye Crackers

2 c all purpose flour

1 c dark rye flour

1 t  salt (I used fine sea salt)

1 c warm water

1/3 c extra virgin olive oil

Mix together all of the dry ingredients, and then using a mixer with a dough hook on medium or medium low speed, add the water and olive oil.  Let it knead for 5-10 minutes.  Mine was a little extra moist, so I added a little bit of flour half way through the kneading process (2-3 T).  Once you have a nice dough, split it up into 12 equal balls, and then let them sit for a while (at least 30 minutes)  This is the point where I put them into the fridge to wait until Friday, so if you refrigerate the dough for later, let it sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to return to room temp. 

15 minutes before you're ready to bake your crackers, put a pizza stone in your oven and preheat it to 450.

Take one of the dough balls and roll it out to your desired thickness - I made mine pretty thin, poke all over with a fork, and then transfer to the hot pizza stone.  Keep an eye on it, but let it bake until golden - about 5-10 minutes - while you roll out the next one.  Remove the finished cracker from the oven, and let it cool on a wire rack.  Repeat for all of the crackers.  When they're done, you can break them up into pieces for serving.

Variations:  you can top these cracker with whatever you want, and you can also cut them into shapes before baking (I think you'd have to make them quite a bit thicker than I did to do the shapes...)  If you don't have a pizza stone, you can use a cookie sheet - they'll take a bit longer to bake.  And if you don't have a mixer with a dough hook - I'm sorry, you get to knead by hand - therapeutic, but it gives you very tired arms.

Chicken Chili Blanco

Every other monday night we have a bunch of friends over to play Shadowrun, an old-school pencil, paper, and dice role-playing game.  So every other week, I make a really big dinner for about 8 adults.  Some of the players bring their kids, but the kids only eat sometimes, and even if they do, it's never enough to make me have to make more food than I would for their parents.  This means that almost every other sunday night I'm either planning or prepping Monday's dinner so that it's not the only thing I do Monday afternoon.

Also, since we're trying to cut back on spending so that we can save up for whatever we need to afford our infertility treatments, I've been trying to find inexpensive things to make, hopefully with leftovers.

Behold - Make-Ahead Chicken Chili Blanco (12 big servings)

You will Need:

A Large Pot

A Largish Slow Cooker

8-10 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs (I used frozen)

2 Lbs Dry Great Northern Beans

1 Large Onion

1 T Ground Garlic

1 T Ground Cumin

1/2 T Ground Coriander

1 T Cracked Black Pepper

1 T Dried Parsley

1-2 T Dried Oregano

1/2-3/4 t Cayenne Pepper

2 t Sea Salt

6-7 cups Chicken Broth ( or substitute with boullion, cubes, whatever)

Toppings (all optional):

Shredded Cheese

Salsa

Tomatoes

Sour Cream

Avocados

Crumbled Bacon

Directions: 

Rinse the beans and put them in the large pot, covered with water, to soak overnight.

Put all of the dry ingredients into the slow cooker.  Finely chop and add the onion.  Mix it all together.  Cut the chicken in to 1/2 inch cubes.  I use frozen chicken.  It cuts fairly easily with a butcher knife, and I don't have to wait for it to thaw before I start, either take it out before you start doing anything else, and watch a TV show or something, or, zap it in the microwave for a minute or two.  You don't want it defrosted, just a little bit softer than fully frozen.  Add the chicken and mix again.  If you're using a bullion paste or cubes, now's the time to add them.  Put the whole thing in the fridge, and wait until morning.

In the morning, Drain the beans and add them to the chicken mixture, as well as the broth (or water if you added boullion the night before.) Turn the slow cooker on to low, and go to work.

When you get home, Check the Chili to see if it's the consistancy you want.  If it's too thin, don't worry about it, as you stir it some of the beans will break up and thicken it up. If it's too thick, add some broth to bring it to the consistancy you want.  Serve hot, with any of the possible toppings listed above.

The chili without toppings comes in at about 300 calories, 27g Carbs, 26g Protein and 3.5g Fat per serving, just be careful if you're watching your salt intake, it's pretty high, sometimes I substitute lite salt.

Not Your Everyday Chicken

I absolutely love to cook, and this chicken salad recipe has become one of my go-to recipes for when we have people over - or we need to bring something appetizer like to a party.  I've made some adjustments to the recipe as printed in the Williams and Sonoma Fix it Fast Small Plates cookbook to make it a little bit easier, healthier(maybe) and less expensive to do at home, as well as taking into account our preferences.

Chicken Salad Recipe:

3-4 Boneless skinless Chicken Thighs

1/2 a fennel Bulb

1 1/2 t Lemon Juice

1/2 t Lemon Pepper

2-3 green onions

1/3 cup reduced fat Mayonnaise

1/2 t tarragon

1 Baguette

Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350.  Slice the bread, put it on a cookie sheet, brush one side with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake for 10 minutes.

Heat a pan on the stove to medium high, sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and put it in the pan.  I usually end up flipping it several times, but I often start with frozen chicken, so it takes a bit longer.   (I don't put any oil in the pan, because the chicken thighs provide enough of their own.

While the chicken is cooking, chop the fennel finely, as well as the white and pale green parts of the green onions.  Combine these ingredients with the lemon juice, lemon pepper, mayonnaise and tarragon and 3/4 teaspoon of salt.  Let it sit while the chicken cools off some.  As soon as the chicken is cool enough to handle, chop it into small pieces and add it to the fennel mixture. 

Finally - drop spoonfuls of the chicken salad onto the toast pieces.  You're done.

Everything's Better with Bacon

I said that I'd post a little bit about the food last weekend. One of the recipes that I tried out on everyone was Parmesan-stuffed dates, wrapped in bacon. It was completely awesome. Sweet, salty, rich and creamy all at the same time. Plus, it was very easy to make. Here's the recipe:

6 oz grated Parmesan
2-3 T cream cheese ( room temp, or softened)
18-30 dates (depending on size)
1 package of bacon, approximately 1/2 slice per date

Preheat the oven to 400. Pit each date, if not pitted, and cut a slice lengthwise along one side. Mix the cheeses together, and then fill each date with the cheese mixture. Finally wrap each date with a piece of the bacon, overlapping the bacon, and allowing the date to sit on the overlapped ends. Place dates on a baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the bacon reaches your desired doneness, then remove the dates before the grease cools. You can blot them on a paper towel before arranging them on a plate for serving.