A Fabulous Dinner

In an effort to cut through some of the drama, and because we've been sick all month here and food preparation has been bare bones, I really cooked last night. And it was good.

Tandoori Chicken
Spicy Cucumber Salad
Basmati Rice with golden raisins
Stir-fried Carrots with pine nuts
Naan bread

I didn't love my recipe for tandoori chicken. I wanted something that tasted like it, but created more of a sauce that could be used over my rice. I wasn't a big fan of the yogurt based marinades I found--they didn't add a lot of flavor and dairy doesn't really cook that well.

What I will try next time is stewing my chicken (we are strictly a boneless skinless family around here, but truthfully, thighs would probably work better) in a crock pot mixture of the following:

Lemon juice and zest
Cumin
Paprika (a LOT compared to other spices)
Coriander (my new favorite spice--bring on the experimental dishes)
Cardamom
Ginger
Garlic
Cayenne pepper (to taste)
Black pepper
Salt
A yellow onion
Tomato puree (not much)
Figs


I would let all this sit in the crock pot for several hours until the chicken can be shredded into the sauce. I want it to look like this:

Plantboy's rice concoction as a delight, as it always is. Here is a more precise recipe:

1 cup brown basmati rice
1 cup water
1 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cinnamon stick (remove when cooked)
Black pepper
Salt

Delightful! It was so good scooped up with the chicken (dry as it was!) and with the carrots, which were just large carrots, cut on an angle and stir fried in olive oil with a handful of pine nuts. And while we are on the subject: pine nuts make almost everything nicer. At $19/pound, they better!

We have been using a lot of naan bread lately. I discovered it last summer. Served from my cupboard or fridge it is so mediocre, but served after being warmed on the stove top . . . Oh, wow. I mean WOW. Like baked scones straight from Heaven. We are using the leftovers for pizza tonight.



The last thing (which is a salad, so it really should be first!) is this recipe. I also really like this blog that it comes from. She blogs about food and hiking in Boulder, Colorado. The writing is nothing fantastic, but her pictures are gorgeous and her recipes wonderful. I sometimes think I want her life, and then I remember that I find children so much more appealing than dogs.