1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tbs. sesame (or olive) oil
1 small onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 Tbsp. yellow curry powder
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets (~ 4 cups)
1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
1/3 cup lower sodium chicken broth
Salt and black pepper to taste
Cooking
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add chicken and cook until lightly browned (about 5 min.). Transfer chicken to plate.
Reduce heat and medium-low. Add onion, garlic, curry and ginger to the same skillet. If you drained off all the liquid after cooking chicken, add a small amount of oil to pan. Cook until fragrant (about 2 min.).
Add cauliflower, coconut milk and broth, cover and simmer until vegetables are crisp-tender (about 5 min.).
Add chicken back to the pan and cook until sauce reduces and thickens (about 8 min.)
Notes
Draining off the liquid after cooking chicken produced a thicker sauce. Some chicken is injected with water and this step will ensure the sauce is not too thin.
You may want to use less chicken broth if you like a thicker sauce. One option is to use 1 chicken bullion cube, instead of broth; this maintains the flavor without the extra liquid.
Instead of ground ginger powder, try freshly grated ginger root, increasing amount by 50%
A family favorite, this catfish recipe is simple and flavorful, but not fishy tasting.
Prep Time:
5 min.
Cooking Time:
15 min.
Servings:
4 Servings
Ingredients
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 1/2 pounds catfish filets
1/4 cup mayonnaise (light works OK too)
1 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
Additional salt and black pepper to taste.
Cooking
Heat oven to 400F.
Mix thyme, cayenne, salt and pepper and rub onto fish, seasoning both sides.
Coat a 9″ x 13″ baking dish with cooking spray (I prefer to use an olive oil spray). Bake fish until opaque and cooked through; about 15 min.
While fish is baking, combine mayonnaise, lemon juice and garlic in a small mixing bowl to make aioli topping for fish.
Combine garlic, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, ground mustard, salt, and pepper into small mixing bowl.
Line a broiler pan with foil and place steak on top. Coat evenly with mustard mixture and let stand f10 minutes. Broil steak to desired doneness, 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let stand 5 min. before slicing and serving.
Notes
Broil for 3 minutes longer per side when thicker top round, or when cooking for people that like to waste mean (aka. well-done).
Yes, yet another of my evil brews. This one, unlike the “Afterburner“, will not send you running for sugar and milk 10 minutes after you eat it. The heat is more ‘up front’, but it’s tempered with some real flavor this time. 🙂
Preparation is similar to the previous recipe, except that the minced peppers spend a little time in the pot before going into the food processor.
Ingredients
50 grams
Red Jalapeno pepper
35 grams
Green Jalapeno pepper
25 grams
Serrano pepper
10 grams
Habanero pepper
75 grams
Fresh peach (pick a variety you like)
15 grams
Fresh Garlic
35 grams
Fresh Carrots
75 grams
Distrilled White Vinegar
30 grams
Cooking Oil (used Canola)
15 grams
Salt
5 grams
Fresh Black Pepper
Preparation
Mince all peppers. Set aside in a bowl.
Dice peeled peaches. Set aside in a different bowl.
Pour oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic into 2qt sauce pan.
Mince garlic, place in sauce pan.
Chop the carrots into small rounds, place in sauce pan.
Cook ingredients in sauce pan for 9 minutes at high boil. Carrots should start to get a little soft.
At the 8 minute mark, toss in all the prepared pepper mincings. Cook this for 1 more minute.
Remove from heat, let cool to a warm temperature (approx 100F).
Pour peaches and contents of sauce pan into a 4 qt (or larger) food processor. Process the heck out of it. Blend / chop / whirl until it reaches the consistency you enjoy most.
The title says it all. This is a hot sauce recipe that I call “Maverick’s Afterburner”. I liken this sauce to about 3 Stars of heat at your typical Thai restaurant.
“Maverick’s Afterburner” is my first hot sauce. But, one could really use it as a salsa, which is what I have been doing since I made it yesterday. The mix is based on ingredient research I have been doing of some favorite hot sauces. Unfortunately, I’ve not been able to find anything hot enough for me in the local stores (we don’t have a sauce specialty shop here…. yet). Now, could have ordered some sauces online, but, where is the joy in just buying the heat? Why not learn a little something about MAKING the heat? So that’s what I tried to do.
The sauce is a Habanero chili and vinegar based sauce, but that’s not the only chili pepper or ingredient required, but it is the major contributor of heat.
Now you might think heat is a relative thing, but there is a standard for measuring the ‘heat’ of a pepper. It is called the Scoville Scale. The scale is named after its creator, American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville. The number of Scoville heat units (SHU) indicates the amount of capsaicin present in the chili. Capsaicin compound stimulates chemoreceptor nerve endings, and is the active ingredient in the pepper sprays used by Law Enforcement (for example). It’s like BTU ratings for your furnace. The higher the number, the hotter the pepper.
Preparation:
Place all ingredients, except the peppers into a 2 qt. sauce pan and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 10 minutes, or until the carrots are very soft. Mix occasionally to prevent scalding or burning.
Chop or mince the peppers. Place them in a suitable sized food processor, along with the boiled ingredients, and blend. Chopping peppers.
Once blended, you will have approximately 2-3 cups of the soon to be infamous “Maverick’s Afterburner”. There are many ways to store and use this interesting mix of heat. It could be bottled (I don’t cover the proper way to do that tonight), or placed in a sealed container (away from pets and small children) for later use. Refrigerating overnight will reduce the nose on the sauce, and it starts to exhibit a quality that the name implies. It’s a little hot when it’s first tasted, but it’s real heat takes a minute or two start to produce some power. Once it’s on it’s heat, the temperature can last 5-15 minutes depending upon your own physiology. Maverick's Afterburner
How does it taste? Pretty good. It maybe be best on food, such as as a fish taco, or over a burrito. I’ve not yet tried that. But I have consumed a pretty fair amount by spooning it with tortilla chips.
The quest for my ultimate sauce continues. Until then, I hope you find this recipe to your liking.
MmmMmmmmm Spicy!“Hello, my name is David. And I’m an addict”
I’ll admit it. I’m an addict. A caffeine addict. I seldom go a day without a 10 or more ‘cups’ (what do they call a cup, 6 oz. or something.. pffft.. rubbish) of coffee. That means I go through beans like a Mexican canned foods factory.
To keep from going broke (and falling asleep any time of the day), I’ve been buying coffee in 3-5 lb. bulk sacks. This also means that these beans are bulk roasted, and the options are limited. Well.. not any more!
After reading one of the famous “Eat this, not this” books, somewhere inside I ran across some tips on herbal enhancements (not *those* kind of enhancements!) you can make to foods to assist with blood pressure, diabetes, stress, etc.
One such suggestion was Cinnamon added to the ground coffee to give it a slightly ‘Mexican Coffee’ flavor. Cinnamon also has some nice benefits including increased brain function, improved blood flow and assists in sugar control. Sounds good to me, so I tried it. And honestly, I like it. A lot. It’s adding a nice variety to my morning, afternoon and evening coffees. And, an upside to all this is, I can vary the flavor based on how many pinches I put in the grounds, or just not use it one of those days I want the full trucker-coffee effect.
Along with the Cinnamon, I’ve experimented around with cloves, and that adds a nice nutty / smokey flavor to the coffee. I don’t do it all the time but again, it provides some variety. Another recent add that sounds totally insane (perhaps….) is chili pepper. Yes.. I’ve added chili pepper to my coffee. In fact the cup in front of me right now has some in it and you can taste the spice! I love spiced foods, so this is what I’d consider a good thing.
So.. there you have it. Bored of your current sack of coffee, maybe try out some variety. Variety is the spice of life, right? Now that you’ve recovered from your guffaws.. you might actually give it a run.
** Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, herbalist, actor, nurse, parasitologist nor new anchor so… there you have that too
After my series of Easter Egg Photos, earlier this week, I decided to clear out my ‘collection’ of wine bottles. I keep them, to remind me which wines I liked. Some are quality, some are just a good value (consumable on the cheap).
Combining my desire to clear out a corner of my kitchen, and learn a little more about lighting, reflection and studio product photography, I put together this little experiment.
I quickly learned that shooting objects with high reflectivity, such as glass, is much more difficult to manage than other images. You’ll notice the lighting umbrellas, the wall colors, even a few have reflections of myself in the wine glass.
Some have a large bright reflection on the bottom of the glass. It turns out the white floor in the shop really reflects light well, and shows up on the glass. Putting down an extra black backdrop on the floor took care of that. But the sides and background beyond the camera remained an issue. I have white and yellow curtains there. I guess I need to get black for that as well. Just another set of lessons learned.
The photos are also uploaded to my Flickr account with additional comments on each wine. I’ll copy those comments, and add more info later. For how, I’ll just provide the pics.
McWilliams Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
Wine 2
Wine 3
Wine 4
Wine 6
Wine 7
Wine 8
Wine 9
Wine 10
Wine 11
Wine 12
Wine 13
As you can see in the photos, having a totally solid color, or black studio would produce a better image. That and adjusting the camera to a deeper field of focus. But, this why I’m doing this. To learn those lessons, hone my craft, and have a little fun at the same time.
With my parents in town, and having the need to pick up some parts at Ducati Seattle, I hatched a masterful plan for all of us to have fun, while allowing myself to take care of the essential needs of my beloved Ducati.
We caught a lucky break and boarded the 11:35 AM boat out of Bremerton for the big city. Once on the mainland, we had to contend with a TON of traffic from the combined Sounders F.C. game and the weekend long ‘Bit of Seattle’. As it turns out both ends of the city we needed access too were choked with humans. Why do I ever venture into cities? I always ask myself this, while I’m there.
Regardless, headlong into the breach went we.
Having taken almost 30 minutes to traverse the 4 miles from the ferry terminal to Ducati Seattle, I had to make fast work of my parts acquisition mission. While there Dave R. (owner) made the point of saying hello to me. He always makes a point of saying hello to his customers, even when just dropping by for a quick part, or no part at all. This is why I only do business with David and Ducati Seattle. Personalized, customer service. A lot of businesses could learn something from this award winning dealer.
Having acquired the tank protector I needed, and one more set of tasty blingy bits (yet to be announced), I met the family next door at Boca di Beppos, where we at a late lunch. YUM! We shared a large bowl of stuffed shells, a large mixed green salad and some Peroni Nastro Azzurro. YUMx2. It was more than enough for 6 people.
Lunch took just the perfect amount of time, for I had pre-ordered tickets for the 3:30PM ‘Ride the Ducks Tour‘. The youngest of my clan has been dying to do this, so today I surprised him with this little treat ($155 for the 6 of us later…). He was suitably shocked and thrilled. Few things warm the heart like a genuinely happy child.
Following a very amusing and educational tour of the city, we entered the water of Lake Union and enjoyed one of the great features of these old WWII workhorses… it’s amphibious qualities. It’s not a fast ride (top speed about 7 kts) but also full of good Seattle / Northwest history. Even enjoyed watching a few sea planes takeoff over us on the lake. It was quite a treat, one that I found well worth the price paid. Much merriment was made, often at the expense of the local PWN culture. What’s not to joke about, we’re a bunch of nuts that live here.
Completing our fun, games and a little business in Seattle, it was back to the Washington State Ferry dock on the Seattle waterfront. This time we took the shorter (thus faster) run to Bainbridge Island to execute the last piece of my master plan. A visit to Mora Iced Creamery (review updated on my blog post of 16-Jul).
The ferry system was running a little late on the run, no matter, we had time to spare (well.. I we hoped we did, since it turns out we locked ourselves out of my house when we left – $100 visit from a locksmith at 11:00PM solved that little problem). On the way out, the passengers were treated to quite a display of water cannons from one of the City’s fire fighting boats. Many photos were taken ( by myself at least). I’ll select the best of them an upload at a later date. For now, here is one I just pulled off the pile:
Ferry boat practices washing bird poo off Space Needle
Despite some whining from a certain, rather tired and perhaps over-excited 7 year old, we did enjoy some very fine island ice cream. A wonderful treat, indeed.
It was quite a day, and I think it was enjoyed by all.  It’s always good to spend time with my parents, and also to be able to have my kids spend time with their California grandparents.  And it’s also a treat to have such wonderful weather, all at the same time!
Four Swallows is described as a fusion of Northwest and Italian cuisine. Located at: 481 Madison Avenue, Bainbridge Island. ph: 206-842-3397. I will write a review as soon as I can get a reservation.
Also on Bainbridge Island is the Mora Iced Creamery.
All ice cream is made locally on the island. It is said that they have over 40 flavors! Located at: 139 Madrone Lane, Bainbridge Island. Ph#: 206.855.8822.
This is another location that I plan to check out in the very near future.
UPDATE: (18-Jul-2009) More Iced Creamery: Returning from a nice trip to Seattle today, I made the point of visiting Mora Iced Creamery.  It’s on the main street of downtown Winslow, but it’s in the back of the little ‘Madrona’ business area. The place is well lit and had a very nice vibe. The clientel was a mix of the well-healed, from students to retiries.  Everyone had a smile and I quickly found out why. WOW! The ice cream is amazing.  I would have to say it’s the best I’ve ever tasted.  Coldstone and the famous ice cream shop in Port Townsend have N*O*T*H*I*N*G on this place.   In sort, well worth the visit!  I’ll be returning often!   VIEW LOCATION ON GOOGLE MAPS
Adding one more to try, by personal recommendation of many that have visited there, Madoka. Located at 421 Winslow Way West, Bainbridge Island. Ph#: 206-284-2448. This is also on my list of places to try.
First, is the 
Also on Bainbridge Island is the