New Resolutions

Every January millions of people make New Year’s resolutions only to break them before spring arrives, and I was guilty of falling into that group year after year. Well last year I was able to hold true to my resolution. See I was not satisfied with the path my life was on, stifled socially and intellectually, and exhausted from censoring my beliefs just to fit in. So I resolved to live life on my own terms and get back to the real me, someone I could live with, not someone who let others control her. I changed almost everything, concentrated on tried and true friendships (they haven’t been in my life for thirty years for nothing), developed a new personal style (holy crap do I look good), picked up a new hobby (yes I bought a pole and learned to bellydance), and broaden my palette. I make an attempt to either try a new recipe or introduce one new ingredient into my diet each week, and you know what, so far I have liked everything. I even reintroduced foods that I had previously disliked, i.e. avocado and cilantro, into my diet only to discover that I like them now.

Everyone gets into a rut when it comes to their repertoire of meals; it’s difficult to be creative when you are so busy with jobs, kids and housework (blah, blah, blah if I have to keep hearing this excuse I just might have to break out the mace). That is why I am such a fan of Rachael Ray’s 30-Minute Meals. Okay, yes she is annoying as all hell and so bubbly that I just want to slap her silly; but damn that woman can put together a recipe. Nine times out of ten if you dine at my house you are eating a RR meal that I tweaked; and I have yet to go wrong with one of her recipes. So I am asking you to throw caution to the wind, open your mind and try something new.

Last year I found a recipe for Five Spice Coconut Chicken in RR’s magazine that intrigued me; I knew that I liked coconut, but I had no idea what Chinese Five Spice powder tasted like. But really, how bad could it be? Now in the past whenever I have said how bad could it be to myself it has turned out to be phenomenally bad, i.e. martinis, certain ex-boyfriends, gluten-free bread. Well let me tell you, it is out of this world and so is this meal.

This recipe calls for eight boneless chicken thighs, but I always use four leg quarters, because my store doesn’t carry the thighs. (If you prefer to you can use boneless breasts). Marinate the chicken in one third of a cup of coconut milk, two tablespoons each of honey and soy sauce, one tablespoon of lime juice, one finely chopped garlic clove and two and a half teaspoons of the aforementioned Chinese Five Spice powder. Let this marinate for at least fifteen minutes and then pour everything into a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees until done. I never set my oven timer because honestly I haven’t taken the time to figure it out; I just check the item after about a half an hour to forty-five minutes, when the juices run clear I know the chicken is done. This dish is sweet and nutty tasting and one of my favorites, I serve it with rice and steamed sugar snap peas.

Okay, so now you are left with a jar of Five Spice powder and more than half a can of coconut milk, so what do you do? Wait a few days and then make Coconut Curry Chicken. Curry is something that I recently rediscovered. A few years ago my good friend KB made it for me, being from Great Britain she is very familiar with curry dishes; well I ate what she served me but really didn’t care for it. But recently I decided to try it again and it what do know, I liked it. Its flavor is hard to describe, curry has some heat, but it’s not blow the top of your head off heat. All I can say is try it, it won’t kill you besides my brother-in-law liked this meal and he doesn’t like anything.

To make the Coconut Curry Chicken, which incidentally I also found in RR’s magazine, start by making a paste out of olive oil and two teaspoons of curry powder; cook this over medium heat for a minute or so, then add the rest of that can of coconut milk. By the way, don’t store that coconut milk in the can, if you do it will just taste like the can. You are going to want to cook this for a bit over low heat so that the sauce will reduce a bit. In the meantime cut up four boneless chicken thighs into strips and toss them with salt, pepper and two teaspoons of your Five Spice powder. The chicken is then stir fried over high heat and then combined with the coconut sauce. Serve this over rice and enjoy its sweet nutty heat.

So now you have a jar of curry powder sitting in your spice cabinet that you bought for the last recipe and you’re probably thinking, what the hell am I going to do with all this? Well my friend TW recently turned me on to a side salad that is fantabulous, Curry Couscous. To make this start by boiling one and a quarter cups of water, add one cup of couscous, turn off the heat, cover and let sit for five minutes. Once this is done transfer it into a large bowl to cool a bit and drizzle it with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Now comes the part where you transform into a human Cuisinart and dice up a medium onion, two stalks of celery, dried cranberries and a good handful of parsley. Throw all this into the bowl with the couscous, and mix in one can of rinsed chickpeas, a quarter teaspoon cumin, one teaspoon curry powder and salt and pepper to taste. If the salad seems a little dry just add a little more olive oil. I wasn’t completely sure if I would like this salad but it was great. The only problem is that couscous can be very messy; I am a very neat cook and I still have those little balls all over my counters, and seriously those are not the kind of balls I like running all over my house.

So there you have it, we just broadened our horizons by making meals from Southeast Asia, India, and the Middle East and tried three new ingredients: coconut milk, Chinese Five Spice powder and curry powder. None of which were difficult, time consuming or overly expensive; oh yeah and trying something new didn’t kill anyone.

Now believe me there are some things that I refuse to eat such as cauliflower, mushrooms and venison. A few years ago I choked down a venison burger just because I was being polite to the guy who served it to me, and even though I loaded it up with ketchup and mustard I still thought that it was disgusting. (Actually I told him a lot of things were good when they were not). Every one says that I just haven’t had it prepared correctly, in my opinion that is a load of bull; it’s just not a food that I will ever like. I understand that you are extremely proud of the fact that you sat in a tree stand all day and shot some poor unsuspecting animal that happened to stop below your perch, but really do I have to ingest it or hang it on my wall to think you are a manly man? Sorry honey but the answer is no.

I have tried a lot of new foods this past year but my to- try list is still full of items to sample, like Sushi. Every time I go out to dinner I consider trying it but inevitably I chicken out, usually literally. One of these days though I will eat Sushi, I promise you. To me life is not worth living if you stop trying new things, so just do it! Pick up a new hobby, buy and wear a new piece of clothing that is out of your comfort zone (just please consult Stacy and Clinton first), or make that recipe you have been hemming and hawing over. I’m not suggesting that you make drastic changes like I did, but even the smallest change can be liberating. Warning: you may get some extra attention if you make a noticeable change. I certainly have, sometimes I think if my town newspaper had a Page Six I would be its favorite subject. Hmm, does that mean that not only am I a princess but also a socialite?



Five Spice Coconut Chicken

1/3 Cup Coconut Milk
2 Tblsp Honey
2 Tblsp Soy Sauce
1 Tblsp Lime Juice
2-½ tsp Chinese Five Spice powder
1 clove Garlic, minced
4 Pieces Chicken (bone-in or boneless)

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a bowl. Place chicken in a baking dish and pour the sauce over it, let marinade for at least 15 minutes. Bake at 350° for 30-45 minutes. (Check for clear juices). Serve with the sauce poured over the chicken.



Coconut Curry Chicken

1 Tblsp Olive Oil
2 tsp Curry Powder
1 13.5 oz can Coconut Milk
4 Pieces Boneless Chicken Thighs cut in strips
2 tsp Chinese Five Spice powder

Combine curry powder and olive oil over medium heat to form a paste, cook 1 minute. Add coconut milk and cook about 7 minutes, should be reduced by half. Season chicken with salt, pepper, and Chinese Five Spice powder. Cook chicken over medium-high heat until browned, about 6 minutes. Once done combine with coconut curry sauce and serve over rice.



Curry Couscous

1 cup couscous
1-¼ cup water
1 Tblsp Olive Oil
1 Medium onions, diced
2 Stalks celery, diced
¼ cup dried cranberries, chopped
1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
1 can chickpeas, rinsed
¼ tsp Cumin
1 tsp Curry powder
Salt & Pepper

Boil water and add couscous, cover and remove from heat, let sit 5 minutes. Transfer couscous to bowl and drizzle with olive oil, let cool. Mix in rest of ingredients and add more oil if needed. To increase the heat levels add more curry powder.