Village Chicken #EattheWorld

This delicious chicken stew takes only 3 ingredients and some seasonings.  Served over steamed rice it makes a complete one bowl meal.

We are traveling to Zambia today as we Eat the World......

Beef Rendang #SundayFunday

Chunks of Beef slow-cooked in warm spices and coconut milk until fall-apart tender, start off in the slow cooker, and finish on the stovetop thickening the sauce into a glaze.

The Sunday Funday Bloggers are sharing Indonesian Recipes today......

Fish Curry inspired by The Vibrant Years #LitHappens

This flavorful dish is scrumptious and filled with warm spices.  The recipe is easily doubled or tripled to feed a crowd.

Fish Curry was one of the dishes featured in the novel The Vibrant Years by Sonali Dev, our January selection for our Lit Happens Book Club.

Coronation Chicken Salad and the Weekly Menu #FoodiesRead

Coronation Chicken Salad was created by chefs of the Cordon Bleu Cookery School for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.  It is the result of Anglo Indian cuisine developed during the British Raj in India in the 1930's.

I was inspired to make this chicken salad after reading the Arctic Curry Club....

Peach Chicken and a Chardonnay from Fowles Farm #WorldWineTravel

This delicious Australian chicken dish is quick, easy and perfect for a weeknight meal while fancy enough to serve to guests.  It paired perfectly with this Chardonnay from Fowles Farm in Victoria.

The World Wine Travel group are still visiting Australia and I am lucky enough to be hosting this month......

Chicken and Rice Jollof and a Book Review

This aromatic and lightly spiced version of Jollof is a wonderful one pot meal.  If you like heat you can always add a scotch bonnet pepper to this recipe.

I was inspired to make this Ghanian dish after reading the novel Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi.  This is a fictional book but Gyasi has written with the background of her own experiences.  Like protagonist, Gifty, Gyasi's family emigrated to Alabama USA from Ghana.

Curried Chicken Muffins #FoodnFlix #MuffinMonday

These incredible muffins are chock full of flavorful chicken curry and sauteed onions.  They are perfect for in the lunch box or as an after school snack to stave off the Hangries until dinner time.

I was inspired to make these for Muffin Monday after watching the film Nina's Heavenly Delights.

Chinese Chicken Curry #FoodieExtravaganza

This Chicken Curry is not only absolutely delicious, it is ready in well less than half an hour.  You will never order take out again.

Welcome to the first Foodie Extravaganza of the New Year......

Pumpkin Seafood Curry #Pumpkin Week #FishFridayFoodies

This post is sponsored in conjunction with PumpkinWeek . I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the PumpkinWeek recipes. All opinions are mine alone.

Beautiful tender shrimp and chunks of white fish cooked up  in a curried pumpkin sauce.  This delicious stew can be on your table in less than an hour.  Perfect for your next Fish Friday meal.

Please join me today as I celebrate the final day of Pumpkin Week with the Fish Friday Foodies team.......

I heard an Angel Whispering in my ear......#WinePW

Our Wine Pairing Weekend theme is Rosé and is being hosted by Lori of Dracaena Wines.  It is the height of the summer here in Michigan and Rosé, being so crisp and chilled is the perfect wine for sipping on the deck with friends on a hot sultry evening.

However, in Lori's invitation post, she remind us that Rosé is not just for summer sipping.  Lori points out that Rosé is perfect anytime of the year and pairs well with a variety of different foods. She asked us to help her out by pairing our Rosé with a food that you would not normally consider.

When you are reading this, I am just returning home from an Alaskan Cruise.  Prior to that, however, we had my brother, Larry, and his wife, Mary, who live in California for a month long visit.  Larry and Mary come each year and stay with us for the month of July.

While they are with us we do a lot of entertaining and spend a lot of time being entertained.  My niece, Stephanie, invited the whole family out to her house for a casual get together.  When we arrived, she poured me a glass of Rosé, telling me that she had recently discovered it and thought I would enjoy it.

I took a sip and it was bone dry....for me this is a big plus.  Then I noticed a difference from other Rosé's I have enjoyed.  There was the lingering of floral notes on my tongue.  I took another sip, closed my eyes and let the slightly acidic crispness envelope me.

When Lori sent out her invitation, I immediately knew which wine I wanted to share.....This amazing Whispering Angel from Provence, France.

Now I just needed to decide a food pairing worthy of this amazing wine.  Prior to Larry and Mary's arrival, our son from Denmark, Dian, and his family had come for a 3 week visit.  It was so wonderful spending time with him and getting to know his fiancee and my 10 month old, grandson, who I fondly refer to as Joyful Jordan.

One of the things we did, while they were visiting was to fly to Frankenmuth for the day.  In fact, while we were in flight, Dian proposed to Helena.  You can read all about that and see the video here.

When we landed our plane in Frankenmuth there was a couple enjoying lunch while he took a break from working on the plane he was building in one of the hangars.  While we were waiting for the shuttle to take us into town we struck up a conversation and they recommended a local restaurant, The Old Christmas Station, for lunch.

I have a rule when visiting anywhere.  I always listen to recommendations from the locals.  This was no exception and again it proved to be a very good rule to follow.  This restaurant was lovely.  It contained Old World European charm and offered food from all different regions of Europe.  I tried a dish called Casimer Rice that originates in Switzerland and is the Swiss interpretation of Kashmiri Rice from Northern India. Source: Dairy Free Switzerland

I can't begin to tell you how much I loved this dish..so much so that I knew I wanted to recreate it at home.  

Was it as good as the restaurant version I enjoyed?  You will have to wait until tomorrow when I share the recipe over at #SundaySupper to get the answer to that question.  What I will tell you today is how it paired with the Whispering Angel Rosé.

I thought that while it was not a perfect pairing it was still a very good pairing.  I actually found the pairing with the cheese platter at my niece's more enjoyable with this wine.  Not that the pairing with my dish was bad...it was just that I think this Casimer Rice cries out for a beer.

So, my advice to you is to go out and buy a bottle of this wine and enjoy it by itself or with  one of the recipes being shared below or whatever you are cooking up.  

Then go learn more about Casimer Rice and get my recipe tomorrow when I share it.  Cook it up, pop open a bottle of your favorite German beer and enjoy.

Rosé paired with......

• Martin of enofylzwineblog will be recommending Two Easy Summer Meals And Two California Rosés. 
•  Lauren of The Swirling Dervish declares it is Dinner Time and Wine: Three Pairings for Sparkling Rosé. 
•  Jill of L’Occasion will be showing us how to use Rosé and Sea Salt. 
•  Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla will be posting about Kobza Rosé with a Summery Grilled Haloumi Salad. 
• Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm shares her story, I heard an Angel Whispering in my ear. 
• Gwendolyn of WinePredator proclaims Hooray for Central Coast Rose for #WinePW. 
• David of Cooking Chat is pairing Mediterranean Grilled Chicken with a Bandol Rosé. 
• Ellen of Family Around the Table will make us all drool with her Brown Sugar Pecan Maple Baked Brie. 
• Lori of Dracaena Wines will be pairing Rosé and Thai Grilled Pizza. 
• Cindy of Grape Experiences  knows the KISS rule and will Pair Rosé with…(Keep it Simple) 
• Nancy from Pull That Cork will be Grazing, Rosé in Hand. 
• Jane of Always Ravenous will be discussing A Season of Rosé Paired with Mediterranean Flavors.

Curry Kissed Carrot Soup #ImprovCooking Challenge #MealPrepMadness

Wooohoooo guys.....I am soooo happy to have a kitchen again and to have it filled with all of my appliances that it seems were packed away forever.  I hadn't realized how spoiled I had become with all of my kitchen gadgets.

I, of course, managed.  Women have been "managing" in the kitchen for years.  Then men started cooking and they weren't going to "manage" so they created stand mixers, blenders, food processors, spice grinders, etc, etc... for which I am very thankful.

To be honest, I don't know who created any of these things.  It may very well have been a woman but since they were created early on chances are that even if it were a woman, her man would have taken the credit LOL.  Heck, lately listening to the political statements being made, there are those who would like nothing better than for woman to be back in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant.

Now, I don't have anything against being in the kitchen. It is where I am happiest.  I love going barefoot and my children are my greatest blessing from God but woman have fought long and hard to be treated as equals and it breaks my heart when I hear and see prejudice of any kind to any segment of society.  Phew, did I get off track or what?!

Ok, I am stepping off of my soapbox now and am going to talk to you about a fun little group I am in called Improv Cooking Challenge.  Improv is, as the name suggests, a group of bloggers, who love to cook, being given two ingredients each month and improvising a great recipe using said ingredients.

Our ingredients this month were carrots and curry.  My husband, who professes to hate curry, enjoyed this soup.  I used a mild curry powder and he helped himself to two servings.

This week we are also celebrating #MealPrepMadness.  A week long celebration where we share our meal prep tricks with others.  As I mentioned earlier in the post, I have been living without my kitchen gadgets for 3 1/2 months.  I never realized how much I depended on them until they were gone.  They make life so much easier and are such wonderful time savers.  This entire soup took less than a half hour to make.  

I started out by chopping all my veggies in the food processor.  They were finely chopped so took only a minute to get tender when added to a med hot skillet with olive oil and curry powder.  When the veggies were softened and the curry was fragrant, I added the chicken stock.  Bring the mixture to a gentle boil and cook for about 5-10 minutes.  

I was then able to pour the entire amount into my vitamix and puree until smooth.  You may have to do this in batches if your blender is smaller or you can use a hand blender which is another handy dandy gadget.

Return the pureed mixture to the pan, place over medium heat and add the lemon juice and salt and pepper.

That's it!  Easy peasy and delicious.  Vegetarian, Vegan and Fast Metabolism Friendly.  It is the perfect first course or light lunch or dinner.  Don't forget to check out the other Carrot and Curry Creations following the recipe.

Curry Kissed Carrot Soup

adapted from Eating Well

3 T.  safflower oil

1 1/2 t. curry

8 carrots, peeled and chunked

2 lg. stalks celery, chunked

1 med. onion, chunked

1 (32 oz) box organic chicken stock

juice of 1/4 lemon

salt and pepper to taste

Place the carrots, celery and onion in the large bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.  Heat the oil in a large saucepan over med high heat.  Add the curry powder and veggies. Cook, stirring, until veggies are softened and curry is fragrant.  Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a gentle boil and cook for 5-10 minutes, until vegetables are very soft.  Transfer mixture to a blender (in batches if necessary) and puree until smooth.  Return the soup to the saucepan and gently rewarm over medium heat.  Stir in the lemon juice, taste and season with salt and pepper.  Print Recipe

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