I know a lot of my friends are afraid of curry. Don't be. Its a wonderful spice that is easy to control. This curried chicken soup recipe is a very refreshing and light. Its still warm and satisfying due to the rice and curry, but there is no cream and hardly any fat, so its a great healthy meal option during the new year. (Gotta stick to those resolutions, right?) 

4 small chicken breasts
2 carrots chopped into 2 inch pieces
2 bay leaves
kosher salt
pepper
6 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion thinly sliced into half moons
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 cup white rice
3 tablespoons freshly chopped dill
1/2 lemon 

Put your chicken, carrots, bay leaf and 1 tsp salt into a medium saucepan. Put 3 cups of chicken broth in the pan and bring it to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the chicken is cooked through (about 20 minutes). 

In another medium saucepan, melt your butter on medium heat. Add the onion, sugar, and 1 tsp salt and cook until the onion is soft (about 5 minutes). Add the curry and cook for 1 additional minute. Then add the remaining 3 cups of chicken broth. Using an immersion blender, blend the onions and broth until smooth. Then add your rice and simmer over medium heat, covered, until rice is cooked (about 15 minutes).

Shred your chicken pieces and remove your bay leaves. Combine both sauce pans into one and bring to a simmer. Add your chopped dill and the juice of 1/2 of a lemon and pour into 4 serving bowls. 

Bon apetite!

I don't know about you, but come January I can get pretty tired of hearty winter soups and roasts. Sometimes you want something a little lighter. This savory pasta salad has a wonderful bite to it but still tastes fresh and light. It is also a healthy dish to help you stick with your new years resolutions. 

Beautiful, colorful, and healthy.

2 cups elbow macaroni

2 tablespoons finely diced purple onion

3 celery ribs, leaves included, chopped

3/4 cups peas 

1 cup diced ham 

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons cream cheese

1 tablespoon milk

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

First step is to finely dice your purple onion and soak it in cold water. This will help to mellow out the raw onion flavor. 

Cook your macaroni in heavily salted water, for about 8 minutes, until al dente. Remove and drain your macaroni from the pot and place in fridge to cool. Mix your mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper together. Then slowly add your olive oil with a whisk. Once combined add sour cream, cream cheese, and milk and whisk together. Then add the fresh dill. 

Combine your ham, peas, celery, and macaroni and combine. As you can see it makes a beautifully colorful pasta salad, and comes together in about 20 minutes. Its a super simple dish.  

This will serve 6-8 people. Bon appetite! 

This dish is a wonderful and easy dinner to make when you have company over. It uses many ingredients most of us keep on hand and comes together in a flash. Plus its flavors are wonderful and unique. Its a dish that you will be happy to eat each and every time you taste it. 

3 Whole skinned/boned chicken breasts
Salt, pepper, fresh nutmeg, to taste
2 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. orange marmalade
1 green onion sliced
1/4 tsp dried tarragon 
1/3 cup white wine
1/4 cup heavy cream 

Pat your chicken dry and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. In large frying pan, melt your butter and saute your chicken breasts until browned on both sides. Add marmalade, tarragon, green onions, and wine. Cover and reduce heat, simmer 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Remove  your chicken to a platter. To your frying pan add cream and simmer until sauce is thickened and slightly reduced. Add salt and pepper as needed and pour the sauce over the chicken. Serves 3. 

It's amazing the people I've run into lately who don't like shrimp...what!  Shrimp is food fit for the gods.  It absorbs flavors so well you can marinate them in almost anything.  I found this recipe on the web, and guess what I added to  make it even tastier, yep Lavender.  This recipe can be grilled on a skewer or sautéed in a skillet.  Either way I guarantee you'll love it.  Serve over Some Basmati rice or try the gingered rice featured on this blog previously.    

Bon Appetite,   
Peggy


LAVENDER PINEAPPLE SHRIMP 


Serves 4 as main course, or 6-8 as appetizer


2 lbs. Cleaned Shrimp ( I used the 26-30 )
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice
1 Tbs. lavender honey (or plain honey)
4 Tbs. cilantro ( can leave out if not fond of cilantro)
4 Tbs. chopped green onions
3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
11/2 tsp. culinary Lavender crushed in mortar and pestle
salt and pepper to taste


Clean shrimp and set aside.  Combine all the rest of the ingredients for marinade.  Marinate shrimp for at least 30 minutes.   If you are sautéing shrimp, heat 1 Tbs  olive oil and 2 Tbs. butter.  Drain shrimp , reserve marinate.  Saute until shrimp is pink and cooked through.  In the meantime heat marinate and reduce by I/2.  if grilling, grill for about 3 minutes per side.  If using bambo skewers soak in a water a couple of hours before use.