Curried Chicken Bake

I’ve been testing recipes all week to go with our next “Dinner & Book Club” column in Citywoman magazine (www.citywoman.ca) because we will be chatting and chewing about Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup; so obviously it will be an India themed menu. Then I remembered this really fantastic Curried Chicken Bake I make fairly often – it’s great for potlucks btw, so I am sharing this delish casserole recipe. Not exactly seasonal, but tasty never goes out of season.

Curried Chicken Bake

2 Tbsp (30 ml) vegetable oil
1 lb (454 g) boneless chicken breasts cut into strips
1 cup (250 ml) sweet onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp (15 ml) ginger, minced
1 small hot pepper, seeded and minced
1 Tbsp (15 ml) curry powder
1 cup (250 ml) raw basmati rice
1 cup (250 ml) canned coconut milk
1 cup (250 ml) chicken broth
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
1 Tbsp (15 ml) cilantro minced
1/2 cup (125 ml) slivered almonds, toasted

• Heat oven to 350°F (180°C).
• In an ovenproof skillet that has a lid, heat the oil over high heat. Sauté the chicken strips until no longer pink inside. Add the onion and red pepper to the pan, stir and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Add the garlic, ginger, hot pepper, and curry powder to the pan. Stir and cook for another few minutes. Stir in the basmati rice, and then pour in the coconut milk, chicken broth, and salt. Bring to the boil, stirring so the rice doesn’t stick. Remove pan from the heat and cover it with lid, place it in the oven for 20 minutes.
• Remove pan from oven. Serve curried chicken sprinkled with minced cilantro and toasted almonds.
• Serves four.

Deer

It has been a long time since I have been here. Very busy. Lots of picking, planting. Lots of help however and good help at that. We have pretty well finished planting all the transplants; everything from zucs to tomatoes, squash to tomatillos. The fields are full which always presents a problem. We only have three small fields near the house that can grow things that deer like. All of our fields are surrounded by woodlot and every night the deer make their way to the organic smorgasboard to dine. They are however picky eaters and if they come across tomatoes or potatoes they just go on their way. If however they discover a row of romaine or beans, they dont stop eating until they are lying on their backs burping and exclaiming that the farmer really shouldn’t have gone to all that trouble on their behalf. This year the real damage has been done to the lettuces. Every night I put one or two cars out in the field with the radio blaring in order to discourage them. But every night they descend, their perseverance and patience is their strength. They will just freeze and wait. The dogs barely affect them. Me running at them like a mad man only motivates them to run when I am within striking distance. So every morning I walk the field inspecting the damage they have done. Usually only $500 or so but on a bad night they can mutilate up to $5000 of beans or lettuce. What to do? Nothing I guess. Just suck it up. Make it part of the farming experience and marvel at the beauty of a fawn enjoying its first solid meal of organic produce and be happy in the knowledge that our deer are getting the best.

Walk Through the Garden Salad

The garden is a bit slow this year due to the cooler weather we have been experiencing. That’s OK, as we still have plenty of deilcious greens available to make my family’s favourite salad. Just like the title says “walk through the garden”, (or your local Farmers’ Market) and pick whatever is fresh, green and tasty.

Vinaigrette:
1 tsp (5mL) Dijon mustard
1 tsp (5mL) liquid honey
1 Tbsp (15 mL) rice wine vinegar
3 Tbsp olive oil
Freshly ground pepper

Salad:
2 handfuls of baby spinach
1 small handful basil leaves
2 handfuls watercress

Grilled bread:
4 large slices sourdough bread
1-2 Tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
2 cloves garlic, cut in half

1/3 cup (80 mL) goat cheese, soft
Sprinkle of chives

• Make the vinaigrette first: whisk together the mustard with the honey and vinegar. Whisk in the oil, season with pepper. Set aside.
• Wash all the greens very well and dry in a salad spinner. Set aside.
• Lightly brush the bread with olive oil. Place on medium high grill and toast, tuning over when one side has become golden brown. When both sides of bread are toasted, remove from grill. Rub cut garlic on top of bread. Spread softened goat cheese on each slice. Place bread on plates. Toss greens with vinaigrette and top each piece of bread with salad. Sprinkle on a few chives. Serve immediately.
• Serves 4.

100 Mile Diet Open House

On Saturday May 30th, I held a “100 Mile Diet” open house at the cooking school at the Oakridge Real Canadian Superstore. Maybe it was more a theoretical 100 mile diet, but it was informative and I think it really got people thinking about where their food comes from. As usual at these events I served lots of delicious food and provided recipes. The big hit was of course the roasted vegetable quesadillas that I did not provide a recipe for! So, here it is, simple and it will be seasonal in a month or two.

Roasted Vegetable Quesadillas

2 bulbs garlic
2 red peppers
1 yellow pepper
1 green pepper
2 zucchini
1 red onion
2 cups sliced mushrooms
olive oil
kosher salt
1 bunch basil, sliced
more salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup (approx) Ontario goat cheese
10 large flour tortillas

Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
Roast the garlic: cut the tops off of the bulbs. Place bulbs on piece of foil, drizzle with some oil, wrap up in the foil, and place in oven for 45-55 minutes, until the cloves are thoroughly cooked and easy to squish out of their peels.
Chop up the peppers into about 1/2 inch chunks, same with the zucchini. Slice the onion. Toss all of these chopped veggies together in a bowl with a bit of olive oil and some kosher salt. Place in the hot oven and roast for about 20 minutes, until they are turning brown at the edges, but are not too mushy.
Meanwhile, do the same with the sliced mushrooms: toss with olive oil, a bit of salt, place on a baking sheet, and put in hot oven. The mushrooms will only take about 10 minutes to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool. Toss all veggies with garlic and basil, season with salt and pepper.
To make the quesadillas: Place tortilla in a hot pan set over medium heat, scoop a large spoonful of vegetable mix on one side of tortilla, top with goat cheese and wait a few minutes for tortilla to start to get golden brown. Fold one side over the side with the veggies. Wait. Is the goat cheese melted and delicious looking? Then your quesadilla is ready to serve.