Canon D5 Mark II

 For some, the calm comes before the storm. For others, it comes after.

Cook Me Curry

I went out to dinner for Thai with my friend, Chris, a few weeks ago. I hadn't ever ordered curry before and I thought I hadn't tried it either, so in favor of a new experience I ordered a green curry. Well, it was one of those moments where I was struck with my complete 'blondness' as I realized I've actually been cooking curry for the past year. Although it's true, I've never had curry at a restaurant, I have made it at home a number of times. Some things in life are just too obvious. ;)

As it happens I was working for my dad's boss' wife last Summer. She was in charge of cooking meals for the concrete crew. Which means she planned out the meals and I cooked them. Haha! Knowing how picky guys can be she had me make some really delicious meals. This recipe was one she had me prepare and it was so easy and delicious! Something different from the same old meals I was used to at my house.
If you want to make an easy meal, something that will please everyone, try making this curry:

Fragrant Chicken Curry

2 T. curry powder

1 t. ground ginger

½ t. cinnamon

¼ t. cayenne pepper

2 T. vegetable oil

1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 rotisserie chicken, skinned and boned
(meat pulled into large chucks – 3 ½ to 4 cups)

1 13.5 oz. can coconut milk

1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 14.5 oz. can chicken broth

To serve: Cooked basmati rice, chopped fresh cilantro and mango chutney

Mix spices in small bowl. Heat oil in a dutch oven or small soup kettle over medium-high heat; add onion and saute until golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic; saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add spices; toast until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add chicken; stir until completely coated with spices. Add coconut milk, tomatoes and broth. Bring to a simmer; cook uncovered until flavors blend and stew is thick, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, sprinkle with cilantro and serve over rice. Pass chutney separately. Serves: 6
 

 

One thing Mrs. E. changed was the rice. I haven't tried making the basmati rice yet but this Indian rice recipe is to die for. In fact, Mrs. E.'s brother-in-law who was from India taught her how to make this rice recipe, so it's authentic Indian cuisine. It goes really well with the curry recipe as the spices in each dish compliment each other.
I must say, I did not use a rotisserie chicken. Instead I boiled a chicken in water (with generic spices: salt, pepper, garlic). It's like killing two birds with one stone as it provides your meat and your broth. I also don't have curry powder on hand so I used the "Thai Kitchen" brand of curry paste. I also haven't tried the cilantro or the mango chutney, but I'd imagine they'd both be nice.

Indian Rice

onion, chopped

cooking oil

2 c. rice, raw

stick of cinnamon

6 whole cloves

6 peppercorns

½ t. tumeric

chopped tomato

green peas

Brown onion. Add spices. Add rice. 1 can of chicken broth; the rest water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat.
(in essence cook brown rice as normal, substituting part of the water for chicken broth, and adding other ingredients when you start to cook rice)

Song for the Summer

Every year has a different feel, a new variation of the same theme. This Summer is going to be a good one... full of adventure, discovery and new lessons to learn. Interesting things to add to the pages of the past. I can just tell.

But this song... this one fits perfectly. I love the mood and rhythm; calm, yet energized. The key element is found right in the first verse:

"'Cause a little bit of summer's what the whole year's all about"

Memorial Day Weekend!

Sometimes, when you're a lucky kid, your boss will give you a three day weekend. Last Saturday through Monday, I received just that, and boy did it feel like heaven.




Of course, the fun always begins as soon as you get home from work on Friday night, so I had breakfast for dinner and rented a chick flick. Oh.... and did I mention the large bowl full of ice cream with chocolate, caramel and a cherry on top?! ;)





Then on Saturday I drove to Madison, where my friend Laura was a vendor at a farmer's market there. She's so much fun! We usually see each other at busy events and never really get a chance to visit much, so it was nice to actually get some one-on-one quality time with her. Even if it meant driving around Madison on a wild goose chase with her.



In the afternoon about 85 people made it to the Gitto farm for a "Party just because..."! We enjoyed sports like volleyball, Frisbee and croquet, and of course there was food and music to be had as well.

 Croquet is a bit slow-paced when you have somewhere around 13 people playing.

My lovely friend Rachel... she's so gentle, encouraging and sweet. Her sweet nature and good example inspires me to be more mature and kind.

 This girl! Sarah... she's so good natured... and has such a fun sense of humor! 

Here are the volleyball junkies. Literally.... they may have stopped playing for a very short time to eat. I think they even played in the rain!

Sorry the pics are blurry... but the food and fellowship were fantastic! It's always a fortunate affair when you have so many great friends in one place.

So here we have Courtney... and her giant ice cream cone. She apparently forgot how you turn the soft-serve machine off. ;) ...it's funny, I almost did the same thing. You pull the lever and forget about everything else as you focus on getting that perfect twirl. =D

A big rain storm that rolled in, too. My friend Malachi captured a sweet time-lapse of the storm and stunning sunset. Sometimes he'll upload his time-lapses to his YouTube channel so be sure to keep an eye out for it.

As always, it was a good time at the Gitto farm. At a late night hour I zipped home with Courtney and stayed at her house for the rest of the weekend. Spending time with the Dunn family is always a pleasure! They all have their own amusing witty remarks and wisecracks. They jovial and fun to be around... but know how to be serious and calm as well. 

On Sunday, I went to Courtney's church. Both messages were good and then we had mango smoothies afterward!!! They were so tasty!

Then after lunch the sun came out, it was warm and the swings in the park were calling my name.... so we ran out the door to enjoy the "curious" weather. My new friend Josh lent me ALL of his camera stuff... we're talking fancy. So I tried one of the less intimidating lenses and cameras out. My subject was very photogenic as usual:





In the evening Court and I decided to go on an adventure... to Cheddar's! The food and atmosphere were surprisingly impressive. I had the most delicious whitefish, rice and salad, and Courtney had a big burger...

Courtney showed me where she taught school this past year. I convinced her we needed to get a picture of her for posterity's sake! ....especially since it's technically her first teaching job!

We spent the evening drinking sun tea, singing silly songs, and just simply relaxing. Mrs. Dunn and Court were trying to figure out what is important to each of us in life... relaxation was on the top of Court's list!

We found june bugs, Mr. Dunn showed me his garden and flowers! I love that he's like a farmer pretty much, in his own way!

We had a bonfire later on and I introduced them to s'mores with reese's peanutbutter cups instead of milk chocolate. It was the perfect night for sitting around a fire and visiting.

On Monday we went to the Memorial Day parade in Racine... and I forgot my phone!!! But luckily Courtney remembered hers and took lots of pictures... which you can see on her blog. Oh, did I mention all of the phlox growing in all of the ditches? Soooo much purple! It makes my heart happy! We took a walk on a wooded trail with phlox making up a good portion of the undergrowth. It was quite serene and peaceful.

Sammi, Court's cousin, came with us. She's so nice and fun! Christopher took us to this HUGE tree.. it had to be the oldest tree in the woods. The branches were the size of regular tree trunks. It was quite the tree, and rather perfect for climbing.

We brought Zirk along on our hike! He really is the coolest dog ever.

We decided to wade in this river. Water always attracts me. I can't help but feel it on my feet.

This picture of Zirk is soooo funny! He's such a feisty little dog. He wasn't too sure about hanging out in the water.



It was such a nice three days, but alas, I said goodbye and set off for home. The drive back was easier than I expected. No crazy holiday traffic or slow-downs... It was the best holiday weekend!