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Grilled chicken with spicy coconut sauce
Now that I have been working less and less in our little cafe due to my burgeoning writing business I have extended this blog to include my own experiments in the kitchen as well as what goes on when running your own food business.
My cousin recenlty came out of hospital after a big operation so I thought I would punish her with some of my cooking. As the days are getting cooler there is one dish that just has to be cooked at some time and that is a curry.
My choice is as the title states and it turned out beautifully according to my cousin...or was she just trying to be nice. Naaah, she's family, she doesn't need to be. Anyway, the recipe is below:
Ingredients
2Tb oil
4 chicken maryland or 8 chicken pieces
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Tb finely chopped fresh lemon grass
2 Tb ground coriander
1 Tb ground cumin
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp chilli powder
2x400ml cans coconut cream
1 Tb light soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander
Method
1.Heat oil in large saucepan, add chicken, cook over high heat for about 5 mins or until chicken is browned all over, turning frequently. Remove chicken from pan.
2. Add onion to pan, stir over medium heat for about 3 minuts or until onion is soft. Stir in garlic, lemon grass, ground coriander, cumin, cardamom, cloves and chilli powder, stir over medium heat a further minute,
3. Add chicken to pan, turn chicken to coat with spice mixture. Stir in coconut cream and sauce, bring to boil, reduce heat, cover simmer for about 15 mins or until tender.
4. Remove chicken from sauce, cook chicken under hot grill until crisp and browned all over. Boil sauce uncovered, until reduced by a third, stir in fresh coriander, mix well. Serve sauce over chicken.
Serves 4.
Melting Moments
I haven't forgotten my Biblical Food series but have been inundated with work and haven't had a chance to do some proper research so shall take a little side road and post a recipe we tried the other day from my grandmother's trusty CWA 1960s cookbook.
My older son had a friend came around to play so I asked the kids if they'd like to make a mess. They did, so we did as you can see from the photo.
The melting moments were lucky to last 10 minutes out of the oven, but it was a fun activity for some active kids on a rainy, wet day.
Ingredients
1/2 1lb (250g)
Melting Mess
butter
2 Tb cornflour
2 Tb icing sugar
7 Tb plain flour
Method
1. Cream butter and sugar, add cornflour and mix thoroughly.
2. Add plain flour and mix thoroughly.
3. Press out and cut into shapes.
4. Bake on a greased slide (or use baking paper) in a moderate oven for 15 mins.
Much movement
After weeks of rain and 'overcastness' it was the loveliest sight to see a whole heap of activity happening on our block.
Cement mixers, brick layers and bricks all combined to get started on our new home. I can actually start saying 'Lets go see the house' rather than 'Lets go see the block'.
more movement
Since these photos were taken much more has happened but I will drip feed the information as we get a chance to go out and see how it is progressing.
Our sliding doors and windows for the first floor are up too. It's amazing what is exciting these days!
Winter is here
The temperature has dropped, the wind has picked up, it's constantly overcast and the streets are getting emptier. This translates into slow sales and shorter opening hours for us.
There's not much you can do to tempt people out into dreary weather when they don't have to be there. You can, however, cater for those who are about. The last two winters we sold soup to the masses. Unfortunately, it didn't make us much money. In fact, taking into account the time it took to make the soup we were getting no return at all so we decided not to continue selling it
[ Click here to read more ]
Piles of our bricks
I know it's been quite a while since I've updated this blog but that's because NOTHING HAS BEEN HAPPENING!!! Bloody rain and big weather events with storms that should actually be classed as cyclones.
At least that's what I call the last storm we had that blew our 13 foot, very heavy trampoline over three houses and on to the roof of a neighbour in the next street! The whole town knew about it, to the point that the local policeman drove past Mark on the street and called out over his loudspeaker "Hey, where's your trampoline
[ Click here to read more ]
biblical food
I thought with this and following posts I would go vintage to the extreme as far as food was concerned and check out what the bible has to say about the culinary world.
There are many references to food in the bible, even as to what is good and what is bad for you. There are cultural references to food and some have even gone so far as to make recipes from biblical ingredients
[ Click here to read more ]
Closed Sign
One of the great advantages about owning your own business (yes, there are a few) is that, depending on the type of business you have and whether or not the work is seasonal, you can call the shots as to when you are open and closed.
In our case with The Sandwich Shak, our busiest time is the summer months, especially the school holidays, so we choose to, and obviously need to, keep longer hours. During that time we will often be down at the shop at 7.00am and closing around 4.30pm or until people stopped walking through the door
[ Click here to read more ]
The magic rebate number
The last time I wrote about business equipment was when we bought our new ice cream display cabinet and it was before Treasurer Wayne Swan delivered the Federal Budget.
Since then the rebate on capital equipment was increased to 50% as long as it is bought before 31 December 2009. So with the end of the financial year approaching and then another six months to update needed equipment we have been taking advantage of the government's generosity
[ Click here to read more ]
The 'War Chest Cookery Book' published in 1917
Our local paper revealed an exhibition that starts today (June 4) at Casino library (northern NSW) until June 12 of a collection of Australian cookbooks held by the State Library of NSW.
It's a vibrant and fascinating culinary story tracing food trends and curiosities from the 1860s to the present
[ Click here to read more ]
My son's Spiced Apple Cake with face.
My young son has struck again in the kitchen. He loves cooking with mummy and insisted that we bake a cake.
I discovered this simple recipe in one of my 'not so vintage' recipe books, but to him it would have been considered so. Plus we had all the ingredients, so it was definitely a goer. As you can see my son added his own creative signature to the final result
[ Click here to read more ]
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Comment by Samantha Elley
on What's your purpose?
Food Journo
The Sandwich Shak
Vintage Foodie
Little House among the Canefields
I love that God has a plan and purpose for my life, however, I am now deeply depressed that you think Sydney is heaven!!! LOL!
Go a little further north (geographically) and you'd be much closer
Sam