Lemon Couscous Spring Chicken In a Pot- and of goodbyes and new beginnings!

Spring has very loudly announced her presence for a while now, around here. Little shoots poke out from the ground and buds burst open into a riot of colours. Tree branches that had nothing more than barren twigs, are covered with pink petaled flowers almost overnight.

I made a trip to our beautiful farmer's market here in Marin along with friends Patty and Gina recently, and we were greeted by piles and piles of bountiful produce, that has come to life after the cold death of winter.  Bright orange carrots and pretty radishes freshly dug from the brown earth. All around me, visible signs of change, new beginnings, rebirth.

Today is Good Friday, the solemn day we remember the death of Jesus. But it is followed, like Spring follows Winter, with the greatest celebration in the Christian calendar- Easter, this Sunday. As we prepare to celebrate Christ's resurrection after His death,  we are reminded of our own resurrection after our life here on Earth is done. Reminded that our troubles, achievements and everything here in this life is only temporary- a passing mist, compared to our everlasting life to come.

The Jewish festival of Passover falls at the same time, and symbolically the two events are linked- Christians believe that Jesus Christ was sacrificed as the pascal lamb that was traditionally slaughtered for Passover. That Jesus, the son of God was crucified, accepting unbearable suffering so that each and every one on the earth, would be forgiven for our sins, and saved. He paid the price for our souls, taking on the punishment each of us deserve for our sins.

Of course, this does not mean that sin does not have consequences  What it means is that while we are here on Earth, we have the opportunity to confess our sins and avail of God's grace to "fix" ourselves and our lives, and resolve to sin no more. To put our past behind us, and start afresh.

As we celebrate new beginnings, there are going to be some major changes and new beginnings in my own life too. We have been considering this decision for a while, and it had become something we thought of as being inevitable, eventually, but somewhere at the back of our minds. Recently however, God aligned things to make this decision for us: We are moving to India! Soon, much sooner than we had initially planned.

I am very excited but honestly, equally anxious. There is SO much to do and I wish we had more time to do it. I dread my long to-do list, I dread the packing, the planning, the starting from scratch. I just want to hide and pretend that it will all take care of itself! There is furniture that will hopefully get sold, the letting go of so many things that I had accumulated and grown attached to. I hope this hard exercise is going to teach me to finally do something I strive to- to live simpler, to own less, to be less attached to mere things. Less to store and maintain, less to clutter and clean up after, less to carry around. Let's hope this resolution holds!

But in all this confusion, I feel God's hand guide us, helping me strike one more thing off my list, and then another. When I am anxious, I remember to surrender.

I am one of those people who hate change so it took me a while to get used to the very idea of the big move. I thought about everything I would miss. I will deeply miss our beloved farmer's market, the wonderful library, the long walks with my little man to the duck pond close by, the hills outside my window. I will crazily miss being only a short ride away from the cuisines of Argentina to Ethiopia and Vietnam and our regular barbecue picnics by China Camp State Park. Seeing my beloved Golden Gate shrouded by fog. I will dearly miss the friends we made here, and I know my little man will miss his friends here too.

Another half of me though, is growing more and more excited by the day. Excited about meeting up with family and our dear old friends whom we haven't seen in too long a while. One of my favorite cousin's wedding is on the day after we land and I couldn't be more thrilled that it is one wedding we won't have to miss! Looking forward to being steeped in tradition, colour, and chaos! I look forward to experience the wonderful food of my home with fresh eyes and to learn more about Indian cooking while I also try to recreate the food I enjoyed here. I look forward to wandering around the busy, colorful and crowded markets there and drinking cutting chai by the road side. To enjoy sweet golden mangoes and mangosteens from my grandmother's garden.

Lots to look forward to, hopefully even more beautiful than the wonderful years we will be leaving behind.

This means that things might get a little quiet around here, as I force my self away from the laptop and wrap up some stuff, but I will be back soon with new stories! And I won't be able to stay away from  facebook or instagram or twitter and will probably be bombarding you with minutia leading up to the big fat move!

To all our friends here: I hate saying goodbye, so I won't. See you in South India my loves, let me be your tour guide!

To all the old friends we are meeting and the new friends I hope to make: I. Cannot. Wait.

In celebration of Spring, while its still not very warm in most parts of the country, here is a one pot chicken dish adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours, which is very simple to make so is perfect if you are looking for an easy to throw together, yet dramatic Easter dish.

It makes the best of Spring veggies and you can drop in what ever you have on hand. Carrots, cabbage, caramelized shallots and garlic, everything is just sublime cooked along with the chicken. I had to experiment and add my own touch so added some lemons which add a wonderful tangy brightness and served with some couscous that readily soaked up the glorious chicken "gloop" as Dorie calls it.

This dish is a truly wonderful thing, way awesomer than the sum of its parts. Flavorful and bright from the lemon, it is a great way to finally welcome Spring! 

I pretty much followed Dorie's instructions that you can read on her blog here

Basically you take the biggest pot you have and heat some oil and sautee garlic,  and some shallots or onions and whatever vegetables you like- I just used some carrots
Then heat oil in a skillet and brown a whole chicken that has been patted down ( Remove the giblets and if you like, the skin as well- I did) and seasoned liberally with salt and pepper. No need to cut up the chicken, or you can use some chicken thighs instead of a whole chicken.
Place the chicken breast side down ( this I think is very important to avoid drying out the breast)  on to the veggies
Place wedges of cabbage and lemon as much as you can fit into your pot around the chicken.
Stir together a half a cup of wine, half a cup of olive oil and a cup of chicken broth ( or water mixed with bullion) and whatever herbs you like- I just used some dried oregano and thyme because I didn't have any fresh herbs,  and pour this over the chicken.
Then I just covered my pot with a tight lid, but Dories makes a flour-paste to seal the lid, or suggests using foil to cover the pot tightly.
Bake for 70 mins in an oven that has been preheated to 450 F

As Dorie promises, the chicken bakes up to be fall apart tender and gosh so amazingly flavorful  The juices or "gloop" is definitely the best thing about this dish, and the couscous and cabbage that magically soaks up all this flavour gets finished off first! Seriously don't skip the cabbage even if you are a cabbage hater. It transforms into something truly amazing. And I definitely recommend adding the lemon-made the chicken taste tangy fresh and just perfect for Spring!

Reminder: There are only two more days left to enter the giveaway for a very useful straining saucepan by Gitadini  so don't forget to stop by and leave your entry if you haven't already! 

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Quick Skillet Garlic Green Beans

Sometimes there is perfection in the simplest of things. Like a bunch of french beans, quickly sauteed in light olive oil, with a little caramelized garlic and a sprinkling of chilli flakes for heat. Served over rice, with a soft boiled egg, this is my idea of a perfect meal.

We eat beans a lot. All kinds. This long beans stir fry is a favorite. And then of course there are dried beans ( lentils) of all kinds. Red Beans and Pumpkin Eriserry, Yellow Dal and Green Mung, and another simple ever-favorite, the humble Horsegram (Muthira) What's not to love about legumes? They are inexpensive, easy and quick to cook, nutritious and delicious.

I am sharing this green beans saute with some other legume lovers over at My Legume Love Affair that was started by Susan  and is now being run by Lisa, and if you love legumes as much as we do, you should definitely join in the fun. 

Do you think beans are boring ? Or do you think of magic, and of Jack and the beans stalk? Of something amazing that can come from something so ordinary? 

Whenever I see beans, I think of my little brother. He is not so little now, but when you have a brother who is nine years younger than you, he is your first baby and will always be. My sister and I and we were fiercely protective of him from the second he was born. While my sis and I went through our share of sibling rivalry and quarrels, with my brother things were different. We big sisters were happy to pamper him. He was just the cutest little kid. Light brown eyes framed by long lashes, and the sweetest, widest smile on his chubby face. Most little girls had dolls to play with. My sister and I were lucky enough to have our own live, little doll! Yes, the poor thing had to go through a lot of tea time, dress-up and worse! 

I could not believe it when I went off to college and during that time our happy chatterbox grew into a quiet teen who towered over us at 6 feet tall. Today I cannot believe he is twenty, almost done with his studies and ready to join the work force.

But once, he was five, and a sweet little boy who, like Jack, had a beanstalk. Well, my mother planted it, but it was the five year old, whose job it was to water it and he did so, enthusiastically. One of my most cherished photographs has a disheveled, chubby little toddler, who (in my mind at least) can never grow up, dutifully watering his beans plant. And that's the image that came into my mind, looking at that bag of beans at Costco.

 

I don't shop at Costco ( a popular warehouse store that has stores across the US and some other countries) too often, but every two months or so I make a trip there, armed with a long list. I bring back giant bottles of nuts, bags of rice, cereal, pasta and sugar and other staples and very occasionally some treats like those fantastic chocolate covered berries or giant bottles of nutella that really should be out lawed. I take shopping for groceries very seriously and like to take my time, moving slowly from one aisle to the next, scanning every ingredient list and tasting samples. Grocery shopping is just one of those things I really, really enjoy. I think I just like to be surrounded by food or the promise of the many meals I will get to cook :)

This time I was happy to see a huge bag of tender green beans, and I had only this one thing in mind to do with them- sautee them with garlic, and that's all I did with the entire bag. No complaints.

Quick Skillet Garlic Green Beans

Ingredients:

• French Green Beans or String Beans- 1 1/2 pounds
• Garlic- 5 cloves sliced into wedges
• Chilli flakes- 1-2 tsp ( optional) 
• Extra light Olive Oil or Canola oil- 2 tbsp 
• Salt to taste

Directions:

Cut the end off the green beans and if you like cut them up into shorter pieces ( easier to eat this way)
Heat the oil in a skillet and saute the garlic until crisp and light brown.
Add the chilli flakes and salt and stir for a few seconds
Add the washed and cut beans and stir to cover evenly with the oil.
Cover the skillet with a lid and leave to cook, stirring occasionally.
The beans should still have a bite to them but no longer taste raw.
Serve with rice or as a side to meat or pasta. 

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Beer Braised Cilantro Chicken Dumpling (or anything) Stew

Wait, what? it's Friday already? Gosh this week just flew past!

How are you all doing? Anyone down with the flu? I heard it's especially nasty this year. Stay warm  and well my friends!

We decided to skip getting flu shots this time, after having been sick immediately after getting the shot for the last two years. So I'm being extra careful. I caught my self edging away from people who sniffle! I have even become one of those people who carries around a clip-on bottle of hand sanitizer (!).

In spite of all this, in case we do succumb to those dastardly bugs (very likely because we have a germ magnet of a three year old who loves to share) I have stocked up on my homeo supply and will be making steaming mugs of masala chai, pepper soups and this stew. Guaranteed to make bleak and depressing days better. Why? because it's chicken stew and it has beer in it.

I'm not too much of a beer drinker, and would much rather sip a glass of wine. But every time the hubs brings home a case of beer, I squirrel away a couple of bottles to cook with. Beer tops wine in cooking, I think and adds a lovely hearty, malty flavor to everything. From pouring onto slow cooking meat, baking super easy beer bread and this chicken soup/stew, I love the many ways that beer can be used in the kitchen.

With the Superbowl this week end I am sure many of you will end up with more beer bottles than you could possibly drink. Use them well.

And while we are talking about the Super Bowl, I felt compelled to share some Super Bowl friendly food ideas:

Grilled Chicken Wings Indian Style
Melted Brie and Bruschetta Dip
Better than popcorn-spicy rice crispies and nut mix
Skillet Pizza with no knead 5 minute dough 
Garam Masala Pulled Pork- feed a crowd!
Pork Vindaloo
Tasty Tuna Cutlets or Croquettes
Easy Kerala Style Chicken Fry - one of the first recipes here!
Whole Wheat Pistachio Cardamom cookies
4 Ingredient quick and easy Nutella Brownies

And now back to this stew/ soup. I do love the dimension of flavor that beer adds to it. But it doesn't have to have beer. It's just a basic, really good chicken stew or soup that I make all the time with what ever I have on hand. All kinds of vegetables can be tossed in, including one of those bags of assorted frozen veggies. This stew helps me use up all kinds of left overs like roast chicken, rice, pasta or even lentils. This time I simmered it with a bottle of beer that was hanging out in the fridge, though you can easily skip the beer and use chicken stock instead. Sometimes I make it with egg noodles, sometimes I plop in bits of dough that absorb the delicious broth and cook into hearty, plump little dumplings. We ate them all up so I didn't have any to photograph, maybe next time, in the next incarnation of this stew that I make too often. 

It might interest you to know how different yet awesomely delicious too is the chicken stew that I grew up eating in Kerala- a gloriously spiced coconut milk, chicken, vegetable or meat stew that is one of my all time favorite dishes. My good friend Prerna Singh of Indian Simmer even features a slow cooker variation of it in her brand new cook book :)

Hurry over to her beautiful blog to win a copy of her first cook book and discover how to cook Indian Food easily and deliciously in the slow cooker.

Recipe for Beer Braised Cilantro Chicken Stew
Recipe by: Rose of Magpie's Recipes
Difficulty Level: Easy

Ingredients:

• Chicken breast tenders or thighs 6
• Pearl onions or shallots 4 ( or you can use 1/4 of a regular onion)
• Garlic 6 cloves sliced into wedges
• Celery seed powder 1/4 tsp ( better to use fresh celery about a handful, chopped, I just didn't have any)
• Cumin powder 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder 1/2 tsp
• Pepper 1/2 tsp
• Dried Thyme 1/2 tsp
• Carrots 1 cup sliced into thin rounds
• Scallions 2 chopped ( optional)
• Ginger 1 inch piece smashed
• Flour 1 tbsp
• Beer 1 twelve oz bottle ( optional, can use some more chicken stock instead)
• Chicken stock  2 cups ( can use bullion dissolved in 2 cups water)
• Cilantro a handfuls, chopped to garnish
• Oil (I use canola or light olive oil, sometimes one of those herb or garlic infused olive oils)

Directions

• Heat some oil in a skillet
• Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the chicken breasts and brown the chicken on both sides, don't cook, just brown
• Remove the chicken and keep aside
• In the same skillet, adding a little more oil if required, brown the garlic then the onion, then add the spices and vegetables and stir until lightly browned.
• Add back the browned chicken and stir in the flour. Keep stirring until the flour is slightly turned a light brown and is no longer raw.
• Add the chicken stock and or beer and let simmer.
• If you want to add noodles, pasta or cooked rice, this is the time.
• Check and add salt if required and garnish with chopped cilantro.
• Drizzle some olive oil, if you like ones infused with herbs or garlic, use that, and serve with bread, biscuits, or even over rice.

Note,  If I'm in a hurry this is what I do to save thawing the chicken in the microwave, I use my pressure cooker instead:
Pressure cook the frozen chicken tenders with 1/2 cup chicken stock or beer till thawed and cooked
Heat oil in a skillet and brown the chicken, cut it up with a fork and remove, proceed as above for the rest.

You can also make dumplings and simmer them in the stew until cooked:

Dumplings
1 cup AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
Herbs (optional)
Water or milk

Mix the above ingredients with just enough water or milk to make a dough
Roll into small marble sized balls or scoop with a spoon and drop into the simmering stew.
Cover and let the dumplings cook until a skewer inserted into the dumpling comes out clean and the inside is not gummy ( 10 to 15 minutes, the smaller you roll them, the faster they will cook) 

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Ina Garten's Bechamel sauce and Gnocchi

I had a sudden craving for Gnocchi a few days ago and I remembered making it with my mom a few years ago. Unfortunately it was too late to call and ask her for the recipe so I did a little googling and found a recipe that I tweaked with some shortcuts.

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