Thai Red Curry Chicken with Lime Scented Coconut Rice

I really do need to think about better photos - this doesn't look as appetizing as it could.

I love when meals come together.  You know, those last minute ones, where you've been out of the co untry for five weeks and you get home and there is nothing fresh in the house - you might be lucky and have some frozen chicken and some rice, and waaaaay in the back of the pantry. . . . what's this?  A jar of Trader Joe's Red Curry Sauces?  Hmph.  Now seems like a good time to check that out.  I call the mister to see if he can grab it seems that  me a lime and a can of coconut milk because I am struck by inspiration.

Now, I have a confession to make here.  Rice and I?  Not the best of buddies.  I used to make a lot of what I called Spanish rice when I lived in Australia (tomatoes, chorizo, green onions, scrambled egg), but a lot of the time, regular old rice turns out too goopy (let's be honest, my Spanish rice was almost always too goopy - more risotto than anything else) or too dry.

My five weeks in Mexico have given me a new confidence and interest in rice, so I figured I'd go for it.  Now, I can't take all the credit here - seems I'm not the only one that has had great luck with the TJ's red curry, (and what's this?  it's not horrible for you?!  hot damn!!) so I highly recommend you grab a bottle and keep it on hand.  Plus, this only took me as long as it took the rice to cook - about 20 minutes or so.

Thai Red Curry Chicken with Lime Scented Coconut Rice
2 chicken breasts (the ones I had were nice and thin and not gargantuan monstrosities)
salt and pepper
garlic powder
olive oil
1/2 of a large white onion - 1/4 cup finely diced, the rest roughly chopped
2 cups of frozen broccoli (or fresh if you have it!)
TJ's red curry sauce
1 cup of rice
light coconut milk - 1 to 1 1/2 cups
water - 1 cup
lime zest - 1 tbsp or so

Nuke your frozen broccoli, or cook it til just tender if you're using fresh and set aside.
Season both sides of the chicken breast with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Put 1-2 tbsp of olive oil in a pan and heat over medium high and cook about 4-5 minutes on each side til lovely and golden brown and cooked through.  If it was a teeny tiny bit pink in the middle, that would be okay - just set it aside.
While the chicken is searing, get the rice going - In a pot, add 1 tbsp olive oil to heat over medium high and then add the finely diced onions and let them start to get translucent; you don't want them to brown.  Once ready, add the cup of rice and sort of dry fry it with the onions for a few minutes.  You can let it go until it's translucent as well, but I had people in the kitchen that I hadn't seen in a while, so I really didn't pay much attention to how far I let it go.
Add the cup of coconut milk and the cup of water.  Allow to boil, turn down to simmer, cover and allow to cook until done.  Check on the rice to see if it needs more liquid - if so, you can add more milk or water; I added another 1/2 cup of milk.
In the same pan that you cooked the chicken in, add the roughly chopped onions and a little more oil if necessary.  Sautee until just starting to get soft, then add the jar of curry sauce and broccoli.  Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces, add to the sauce, and allow to simmer over low.
If you're lucky, your chicken mixture and rice will be ready around the same time.  Just before serving the rice, stir the lime zest in.

A

Awww, look at the cute little green flecks!

Spoon up some of the rice, and cover with yummy curry and eat it up!  It was enough for three people.

Cocktails from The Spir.it

I don't know if any of you subscribe to Snooth, or their sister publication The Spir.it, but if you like to drink, you should.  I do, but I almost never ever ever have time to actually read them so they pile up in my inbox (I currently have over 1700 emails from various mailing lists that I have not yet filed away or dealt with).  Then, every once in a while, when you've been in Mexico for an eternity, and your boyfriend is still asleep but you are dreadfully awake, you can find the time and space needed to deal with some of those things.  Here I bring you some of the more fun cocktails The Spirit has sent over (I think these cosmo thingies or something similar might be showing up at Halloween. . . maybe a layered shot as well. . . )

Edible Cosmopolitans
1 cup Cranberry juice
1 cup Vodka
1/4 cup Lime juice
1 Tsp Simple syrup
1/4 cup Cointreau
2 1/2 packages of Knox Gelatine 

In a medium saucepan, combine cranberry and lime juice, and simple syrup (add additional syrup to taste). Stir in gelatin. Place over low heat, stirring rapidly, until gelatin fully dissolves. Stir in Cointreau and vodka. Remove from heat. Pour mixture into a parchment-lined pan or individual cups (depending on the desire depth of the completed edible cocktail). Chill overnight. To serve, cut into small cubes. Garnish with coarse sugar or lime zest.

Tip: You can turn just about any single spirit or cocktail recipe into a shot by combining one package of Knox gelatine (7 grams) to every 8 oz of liquid spirit or mixture.

Green Tea Infused Vodka
Combine 1 teaspoon organic green tea leaves or 1 tea bag of organic green tea with 1 cup organic vodka and let steep for two hours. Strain or remove the tea bag; the vodka will keep in an airtight container in a cool place or the fridge for up to 6 months.

Pear Tea Martini
2 oz Green tea-infused organic vodka
2 oz Pear cider
1 slice Pear, unpeeled
Combine the infused vodka and cider in an ice-cube filled cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously, then strain the mixture into a chilled martini glass. Gently drop in the pear slice.

Earl Grey Infused Rum
Combine 1 tea bag Earl Grey tea and 8 oz of rum and let steep for 1 hour. Remove the tea bag, then pour the mixture into an airtight container. The infused rum can be stored in a cool place or refrigerated for up to 6 months.

Earl Grey Boxcar
1 1/2 oz Earl Grey infused Rum
1/2 oz Punt e Mes Italian vermouth
1/2 oz fresh organic pineapple juice
1/2 oz freshly squeezed organic lemon juice
1/2 oz freshly squeezed organic lime juice
1/4 oz apricot brandy
Dash of Angostura bitters
1 thin slice of organic lemon
Pour the infused rum, vermouth, fruit juices, brandy, and bitters into an ice cube-filled cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously, then strain the mixture into a martini glass and garnish with the lemon slice.

Green Tea Simple Syrup

1/2 cup Jasmine green tea

1/2 cup Organic sugar 

Brew the Jasmine green tea. In a small saucepan, combine the tea with the sugar, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer until sugar is fully dissolved. Let cool to room temperature, then store in an airtight container.

I know some folks that'll probably be getting this for Christmas this year. . . 

Coffee Liqueur (aka homemade Kahlua)
4 cups Water
4 cups Sugar
1/2 cup Instant coffee
1 quart vodka
1 vanilla bean, sliced in half.
Place water and sugar in a medium saucepan over high heat, boil until dissolved. Stir in instant coffee. Remove from heat. Add vodka and vanilla bean. Pour into individual bottles and leave in a dark place (a closet works nicely) for three weeks.   

Cucumber Gimlet
Adapted from Epicurious
2 large cucumbers
1/2 cup gin
4 teaspoons lime juice
1 tablespoon simple syrup
Lime wedges, for garnish
Peel and cut cucumbers, place in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Mix 1 cup cucumber juice, lime juice, and simple sugar in a shaker filed 3/4 with cracked ice. Shake vigorously, double strain into chilled cocktail glasses.

Basil Gimlet
2 oz gin
4 pieces fresh basil
2/3 oz fresh lime juice
Cracked ice
In a mixing glass, muddle basil in lime juice. Add ice and gin. Shake vigorously, strain into chilled cocktail glasses.

Ginger Gimlet
Adapted from Ming Tsai
3 oz vodka
2 oz fresh lime juice
2 oz ginger syrup
Cracked ice
In a shaker half-filled with ice, combine all ingredients. Shake vigorously, strain into chilled cocktail glasses. To make your own ginger syrup, combine two parts raw sugar and one part water. Grate a piece of fresh ginger into the mix (to taste), and boil for 2 minutes. Lower heat and simmer for 3 minutes, then cool. Reserve the fresh ginger, it can be grated directly into the drink, or sliced as a garnish. 

The Sake’d Saint
4 star fruit slices
2 lemon wheels
Ice cubes
3 oz Junmai or extra dry sake
3 oz St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur
1/2 ounce apricot brandy
1. Add 2 star fruit slices and the lemon wheels to a cocktail shaker. Using a muddler or a wooden tiger, muddle well.
2. Fill the cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the sake, St-Germain, and apricot brandy. Shake extra well.
3. Strain equally into 2 cocktail glasses. Garnish each with a star fruit slice and serve.


The Gong
Ice cubes
5 oz sake
3 oz pomegranate liqueur
Chilled ginger ale
2 orange slices for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the sake and pomegranate liqueur. Shake well (as if you feared being gonged).
2. Fill two highball or comparable glasses with ice cubes. Strain the sake-pomegranate mixture over the ice into the glasses (carefully, again as if you feared gonging).
3. Top off each glass with ginger ale, filling the glass almost to the top. Stir briefly with a thin mallet or long spoon. Garnish each with an orange slice and serve.

The B52

1/2 oz Coffee liqueur
1/2 oz Irish cream
1/2 oz Grand Marnier

In a shot glass, layer the coffee liqueur, Irish cream, and Grand Marnier in that order.

Check out The Spir.it's alcohol by density chart for more layering fun! 

I sense a little Mexican (tequila) twist on sangria for my homecoming from Mexico party could be in order:

1800 Tequila Sunrise Sangria

1 Orange
1 Lime
1 full bottle of Prosecco
1 cup Tequila
2 cups Ginger ale
1/2 pint Raspberries

Slice half the oranges and limes into circles, then slice in half to form half moons. Squeeze the other halves of both fruits into a large pitcher filled with ice. Add the Prosecco, ginger ale, and tequila. Stir, adding whole raspberries and remaining orange and lemon pieces. 

Rosemary Gin Fizz

That's a boring name. I want to come up with something better. Summertime Sipper? Yuk.
Thank goodness for stuff like this. Troubled Fairy? Perhaps. Oh, I recommend ignoring the actual drink recipes over there - I saw one that, no joke, called for 1 oz of cake batter.
Dropkick? I like that. And because it's easy to forget there is alcohol in them, it might be what they do to you.
Rosemary Fizz? Yeah, I guess. Anyone have a better suggestion for me?
Woodland Nymph? Forest Sprite? Now that stupid Troubled Fairy suggestion is blocking me from anything non whimsy related, and the rosemary is making me think earthy, green things which makes me think trees and woods and. . .

In any case, it's eerily similar to the Lavender Lemon Fizz, but a little more masculine. And while the Lavender Lemon Fizz is also good with gin, I don't think I'd like this one as much with vodka instead of gin.

I made this one small, and might need to play with the amounts a bit to get a solid recipe for making in large batches, but this worked for our little 4 oz glasses quite nicely.

juice from one lime
1/2 tbsp rosemary syrup
1 shot gin (I used Tanqueray, but will probably go with Hendrick's next)
soda water
rosemary sprigs for garnish

Fill your rocks glass with ice. Add the juice from one lime, rosemary syrup, gin; top with soda and stir to mix. Garnish with a rosemary sprig.

Citrus Shrimp Salad

I have a bunch of citrus fruit and lettuce in the house, and I saw some gorgeous big ol' shrimp at the store, and it's 80 degrees outside (woo!) so I am in the mood for something light, fresh, and summery. Cue citrus shrimp salad.

One orange - zested and juiced
One lime - zested and juiced
One lemon - zested and juiced
1/2 grapefruit's worth of supremed segments
1/2 of an avocado - cubed or thinly sliced
1-2 garlic cloves - minced or pressed
1 green onion, thinly sliced
lettuce - either butter or romaine
6 shrimp because that's how many I have - cleaned
Vinaigrette:
orange muscat vinegar from TJ's because it's in the cabinet and will go wonderfully, though you can use red wine vinegar, or more citrus juice for the acid in the dressing
olive oil
salt & pepper

Combine the juices and zests with a glug of olive oil (1-2 tablespoons worth). This is enough marinade for many more than just 6 shrimp, so by all means, add more if you're cooking for more than just yourself. If it looks like way too much juice at this point, you can set some aside to use as the acid in your dressing and forgo the vinegar. Add the garlic and a little salt and pepper and stir to mix. Add the shrimp and allow to marinate at room temperature for 10-15 minutes while you prep the rest of the salad and heat a grill or grill pan.
Clean and cut/tear the lettuce into bite sized pieces. Slice the avocado & green onion, supreme the grapefruit, and add to the lettuce.
Make the vinaigrette.
Grill the shrimp over medium - probably about 3 minutes on each side until pink and cooked through. Toss the salad with the vinaigrette, reserving a couple of tablespoons. Top the salad with the shrimp and drizzle with the reserved dressing.