gwendolyn faith is not a crayon.

for dinner: Baked Swai Filets with Yogurt Topping

[I don’t always like fish, but when I do, I like fish with Indian spiced yogurt sauce.]

on the side: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Pecans and Avocado

[The avocado plays second fiddle to the Brussels sprouts.]

for dessert: White Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cheesecake, which Meredith and I made together on Sunday

[Since I don’t have a picture, I’ll give you 1000 27 words: White chocolate peppermint cheesecake swirled with peppermint bark pieces and topped with white chocolate mousse and crushed peppermint candies. Oh, all inside a chocolate cookie crumb crust.]

I know this much is true: Anything with garam masala is going to be good. Anything with garam masala is going to be good. Anything with garam masala is going to be good.

That’s because Indian food is my favorite food. Excuse me. That’s because Indian food is the best food.

I made Sindhi Chicken Curry for my parents tonight. (You can tell I’m at home because of the pretty white serving dish my mom brought out. Thanks, Mom!) Although I love the tomato gravy, the chicken breasts taste like chicken breasts — which means they taste like sawdust patties*. If I were to make the recipe again, I’d use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, which are infinitely more flavorful, cut the chicken into smaller pieces and let the dish simmer for another 20 or 30 minutes.

{last night for dinner} Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala with quinoa and green peas. And Shannon and Kate.

I thought I’d already found the perfect chicken tikka masala recipe, but then Cupid struck again. Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala is my perfect match. We’d rendezvous every night if the recipe didn’t call for almost a pint of cream.

(Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala and I must be an old married couple, though, because I’m feeling nit-picky about my true love. I’m just not sure why it’s a slow cooker recipe. The dish required about an hour of prep work, including sauteing the chicken. Doesn’t prep work defeat the purpose of a slow cooker? Why not finish the job on the stove top?)

Since chicken tikka masala isn’t exactly health food, I served the dish with quinoa instead of rice. When I make quinoa as a side dish, I always saute two or three minced cloves of garlic in a tablespoon or two of olive oil and add the garlic and oil to the quinoa when it’s done cooking. This time I added some curry powder to the quinoa, as well. You know, for Indian flair.

Facts: Although it looks like a grain, quinoa is actually a seed; beets and spinach are its close relatives; and it’s a complete protein source plus a good source of dietary fiber, phosphorus, magnesium and iron plus gluten-free.

{last night for dessert} Opera scenes by the University of Missouri Show-Me Opera — selections from The Impersario, Die Fledermaus, Esperanza and many more by Mizzou vocal music students. Thanks, Shannon and Kate, for coming with me!

I’m a big fan of crockpot recipes because I’m a grandma college senior who’s staying up late with Kristin & Jillian to sift through focus group transcripts for trends, findings & insights and getting up early to help set up the Strategic Communication Career Fair, which Mojo Ad puts on.

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I’m a big fan of Indian food because when I was little, my parents swung by McDonald’s for Tim and me every time we went to an Indian buffet after church — but as I got older, my parents stopped buying Happy Meals for us to bring to the Indian restaurants, and I learned to cope.

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And that’s why I’m a big fan of Cooking Light’s vegetable and chickpea crockpot curry.

last night for dinner: pulled pork with mango bbq sauce (and brown rice, squash and pickles).

Last week after our internal presentation to management, a dry run for our final presentation to Redbox marketing representatives, my Mojo team came together for a celebratory potluck feast — our first chance at relaxation in days.  I made chana masala, a Smitten Kitchen adaptation of a Madhur Jaffrey recipe, to complement Dipika’s tandoori chicken. 

Yep.  Team Velocity creates strategic marketing plans and eats Indian food.  Could my team be any better?!

Major shout-out to my awesome art director, Matt, who labored over our creative work for 96 hours in five days during crunch time last week.  Ninety-six hours in five days!  He’s phenomenal.

Photo via Smitten Kitchen

eggplant curry with cucumber-yogurt sauce aka an indian-style eggplant parm aka last night’s dinner with campbell.

a note if you’re going to try the recipe: make sure to cook the eggplant thoroughly! i adore the sauce, but my eggplant’s a little too firm. maybe i should’ve pan-fried the eggplant a little longer and/or cut it into thinner slices.

Team Velocity brainstormed for hours last night to come up with the big idea for our Redbox campaign.  We covered Kristen’s wall with a web of Post-Its.  Such a fun start to the weekend!

I then met up with Krista and a few other friends at Alley Bar, where the DJ plays “Bette Davis Eyes” once every night.  Thanks, Alley Bar!

Today Krista and I became converts to eyebrow threading: practically painless, seven-minutes-quick and only $11 at the Columbia mall.  Adios, tweezing.  Buh-bye, waxing.

Krista, Ali and I ate homemade chicken saag for late lunch.  I’m keeping the recipe!  I always keep Madhur Jaffrey’s recipes.  I’m not always a fan of the Indian recipes I find, but I’m always, always a fan of Madhur Jaffrey.

I sliced my fingertip on the blade of food processor as I prepared the saag, but I managed to spare the diced onions from blood and gore.  The counter, floor, sink, stove and wall of our kitchen were not so lucky.

Amber and I played catch-up over Tex-Mex dinner — and she asked me to be a bridesmaid in her October 2011 wedding.  I’m so excited to be a part of her big day! 

Afterward we saw The Social Network.  I fell in love with Andrew Garfield.  Good news!  Andrew Garfield’s playing Spiderman in the rebooted movie series.

Tonight I made chicken curry — such an easy and delicious recipe! — for Alison and Kelly.  I served the curry with Indian lentils, the microwave-in-a-pouch-for-three-minutes kind, and brown rice.  We opened up a bottle of inexpensive Gewurztraminer, which went really, really well with the slice ‘n bake chocolate chip cookies Kels brought over.  (I think Gewurztraminer is my favorite — that’s what I discovered in Traverse City when we sampled all those wines.)

My Dearborn besties and I cook fancy-ish dinners for each other two or three times a week.  One of us makes the main dish, and the others bring a side, dessert or drink.  It’s easier than cooking an entire dinner on our own!  We usually invite our friend Tory, as well, but not when the Bachelorette is on. :)

crystali:

Home-style Chicken Curry

So many people are afraid to make their own curry… I definitely was, until I met John. John grew up in the UK and lived in London for a while, so he was raised eating curry quite often, especially in school. In the UK, curry is extremely popular. People there have curry many times a week! I tried this recipe (which I learned from him) and have never looked back. It is so flavorful, healthy, and easy to make! It is also so cheap!

This is a FANTASTIC curry for beginners. The tomato flavor makes it really mild and yummy. Feel free to add more or less curry seasonings depending on your taste! I like a lot!! This is so delicious it will easily become part of your mid-week dinner regimen! I like to use boneless chicken thighs (which I will repeatedly tell you tastes better than chicken breasts!) and cauliflower. I also threw in some spinach, because I had some in my fridge. Eggplant works really well with this too!! Let me know how yours comes out!!!!

Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
One bay leaf
1/2 cup onions, finely sliced
1 tsp garlic, minced
Salt to taste
1 can coconut milk
1 can crushed tomatoes, (drain out most of the liquid)
One can tomato paste
2 pounds boneless chicken thighs
1 jar Red Curry Paste
2 tbsp Madras Curry Powder (optional)
5-6 tablespoons Organic Curry Powder
2 cups cauliflower, steamed and drained (optional)

Directions
Heat the oil in a pan, add the onions and saute until golden, then add the garlic.

Add the powdered spices and bay leaf and mix quickly. Add the salt, tomatoes and tomato paste and cook on a low heat, stirring slowly.

As the tomatoes melt to form a sauce, add the chicken and continue to cook on a low heat for 5 minutes.

Mix in the red curry paste, coconut milk, and steamed cauliflower. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add on additional curry powder during cooking, to taste (I add a lot). Serve with white rice and naan bread!!

Serves 4