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Today during errands, we stopped by Goodwill and picked up this excellent enameled cast iron stew pot for $10. It inspired me to cook up an Indian stew for the family. My wife liked it so much she suggested I blog what I did, since it was all spur of the moment, like so much of my cooking is. The ingredients are as follows, in what I remember to be the approximate quantities... 1/2 vidalia onion diced 2 stalks celery chopped 2 medium carrots chopped 1 green chili pepper chopped 1 green bell pepper chopped 1 1/2 large tomato chopped 2 small white potatoes diced 2 cloves garlic minced 2 teaspoons minced ginger 3 or 4 mint leaves 3 or 4 bay leaves 4 or 5 small green leafy nutty spice I picked up at an Indian store, but have NO idea what it is... 1 teaspoon cardamom powder 1 teaspoon tumeric powder 1 teaspoon coriander powder 1 teaspoon cumin seed 2 teaspoon mustard seed 1 teaspoon fish sauce 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 can coconut milk 2 teaspoons chicken bullion 1/2 lb cub...

This afternoon my wife had to work, so dinner was on me. She left me a bag of assorted frozen seafood we bought at Woodman's in Kenosha defrosting in the sink. What to do, what to do... I had a half a vadalia onion left over in the fridge. Image via Wikipedia One yellow bell pepper. One heaping teaspoon of chopped garlic ( from the jar ). One heaping teaspoon of ginger paste. One large tomato. Two heaping teaspoons of lemon grass ( from the jar ). 1/2 Can drained garbanzo ( chickpeas ) beans. 1 15oz can chicken broth . 1 15oz can coconut milk . 2 cans ( use one of the others you emptied ) water. 4 chicken bullion cubes. 1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper . 1 teaspoon ground coriander. 6 green cardomom seeds. 1/2 stick cinnamon. 1 teaspoon yellow curry. 1 teaspoon fish sauce . 2 teaspoons ghee . 2 tablespoons olive oil . Salt to taste. Holy crap, that's allot of ingredients. In large'ish pot, add ghee and oil (oil keeps ghee from burning...it tolerates higher heat). Add cho...

I love Indian food . My wife does too, I think because she knows it's time for me to have a beer, glass of 12 yo scotch or whatever happens to be in our liquor department that night, and get my "creative juices" going. Tonight, I really made something quite tasty. Chicken in coconut milk , and Potlakaya (snake gourd) w/ chick-peas . I saw a recipe for Potlakaya Perugu Pachadi, and it looked pretty good, so I modified it to include chick-peas, and changed some of the ingredients. Chicken in Coconut Milk Image via Wikipedia Couple of skinless breasts 1 TBSP Ghee, or butter, or Olive Oil. Your heart, your choice. Medium onion 1 clove garlic 1 TBSP sugar 1 TBSP vinegar 1 Tsp salt 2 TBSP Garam Masala or your favorite curry 1 can Coconut milk 1 Yam or Sweet Potato 1 bell pepper, your color choosing Chop onion and garlic. Sweat over medium heat in Ghee, or butter, or olive oil . Your choice, your heart. Add sugar, salt, vinegar and curry. Let it bloom for about 1 min...