At the end of the last school year, my son’s wonderful third grade teacher gave me a gorgeous and interesting cook book alice’s Cook Book by Alice Hart.  It has very creative recipes with pairings that I wouldn’t think of; which for me makes it even better! 

Last night I perused it to find something to make with the chicken breasts that I had to use.  Not surprisingly I found a wonderful recipe and it is quite easy. 

I was fairly certain but not absolutely that my kids would eat it— well, without any fuss.  I added green beans to give them one vegetable I knew they’d like and thought would go well with the dish.  I opted not to use the hot pepper as my middle son is especially sensitive to hot spices. I added it to my own dish afterwards.  You could also use Siracha. The cilantro I had looked too sad, so I left it out. 

Vietnamese Chicken & Sweet Potato Curry

2 full chicken breasts (or 4-5 thighs), cut into bite-sized pieces

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp galangal

2 tsp brown sugar

pinch of salt

1 clove garlic, minced

1-2 shallots, diced

1 inch piece, fresh ginger, grated

1 lemongrass stalk, chopped or 1 tsp dried

2 tsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp canola or grapeseed oil

2 Tbsp fish sauce

1-2 sweet potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 can unsweetened coconut milk

½ cup water

handful fresh green beans, cut in half/thirds

handful fresh cilantro, chopped

optional: hot pepper flakes to taste

Mix the curry powder, galangal and salt together (‘spice mixture’).  Take approximately half and mix with the brown sugar, reserving the other half for later.  Coat the chicken with the brown sugar/ spice mixture and set aside.  Lightly sauté the shallots and garlic in canola oil, add ginger, lemongrass, pepper flakes and the remaining spice mixture. Add sesame oil, fish sauce, chicken, sweet potatoes, water and coconut milk.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat.  Simmer for 15 minutes then add the green beans.  Simmer another 5-10 minutes until potatoes and chicken are cooked.  Finish with cilantro.  Serve with brown, jasmine or basmati rice.

I was right in that only my eldest ate the sweet potato, but all three really enjoyed it and I will definitely make it again!  It was so delicious and just what I was in the mood for!  Will try with fish or shrimp too!

We recently got our lamb and beef “shares” from our CSA/Shared Harvest.  The other day I mentioned the lamb burger my middle son initially whined about.  Today we had shoulder lamb chops.  My husband had made a marinade last night for them— olive oil, rosemary (from a friend’s garden), garlic, salt and pepper.  Simple, but oh such a wonderful combination of flavors that complement the lamb so well.  He grilled them over whole wood charcoal and served them with couscous and haricot verte (thin green beans). 

My middle son had said earlier that evening, after asking what was for dinner, that he didn’t like lamb because it was chewy, but I reminded him of the burgers and he instead helped my husband grill the meat and was very keen to try it.  My eldest also helped in the preparation of the dinner, plus he’s usually very good with most foods.  But the most surprising thing around dinner tonight was my youngest.  Not only was he wanting the lamb, he wanted my lamb. 

If you notice the kids usually have colored plates (blue, green) and adults have white, but tonight my son wanted the bigger piece of lamb. (Last night it was the plate with the largest portion of green beans.)One that hadn’t yet been cut.  So, I took what was meant to be his plate.  He was just so eager to eat the grilled chop that he didn’t want an already cut-up piece, he wanted the Fred Flinstone portion. Which also meant he had more couscous, which my eldest kept trying to steal.  

It was so funny and also so nice that they all loved everything on their plates with no whining in earshot!