To have a heart that feels . . .

Some people feel with their heads, and think with their hearts. I’m glad to say that I am the exact opposite. I feel with my heart and think with my head . . .

A person’s heart is where they live their passions. Our hearts are frail, and can be easily broken, but they are also wonderfully resilient, having, in most cases, a blessedly, very short memory. There is no point in lying to one’s heart. It depends on our honesty for it’s survival.



In the past, when I thought that I was about to have my heart broken, I would so into safety mode. That is where I would retreat into my own safe place, where I could mask my pain, deny it altogether, and pretend that all was right with the world. There are lots of people like that amongst us. All of them, wounded soldiers, walking around wearing happy masks on the surface, while deep inside their world is being torn apart and into pieces. The walking wounded. Nobody ever knew I was a walking wounded. Nobody ever knew my pain. I held it to myself, a painful and heart wrenching secret, all of my own.



Struggling with the pains and aches of our heart is essential for positive change. Nothing will change if we keep it hidden away and try to pretend the pain doesn’t exist. Few things of lasting value happen without conflict of some sort. When I stop and look at the place I am today in my heart, I realize that the only way I ever got from there to here, was by going through the fire and experiencing some of the pain I had to go through in order to get here. When you go through the fire, you emerge at the other end somehow stronger, a better person for what you’ve been through, or at least you should be . . .

I'm glad that I am a softie, and that I have a heart that is open to being broken. I cannot imagine being the other way, with a heart so hard that none of the slings and arrows of life can penetrate it. When you hold up a shield to prevent all the bad stuff from coming in, it occurs to me, that you are also preventing all the good stuff from coming in as well. A life half lived is, after all, only a life half lived, and the best part of living comes from the lessons we learn from our experiences, the pain and the pleasure, the sorrow and the joy, the tears and the laughter . . . if we have never experienced the one, we can never hope to truly experience the other. I'm glad that I have a heart that lives and feels . . .



We are popping up to visit Terri today. I am going to wash her hair and tidy up for her and then we'll take her to the grocery store if she needs to go and generally just spend a bit of time with her. She is still in quite a bit of pain, but as she says, it will take some time to heal completely and I expect this is compounded by her age. I think she's doing fabulously in any case and am looking forward to spending some time with her.

Since I only cook in main house, three nights a week as well as five mornings, with the exception of dinner parties and celebrations, I often have to make things on the nights I do work, that I can stick into the fridge that are easy to heat up or to eat out of hand for the other evenings or the weekends. This is one of my old standbys and it’s really delicious. The Mr really loves these, and so does my Todd.



*Twice Baked Cheddar Souffles*

Makes 6
Printable Recipe

Don’t let the word soufflé scare you. These little babies couldn’t be easier to make. They go together fairly quickly and it is almost impossible to mess them up as long as you follow the instructions laid out in the recipe. They always rise beautifully and are wonderfully cheesy. The best part is that you can make them in advance and just pop them into the oven to re-heat when you want them, where they’ll rise up tender, fragrant, golden brown and perfectly, every single time.

300 ml whole milk

½ small onion, peeled and stuck with 1 bay leaf and 1 whole clove

40g softened butter, plus more for greasing the dishes

40g plain flour

150g strong cheddar cheese

2 TBS freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 TBS grainy Dijon mustard

Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Salt and freshly grated black pepper to taste

3 medium eggs, separated

200ml double cream

Put the milk into a saucepan along with the onion, bay leaf and whole clove. Bring to the boil, then take off the heat and let it sit to infuse for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Butter six small glass ramekins well and set aside. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once it has melted stir in the flour with a whisk. Let it cook whilst stirring for about a minute. (this helps to get rid of any floury taste)

Remove it from the heat and slowly strain the heated and infused milk into it, whisking the whole time. Once it is smooth, return the pan to the heat and cook, stirring until the mixture is thickened and just beginning to boil.

Remove from the heat and stir in ¾ of the grated cheddar, (reserving the rest for later) all of the parmesan cheese and the mustard. Add the grated nutmeg along with a pinch of salt and a few grindings of black pepper, mixing it in well. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time until the mixture is smooth and glossy.

Whip the egg whites with an electric mixer until they are hold stiff peaks. Stir a little bit into the egg mixture to slacken it and then gently fold in the rest, taking care not to over mix. It’s ok if there are still a few white streaks. It’s the air from the egg whites that will cause the soufflé to rise so you want to keep as much air in them as possible.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared ramekins, dividing it amongst them equally. Place the filled ramekins into a large roasting pan, leaving some space between each. Fill the roasting pan with hot water to just come halfway up the sides of the filled ramekins. Place the roasting pan carefully into the pre-heated oven and let the soufflés bake for 15 to 20 minutes until nicely risen, set and golden brown. Remove from the oven. Carefully use the tongs to remove the dishes from the roaster and set them onto a rack to cool. Increase the oven heat to 220*C/425*F.

Butter a baking dish with a 2 inch rim very well. Once cooled, loosen the soufflés by running a knife around the edges and carefully dumping them out of the ramekins onto the palm of your hand. Place them into the baking dish, leaving a few inches between each one. **see note

Season the double cream with a little salt and black pepper to taste and then carefully spoon it over each soufflé, dividing it equally. Sprinkle the remaining cheddar equally over all. Bang them back into the oven and bake them for a further 15 minutes until the cream is bubbling, the soufflés have risen and they are nicely golden browned.

**If you are making them ahead, make them ahead to this point and then just cover with cling film and place in the refrigerator, for up to a day ahead, until you are ready to use them. Proceed then, as stated in the remainder of the recipe.



You know the deal . . . The English Kitchen . . . Rhubarb Bread and Butter Pudding. Lip smackingly delicious.

Treasuring memories . . .

We, each one of us, have our own ways of treasuring the memories of happy times in our lives. Sometimes, it is the simplest of things that help to remind us . . . an old and much loved melody, a fading photograph of a special friend or loved one, a face glimpsed in a crowded room, a well loved childhood toy, a smell that wafts it's way past our nose . . .

Early in the 1900's the writer H. Mortimer Batten told of the beautiful way in which the North American Indian would bring fond recollections to his mind . . .

"When he is superlatively happy, when he is living through a moment which he wishes to be able to recall for all time, he takes a sweet smelling root, or a herb . . . crushes it in his hands, and inhales it's scent, till it is indelibly stamped upon his memory as part of that phase in his life. Thus, in the wallet of an Indian you will find all manner of oddments, a dried flower or a root with a strange aroma, and in moments of sadness or idleness, he is able, with their aid, to recall the happiest incidents of his life."



What a fine example of the wisdom of a race of people that we were once foolish enough to have regarded as savages!

I have the odd petal or two pressed between the pages of my scriptures, and it is true . . . whenever I chance upon them, my mind and memories take me back to days long gone and I am a girl again, with the blush of young innocence on my cheeks . . . the memories of youthful flirtations tickling my heart.

ahh . . . sweet memory . . .



I had some chicken breasts yesterday that I needed to use. I had been going to roast them in the oven, but with my oven not working and something else cooking in the convection oven, I had to think quick and do something else with them. I think you'll agree that I came up with something quite, quite delicious. There were no complaints from this end at any rate!!




*Crispy Chicken Breasts*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This chicken is quick and easy and full of lovely flavours. All that is needed to accompany it is some potatoes and a mixed salad.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup plain flour
4 tsp sweet paprika
2 tsp ground cumin
1 TBS chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
2 medium egg whites, beaten lightly
olive oil for frying
Lemon wedges to serve



Trim any fat off of your chicken breasts and slice each one in half horizontally. Mix the flour, paprika, cumin, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic powder (if using) together on a large plate. Whisk the egg whites together in a shallow pie dish. Dip the chicken breasts into the flour mixture, into the egg whites, and then back into the flour mixture to coat them well. Repeat until all the chicken has been coated.

Heat olive oil to the depth of 1/4 inch in a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the chicken pieces in a single layer, being careful not to crowd the pan. You may need to do this in batches, adding more oil as needed. Cook for three minutes, then flip over and cook for two minutes or so on the second side, until the chicken is golden and crispy and cooked through. Keep warm until all the chicken has been cooked.

Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over top.



To see what I served with this delicious chicken, take a peek at The English Kitchen. This was very, very, very . . . good.

What I Did On My Summer Holidays . . . Part Deux

Today I will continue on our Austrian journey. I hope that you enjoyed the places I took you yesterday! I know that we really did.



On day five we went to Swarovski Crystal World in a place called Wattens. I was really excited about this trip as I just love Swarovski Crystal and couldn't wait to see it being made. However we did not get to see it being made, which was kind of disappointing. We did see the factory though and it was huge. There is talk of them moving it to China, I think, but for now it is in Wattens. Instead of the factory we went to this wonderful exhibition called Swarovski Crystal World. It looked like a huge earth mound, all covered with grass, and at the front a huge head, with crystal eyes and a mouth that was a waterfall . . . kind of spooky.



Inside was room upon room of beautiful art composed of crystals. Most of it was quite modern. All of it was spell binding and quite beautiful. Some was even animated. It was quite interesting to say the least. My favourite piece was this sun dancing with the moon. I quite loved it and took quite a few pictures of it.

Of course at the end of the presentation we ended up in the shop. It was filled with gorgeous pieces of Swarovski crystal, of varying sizes . . . all beautiful and all very pricey. I couldn't afford to buy any of it, although I really wanted to . . . instead I picked up several pencils with Swarovski crystal tips! They were well within my budget!



After we finished there, we headed off in the coach to Innsbruck, the ‘Capital of the Tyrol’. Innsbruck came into prominence in the 15th century, when the Emperor Maximilian based his court here. Many fine buildings are a testimony to the city’s regal past, including the famous Golden Roof and the Hofburg Palace, whilst Maria Theresien Strasse is also a must.



We really enjoyed our visit to Innsbruck, walking the cobbled streets and taking in the wonderful sites. There were several people there painted up as if they were statues. They looked like real statues and it was quite un-nerving when they moved, and also quite amazing!



We feasted on a delicious lunch of Bratwurst and sauerkraut, and Todd bought a new feather for his hat. I found a shop that sold gorgeous dolls and Hummel figurines. I would have so loved to buy one, or two or three, but I didn't. I do love Hummels and dolls, but they were very expensive!



Day six of our trip took us to Salzburg and the Sound of Music sights! This was what I had been waiting for the whole holiday! The ‘Sound of Music’ city of Salzburg was the home of the Von Trapp family, around whom the film was based, and was also the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.



We had a very informed Guide to take us to all the places in Salzburg and explain to us some of the history of this beautiful city and of course of some of the Sound of Music places. What a beautiful Alpine city it is, filled with lovely squares, medieval lanes and gothic churches.



We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We saw the house that Mozart had been born in and also the church graveyard from the scene of the Von Trapp's escape in the film, the abby where Maria had been a teacher, the home which was used to represent the Captain's house, and the Gazebo from that famous "I am 16" scene from the film.



Salzburg is a city who's streets sing with music. It is all around you, and every where you look. There was another one of those people made up like a statue in one of the squares as well, playing the violin . . . standing very still and them treating us to an impromptu concert every so often. Quite stunning.



As we walked back to our coach pick up point we passed a church and were invited inside, where we discovered a girl's choir from over in America performing. It was quite beautiful. There had been a whole weekend of choir performances, some of them even from Canada!



That evening back in St Johan, we had made plans to go out to dinner with the "Two Phil's." We set off only to discover that there was a huge beer festival going on in the town's centre. I have never seen so many people in one place in my life. The streets were teaming with life! There were literally thousands, with four live bands playing in different areas. There were vendors selling beer and spirits and barbequed chickens turning on spits, not to mention bratwurst and other delicacies. The amazing thing is that, although most of the crowd appeared to be young people, there was no brawling, nobody being sick and not a policeman in sight!! (how unlike England! lol) What's even more amazing is that when we took our morning walk the next morning before breakfast, there was no sign that this had even taken place. The streets were immaculately clean . . .



Our last day in Austria was a free day for us. We would be heading back to Calais that evening at around 9 PM and so the coach drivers needed to rest for the long overnight drive. Todd and I chose to take a train to a place called Almsee. Almsee is a lake in Upper Austria in the Almtal valley, south of the town of Grünau im Almtal. It is one of the largest lakes in Austria and was breathtakingly beautiful. We enjoyed a boat tour around the lake and a wander through the streets. It was a wonderful way to spend our last day in Austria. All too soon, we were back on the coach and headed back on another overnight trip, to Calais in France and then on to England.



All in all we had both really enjoyed our stay in Austria and have vowed to go back one day. We just loved it. It was beautiful, and clean and the people were very friendly and open. We made some lovely friends and we had a very restful and enjoyable time. We would do it again in a heartbeat! The coach drivers were just amazing. Ours even put together two discs for us, one a slide show of all that we had seen, put to the music from the Sound of Music film and another still shots. That was ever so thoughtful and a gesture we really appreciated. We were able to build more happy memories together and I know this holiday is an experience we will both treasure for many years to come . . . I just love building memories with my Todd.

I got my weekly veggie box yesterday and inside was a beautiful bunch of beets, complete with leaves. I immediately made plans to cook the greens for our supper last night. I just love beet greens! If you have never tried them before, you really must! You are missing out on something very special indeed if you don't! (The pictures aren't great, but don't let that put you off from trying this very delicious, once a year treat!)



*Sauteed Beet Greens*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

I just love beets, or beetroot as they call it over here. My mom always cooked the greens from off the tops of the beets as well. This was always a real treat. She simply boiled them and then drained them well, adding some butter and vinegar at the end along with salt and pepper. I just loved them! This is my kicked up version. This is the way you cook collard and turnip greens, so, I thought, why not Beet Greens. It was a most delicious experiment, and one that I will be repeating! Just make sure you wash the greens really well, in several changes of water. They can be quite sandy and gritty and we don't want to be eating that do we?

1 pound of beet greens, trimmed and well washed, leaves cut into bite sized pieces
(You can also use part of the stalks as long as they are not too large and woody. Just cut them into 1 inch segments)
1 ounce smoked bacon, chopped
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
3/4 cup water
1 TBS brown sugar
1 TBS apple cider vinegar
1 dash of Tabasco sauce, or to taste
Salt and black pepper



Heat a large skiller over medium high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring until the bacon is crispy and the fat has been rendered. Add the onions, and any stems if using, and cook over medium heat until softened and slightly browned. Add the water to the pan. Stir in the sugar and Tabasco sauce. Bring to the boil. Toss in the beet greens, making sure they are well coated with the mixture. Cover and simmer until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.



Why not visit The English Kitchen to see the lovely potato salad we had along with them!

PS - If I can figure out how to do it, I will upload the slide show to somewhere that you can all go and see if you are so inclined. It shows a lot more than I have been able to show you on here and is very interesting! I'll let you know if I am successful at doing so!

What I did on my Summer Holidays . . . Part 1

As you all know (how could you not!) we went to Austria during the first part of my recent summer holiday. We had not been going to go anywhere this year really, but a few weeks before my holidays were due we decided to say, "What the heck!" and booked a coach holiday to Austria with Leger Coaches. We chose the "Sound of Music" tour, since both of us had always wanted to go to Austria, and both of us also loved that film, "The Sound of Music." I was so excited and could hardly wait to see all the sights that were in the movie.



It took us about 20 hours to reach our destination, and involved many, many hours on the coach as well as a ferry ride across the English Channel. We drove through France, Holland, Belgium, and Germany to get to Austria and were on the coach over-night. Todd and I did not sleep and were very tired by the time we arrived at our hotel, but adrenaline and excitment kept us going until early evening of our second day out and after a lazy afternoon of exploring the town we were staying in called, St Johan in Tirol, and a remarkably horrible dinner (spag bol that had no bol, and a rubbery vanilla pudding with a fruity flavoured thin watery sauce) we headed to bed and slept like babies until the next morning.



A lot of people complained about the dinner and so our coach drivers started spinning some wheels and from then on they got somewhat better in that they added a salad and some vegetables and also a vegetarian choice to the menu, so that you had a choice of several options each day. Sad to say, most nights the choices were not to our taste and so we ate out 3 of the 5 nights we were there, expensive, but true. At least we got to enjoy the food of Austria! I quite enjoyed the breakfasts though . . . fresh brotchen, sliced cheese and meat, jams, meusli, yoghurt, etc. and the tastiest little plums. I had them every morning, they were so good.



The first day we got to visit several places. First we visited the mountain village of Alpbach, which has been voted “Austria’s most beautiful village” as well as “Europe’s most beautiful flower village”. Picturesquely situated on a sunny plateau 1000 metres above sea level, Alpbach made a picture postcard with geraniums and other flowers adorning the window boxes of the chocolate box style houses. It was just lovely, with spectacular views of the mountain scenery.



From there we went down to the Inn Valley to the smallest town in Austria, Rattenberg, famous for its glass blowing industry and quaint souvenir shops. We got to tour a glass blowing demonstration and wandered about the street, visiting the shops and taking in the beauty of our surroundings. There was a lovely river running along side of the town, called the Inn River and the water was crystal clear. Apparently the water in Austria is the best in the world, having been filtered down through countless layers of rock and mountain.



Our cheeky coach drivers then threw in an additional little trip to Lake Achensee, a beautiful lake which lies amidst some beautiful mountains, surrounded by conifer forests. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful Austrian Lakes and we all enjoyed our visit there, complete with some tasty apple strudel!



Each evening we were free to do as we wanted and after dinner we went for long walks through the town we were staying in. There were two rivers running through the town and it was really very pretty and clean. We did love it very much. There was a restaurant in the town that had live music every night. It was a one man band, but he was fantastic. He kind of reminded me of Elvis. H sang a lot of old rock and roll and ballads and was very, very good.



We ended up there most nights with our two friends we had made on the trip, which we called the two Phil's, Philomena and Philip from Blackpool. They are lovely people and we really enjoyed their company. I think we have made some friends there for life and hopefully this autumn we will be travelling up to Blackpool one weekend to see the Illumnations.



The next day we went to the Krimml Falls and Kitzbühel. I have to say that some of the scenery we drove through to get there was absolutely stunning to say the least. Our coach drivers were very informative each day and very entertaining. They literally taught us everything about Austria that we ever wanted to or could know and they did it in a very entertaining and fun way. We really enjoyed them.



Where the Krimml River thunders down over 1000 feet in three mighty stages, at the foot of the Gerlos Pass, are the spectacular Krimml Waterfalls, which give views many consider to be unsurpassed throughout Europe. It was a healthy walk and quite beautiful to see. The air was full of mist from the spray of the falls and we sure got in our exercise travelling down the trail to see them and back.



From there, we moved along the Salzach Valley and over the Thurn Pass to the internationally renowned resort of the rich and famous, Kitzbühel, where we had some time to explore this beautiful walled town. We had our lunch there and then explored it to our hearts content. Beautiful buildings and flowers surrounded us at every turn.




One of the things I loved most about Austria was the gorgeous Baroque Churches. Filled to the hilt with stunning gilt and gold statuary, the ceilings painted with wonderfully coloured murals etc., I found them quite fascinating and breathtakingly beautiful. I think they were one of my most favourite parts of the trip.



Well, I think I've bored you enough for one day, so I will leave the rest to tell you tommorrow!

I had a bit of trouble with my oven yesterday. It quit working! It's only six months old. An engineer is coming out to fix it on Monday next. Far too long to wait for my liking! We were in need of a new microwave anyways, so yesterday afternoon we went to the Curry's store and bought ourselves a combi microwave/convection/grill oven. I did bake a cake in it, and was so impressed I think I will bake all my cakes in it from now on! In any case after all that hullabaloo I was too tired to make much for our supper and so Todd had leftover curry and rice and I threw together this pasta dish for myself. Easy peasy, lemon squeasy . . .



*Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

This is so quick and easy and light. The flavours are intense and gorgeous. It's one of my favourite pasta dishes. The recipe can also be very easily cut down to serve 2 or 3, or even 1 if need be. Todd is a pasta hater and so I most often just make this for myself.

4 cups ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, use a good quality if possible
1 TBS good quality Balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp crushed red chilis
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder, optional
freshly ground black pepper
a small handfull of basil leaves
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound of cooked pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water for the sauce



Stir together the tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chilis, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Allow to sit for at least 20 minutes at room temperature, stirring occasionally.

While the tomatoes are marinating, cook your pasta, according to your package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, roll your basil up tightly and cut it into slivers with a sharp knife. (This is called chiffonade) Set aside.

Once the pasta is cooked, stir 1/2 cup of the hot pasta water into the tomatoes, then drain the pasta well and stir it into the tomatoes as well. Stir in the basil and the cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning as required. Serve immediately.




If you'd like to read about my oven adventure yesterday afternoon, and see what I baked in my new combi/oven, hop on over to The English Kitchen! Mmmm . . . Rasberry Bakewell Cake!

People are like books . . .

I just love books, and I love cookbooks most of all! (No surprise there!) Whenever I go into a charity shop, the first place I head to, is the shelf full of second hand books, and there is nothing I like to do better than to peruse the shelves of a second-hand bookshop.

The other day I discovered a new shop that I hadn't seen before and it was while I was enjoying going through the books on it's shelves that the thought came to me . . .

Books are just like people.



There are those with attention grabbing covers, which often disappoint upon closer acquaintance . . . and then there are the classics, which no longer surprise, but are always good to meet again . . .

There are those which look very modest, and tend to get lost and tucked behind the others, but when perused can reveal themselves to be real gems in disguise . . .



Then again, there are your old favourites, ones you turn to over and over again . . . comforting, pleasing and oh so very welcoming.

See what I mean???? Books are just like people.



These pictures are some more that I took in that lovely garden made up of old cars and such over in Boulogne. Aren't they sweet? Just goes to show that you can truly create something beautiful out of something that nobody wants anymore.

I called Terri yesterday and she is doing very well, although to be sure she is still in quite a lot of pain. She is on her own now , her daughter having gone back to Holland and the home help have stopped coming as she is really quite independant and likes to do things on her own. I told her that Todd and I would pop over to see her this weekend. She thanks you for your many prayers and thoughts on her behalf.

Most days I get an e-mail from a site I love to peruse, called Simply Recipes. Everything on there always looks so inviting and delicious. It's quite an attractive site. The other day I came across this delicious looking Chicken Curry and I knew immediately that I just had to try it out. I did so yesterday, with the most delicious results. This isn't a really hot curry, but it's a very tasty curry. In fact I think I have found a new favourite and Todd also really enjoyed it. I will make this again. I have adapted it somewhat to our own tastes. We'll have the leftovers today for our lunch and that will be the true test, for a really good curry only gets better with age. To be honest, I could have eaten the chicken out of hand right after it was browned, and did eat a few pieces . . . it was SOME good!! That is a mighty flavourful combination!



*Basil Chicken in Coconut Sauce*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

If you are not fond of really spicy curries, this one fits the bill. It's really flavourful, without being too over the top. We both really enjoyed this. Adapted from a recipe I found on Simply Recipes. Don't let the long list of ingredients put you off. It's well worth the effort!

1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground tumeric

16 ounces, boneless, skinless, chicken thighs (trimmed of as much fat as possible and cut into 1 inch chunks)

1 large red onion, peeled and chopped
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced (I used fresh garlic and only used 4 cloves. Fresh garlic is a lot milder)
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced (I did not have these, but used a small tin of roasted green chilies instead)
2 TBS flavourless oil
(such as safflower, or grapeseed)
1 (14 oz) tin of coconut milk
2 tsp cornflour
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
3 TBS fresh basil leaves, chiffonade (rolled up and thinly sliced)
1 TBS finely chopped fresh ginger-root



Place the salt, ground coriander, cumin, cloves, cardamom, pepper, chili powder and tumeric in a bowl. Mix together well. Add the chicken pieces and turn them until they are well coated with the spices. Set aside for 30 minutes, or cover and place in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours.

Heat 1 TBS of the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, add the onions and chilies and cook for 3 minutes, until they begin to soften. Add the garlic and cook for one minute longer, until quite fragrant. Remove the cooked vegetables from the pan to a bowl and set aside.

Add the other TBS of the oil to the same pan and heat. Add the chicken pieces, only adding as many as it takes to cover the bottom of the pan with a space between each one. Brown well on each side and then remove to another bowl, once the chicken is cooked through. Repeat until you have browned all the chicken and no pink remains.

Add 3/4 of the tin of coconut milk to the pan. Whisk the cornflour into the remaining coconut milk in the tin, stirring to dissolve. Pour this into the coconut milk in the skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it is thick and bubbly. Whisk in the worcestersauce. Add the chicken, cooked onion mixture, basil and ginger. Cook for several minutes more to heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary, adding more salt and pepper if needed. Delicious served with freshly steamed white rice.



And if you are in the mood for dessert, why not hop over to The English Kitchen and see what's cooking over there!

Tune in tomorrow for my What I Did On My Summer Holiday's post!