Thursday Recipe - Massaman Curry

I made this by mistake. Honest. It started out as Chicken Satay, but by the time I was done with it, it was Massaman Curry. And very tasty. I think curry is the watchagot stew of India, just like minestrone is the watchagot stew of Italy. Feel free to mix this up however you want, the sauce is what makes it massaman curry.

Massaman Curry

Sauce:
3 T. creamy peanut butter
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. lime juice
1 T. brown sugar
2 T. curry powder (use this one if you like)
2 cloves garlic, minced fine
1 t. jalapeno hot sauce, or tabasco sauce

Mix everything, beat with a whisk until smooth.

Curry:
3 chicken breasts, about 2/3 lb., cut into bite-size chunks
1 c. thin sliced zucchini
1/2 c. finely diced sweet bell peppers
1 c. cooked acorn squash

Cook chicken in a large frying pan until no longer pink. Pour sauce over chicken. Stir in zucchini, peppers, and squash. Cook and stir until hot through. Serve over rice.

Feel free to swap out the vegetables or add others such as sliced carrots, cubed potatoes, sliced onions, sliced daikon, or whatever you have on hand that needs used. Any cooked veggies would work in this dish.

Thursday Recipe - Curry Powder, aka Garam Masala

This is easier than I thought it would be and it tastes so much better than the commercial curry powder. I've heard recipes where you are supposed to buy all the spices whole and toast them and grind them yourself and it sounds way too complicated for me. For this recipe, some of the spices are whole because that's how they come, but I don't worry about toasting them. I grind them up in a mini food processor then stir in the powdered spices. It still tastes great.

The best part is that you can change the proportions and spices to suit your personal taste. This is my new favorite spice mix. Use it just like you would curry powder.

Garam Masala/Curry Powder

1 T cumin, ground

2 t. cardamom, ground or whole

1 T. black pepper, ground

1 t. fennel seeds

1 t. mustard powder

1/2 t. cloves, whole

1 t. chili powder

2 T. turmeric

Dash allspice

1 t. paprika

1/4 t. nutmeg, ground

1/2 t. cinnamon, ground

1 t. garlic powder

2 t. ginger, ground

Grind fennel seeds and cloves. Add spices. Mix well. Store in an airtight container.

Giveaway Time!

And going on vacation time. At least from the blog. Trying to keep up with this and my classes is killing me this semester. I'll post when I can, but don't count on a schedule for a few months. If you have recipe requests, please send me a message or leave a comment and I'll see what I can do for you. If you want to guest post, let me know.

That said, here's the giveaway I promised last month. Just in time for Christmas! I'm giving away a paperback of your choice from my pile plus the ebook of your choice. I'll even sign the paperback and personalize it for whoever you want. For FREE!

Here's the list of titles to choose from:
Paperbacks
Any from the Fall of the Altairan Empire series (books 1-11)
Dark Dancer
Soul Windows
Brain Candy
Wandering Weeds: Tales of Rabid Vegetation (anthology collection where plants are the bad guys)
Wretched Moments (really disturbing yet silly anthology)
Leather, Denim, and Silver: Legends of the Monster Hunter (monster hunter anthology)
How the West was Wicked (weird western horror anthology)
Rotting Tales (zombie anthology, 1/2 silly 1/2 terrifying)

Ebooks
Any from the Fall of the Altairan Empire series (books 1-11)
Dark Dancer
Soul Windows
Brain Candy
Wandering Weeds: Tales of Rabid Vegetation (anthology collection where plants are the bad guys)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday Recipe - Almond Vanilla Bread Pudding (Milk-free)

This is a variation on my bread pudding recipe. It turned out really really tasty. Even my picky child devoured it.

Almond Vanilla Bread Pudding (Dairy-free!)

1 t. cinnamon
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 loaf of store-bakery French bread that was forgotten and dried out until it flaked crunchy bits when you touch it
3 eggs
1/4 c. brown sugar

3 T. softened butter

3 c. vanilla almond milk

Mix together the cinnamon and sugar, set aside. Cut the French bread into cubes about 3/4-1 inch on a side. Spray a large pie pan or 9x13 cake pan. Spread the bread cubes into the pan. Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs until mixed up, like for scrambled eggs. Add the brown sugar and butter. Mix until smooth. Stir in the almond milk. Beat smooth.

Carefully pour the milk-egg mixture over the bread cubes.

Bake at 350° for 45-60 minutes, until the custard is set but not dry. It will be gooey and wet in the bottom. Let the bread pudding cool for 30 minutes to help it set up more and the bread to absorb more of the milk. Refrigerate it overnight for the best results.

You can serve it cold, but it's best warmed up in the microwave. It comes out creamy, more like a pudding or custard than bread.

Looking for Stories?

I've signed up on a new site - QuarterReads

Lots of short, fun stories on the site. You can sample them first, then if you're interested, you can buy the rest of the story for just a few pennies. Authors get paid based on the number of reads their stories get. Right now, you can get 40 reads (or stories) for $10.

It's worth a look, which is free to try. So go and see what fun things you can find. I'll be posting more of my short shorts there as I get them written.