Panang Chicken Curry

So Thai food has to be one of my all time favorite things to cook. I love all the ingredients involved in Thai cooking. . . coconut milk, lemongrass, cilantro, thai basil, garlic, chili paste, fish sauce, etc, etc. Such yummy stuff!

Rod has been out of town but came home last night and so I decided to whip together his favorite -- some Panang Chicken Curry. We usually make this with duck thighs, but we can't really find that up here in here in Cumming, far away from our favorite farmer's market in Decatur.

I'll try to remember what I threw together for this last night:

4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces (or breasts if you prefer)
3 cloves garlic, minced (we LOVE garlic!)
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1/2 can of panang curry paste (can pictured above)
1 can coconut milk
3 tbsp brown sugar (or more or less depending on how sweet you want it)
1 tsp fish sauce (or less or none at all, if you don't like the taste of this)
juice of 1/2 lime
big bunch of fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1 tsp canola oil

Heat oil in medium-sized pan on medium-high heat. Add garlic, ginger and chicken and cook until chicken is browned. Add curry paste, coconut milk, brown sugar and fish sauce. Stir until paste is mixed through. Let simmer for 20 minutes. Turn heat off. Squeeze lime juice in. Serve with rice. (We like Japanese sticky rice cooked in the rice cooker.) Sprinkle cilantro on top. We usually serve this with a big bag of baby spinach sauteed in olive oil with minced fresh garlic. Beware if you don't like spicy -- this has quite the kick to it. If you want to tone it done, try using less curry paste.

'Ghetti & Meatballs

Last night it was just Max and I again for dinner, since Rod is still out of town. After Fin goes down for the night (which is very very early), I usually get our dinner together. We had Pasta with Marinara Sauce and Meatballs. The pasta noodles I used were the Gemelli noodles, which are now one of my favorites because of their texture -- I like a bite to my pasta. Max calls all pasta, "'Ghetti!"

The other day I tried to bribe Max to eat his dinner with cookies. Not even a nibble, therefore, there were no cookies. He did not like that idea and kept insisting on cookies, but I stayed strong. Last night was a different story. . . he ate his entire bowl of pasta! So, we baked chocolate chip cookies together. I just so happened to have dough already made in the fridge. I love this because you can just bake as many as you want (and don't eat the entire batch) and put the rest back in the fridge. That way, you always have HOT cookies from the oven! One of Max's favorite things to do is watch things cook in the oven. So he says, "I see it." This means, "Mom, turn the light on NOW!"

Mini Pumpkin Loaves with Spiced Glaze

It has been a while since I have baked, and with autumn in the air, I'd thought these pumpkin loaves were most appropriate. They are so easy, so as soon as I put Fin down for his morning nap, I went to work. I love using these aluminum mini loaf tins with lids (which can be found in any supermarket) because they package up so cute for a great gift idea. In fact, I am making a trip into the city tomorrow to see my good friend who just had a baby; she loves all things pumpkin, so she will be getting one of these treats!

Here is the super easy recipe. Let me know how you like it!

For Pumpkin Loaves:

2 cups sugar
1 (16 oz) can pumpkin
2 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
2 ½ cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

¾ tsp allspice

½ tsp salt

Combine sugar, pumpkin and eggs until blended. Add oil and beat. Blend in flour, soda, and spices. Pour into 4 greased mini loaf pans. Fill pans ¾ full. Bake in pre-heated 350°F oven for 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted at center of loaf comes out clean. Cool completely before glazing.

For Spiced Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar (plus or minus a few tablespoons)
2 tbsp whole milk

¼ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 pinch ground ginger
1 pinch ground cloves

Combine ingredients -- it should be a thicker paste -- and drizzle over cooled loaves. A squirt bottle works great for this, or you can simple use a spoon. If you have some left over, keep it in an air tight container in the fridge and use for your next batch of pumpkin loaves!

Welcome to my BLOG!

Hi y'all! I hope you enjoy my blog about cooking and my life. Please come back often and try out my recipes and let me know what you think. Also, please share with me your favorites. Cooking is my passion and has been for as long as I can remember. Food brings people together. Good food makes everyone happy. What's a better way to spend time than cooking a meal together and sitting down with your family and/or friends and sharing it along with some good wine and good conversation? Bon appétit!