Tandoori Chicken

Oh...my...God...this dish is so good!! Monkey has been raving about this recipe for quite a while now and I just now got around to making it. What the hell was I waiting for? It was so easy to whip together and the chicken turned out very very tender and scrumptious. I meant to make saag paneer to accompany this but I forgot to pick up spinach so instead we just had some steamed broccoli. I halved the recipe since I wasn't sure we could eat all that chicken but in retrospect I wish I had DOUBLED it instead. This will definitely be on heavy rotation through our weekday dinner menu.

Tandoori Chicken
Courtesy of Cook's Illustrated, comments by Monkey

2 tbs veg oil
6 med garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 tbs grated fresh ginger
1 tbs garam masala
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1 cup plain yogurt
4 tbs juice from 2 limes, plus 1 lime cut into wedges
2 tsp table salt
3 pounds bone in chicken parts (i stick to dark meats)

1. heat oil in small skillet over medium heat until shimmering. add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 min. add garam masala, cumin and chili powder, continue to cook until fragrant, 30-60 sec longer. transfer half of garlic spice mixture to medium bowl, stir in yogurt and 2 tbs lime juice and set aside.

2. in large bowl, combine remaining garlic spice mix, remaining 2 tbs lime juice, and salt. using sharp knife, lightly score skinned side of each piece of chicken, making 2 or 3 shallow cuts about 1 inch apart and about 1/8 inch deep (i kind of cut willy nilly). transfer to bowl. using hands, gently massage salt-spice mixture into chicken until all pieces are evenly coated, let stand at room temp 30 min.

3. adjust oven rack to about 6 inches from heating element and heat oven 325 degrees. pour yogurt mix over chicken and toss until evenly coated with thick layer. arrange chicken pieces, scored side down, on wire rack set in foil lined rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan. discard excess yogurt mix. bake chicken 15-25 minutes (depending on size. for drumsticks, i cook for 15 min)

4. after removing chicken from oven, turn oven to broil and heat 10 min. once broiler is heated, flip chicken pieces over and broil until chicken is lightly charred in spots, 8-15 min.


Sadly, it looks like I've tweaked something in my neck/back area. It started to feel off Sunday night so I'm not sure if it's from my intense yoga class on Sunday, from awkwardly reclining on the sofa, or from sleeping strangely. One thing's for sure, tonight's yoga class exacerbated the injury ten fold. It now hurts anytime I move an inch. Ugh. Looks like I'll have to hold on the yoga and pray it gets better before Saturday's class. Back to the treadmill tomorrow.

Turkey Katsudon

Too tired to write much on this post but here's dinner from last night. I made turkey katsudon with sauteed cabbage. I would have done the usual chicken or pork version but I was inspired by the turkey cutlets I saw at TJ. Not as tender but still pretty tasty. Plus, how can I turn down anything with tonkatsu sauce on it??

Unfortunately I missed yoga class since I was so busy at work. Even more unfortunate was the fact that I didn't finish my work so I had to work tonight while I watched Dancing With the Stars. But now I'm done and in an effort to wake up earlier, I will retire to bed now.

Business Time

Today, I've decided to dig out my art stuff and get back to nurturing my creative side. Unfortunately, once everything was laid out, the whole endeavor seemed very daunting. Where to begin?! Should I work with my pastels or charcoals, or have another go at acrylic painting? Should I take inspiration from my garden or from old photographs? Maybe I should draw a series of cat pictures...After thinking quite hard about it, I quickly wore myself out and settled on the couch. Don't worry though (because you surely must be fretting), I am definitely going to draw tomorrow. There's a great picture from the wedding that might look nice in charcoal in our bedroom. I'm a bit nervous though since I haven't drawn in so long but hopefully I won't be too much out of practice.

This morning I woke up at 8 which is pretty early for my usual Saturday routine. I did some early morning gardening and cleaning, which of course tired me out and caused a sheepish return to bed for a cat nap before my 11:30 yoga class. The class was challenging but I'm getting my strength back. My legs were rather stiff from running 5 miles yesterday (in punishment for eating my face off on Thursday - first at CPK for lunch and then at Cheesecake Factory for dinner) but I pushed through it. Of course, the addition of two new students that were pretty good fueled my competitive side and spurred me on as well.

In the afternoon, our wedding album came in the mail, hooray! We ended up getting a coffeebook style album which is less formal then those leather bound types. It looks great though and I can't wait to get the digital negatives so we can finally print some out and frame them. Also, I've compiled a very enticing menu for this week. Expect many food pictures!

On a final note, Ryan and I cannot stop singing this song.

You Know You're A Nerd...

...when you're ten times more likely to receive a message by email or IM than by cellphone. Keep that in mind folks: if you try to reach me via the internet, there's a good chance I'll reply fairly quickly (if emailed) or instantly (if IM'd) since I'm always on the computer. On the other hand, if you try to reach me by cellphone...well, that's a bit trickier. If you call me or text me, there's a good chance that my phone is out of batteries. If not, there's a good chance I left my phone in a random pile of stuff and have forgotten it for days. Sometimes, both cases apply. I think my preference for internet communication can be attributed to my love of multi-tasking and on a deeper level, my attention span or lack there of (Ryan frequently compares my attention span to that of a carrot). I felt the need to make this observation because I just now saw Michigan's text message from Saturday inviting us to go out. Yes my phone was out of batteries, and yes it was under a pile of mail.

On the yoga front, I'm excited that Four Seasons is offering more challenging classes but a bit frustrated that they are all clumped together. My yoga schedule now looks like Sat and Sun at 11:30am and Mon, Tues and Wed at 5:30pm. That only leaves Thurs and Friday open for a run. Ah well. You would think that I'd get to work earlier since I need to leave by 5 in order to bike over to class but sadly I've still been rolling in at 9. Tomorrow, I'm resolved to get into work by 8:30. Baby steps right?

Tonight, I finally made the creamy tomato soup recipe that Busy Mama recommended. Quite tasty! I might have had a couple tart tomatoes in there but it was still delicious and creamy indeed. Ryan made grilled cheese sandwiches out of Havarti and I tossed a simple salad together. A very nice bistro dinner. Paired with red wine and ending with some Dreyer's Slow Churned French Silk ice cream, who could ask for more?

Tilapia with Thai Coconut-Curry Sauce

In an effort to eat less meat, I decided to make the following fish dish that I originally found in a Cooking Light issue years ago. It's simple, quick, and oh so tasty. I love curry sauces. We even topped the dish with a lime harvested from our lime tree!

Quick catch up on the weekend: on Friday, Ryan and I went out to Jose's, a Mexican restaurant/bar in downtown La Jolla, for Marc's birthday. The food wasn't as good as La Puerta but I still managed to eat an entire burrito. The chips and salsa and margaritas were delicious though and we had a great time. On Sat, we went to Friends of Cats, a non-profit rescue out in El Cajon, to volunteer. The facility housed about 400 cats, some of them adoptable and some of them permanent, either willed to the organization or having health related issues like feline AIDS. We walked from room to room, playing with the cats and keeping them company. It was really sweet because as soon as you entered the room, ten cats would run up to you purring and meowing for attention. It was a rewarding experience; I only wish the place was closer so I could go every weekend. That night we picked up Indian takeout for everyone from my favorite, Ashoka the Great, and brought it over to mom and dad's. I tried not to overeat but there was no stopping once I took my first bite. YUM-O. On Sunday I went to yoga, gardened, and cleaned up the house.

Tilapia with Thai Coconut-Curry Sauce
Courtesy of Cooking Light

Ingredients
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil, divided
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped green onions
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoons red curry paste
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
Cooking spray
3 cups hot cooked basmati rice
4 lime wedges
Preparation
Preheat broiler.

Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic; cook 1 minute. Add pepper and onions; cook 1 minute. Stir in curry powder, curry paste, and cumin; cook 1 minute. Add soy sauce, sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and coconut milk; bring to a simmer (do not boil). Remove from heat; stir in cilantro.

Brush fish with 1/2 teaspoon oil; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place fish on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Broil 7 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serve fish with sauce, rice, and lime wedges.

Job Done

Whew I did it! Today, I rode my bike to work and got into the office by 8:30am. At lunch, I ran 3 miles at the gym (intervals for the last mile as I was inspired by JV) and then went to a 5:30pm yoga class which actually turned out to be much harder than expected. Having not gone to Michelle's Wed class in a while, I'd forgotten how much strength building she makes you do. Ugh. Anyway, I was drenched in sweat within the first 5 min of class and was absolutely POOPED by the time I pedaled my butt home. Luckily, Ryan had some delicious El Zarape burritos waiting for me upon my return. Gorging ensued.

Per our usual Wed night ritual, we went to Mom's after dinner to watch Lost (in HD) and hang out. I bravely resisted the chip and guacamole spread she laid out but as expected fell prey to the chocolate macaroons and red wine. This week's episode was pretty good with some interesting developments. Poor Sun and Jin are now temporally separated by 30 years haha. Aside from Lost, Mom has quipped my interest in Dancing With The Stars after we watched the first episode last week. It was a train wreck watching some of the contestants flounder (who knew Denise Richards would be so awkward) but at the same time it was oh so entertaining and I do love watching the professionals dance. Plus, Steve-o is hilarious. Hopefully, we'll get to watch it on TiVo this weekend.

Lastly, I thought I'd share this random laugh-out-loud moment of the day. So, I was at work when Mama Huang IM'd me and started chatting in her usual broken English. I asked her if she saw the picture of my fig tree that I posted on the blog and she replied:

"your fig bigger than mine
so garouse
jarouse"

After several moments trying to decipher what she meant, I realized she was trying to spell "jealous" (pronounced Asian style), prompting me to laugh hysterically. Ah Mom, you really need to work on your Engrish.

Bumming Around

Ok, what is going on? I was planning to go to yoga tonight but work was so busy that I totally burned myself out and ended up bailing. Instead, I rushed home (well technically Ryan picked me up) and made fried rice with eggs, pepper, and corn. Now I'm sitting on the couch drinking a coffee ice cream shake that Ryan made mmmm and watching the Daily Show and Colbert Report (we get to watch earlier since our satellite picks up the east coast broadcast).

To make up for my laziness, I'm resolved tomorrow to a) get to work by 8:30 b) ride my bike to work c) run 3 miles at lunch and d) go to yoga at 5:30. Yes, it will be a double header tomorrow on the exercise front which I'm actually looking forward to because I get really antsy and out of sorts when I don't exercise. I'm also looking forward to Lost tomorrow. ABC had the nerve to skip an episode last week so they better make it up with a juicy one this week...

Japanese Squash

Several weeks ago, my mom came to visit and brought many misc food items. One of them was a japanese squash, also known as a japanese pumpkin or kabocha. This squash has been in my fridge for quite some time, mostly because I wasn't too excited to cook it, not knowing what to do with it. Tonight, I finally decided to simmer it in some water, rice wine, soy sauce, sugar until tender. I also fried some salmon and sauteed some peppers with onions and garlic. All in all very filling and satisfying. A truly simple Asian dinner.

This weekend has been pretty busy. On Friday night we went over to our parent's place for take out dinner from Sipz, a vegetarian Thai restaurant. I got orange chicken (which of course wasn't really chicken but fried tofu) and was pleasantly surprised with the tastiness of my meal. On Saturday, I went to yoga which was great but painful and then Ryan and I went to Home Depot to buy some organic gardening soil and to Henry's for groceries. That afternoon I baked brownies (store bought because I was too lazy) to bring to Jaylynn's party that night and tackled the garden, which entailed pruning, pulling weeds, and spreading new soil. The picture below shows some sort of action going on with our fig tree. Are those two protrusions baby figs?? That night, we drove out to Rancho Penasquitos for Jaylynn's party. We hung out for a bit, eating lots of yummy food, chatting with everyone, and even petting her doggie.


Today, I went to yoga again which was equally painful considering how sore I am from yesterday's class. Afterwards, I hit the garden with a vengeance, clearing out debris and spreading soil like the jolly green giant. After grueling hours bent over my precious plants, I finally finish and hobbled back in to cook dinner. Now I'm sitting on the couch, stuffed and warm from vino. In closing, here's a picture of the new table and chairs we got for the breakfast nook area. So cute. Can't wait to paint those kitchen cabinets and eventual swap out that strange pendant lamp that came with the house.

OH JOYOUS DAY

YAAAAAAAAAY, we just got a message from our realtor that we're officially CLOSED on the house!!! It's ours at long last! Whew. I can't even begin to describe the crazy roller coaster ride we've been on to get this place, but all that is forgotten because it's finally ours. Done and done.

To celebrate, Ryan and I are ordering Pizza Hut (I know - didn't I just say I'd eat healthy?). I guess I'm letting this one slide since we did run 3 miles after work and we are celebrating a big event, so whatever. I can be a lardo for another day :).

It's funny that we closed today because I actually had a run in with the seller's wife this morning. Around 8am, I was woken up by a loud knocking at the door so I put on my oversized pink robe and groggily wandered downstairs. When I opened the door, I was confronted by a strange lady demanding to know who I was and why I was in her house. After some confusion, we figured out that the seller had never told his wife about our interim occupancy agreement and she had expected us to move in after close. Anyway, the wife was clearly embarrassed and apologized, explaining that they were getting divorced and things were "messy". I guess they weren't communicating much. Turns out, she had actually come to the house hoping to recover some plants before we moved in. Slightly alarmed, I followed her into the backyard with the horrified image of her digging up our prized fruit trees and taking them away. Thankfully, she soon clarified that there used to be large plant pots but it looks like her husband had given them all away so she left empty handed. She also mentioned that they had a cat but since there was definitely no cat when we originally viewed the house, the logically assumption is that he gave the cat away as well. So sad. Moral of the story - who suffers the most from a messy divorce? The cat, always the cat.

So Cheesy

A couple of months ago, Monkey sent me a mac n cheese recipe that promised to overthrow my reigning go-to mac n cheese. The recipe was called "Perfect Mac n Cheese" and was described in NYTimes as having crack-like addictive properties. Loyally, I bookmarked the recipe with the intent of throwing a dinner party, but with the move and the stress of buying our house, the whole thing got put on the back burner. Recently, Monkey notified me that she had made the mac n cheese and it was indeed every bit as delicious and addictive as advertised. I find my sister to have pretty discerning taste (or at least similar to my own) so I knew I had to try it as soon as possible.

On Saturday, we invited Mom, Kris, Si, Kev, and baby Sophie over for the scrumptious event. To accompany the main attraction, I made a salad with mixed baby greens, red onion, cranberries, walnut and a simple balsamic vinaigrette. I also sauteed some green beans with garlic. For drinks, we had Guinness and some Irish beer we found at Whole foods (in early celebration of St Patty's). For dessert, I made a tasty apple crisp modified from an online recipe, topped with store bought vanilla ice cream.

As for the main course, it was simply wonderful. The consistency was smooth and creamy, the sharp cheddar and pecorino lent plenty of flavor, and the nutmeg was a nice addition. A good bit of butter and cheese went into that dish but nothing out of the ordinary for the number of servings I think. All in all, it was a definite crowd pleaser and we all went back for seconds, confirming that the dish was quite addictive.

Since consuming this most satisfying meal, I've been resolved to exercise and lose the couple pounds I've gained since the honeymoon. Sadly, resolve is not reality. While I did go to yoga on Sat, I missed yoga on Sunday and did not run today. Tomorrow will be a new day...


Perfect Mac n Cheese

6 slices good-quality white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 1/2 cups (about 18 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar
2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated Gruyere or 1 1/4 cups (about 5 ounces) grated pecorino Romano (I used pecorino)
1 pound elbow macaroni

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place bread pieces in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour butter into the bowl with bread, and toss. Set the breadcrumbs aside. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.

2. Slowly pour hot milk into flour-butter mixture while whisking. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.

3. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere or 1 cup pecorino Romano. Set cheese sauce aside.

4. Fill a large saucepan with water. Bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 fewer minutes than manufacturer's directions, until outside of pasta is cooked and inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar and 1/2 cup Gruyere or 1/4 cup pecorino Romano; scatter breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes; serve.

Light At The End...?

Ryan and I just got back from the escrow firm where we finally signed loan documents - HOORAY! Now, the bank just needs to review the documents, fund the loan, and the transfer of title needs to be recorded. Hopefully that means we'll close mid next week and at last be done with the madness.

Although it looks like smooth sailing from here, I refuse to count my chickens before they hatch. Ryan wanted to celebrate by going downtown and partying till the wee hours but I vetoed the preemptive celebration, conceding only to sushi and sake at the neighborhood sushi joint. Once the deal is sealed, we can go nuts....until then, I sleep with one eye open.

In other news, it looks like my transition to another department at work is moving along so I'm very happy. Also, I heard we might be moving back to HQ building which would be wonderful. No longer will we have to stay in the ghettos! All in all, everything is looking on the up and up - at least until life throws us another curve ball (which it has but I don't even want to think about that yet).

Here's the plan for the weekend:

- buy small dining set for breakfast nook area
- write more thank you cards for wedding gifts
- investigate selling things around the house we don't use/need
- plan housewarming party (possible chow cow potluck style event)
- hit up advanced yoga classes on sat and sun
- invite mom over to try new mac n cheese recipe