Chicken Korma (Huhn Korma) and Potatoes in Tomato Sauce (Kartoffeln in der Tomatensauce)

Another night of Indian food -- this one turned out ok, but not as tasty as the cashew sauce. I think they made it ultra healthy and that took a lot of the really neat flavors away. I also think I've had it with Coconut Milk which makes it sweet. I did like learning how to add yogurt (we used Bulgarian Yogurt, something we get locally...it's so good) without curdling it. You add it tablespoon by tablespoon and it just melts into the mixture and props it up.



Not traveling for work can get me in an exploratory mood - it's so easy to get into a funk with work, home, work, home, work, home, that you forget how cool your city really is and all the fascinating places out there. So, we hit the local Indian food market. It actually is rather nice and situated in a new strip mall.



After walking in, two men greeted us and we started puttering around. We were the only people in there - a nice lady (probably the wife of one of the men) asked if we needed help and I explained we were looking for Curry Leaves. I had thought they would be dried like Bay Leaves, but she took us to a fridge and they are fresh beautiful leaves. She also helped me find Onion Seeds (Nigella), which are these little black seeds. We picked up a huge bag of Gram Masala, a mix of spices used in a lot of currys, for $2.50. The woman explained they get it direct from the factory, no middle person.



I really enjoyed the Potatoes in Tomato Sauce -- they were delicious. For both dishes, I used onions from the local farmer's market. These aren't your traditional bulb onions...they have a thicker stalk on it. Almost like a green onion that was allowed to grow very large. I'm not hitting up the market today, since Ryan leaves tomorrow for California, and I'll have to pick the stinkiest, most vinegary food to make. Sauerbraten anyone??



On another note, Germany did fantastic this week in the Euro 2008 - they skipped by Austria and pounded Portugal. Up next is Turkey. I'm heading to Mother Egans to watch Russia play the Netherlands. My last name is dutch so I suppose I should root for them...

OK - I have a preview for you here -- the most important part of our house has finally been finished...and no, it's not the coffee table (where we honestly eat a lot of our carefully prepared meals...especially when Dancing with the Stars is going on...terrible, huh)...here you go:



Tschüß!!

RUS 1 - GRE 0

I guess I would root for the Russians over the Greece...convenient, now the game is over. How fun, I am enjoying a beer and reading the paper with a busy room around me. I have a new blackberry and it is actually Blogger-friendly! Neat.

On topic, are fried chicken tenders irish? Haha, they are certainly good here.

The town is hot and abuzz with the biker rally (our 4th year seeing it!), and Pride, which isn't the sad repressive shit in Utah. We need to enjoy the city buzz. Cab ahoy! :)

Finishing my Spaten and the paper...then off to the hot afternoon.

Tchuess!

GRE vs RUS

After a sad day on Thursday (Germany lost 1-2 to Croatia) I am awaiting the next matchup on Monday.

But, to keep my appetite whet I came to Mother Egans for the Greece vs Russia game. It's going still...but being in an Irish pub, with lights down and all speakers blaring the commentary, and also the fans gathered to enjoy the game...awesome! More on this adventure later...

Tchuess!!

Euro 2008: Deutschland 2 - Poland 0

Yessss...just finished watching (a day late; more to come on yesterday at a later time) and it was a great game. Really frenetic the first half, pretty exciting the second half. I kept thinking that Poland would pull something surprising off, but the Deutsch were extremely strong and kept pushing that ball onto the Poland side of the field. Fun stuff.

Their next game is on Thursday vs. Croatia, which should be exciting. I think they'll crush them, to be honest. I think Croatia gets lucky (as seen against Austria and in the qualifiers against England). I have to laugh, though, because most of the players of non-mainstream european teams (like Croatia, Austria) actually play for the British or German league! I love it...they come home though for the big tournaments.

I wonder if we could get tickets to the L.A. Galaxy for our trip...hopefully my restraining order against Becks has expired. :)

By the way, see the Croatian side of Saturday's game at one of my favorite blogs in the world.

Tschüß!!!

Euro 2008

Woohoo, I finally got to sit down and watch some serious football! Yay for the Czech's (they certainly were better looking than the Schweiz).



Tschüß!!

Tuscan Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Taking a brief sojourn south into Italy, this was a super healthy and super yummy dish from Ellie Krieger. She is fast becoming my favorite food personality (haha) on FoodTV. Her food is healthy, smart, simple to prepare, but fabulous to eat.



What I liked about this one was the bone-in Chicken Breast. At my favorite grocer, Central Market, they easily had these with skin on; I ended up taking it off since the recipe didn't call for skin and I hadn't ever skinned a chicken breast. It's actually quite simple; I wonder if overall it's cheaper to buy chicken this way?



Certainly more flavorful, you get more bits and pieces that hide in between the bone, and I think the heat of the bone helps cook it and keep it moist.

Anyhow, try this recipe out.

We also made Quinoa for the first time (we say it "Keen-wah" but I'm not sure the proper pronunciation) which was fantastic; our dear friend Julie made Quinoa Pilaf at our last Mira Monte monthly supper and was kind to give us the recipe. I don't know if it's a family secret recipe, so comment if you want me to send it to you.



If you haven't had Quinoa before, it's a South American grain that has been cultivated for thousands of years. You soak it for about 8 hours before cooking, but it's tasty - especially with a dash of Tamari (high-end soy sauce).

Speaking of Italian, we had a great dinner last night at Siena. Our friend Steph is the GM there and Kris' hubby was in town. Great meal, fantastic wine, fun friends. We frankly hadn't eaten out all week for dinner. I strangely went to lunch twice this week -- but more for keeping myself sane in my new job and on target. But for dinner, everything was home-cooked! Ahhh fresh is fun!!

BTW, the Euro 2008 starts in a few minutes. Deutschland doesn't play until tomorrow, but I'm going to DVR it. Switzerland and the Czech Republic plays in a few minutes.

We're also going to Lockhart tomorrow with Melissa and Spencer - a little roadtrip southwest of here to the BBQ Capital of Texas! I'm looking forward to some good grub and cold beer. Mmm...

Tschüß!!