Butter chicken curry

Butter chicken curry.

It might seem odd that after eating my fair share of spicy chili yesterday that I would want more spice.

But I had this sitting in the cupboard and I was dying to try it out.

I will admit to the fact that I find curries a bit intimidating to make. And my favorite curry, butter chicken, is usually made with so much butter that it ends up bothering my stomach.

This packet made the recipe very simple. Just combine the chicken, water, butter and spice paste in a soup pot and simmer. 

Yup, it was that easy.

The recipe called for 3 Tbsp of butter which would have been way to much for me so I reduced the amount by half and just added 1 1/2 Tbsp of butter.

The instructions said to turn the heat up to a boil (after 20 minutes of simmering) but I think that was just to reduce the liquid. If you like a more liquid curry you can just skip that step.

I loved the dark, rich color of the curry.

While the mouth feel of the curry was slightly less rich than the restaurant version because I added less butter, the flavor and heat was spot on.

Since this was not a dish the dogs could eat (too much spice), I made them a snack.

A piece of banana smeared with peanut butter.

And if you need some cooling off after all those spicy curry pictures, here is a shot of a dish my friend made which was wonderfully light and refreshing after eating all that chili.

Ripe peaches with soft, melted mozzarella on top.

My friend said that her brother served it drizzled with olive oil but we both agreed that this version was delicious.

And I will leave you with some cute shots of my friends dog:

How do you get a Border Collie to look at the camera?

You pick up his ball.

The apples and eggs connection

What do apples have to do with eggs?

Ta da!

An egg coddler with pretty pictures of green apples.

My sister is moving soon and she is clearing out her kitchen. When I was over visiting the other day she offered me a couple of egg coddlers. 

Since coddled eggs was on my re-make list, I said, "Yes!"

I like my coddled eggs extra cheesy and extra herby (I am officially making that a word, if it isn't already).

First, I put in some mozzarella and a pinch of chopped fresh basil and chopped fresh parsley.

Then one egg went into the coddler.

This is when I realized that my old egg coddler must have been a small size because one egg would fill it up all the way. So, the coddlers my sister gave me were definitely medium sized - that or somehow I managed to buy the teeniest, tiniest eggs on the planet...

So, in went egg number 2.

A little more mozzarella and herb mixture on top.

This is the point where most cooks add in cream but I just whisked together 1tsp of unsweetened soy milk, 1tsp. of Tofutti cream cheese and 1/2 tsp. of Tofutti sour cream. I added in a pinch of the herb mixture and a dash of salt.

With this much 'cream' added the eggs, the eggs will have more of a loose custard-like texture. If you like your eggs more set add less of the soymilk mixture.

I screwed the lid on the coddler and set it in a pan of boiling water (covered) for 6 1/2 minutes. Leave it in for 7-8 minutes if you like your eggs more set.

This dish was outstanding!!

The white stuff running over the yolk - that is not egg white - that is melted mozzarella - Yum!

 I also grabbed one of the tortillas from the leftover taco and crisped it up in a skillet and then dusted it with Parmesan.

You can either scoop out the eggs with a spoon

Or use the tortilla strips for dunking and scooping

Five minutes later it looked like this:

All gone!

I always like to enjoy some kind of fruit with my breakfast so this morning I ate this succulent beauty.

A juicy red pear.

 Happy Saturday everyone!