Author Archives: Chatty Kathy

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About Chatty Kathy

Living in the beautiful Okanagan Valley in BC, we have an abundance of fresh food to cook with, and believe me, I do! We have 5 daughters, 3 grand daughters, and lots of honorary daughters ...I love cooking for family and friends and they all keep me busy in the kitchen. Here is hoping that this blog will allow my entire family to access those recipes they ask for, and maybe even enjoy a few travel photos!

Mexican Green Rice

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I love Mexican rice – for a big fiesta try making both this green (verde) rice along with red (roja) rice.  Want to create the Mexican flag colors in a bowl – make a batch of white (blanco) rice also!

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 cup chopped white onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup Salsa Verde

1 cup long grain white rice

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Over medium heat saute the onions until soft, adding garlic for the last couple of minutes.  Stir in broth and salsa verde.  Add uncooked rice and reduce heat to a simmer.  Cover and allow to cook until rice is tender, about 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and remove lid.  Fluff rice with a fork and cover pot with a tea towel.  This allows the steam to release so your rice will be light and fluffy.

Stir in chopped cilantro.

Pollo Verde y Cerveza or Beer Braised Green Chicken

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This is a quick and easy dish – try making enough for a couple of meals and you have filling ready for quesadillas or tacos later in the week.

quick and easy chicken in salsa verde

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup chopped white onion

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ancho chile powder

1 tsp dried Mexican oregano, crumbled

1/4 tsp salt

1 12 ounce Mexican Beer (I like Dos Equis)

1 11-12 oz can of tomatilloes (or if you have your own salsa verde already made – use that)

1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped

1 pound chicken breast – cut into tenderloins

In heavy sauce pan sauce onion in oil until soft and translucent, add garlic and saute for another couple of minutes.  Add butter, spices and oregano.  Cook and stir just until the butter has melted.

Add beer, tomatillos (or salsa verde) and jalapeno pepper.

Bring broth back to boil, stir in chicken and turn temperature down to allow chicken to simmer.  Cook gently for about 15-20 minutes, just until chicken is cooked through.  Remove chicken from liquid, and allow liquid to boil until it has reduced and thickened – about another 10-15 minutes.  Remove from heat. When chicken has cooled enough to handle, shred it and return it to the liquid mixture.

Absolutely delicious as a taco or quesadilla filling, or served with homemade tortillas, mexican rice and vegetables. 

Penang Style Thai Curry

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Thai curries are always perfect if you really are looking for lots of flavour in every bite.  In Thailand, 1 chicken breast easily serves a family of 4 in a curry dish – lots of vegetables help out, and of course you won’t want to miss a drop of the curry so your rice is perfect to soak it all up.  This version is vegetarian, served with barbecued chicken, but it is easy to add whatever protein you are inclined to use.

Penang Style Curry served with Thai Barbecued Chicken and fragrant jasmine rice

Whatever vegetables you use are totally up for discussion – take what is in season and use that, or if you need to scrape something together at the last moment keep a jar of baby corn, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots in your pantry!

You will need:

whatever vegetables you plan to use chopped and ready

any meat sliced very thin and ready to go in

For this basic curry use:

1 tbsp red curry paste

1 tbsp massaman curry paste

1/2 onion, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced or sliced

1 inch ginger, minced or sliced

galangal root (fresh if you can get it, but powdered if not available in your area)

lemongrass (again fresh is best but powdered is a decent standby)

tamarind paste

1 can coconut milk or cream

kaffir lime leaves

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp raw sugar

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

peanut oil

cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

Heat peanut oil, stir in onion, garlic and ginger.  Allow to soften but not brown.  Stir in curry pastes, and allow curry to cook for a couple of minutes, then add galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves.  Slowly add half the coconut milk, and allow the sauce to fully incorporate.  Gently simmer ….. then add most of the coconut milk – reserving some in case your curry is too spicy.

Add as many vegetables as you like – if you want this to also be a meat curry, this is the time to add raw, thinly sliced meat.

During one of my cooking classes in Thailand I was advised to add the meat, then NOT TO STIR until the meat is cooked through.  

Allow the meat and vegetables to cook through, and taste.  This is plenty spicy enough for our family, but if you like more heat add either freshly chopped chile or red chili flakes.  If, on the other hand, your family is not keen on spice at all just start with 1 tsp of each of the curry pastes, and oh so gently, gradually increase the amount of paste.

When you remove the curry from the heat stir in the lime juice, sugar, fish sauce and soy sauce.  All Thai dishes contain the 4 essential elements of sweet, sour, salty and spicy from these ingredients.

It may take a bit of playing around to get the taste of Thailand into your kitchen, but you will be so glad you did!

Lemon Herb Chicken Linguine

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This light and fresh summery pasta is perfect for a sunny day – takes so little effort and won’t heat up your kitchen either!

CHICKEN

4 chicken breasts

2 tbsp minced fresh herbs – basil, parsley, oregano

1 heaping tbsp dijon mustard

1 lemon – juice and zest

2 tbsp olive oil

Marinate all above ingredients in a ziplock bag for a minimum of 1 hour, and preferably overnight.  (My favorite trick is to have this already made and in the freezer, pull it out in the morning and you are ready to proceed when you get home from work!)

Grill chicken breasts until no longer pink inside, and juices run clear.  Allow to rest while you cook the pasta.

PASTA

1 pack linguine noodles (or honestly, whatever you like!)

broccoli – broken into little trees (about 1 1/2 – 2 cups) or snap peas!

1 lemon, juice and zest

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tbsp of your best extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp roughly chopped basil

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Cook linguine in a pot of well salted water – for the last 3 minutes toss in a generous handful of broccoli heads.  Drain pasta, reserving some of the liquid.

In large serving bowl toss the cooked broccoli and pasta with the lemon juice and zest, minced garlic, crumbled feta, basil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle the olive oil over top, and add just enough pasta water to allow you to toss the pasta easily, and it creates just a light bit of sauce.

Slice chicken on the diagonal, and serve over the pasta.

Thai Barbecue Chicken

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Wherever you go in Thailand you can smell barbecue chicken!  At home I can’t reproduce that smoky, cooked over an old grate on top of wood smell and feeling, but this chicken is amazing.  So simple too.  I have another recipe I use for bbq’d Thai chicken that contains about 30 ingredients.  The simplicity of this recipe makes it  winner for anyone to try.

1/2 fresh chicken, cut into small pieces, OR 4-8 fresh chicken thighs

MARINADE

  • 2 Tbsp. light soy sauce
  • 1 tsp. dark soy sauce (OR 1 more Tbsp. regular soy sauce)
  • 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
  • 3 Tbsp. sherry
  • 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
  • 2 tsp. black peppercorns, crushed with mortar and pestle or spice grinder (or more or less pepper to taste)
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp. grated or minced ginger

DIPPING SAUCE/GLAZE

  • 1/2 cup rice vinegar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp. ginger, minced
  • 1-2 fresh red chilies, minced – or 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
  • 1 Tbsp. fish sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. soy sauce

Combine all marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag and stir/squeeze  well to dissolve the sugar. Put chicken in bag and give it a generous massage.

This is amazing with even just 1 hour to marinate, but if you leave it in the fridge overnight, so much better.  (One of my favorite tricks is to do this ahead of time and just put it in the freezer until you need a quick meal!)

To make the dipping sauce/glaze, place all the ingredients in a sauce pan. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Stir occasionally and allow it to thicken and reduce until it is that  perfect blend of all Thai dishes – a mixture of sweet, sour, salty and spicy.

Tip: this sauce can be served warm, at room temperature, or cold, so you can easily make it ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator until needed.

Brush or spray grill,  then grill the chicken, turning occasionally. Brush the chicken with the leftover marinade for the first 10 minutes or so, then discard marinade.

Serve with the dipping sauce on the side, OR spoon a little sauce over each piece of chicken as a glaze before serving.  We loved it served with a Thai curry and jasmine rice … soooo yummy!

Dukka

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Ready for serving

Dukka/Dukkah?  You say Dukka?  What the heck is that???  It is a blend of Middle Eastern spices that you can use in so many ways.  I like to keep a jar of it on hand.  If you have unexpected guests get it out with some good olive oil and a chunk of bread and you have an appetizer ready.  

Use it as a rub on meats before grilling, blend it with some oil and vinegar for an instant salad dressing, mix it with good mayonnaise and you have a fantastic spread for sandwiches, burgers or a dip for vegetables – the possibilities are endless.

2/3 cup almonds

1/3 cup hazelnuts

2 tbsp sesame seeds                

4 tsp chili powder

2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp onion salt

1 tsp celery salt

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp coriander seeds

cayenne pepper to taste

Toast almonds on baking sheet until golden brown and set aside

Toast hazelnuts until golden, then rub in a dish towel to remove most of the skin

Toast sesame seeds until golden

Lightly heat cumin seeds and coriander seeds just until fragrant

When everything has roasted/toasted and been prepped allow it to cool – then pulse in food processor (or use a mortar and pestle) until you have a powdery mixture with the occasional chunk of nut left for texture.

To serve as an appetizer just cut up chunks of bread into bite size pieces and set out 2 bowls – one of oil, and one of dukka.  Dip bread into the oil, then into the spice.  

Your first taste might have you puzzled, but wanting more – next thing you know – addicted!

Limoncello Cake Pops

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Cake pops are such a fun little bite of deliciousness.  These ones were made for a stagette/shower – the brides colors are purple and yellow so of course we had to make the cake pops to match – they were fantastic.

A piece of styrofoam works well to stand the cake pops in, but if you want to get creative, like my daughter Hayley, drill holes into a 2 x 6, sand it well, give it a light brushing of stain, and finish it with decorative edges!

As well as the cake and icing ingredients you will need chocolate (whatever color you like – for this one we used purple chocolate wafers), lollipop sticks and whatever you would like to decorate with.

LIMONCELLO CAKE

Preheat oven to 325

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 stick butter

2 oz cream cheese

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 tbsp limoncello

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup lemon juice

zest of 1 lemon

Soften the butter and cream cheese – beat well.  When incorporated well add the sugar and beat until it is creamy in color and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time beating well each time, finally adding the limoncello.  In a separate bowl sift flour, baking powder and salt.  Add the buttermilk and the flour mixture alternately to butter.  Gently fold in the lemon juice and zest until just blended.

Bake at 325 in a greased, lined 8×8 cake pan for about 20-25 minutes, then cool completely.

ICING

1/2 stick butter

6 oz cream cheese

4 cups icing sugar

2 tbsp limoncello

Bring butter and cream cheese to room temperature and beat well.  Add limoncello and whip.  Beat in icing sugar until it is as thick as you would like.

ASSEMBLY

When cake has completely cooled crumble it into a large bowl – make sure there aren’t any large bits.  Add the buttercream icing until it can be easily rolled into a ball.  (no larger than 1 inch)  You may not need all the icing.

Roll all the cake/icing mixture into little 1 inch balls and set in container – freeze if you don’t have time to complete the next step.

Melt chocolate over warm water just until smooth and creamy – taking care not to get any water into the chocolate.  A small canning jar works really well for this – set into a pot of gently simmering water.

Dip the lollipop stick into the melted chocolate and press deep into the cake ball.

Amy and Tyler were a great help making cake pops!

Allow to harden (we found it easiest to place the cake with stick into the freezer until that part was completed)  Only take out what you need so it all stays cold.

Then dip the cake pop into the melted chocolate until coated nicely – gently turning it and tapping on the edge of the jar the chocolate is in so the excess chocolate falls away.  If you want to press any cake decorating sprinkles etc on, now is the time.

A large piece of styrofoam is perfect to set the lollipop sticks in so that the chocolate hardens without touching anything.  Once hardened they are pretty sturdy, and you can further decorate or just put on display.

If you don’t have a styrofoam block for display, using a covered cardboard box works well too but it will be a little harder to get the cake pops to all stand at attention …

Classic Caesar Salad

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As listed, this salad is a creamy, delicious dressing that will please everybody – don’t even think of leaving out the anchovy paste, it just adds too much flavour to the salad.  (just don’t tell anyone it is in there!)  If you love garlic, go ahead and add an extra clove or two, and if you love spicy salad add more hot pepper sauce.

DRESSING

1/4 cup good mayonnaise

juice of 1 lemon

1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp anchovy paste or 2 anchovies

pinch of sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp hot pepper sauce

1/2 – 3/4 cup oil (I prefer a combo of vegetable and olive oils)

Put everything except the oil in a blender and combine well.  (Or use an immersion blender)  Add oil in a steady stream, slowly.  Taste for salt and pepper, adjusting as necessary

SALAD

1 large head of romaine lettuce, cleaned and broken into bite size pieces

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup croutons

8 slices bacon, cooked crisp and broken up

Making your own croutons is very easy, and taste so much fresher than any package ones.  Cube day old bread, and toss it in a bag or bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper and minced garlic.  Toast on a cookie sheet, tossing occasionally, at 350 degrees until golden brown and crispy.

ASSEMBLY

Toss dressing with pieces of romaine until coated well.  Add the rest of the ingredients and toss well.  Give salad a squeeze of lemon, and drizzle a bit more dressing over top – serve!

Crispy Crusty Mustard Potatoes

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When the new small potatoes are out in the spring, this is just one more way to enjoy them!  During the winter months cut up larger potatoes.  (red potatoes are excellent this way)Image

Preheat oven to 375

8 cups small white potatoes (halved if they are on the large size)

2 tbsp grainy mustard

2 tbsp dijon mustard

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 lemon – juice and zest

2 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced

vegetable oil

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl,adding just enough oil to make things hold together, and coat the potatoes –  toss well and turn onto baking sheet.  Roast at 375 until tender, tossing once half way through, until potatoes are tender inside and have a crunchy, crispy exterior.  Sprinkle with more fresh rosemary, salt and pepper to serve.

Grilled Vegetable Salad

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This summer salad is ready to go with any number of vegetables – take your pick, and use whatever greens are available to you …. today we are serving it with Sesame Soy Vinaigrette.

Grill an assortment of sweet peppers, zucchini, red onions, asparagus, fennel bulb

Wash and break greens

Toss with vinaigrette and you have a meal ready to go.

Add some toasted nuts – almonds, or pine nuts are great …

 

 

SESAME SOY VINAIGRETTE

1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

2 generous tbsp tahini paste

2 cloves garlic, crushed

red chili flakes (optional)

1 1/4 – 1/2 cups vegetable oil

Using small processor, or immersion blender combine all ingredients except the oil and blend until smooth – then gradually add the oil until you have a delicious creamy dressing.