Why can’t I mix Jerk and Curry?

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If you know me, you know that I slay recipes without apology. I tend to consider them more as suggestions than than a legal document or contract. For this reason, I always call myself a “cook” rather than a “chef”. This applies to baking as well as savories, it’s an experiment after all. The fun is in the making it my own. For more complex recipes, I will try to follow a standard recipe the first time, sometimes I can get through the whole thing without tweaking, but it’s rare.

I have no fear whatsoever when it comes to attempting ethnic recipes, or serving a variety dishes from different nationalities on one plate.

Two standard favorites in my house include jerk and curry. Very often this manifests as jerk chicken or curry chicken, but might also be shrimp or eggplant.

It’s been a long week. I’ve had a lot going on.I needed to come up with something that “honored” my low-carb day. I’m intent on improving my health, and dropping some weight.  Hmm, I knew I had a boneless chicken breast, baby greens lots of spices, less patience, and more hunger. What to do?

Last night, I had put the breast in a glass container and marinated with a basic lemon and oil salad dressing. The marinade was not strictly required, but I tend to marinate if I’m not going to cook right away (to prevent/delay spoilage).  I have a great cast iron comal. I use it for everything from grilling to naan and crepes.

After adding a drizzle or two of olive oil, I set the heat to medium. While the comal was heating, I moved to the spice cupboard for inspiration. I couldn’t decide between my Jamaican dry jerk seasonings and the Jamaican curry, so I grabbed them both. (Yes, there is a difference in curries from different countries). I also grabbed the Frank’s Hot Sauce. I happen to have at least seven different types of hot sauce that I select with my mood.

I sliced the chicken across into six or eight “tenders”. The comal was good and hot by now, so I sprinkled the chicken with the jerk seasonings first, then curry and popped them onto the comal. The idea was to sear the outside but keep the inside tender. I covered it with a lid and turned on the fan to ensure the very sensitive smoke detectors didn’t start screaming.

Meanwhile, I grabbed some baby spinach and baby kale from the fridge, made a sufficient but not excessive pile. Time to check the chicken. Looking good, add more jerk and curry and flip it using either a fork, tongs or spatula. Add a bit more jerk to side a for good measure. If the skillet is too dry, or cooking too fast, lower the heat or add a bit more oil, or drizzle some water. Cover.

For the “dressing”, grab a small glass bowl (you will find I try to avoid plastics as much as possible), using a standard spoon, drop a dollop (+/- 1 Tablesppon aka 15 gr) of plain Greek yogurt, and a little less of Mayo, add curry, salt, pepper, Frank’s Hot Sauce, a quick shake of rice vinegar and either a few drops of stevia or a drizzle of honey (your choice). I had to add more curry as I really wanted the curry to shine through. Stir.  Taste. Adjust. I just had to have a bit more citrus, so I added a couple drops of Orange Oil. If too thick add a little water, but only a teaspoon (5 ml) or less at time. Wing it. Add or delete spices as you and your family prefer.

The chicken should be finished by now. Check it. Dice and place on top of the bed of greens. Dollop with dressing. If you like, you can add carrots, tomatoes or avocado, it all depends on you and how you  are eating for the day and what strikes your fancy.

Whenever possible I used fresh veggies from my garden.

Enjoy.

CurryJerkChickenSalad

#YeaIDidThat #EasyDinnerTweaks #FearNotItsAKeeper #GrowthTakesExperimentation #BreakingRules

For conversions I consulted: International Cooking Measurements

I also received a request for basic ingredients list, I am including links to suggestions that I enjoy. I included online links for those that might not have a Jamaican grocer locally.

  • Protein (I chose boneless chicken breast, but shrimp and tofu would also work)
  • Jamaican Jerk Seasoning – You can make your own, or choose ready made.
  • Jamaican Curry – You can make your own, or choose ready made.
  • Plain Greek Yogurt – I prefer Organic
  • Mayo – I prefer Organic, but you can also make your own if so inclined
  • Frank’s Hot Sauce
  • Rice Vinegar or other light sweet vinegar
  • Orange Oil – Not required, but I enjoy. email me  if you would like more info jlgjoseph@gmail.com

Seeds, Seedlings and Catalogs, Oh My!

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Spring 2017 cont’d

I was really excited when I received my two favorite seed catalogs; Baker’s Creek and Seed Saver’s. It’s like porn for the garden addict.  Then I heard my conscience nagging me. I got out my box of seeds from last year’s order, along with the seeds I saved from my own harvest. Sigh. I’m going to have to think twice and unless there is something really special, I can’t order more seeds. Sad.

That brings me to the point of this blog. Whether you are new to gardening, live in a place without much yard, or maybe even live in an apartment, I still highly recommend planting something. There are so many choices. You can use beds, raised beds, containers, pots, grow indoors or out. But there isn’t anything quite like watching things grow, and even more, eating what you grow.

  • The end of winter is the time time to clean up the winter mess. For a change, in Los Angeles, it rained a lot this year. I live on a relatively steep slope, and between the mud and the weeds, I had to wait until the rain fully abated.
  • Look up the last frost date in the almanac and the next new moon for your area, take micro zones into consideration. Here is Los Angeles, we supposedly never get frost. Start deciding which plants you will start from seed indoors, which might go directly in the garden, or see what sales are going on for young plants at a reputable location. I recommend firmly that you try to find flowers that are NOT treated with nicotinoids. The chemicals are negatively impacting bee populations.
  • For those that use containers, time to take stock clean them out. Any of the pots that had diseased plants, I dump the whole thing dirt and all. No point in infecting the garden again. For those that were basic die off, I dump the pot to a compost heap, and use a bleach wash for the pot. It’s a good time to recall which pots were too small, or didn’t weather well etc. I’m considering trying grow bags this year. I may add my research on that later.
  • If you have a worm compost bin, check in on them. Did they make it through the winter? Is it time to harvest the compost and set them up with a clean bin? If using a standard compost bin, check on it, turn, follow up etc.
  • Seed Inventory – what do you have in stock, and what do you need.
  • Adding any trees to the garden this year?
  • Are there any plants or trees that need transplanting? Have you identified and prepped the location?
  • For each of your plants you will need to determine the best locations by sun, water and other special needs.
  • Water – how will you be watering? I use a drip system, and I need to make some updates. I also hand water some of the containers. I need to expand the drip system and do some more reviewing.
  • Adding Compost, fertilizers etc. I try to use organic matter as much as possible. I accept that I live on a lot with a lot of construction debris. So in some areas I supplement and amend, in other areas, I use containers. This year I am also going to try using some chemical free hay bales to build up some beds.

Whatever you do, don’t let any of this intimidate you. If you are new, start small. I started with house plants, then went to sprouts. If you are brand new, maybe starting from seedlings will work for you. Support local, organic sources when you can. I visited FigEarth yesterday for the big Tomato Blow out and got several tomatoes and some culinary herbs. If interested you can follow them on Instagram #figearthsupply, great folks and they have harvest swaps periodically.

SmartSelectImage_2017-03-12-08-32-43

You might still have time to get into the seed giving away from Baker Creek, subscribe to the new YouTube channel https://youtu.be/vIgcKN7UClk

I’m still learning and practicing. I gain so much joy from my garden, that the work is part of the pleasure.

As in all things, I am a work in progress, and an ongoing experiment. Keep an eye out.. I will write more on the garden soon.

#UrbanGardenLove #ReconnectToTheEarth #GrowthTakesExperimentation

Winter is fading, Spring is peeking out around the corner

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March 2017, Los Angeles

For better or worse, I started this blog a few weeks ago. It seems like so much has changed since then. Instead of being the 1st of March, it is now mid-March, the sun is finally up when my alarm goes off at 6:15 am PT. Why is it so much harder to crawl out of bed when it’s dark outside? I’m much more motivated to get up and get going in the light, and then add to it the fact that the sun is going down later too? I can go walk the Rosebowl or hike with the dogs, or hit the gym, as long as it’s still not sunset.

I’ve spent a series of the latest sunny days, after all that rain we had here in Los Angeles, weeding. I know that we needed the rain desperately, but I’ll include some photos so you can see just how much the wild ones have grown. In some empty lots near me, they are well over my head already. As of today, I’m done with the pulling, yes I still hand pull weeds. It was however, imperative that I get out there while my very clay soil was still soft enough to pull the whole plants out. Once it gets too dry, it’s like trying to extract something from a solid mass.

1Before

The very weedy beginning
1Part1
3part2
5part4
4part3

6part5

Finally progress

I needed to weed wack the wild grasses, and do some pruning, for this I enlisted some help. All this so that I can start with the fun part, putting seeds in the soil. I have made an appointment with a friend to help me rework my drip system, another appointment with another friend to help me/show me how to clean out and restart the worm compost bin etc. I’m already seeing lots of buds on the Satsuma Plum, new leaves on the Honey Fig and lots of self-starters in the Marigold family.

You could say I’m trying to develop a garden that reseeds itself, and is based on edibles and pollinator attractors. So far, the marigolds have really surprised me.  My goal is to have a large garden that mostly repopulates itself, and provides lots of food for me and as many people as I am able.

You might still have time to get into the seed giving away from Baker Creek, subscribe to the new YouTube channel https://youtu.be/vIgcKN7UClk

I’m still learning and practicing. I gain so much joy from my garden, that the work is part of the pleasure.

As in all things, I am a work in progress, and an ongoing experiment. Keep an eye out.. I will write more on the garden soon.

#UrbanGardenLove #ReconnectToTheEarth #GrowthTakesExperimentation