Pomegranate Chicken Recipe

Chicken stewed in a gravy of pomegranate and ground walnuts

Ingredients

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 large leek

2 lbs chicken (I like thighs because they’re juicier and more flavorful, but breasts will also work well)

1 tub Knorr Chicken Homestyle Stock concentrate

2 cups pomegranate juice

8 oz walnuts

1/4 tsp cardamom

basmati rice, prepared

Directions
  1. Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat
  2. Thinly slice and caramelize the leeks, and brown the chicken. Make sure the leeks are well caramelized, releasing all their sugars. This will help to counteract the tartness of the pomegranate juice.
  3. Add one tub of Knorr Chicken Homestyle Stock concentrate and thin with the pomegranate juice.
  4. Grind the walnuts to the size of breadcrumbs in a food processor, and add to the pot along with the cardamom.
  5. Cover and allow to simmer for approximately 20 minutes. Cook time will vary, just make sure the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165°.
  6. Shred or cut chicken into bite size pieces and stir back into gravy. Remove the lid to allow the gravy to further reduce. It should be thick enough to sit on top of the rice rather than run right through.
  7. Serve on basmati rice.

Notes:

  • If the gravy is a little too tart, add a tablespoon of sugar, but not too much. This isn’t supposed to be dessert.
  • Cooking the chicken in larger pieces results in juicier meat, but if you are in a hurry, cut the chicken into bite sized pieces before browning, and do not cover while simmering to significantly cut the required cooking time.

pomegranate chicken

This isn’t a pretty dish, but it’s yummy. In fact, you might even find yourself closing your eyes as you enjoy it.

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FTC disclaimer: I received free product from Knorr for use in creating this recipe.

when the search for dinner turns into a road trip

We are in the midst of a road trip from Seattle to Alaska: my mother, my 2-year-old daughter, and I.

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Naturally, the first move in a trip to the westernmost state, would be to go east for three days. Right?  We’re taking the scenic route: the first night in Leavenworth, and then Coeur d’Alene, before heading northeast to Banff.

Think traveling with a senior citizen and a toddler sounds stressful?  Let me tell you how we feed our little party:

After we crossed the border into Idaho, Mom started talking about getting steaks tonight for dinner. Sounded good to me. Moments later a billboard advertising a prime rib dinner on a floating restaurant appeared on the side of the road. I could go for some prime rib. After that, Mom had a one track mind.

But first we had to find the hotel. We turned off the highway when we saw the sign for our hotel. While we were waiting for a light to change, Baby Girl saw a Super 8 hotel sign, and started yelling “8!” because she knows that number.  We were at the intersection with Apple Way, and it turned out that our hotel was right across the street from that Super 8. We checked in, and asked the guy at the front desk for directions to the restaurant.

“It’s real easy,” he said.  He then directed us to turn left out of the parking lot, take a left at the light, follow that road and that we would see the big brown building floating on the water.

Sounded easy enough.

So we did just that. And sure enough, there was a big brown building floating on the lake. A very large, uninviting building with the name Hagadorn Corporation on the sign. Nothing even remotely suggesting a restaurant. I left Mom and the baby in the car to go investigate. I went up the ramp to an imposing,  dark, locked door, that glared at me like I was trespassing, even if it didn’t say as much.

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Hmmm…

Back in the car to drive around a bit more, maybe we didn’t go far enough.

We stopped and asked directions from a gentleman who admitted he had just moved to town, so he wasn’t sure if the name of the road was 90 or 95, but we should take it south and then we would see the sign on the left. Of course, we knew the name of the road was 90, because that was the road we rode in on.

Unfortunately, mom got in the turn lane a block before we got to 90, so we ended up turning down a frontage road along the interstate.  We drove for quite a while, miles actually, and started wondering if maybe we’d gone to far.

But wait. We saw that sign right after we crossed the border into Idaho. Surely then, the restaurant would be in the vicinity of the sign. Wouldn’t it? Just then, the frontage road crossed over the highway.  Oops. Now we’ve got an interstate highway between us and the river – not a great place to look for a floating restaurant.

We traveled along for a few blocks, and then decided to take a left and just get as close to the river as possible. If we travel alongside the river, at some point we will come across a restaurant floating on that river – right?

The first opportunity to turn came after we crossed the river, the we took a left on Riverview Drive.  Of course, eventually, this road will have some view of the river. We drove, and drove, and drove along Riverview Drive. We drove 7.5 miles along Riverview Drive. We saw wild turkeys. We did not see the river.

As we traveled this misnamed road, mom admitted that she had looked for this exact same restaurant the last time she was in Coeur d’Alene with her sister.  They couldn’t find it that time either, and ended up eating at A&W.

Eventually we stopped to ask directions again.  “It’s real easy,” the young woman said.  Just follow this road to the T, and take a left, and then when you get to 95, it will be on your right.

You caught that 95, didn’t you?

We continued on Riverview Drive, without seeing the river, until it came to a T, and we turned left on Upriver Drive, also lacking any kind of river view. When we got to 95 we took a right and drove a bit, but when the sign said Moscow, we started to question ourselves again.  Maybe we were actually supposed to turn left on 95?

Yup, right after the intersection, there was the restaurant across the river on the right. This place better be pretty damn good.

We drove a bit further so we could turn on to the drive.  Several blocks worth of RV park lined the left side of the road leading up to another sign for the restaurant. This one proclaiming that they start serving dinner at 4.  A picture of the typical customer is starting to form in my head, and that picture included more polyester waistbands pulled up to the armpits than pretty damn good food. But we’d been on the road looking for this place for an hour and a half. It was time to eat.

We proceeded to bump our way down the very poorly maintained road, our overloaded truck bottoming out with each bump. We park, unload the baby and start our way across the awninged bridge, which was a little scary with the angry, swollen river up so close.

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And the restaurant? It was closed for a private party.

Baby crying, mom and grandma both stressed out – all three starving. Now what?

We turned back on to 95 looking for another place to eat, and then took a turn on Government thinking we might have better odds there. We stopped at an intersection and then noticed we were on Apple Way, and there to the left was the Super 8 my daughter noticed when we came in earlier.

Yes, that’s right. We drove 30 miles, an hour and a half, to find a restaurant that was just a few blocks away. It was real easy.

We ate dinner at a little Mexican place down the street, and it was awesome. Most satisfying meal on this trip so far.

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Finding our way through Canada to Alaska should be a piece of cake.  Everyone says it’s real easy.

Note: I had to wait a few days before putting up this post, partially because access to the internet is really limited while traveling up here (may take a while to return comments on posts, too, but it will happen). Also because I didn’t want to scare my husband too much the first few days out. We’re doing fine Babe, and having a great time.

Reasons I Love Seattle: #4 Amazing Food Trucks

Reasons I Love Seattle: #4 Amazing Food Trucks

Why is it that food purchased from the side of a truck always seems to taste better? We have some amazing food trucks in Seattle.

Skillet Hamburger and Fries

Seattle is making a name for itself with it’s foodie culture, but many may not know about the amazing food being served up on wheels around the area.  There are, of course, the traditional taco trucks, but keep your eyes peeled for Thai trucks and Pho trucks, as well.

A day like this is heaven – Skillet and Molly Moon‘s Ice Cream food trucks parked right next to each other.

Molly Moon and Skillet in Seattle

Hello Cholesterol!

And now, from around the interwebs…

Me: As Seen On…

GalTime: The Next Big One: How to be prepared – One of the best ways to help your entire community in time of crisis is to be prepared for that crisis yourself: learn first aid, get certified in CPR, and prepare a disaster kit sufficient to care for your entire household for at least three days. Each person, or family, with their own emergency food, water, and other supplies relieves the stress of support services trying to help those without. In this article, I give some guidelines and pointers for preparing yourself and your family for the next big emergency.

The SITS Girls: Inspire the Best in You – I was one of the leads on the Inspire the Best in You: Letting Go project by the amazing girls at SITS, and my post on Letting Go of the Illusion of Control was highlighted. Thank you so much for this honor.

Awesome People Who Linked to me Recently

(If you do link to me, let me know, most of the time I stumble across these links by accident.)

Studio30+ linked to my post on Letting Go of the Illusion of Control on their Sunday Spotlight.

Awesome stuff I found while I was procrastinating on my homework

Hamster Central: One Month – I’ve been following Jen’s blog for a couple years now. She lives in Tokyo. This quick check-in, one month after the devastating earthquake and tusnami, came with news that the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. Cherry blossoms signify the ephemeral qualities of life. Hope Blooms.

Northwest Ladybug: A Beautiful Day on the University of Washington Campus – I truly believe that the UW campus is one of the most beautiful in the world. These photos are a gorgeous illustration. We’re so lucky to live here.

All Adither: Mommy Blogger – Angie struggles with the label “Mommy Blogger.” I struggle with that, too. Sure, I write a lot about my kid these days, I consider parenting her the most important thing of everything I do, so naturally it will bleed in to my writing. But it’s not all there is to me. I also tend to struggle against labels in general, but I understand that, as humans, we like to categorize things. Where do you stand on the label?

Miss Britt: Everything you wanted to know about the big trip – I’ve written about this before, but it has really captured my imagination. Britt and her husband and kids are about to sally forth in a motor home, and explore the country for a year. Every time I think about this, my brain spins. So many questions. How to pay the bills? What about the kids? Here Britt supplies some answers, and even more fodder for my imagination as I ponder what adventure is next for my little family.

Not Martha: a weekend on Guemes Island – This post is actually a couple months old, but I’ve revisited it several times. I’ve been feeling the need to get away lately. To pack up my little family and go somewhere quiet, surrounded by nature – and the water. To hear water lapping against rocks, and birds singing and chattering in the morning. To let go of deadlines and due dates, even if just for a weekend, and sink in to a deep tub, or sink my teeth into a sinfully decadent yet simple dinner. To read a book for pleasure – without taking notes. Sigh. One of these days…

Best Ginger Cookie Ever

Best Ginger Cookie Ever

Ginger helps more than anything when chemo brings on nausea. My mom came across this  ginger cookie recipe while watching the Barefoot Contessa on TV. She made up a batch last night, and they are perfect.

Real ginger flavor, plenty of spice, soft, hearty.

If you’re looking for a treat to whip up for a friend who is pregnant or going through chemotherapy, this recipe is where it’s at. Not too sweet, a powerful punch of ginger, and hearty enough to provide a sense of settling without sitting heavy after you eat one… or four.

All that said, these are wonderful ginger cookies for everyday as well. They’ve become a staple in our home, and in our lunchboxes, too.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:3]

Thanks, Mom, these cookies made my day.

 

 

Eating Haggis with Chopsticks

Eating Haggis with Chopsticks

Yes, that’s right. While I generally try to avoid posting pictures of myself (except for the extremely rare occurrence of a flattering shot), and I especially try to avoid pictures of myself eating, it’s not everyday that I get to eat haggis with chopsticks.

gung haggis fat choy

This picture was taken in February of 2008. The event was Gung Haggis Fat Choy – a celebration that originated in Vacouver, B.C., to honor both Robbie Burns birthday and the Chinese New Year. Burns’ Suppers traditionally occur on Robbie Burns birthday, January 25, and the Chinese New Year begins any where from late January to mid-February. Often these holiday’s occur on the same night, and so they were combined into this one grand celebration in both Vancouver B.C., and Seattle.

The celebration includes performers representing each of the cultures (and some representing both), bagpipes, drums, dancers – both Scottish and Chinese – and of course, a dragon – and the traditional agenda of the Burns Supper: The Selkirk grace, the entrance of the haggis (the most important part, in which the haggis is “slain”), and then of course, eating to excess, drinking to excess, and dancing to excessively loud music.

Gung Haggis Fat Choy was not possible for us this year, but I’m already looking forward to next year.

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This my random February photo entry for Mama Kat’s Writing Workshop.

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