Recipe Requests

I know spring is trying to come to Aomori, I see it in the hours of bright & sunny the cut through those of blowing snow. Even the sun has started to get up as freakishly early as I do...*shakes fist at the weather* In an effort to keep warm while really wanting to be able to open my windows to let some fresh air in, I made up some pretty nifty soup and some tasty chicken.

Finished curry product all boxed up for lunch!

Chicken & Red Lentil Soup

• 1-2 chicken breasts (I can only get boneless right now, I haven't made soup with bone-in chicken yet. I know. What the heck.)
• 2 bullion cubes (I found some Maagi brand! Hooray!)
• 1/4 C chopped scallion
• 1 C chopped carrots
• 2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
• 100g red lentils
• 1 tsp salt (approx, I just kinda poured a bit in the pot)

- Broil the chicken until it's cooked and keep those delicious fat drippings.

- Put the chicken in a pot and fill with water so it's just covering it. Add half the scallions, garlic and the bullion cube. Make sure you put the drippings water from your broiling pan! Simmer for at least an hour, longer if you can manage.

- Strain the water and put it in another pot, remove the chicken skin (if any) and break the chicken apart. It should be all helluv tender and just fall apart if you give it a stern look.

- Add the chicken back into the delicious water, add the 2nd half of the scallions, salt, carrots, lentils and some more water. I boiled it until it tasted right. Haha.

Truth be told, the lentils got a little crumbly, so maybe add them closer to when you wanted to remove it from the stove. I did the whole thing over several (I think 4) hours as I was doing housework and other such business.

My Aunt did me a huuuuuge favor and shipped me a bunch of spices, so my next batch of soup will have bay leaves in the mix. I can't wait. :D

In celebration of this much anticipated care package, I made up some of my own brand of Honey Curry Chicken.

Honey Curry Chicken

• 1 chicken breast
• 1.5 Tbs curry powder (approx)
• 1Tbs extra virgin olive oil (approx)
• Liquid honey to taste

- Marinate the chicken breast in some olive oil, curry powder and some honey. I got my hands dirty mixing it all together because I wanted the curry & honey to get all up in thurr. I left it in the fridge for about 40 minutes. You may wanna chop up the raw chicken to get more coverage.

- Pan-fry the chicken in olive oil and added a little more curry powder and honey. And voila! Sweet and curry-y deliciousness!

Oh look! The snow has stopped and now the sun is trying to break through the clouds. Huzzah!