Hello everyone,
Yesterday, my husband texted me a photo of the NY Times recipe from the Wednesday Dining edition. It was a simple curried chicken dish for which I had most of the ingredients. On my way home from dropping my son at camp, I decided to stop by the supermarket, pick up the remaining ingredients and prepare it in the morning. We were going to have a hectic day until the evening so it would be all prepared by the time we got home.
To make it even easier, I remembered that I had a boat load of frozen rice from a Chinese delivery order we made for a large group for my son’s birthday last week. I put the rice in the microwave when we got home, along with the chicken and zucchini, and dinner was ready in just a few minutes.
My husband and the kids loved it which made me feel good. What was more important, however, was the appreciation I received with verbal praise, acknowledging how special it was that I made an effort to recreate what was in the paper the very same day.
Like many others who sacrifice their careers to be with the kids, put their careers on hold, choose to stay home or are forced to stay home for whatever reason, it is vital that the homemaker receive appreciation for the work that they/we do at home. I am also including, maybe even more so, those of us who work outside the house and do the bulk of the cooking or other house work.
I don’t always get that appreciation and I know you may not always get it either. It’s important that the work at home is valued, acknowledged, and supported so we don’t become resentful, especially for the conflicted cooking personality types out there who themselves don’t always see cooking as valuable.
So if you are someone who cooks the food or eat the food that someone has lovingly prepared for you, value the effort and love that went into it. Oh, and make this recipe-it’s delicious.
Curried Chicken Breast with Zucchini:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 lb
2 Tbs olive oil (I needed more)
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 zucchini, about 1/2 lb, ends trimmed
2 tsp curry powder
1 Tbs butter
2 Tbs finely chopped shallots (I used red onion)
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbs heavy cream
Steps:
Put the chicken pieces in a bowl with 1 Tbs oil and salt and pepper them.
Take the trimmed zucchini and cut into 1/2 inch rounds.
Add zucchini and curry powder to the chicken and massage the curry into the zucchini and chicken.
Heat the remaining oil (I needed more than the 1 Tbs) in a heavy skillet and brown the chicken and the zucchini over high flame for a few minutes in a single layer. Flip over and brown the other side over moderate heat for about 5 minutes.
Remove the chicken and zucchini and place in a casserole dish to the side or a large plate.
Wipe out the fat from the skillet, add the butter and saute up the onions or shallots for 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth, reduce to about 1/3 and add the heavy cream. Bring to a boil.
Return the chicken pieces and zucchini to the sauce, stir and cook for about 2 minutes.
I doubled the recipe and it served 5 people
