Food In Many Forms

Back in 2015, I adapted a curry chicken salad recipe to my own specifications. I left myself a note for the next time that, "it would be interesting to substitute some of the sour cream or mayonnaise for Greek yogurt." So yesterday, I tried out the recipe with Greek yogurt, and twice as many almonds. Still hits the spot! Ingredients 1 1/4 pounds Chicken, cooked and diced 4 whole ribs of organic celery, chopped 1/2 cup sliced almonds 3 Tbsp mayonnaise 3 Tbsp 2% fage greek yogurt 1/3 cup Nut Pods coconut almond milk creamer 1 Tbsp curry powder Salt & pepper, to taste Directions Mix together mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, almond milk creamer, curry powder, salt and pepper until well combined. Combine chicken, celery, and almonds in a large bowl, Pour curry dressing over the top. Fold together with a rubber spatula. Make sure it's all combined, then add more of whatever it needs. Chill for several hours. Serve on lettuce, or with juicy grapes on the s...

I had a mental shift recently. The whole adulting thing is hitting me pretty hard, and although nutrition will always be a concern to me, cost has become a much larger factor in my decision-making a the grocery store. That means shopping at cheaper stores, using coupons, and eating in a whole lot more.  It also means I'm less likely to choose recipes with fancy ingredients I don't have, and more likely to just use what I've got in the pantry. This may be why I have been blogging a lot less - because my meals are so run of the mill and don't always seem worth sharing. But I have an ever-growing pile of recipes that I have carefully annotated.When that pile gets too large, I find myself wanting preserve all that work so I can continue to make my cooking better. Ironically, my grocery bill is 1/3 to 1/2 of what it used to be since I started being more budget conscious, but my restaurant spending is right in line with the typical millenial. According to on...

Some of my best memories involve sharing a meal, a drink or a sweet. But it is funny how foods that are not memorable at the time become a source of nostalgia later on. For example, when I was studying at the school of public health, the daily grind had curry chicken salad sandwiches for sale. I ate them, just like I ate many things on-the-go, in between classes or to get me through a study session. At the time, it was just a sandwich, but now I have fond memories of eating them. So today, I embraced that nostalgia, and made me some chicken salad... a heavily adapted version of the Pioneer Woman's recipe. Ingredients: 1 1/4 pounds Chicken, cooked and diced 4 whole ribs of celery, chopped 1/4 cup sliced almonds 3 Tbsp light mayonnaise 3 Tbsp light sour cream 1/3 cup So Delicious almond milk creamer 1 Tbsp curry powder Salt & pepper, to taste Directions: Mix together mayonnaise, sour cream, almond milk creamer, and curry powder until well combined....

I am the worst when it comes to using leftovers before they go bad. Not because I don't know how, but because I think I have a mental block against food that tastes worse the day after I cook it. Sooo... logically this means I have to make leftovers taste BETTER than they did in order for them to be appealing to me. These green beans were just humble microwavable steamed beans. But after a few days in the fridge, they magically became green bean salad with feta, pecans, garlic-infused olive oil and balsamic vinegar . There was a recipe, but I really just threw stuff on top until I was happy with it. A great lunch to bring to work! I also did I redo of my favorite eggplant dish - Eggplant Caponata - and it was even better today when I had it cold for lunch with some organic blue corn tortilla chips! You have to admit, I'm finally getting the hang of this whole leftovers thing!