sweet and sour chicken

this recipe is from kara at l'abri :) 

1/2 c ketchup

1/2 c chicken broth (last time i left this out and it still tasted good!)

2 T soy sauce

1 c sugar

1/2-1/3 c vinegar

(optional, pinapple juice-- drained from a can, save fruit for later)

Heat ingredients together in a sauce pan until boiling and set aside.

Cut Chicken (breasts) into small pieces. 

In a small bowl, beat 

2 eggs

2 tsp. water

1 tsp. oil

Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture then set on wax paper.

Sift cornstarch over both sides to coat (or dip into a bowl of cornstarch)

In a large frying pan, heat a bit of oil and some pressed garlic.

Add chicken and brown.

At this point you can add any type of chopped vegetables to the pot

(after having removed the chicken). I like to use an onion, different colored bell peppers, carrots, broccoli, and mushrooms. I also add some more garlic at this point and maybe more oil. 

Put everything in a 9x13 pan and pour the sauce over everything and cook in a 325-350* oven for 20 minutes covered in foil and an additional 10 minutes uncovered.

Serve over rice or asian noodles..... 

(I also have made noodles and put them as the bottom layer and then put the chicken and veggeis and sauce over top before baking) 

Colorful Curry Soup

2 onions, chopped

2 tbsp oil

saute

2 carrots chopped 

2-3 cloves garlic

3 bell peppers (yellow, red, green) diced

a few potatoes chopped

add and stir fry a minute or two

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

2 Tbs. curry powder

1 Tbs. Turmeric

add to taste

8 cups of water

2 chicken/vegetable bullion cubes

add and simmer until everything is done.

* At this point, I added some canned chick peas (rinsed)

in a seperate pot;

simmer

a cup of red lentils

2 1/2 cups of water

(optional, blend lentils) 

add to soup.

you can add some cornstarch to thicken the soup, if you'd like. 

just before serving add to the pot:

1 can coconut milk

1 cup sour cream or cream fraiche 

Set out (next to where you'll be serving the soup)

a small bowl of broken/chopped cashews

chopped dried apricots

fresh cilantro 

ginger syrup

This recipe is from Riana, one of the lovely ladies who cooked delicious meals at L'abri

This is my new favorite soup and several others said the same! It's a MUST TRY for all! 

Orange Lentil Soup

500 g Red lentils

A swig of olive oil

3 cloves garlic

a few chopped fresh tomatoes 

  (a can can be used in lieu) 

1.5 L Vegetable Stock

   (I used a spoonful of chicken stock powder)

peel of an orange

2 bay leaves

1 tsp dried oregano

To speed up cooking time soak lentils in water for a few hours ahead of time!

Fry garlic in olive oil. Add other ingredients. Simmer for about an hour. I sliced up the rest of the orange sans skin and squeezed most of it into the pot and just decorated the soup with some chunks of orange floating on top. 

Optional: Process or Blend the soup if you'd like. 

This recipe is from Kara and Christa at L'abri! 

easy bread

6 cups of flour 

(preferably 4 cups regular, 2 cups of whole wheat)

2 tbsp yeast

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp salt

2 cups hot water (not boiling, just really warm)

mix half the flour with yeast sugar and salt

add hot water and mix well (100 strokes)

keep adding remaining flour until dough is 

no longer sticky. flour a clean surface and 

kneed dough for 5 minutes.

place dough in a bowl sprayed with nonstick

with a damp warm dishtowel on the top.

give it 15 minutes in a warm-ish spot to rise.

punch it, cut it in half, shape into two balls.

cut a little X on the top of each ball and place 

on a baking sheet.

put the baking sheet with dough balls into a 

cold oven with a pan of water on the bottom.

heat the oven to 400 (don't preheat though)

as you insert the pan and bake 40-50 min!

spring muffins

slightly less than 3 cups grated zucchini 

1 grated medium sized carrot

       --(or you can just do 3 cups of zucchini)

2/3 cup melted butter

1 1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla 

2 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

3 cups flour

2 tsp cinnamon 

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2- 1 cup chopped dried apricots 

Mix sugar, eggs and vanilla

Mix in the zucchini, carrots and melted butter

Mix in baking soda and salt

in a seperate bowl:

mix together flour, cinnamon and nutmeg

add dry mixture to the egg mixture and fold in chopped apricots

bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes

*you could grate some ginger into this for a nice extra flavor!

optional, icing:

1/2 cup softened butter

1 package cream cheese

a tsp or two of vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

mix the butter and cream cheese then add the vanilla and slowly add the powdered sugar! 

i served the icing on the side that way people could eat them as muffins or cupcakes as they liked! 

perfect for a rooftop dinner! 

Coconut Chickpea Soup!

Ingredients

1 coarsly chopped onion

2 tablespoon of olive oil

1 tablespoon of ground cumin

1 medium tin of chickpeas, strained and rinsed

1 medium tin of diced tomatoes

1 medium tin of coconut

Salt and pepper



*zucchini (sliced thin)

Directions

1. Fry the onion and cumin with the olive oil in the pot over medium-high heat.

2. When the onion looks translucent, add the tin of diced tomatoes, with the equivalent of water and the chickpeas (and zucchini if you'd like). Simmer for about 40 minutes then add the coconut milk. 
Season to taste with salt and pepper. 
Enjoy!

Thanks to Jennifer Johnson for sharing this recipe with me! It was Delicious!

thai chicken curry with coconut and lime

this was so yummmy!

i used:

3 cans coconut milk 

chicken stock powder

2 tsp curry powder (maybe a bit more... to taste)

jalapeno chilis ( i used something kind of big and bright green and one that was really small and dark green, i'm not a chili pro.....sorry!) 

lime juice

salt & pepper

chicken breasts

green onion

cilantro

rice noodles

limes 

cucumber

mushrooms

to begin, i poured boiling water over the rice noodles and let them soften up. in a big pot i put the coconut milk and then added chicken stock powder into the three empty cans and then water and added it to the coconut milk in the pot, i added my chopped green onions and thinly sliced mushrooms and my seeded and minced peppers. i let that simmer for a few minutes (med heat) and then added chicken sliced really small into the pot, it will cook very quickly (maybe 5 minutes) meanwhile add about 6 tablespoons of lime juice, and salt & pepper add the drained rice noodles to the pot, taste it and season with more curry, lime juice, salt or pepper of necessary (it should have quite a kick!) I served it with extra limes, a plate of fresh cilantro and chopped cucumber that people could add in! Enjoy! (oh and this also fed about 10 people... feel free to use just one can of coconut milk/water and use less of everything else if you're making it for less!)