Two friends came round for supper last night and I tried out a spicy chicken dish.
It didn’t pass muster with Meredith and our friends were polite but didn’t exactly rave!
I shall try again with it because it’s simple and quick–which of course could be the reason it was disappointing!
I served a yogurt sauce with it, which is I think is useful and tasty.
I noticed Meredith tucking into it this lunchtime with the fennel salad..!
Yogurt sauce for 4
2 x 125ml pots of organic yogurt
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 garlic clove–pulped in half a teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 a teaspoon salt
- Whisk the yogurt smooth–(if you want to make it a bit thicker let it drain through a sieve into a bowl for half an hour or so).
- Pulp the garlic in the salt in a pestle and mortar.
- Add the cumin and mix it in thoroughly.
- Fold in the olive oil.
- Add this mix to the yogurt and whisk well in.
- Refrigerate until you are ready to eat.
Robin Ellis 
Hi Robin: I made your yogurt sauce when I made the chickpea and fennel curry. The sauce was a divine “icing on the cake” for the dish. The yogurt sauce recipe is very easy to make and packs a tasty punch. Thanks for sharing and it’s another keeper in my recipe book.
How sad. But all the ingredients are very health supporting and should be beneticial to anyone. Please, Robin, do persevere with it…
Oh, my dear Meredith and Robin I am so sorry. I was preparing myself to tell you what I thought of her. When I first saw her photo (after dog’s attack) she reminded me of Czarina Catherine the Great of All Russias. All she needed were a few sparkling diamonds in her “crown”. I could already see her wearing the famous jewelled empress’ robe… Coming down to Earth Madame Arcati had quite a few famous ancestors. Her neck plumage was inherited from old English Speckled Sussex. Her dark grey feathers – from English Dorkings. Her black/white body plumage came from Italian Anconas. Her “kepi” and her neatly pleated comb was inherited from what we here in “Down Under” know as “Silkies”. Her body was definitely that of a game bird. In another photo I have also observed her “steely” eye. In her day she probably did not take kindly to opposition or competition. One may consult all four winds in Europe and would not find another Madame Arcati because she was not a purebred fowl. Suma sumarum – as French would say: “Madame Arcati etait un oiseau unique”! I am so very sorry for you both for the untimely and sad loss of a very beautiful pet. P.S. I am equally sorry to trouble you in the wrong section. Try as I may I could not enter your Facebook although I could read all comments.
Dear Robin & Meredith,
I’m a few days late since we don’t have Facebook & I just read the sad news while I was looking for details on New York. I am sooo sorry, Meredith especially, about Mdm. Arcati! She was quite a gal, from what you tell us! I’m sure she had a pampered life with you both, but I’m sure she felt your love & protection even MORE since that trouble with the dog. Again, we’re so sorry for you both.
I thought you might be interested to learn that the first insulin injection was given on January 11 1922. I found the information in the BBC History magazine vol 13 no 1 ( January issue):
“Leonard Thompson, a 14 year old patient in Toronto general hospital, became the first person to be injected with insulin as a treatment for diabetes. Insulin had been discovered by Sir Frederick Banting, Charles Best and JJR Macleod at the University of Toronto in the previous year and was subsequently purified by James Collip. The extract administered to Thompson caused a severe allergic reaction and future injections were halted while Collip worked to improve the beef-pancreas extract. A second dose was injected 12 days later and this was completely successful.”
Sorry if this should have been placed on Facebook.
Ann
Thanks for that Ann.
My mother would not have lived beyond her thirties if Banting and Best had not succeeded as they did.
I always find it moving to be reminded of this.
I did not realise that it was as early as 1922 that the first insulin injection was given.
Thank God that there were these pioneers in this field,or Jimmy would not be alive now.
Congratulations, Robin – you have hit the 300 mark!!
Yogurt sauce is delicious. I had always thought cumin needed cooking but this doesn’t taste at all ‘powdery’.
300?–Sometimes I feel 300!
Three cheers in fact!
Thanks Sophie-Jane.
You and me both, then! 300 followers on this blog, Robin. Cause for a cheer I think…….
Three cheers in fact!?
Scientists at the University of Western Australia and Unilever discovered that drinking three cups of black tea a day lowers systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The scientists based their findings on drinking black tea. The effect of drinking tea with milk is not known. Tea is full of polyphenols, antioxidants that have been shown to stop cancer cells from growing. Another study from Harward University found that it could boost immune function. “But this is an important discovery because it demonstrates a link between tea and a major risk for heart disease”, said Prof. Hodgson. It has been reported today (20.2.12) in National News that a review in the journal “Nutrition Bulletin” shows regular drinking of black tea may protect against heart attack and Type 2 Diabetes, researchers claim. Regular drinking of black tea may reduce the risks of heart problems by cutting levels of bad colesterol and blood sugar. One cup of black tea provides 150 to 200 mgs. of flavonoids and it is the best source of antioxidants in our diet. P.S. Thought it to be a good idea to share these important medical news. If anyone is able to elaborate on these discoveries I would appreciate a reply. Thank you.
Thanks, Odette.
This is v useful.
Thank you, dear Robin, for acknowledging my message. This is only the tip of the iceberg as it were. We do not know yet how strong the tea should be to produce such amount of flavonoids per cup nor do we know which tea is best to use. Ordinary, green or black tea? But this knowledge will come… In mid – 19th Century Prof. Josef Lister, an English surgeon, was bitterly critisized and ridiculed by his colleagues for insisting that everyone before operating should wash their hands. He discovered a link between French chemist Louis Pasteur’s theory of bacteria and the postoperative infections thus founding modern antiseptic surgery. Where would humanity be today without the discoveries of these two great men? Today the temp. in Vilnius was – 6 C. I hope that it is somewhat warmer in Lautrec. Please, thank Meredith for me for her warm welcoming words. I tried to thank her but ended by thanking myself. I almost expected to see two thumbs… down. Quelle absurdite puresang! I wish you a very happy time in London and a safe return home.
So right about the pioneers. My mother would not have lived long enough to have my youngest brother if M Banting and M Best had not pursued their path.
Fortunately we can drink a cup of delicious black tea without being geniuses!
I read yesterday that black tea does the job.
Too black and you won’t like it so black lite is the answer perhaps!
Thanks, Odette.
Good morning, Robin. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your advice is logical. All is fine and dandy but this important matter still remains on a foggy horizon. The research is incomplete. We still do not know what type of black tea is most beneficial to us.
Dear Robin and Meredith, just a thought on your spicy chicken recipe, there is a talented Indian cook, here in Canada, called Bal Arneson. Her recipes are fast and low in fat. You would obviously have to think a little bit about dietary restrictions, but I thought about you and her Everyday Indian and her Quick and Healthy Indian cookbooks might be worth a look. The recipes (like yours!) are simple, easy to follow, wonderfully healthy and low in fat. The great thing I find about using spices (and by that I don’t necessarily mean chilies!) is that you can reduce salt but still keep the flavour. While you are in London, have a peek and see if you can find the above books. If you like reading cookery books, she’s well worth a visit. I can recommend her spicy chicken quesadillas, but if you are not allowed the quesadillas, you can always just serve the sauce (which is made with yoghurt) with brown rice. I find they go down really well at parties – though I do have some committed curry fans amongst my friends! It’s funny, I never have trouble surrounding my table when I say I’m making a curry! Though the word is a generalisation don’t you think?
Thanks for the tip, Bren.
You are right that using spices can help you reduce the amount of salt.
Spices like turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, cardamon, garlic etc also have anti-inflammatory properties–another good reason for using them.
I will check out the books.I love eating and cooking Indian.Sadly I think I’m the only English actor of my generation who has never been to India!
OOOhh and her lamb with mango sauce is to die for!
Thanks for the reply Robin! I also read somewhere that turmeric has ani-cancer properties too.. as does galangal which actually kills cancer cells! I was thinking I have a recipe I wrote down from one of Bals tv programmes last summer. Would you like me to send it to you? It’s the quesadilla recipe I referred to, I remembered after I sent the post that it’s not in any of her books. There is one for tandoori quesadillas though I expect you’ll get the jist, I think the only difference between the two is a tbspn of garam masala instead of the tandoori paste. As you say in your book, imagination is also the mother of invention! Not to worry anyway, I’m sure you’ll find her books worth looking at even if its only for her wonderful salad and legumes recipes! It’s lovely to chat to someone who loves cooking!
I think it would be nice for everyone if you wrote it as a comment–we could all try it!
Thanks, Bren.
Can I do that? How nice your are and how kind! I appreciate it. Your blogs are so nice about a life in France I think so many of us envy. I am so excited myself about cooking. It is my favourite thing to talk about. It must be amazing to be able to make food seasonally ALL the year round. In Canada we have, for example, one rhubarb harvest! In the U.K. I was used to two! I get carried away, so you will have to forgive me! Though I am blessed to have a welsh lamb farmer on my doorstep, who shepherds the leanest, sweetest…most wonderful…..shutting up now… if you would really like Bals recipe, or my interpretation of it… I’ll have a go!
Right then, I was obviously worried that this was going to be more complicated! Silly me…
Curried Chicken Quesadillas
1 tablespoon or so rice or grapeseed or olive oil,
1 pack 8 wholewheat four tortillas
1 ball hard Mozzarella cheese
1 finely diced medium red onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
Half cup low fat plain yoghurt (I blatantly use honey flavoured full fat greek sometimes!)
2 sliced raw skinless boneless chicken breasts
Spices
1 tablespoon garam marsala (I make my own, but bought is fine)
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, crushed
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Pre-heat oven to 190 degrees centigrade
Method
In a roomy non-stick frying pan, heat the oil over a medium heat.
Fry the onion until golden, then add the garlic and ginger and fry gently for a few minutes until soft.
Add the spices and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add the chicken breast slices and turn over in the mixture until cooked through.
Add the tomato paste and yoghurt and then season.
Place the first tortilla on a baking sheet and brush with oil. Flip the tortilla so the oiled side is downwards. Now the assembly bit… sprinkle the tortilla first with the grated mozzarella, top that with about half a cup of the chicken mixture, then top the chicken with a little bit more mozzarella. (the cheese acts like a sort of gooey glue to hold the whole thing together!) then top the whole arrangement with another oiled tortilla, this time the oil should be upward facing. (Note it’s worth doing this straight onto the baking sheet because it’s a fiddle trying to lift the assembled tortillas!) Carry on until your baking sheet is full (you’ll probably get two only on it at a time).
The tortillas will need only about 3-5 minutes – keep going till they’re all cooked (though I imagine they will disappear as they come out of the oven! They do in my kitchen!)
Serve with a nice crunchy salad or brown rice, or lentils.
Please feel free to play with this, if you don’t like mozzarella, it will be less gooey, but you could use any cheese (except blue of course) which lights your candle! I think it would be nice with a nice ripe creamy brie. Or if you are not allowed the tortillas plonk half the mixture on brown rice! X B.
I can understand how the full Monty is delicious and disappears from the scene before you can say “Jack Robinson”
I’m going to try the chicken strips in the spice sauce with brown basmati rice–and leave the Mexican second half to another day!
Thanks Bren for sharing this.
I thought you might :-). I have tried it like that and it works well. I hope you enjoy it. I feel happy that I have given a little something for you to “chew on”! (Courtesy of Bal) I love your book and although I am not diabetic I intend to incorporate many of your ideas in our own lifestyle. Your recipes are yummy. I didn’t put it in the spices list, but I like to add fennel to the spices too. Have a good trip!
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