Giving Thanks: version 1.0

Facebook, texting, Instagram, emailing, Twitter, Snapchat....this blog! Technology has done a pretty amazing job connecting people better over the last couple of decades. Or has it? The question contemporary sociologists are posing today is: Does having hundreds of followers or thousands of friends make us truly feel more connected or is it making us feel more alone? The growing research points to an actual increase in feelings of loneliness and disconnectedness among those in the facebook generation.1 Why? To put it simply: we're not actually compelled to leave our social media-machines (i.e. cell phones and computers) and go interact with people. The faster pace and increasing demands of work and school only perpetuate the compulsion to stay plugged in. Luckily, there are still wonderful facets of life that prevent us from heading straight  into a world of soma, obstacle golf, and conditioning centers. Girls night, book clubs, classroom discussions, phone calls, brunch dates, pot luck get-togethers....THANKSGIVING! These are a few of my favorite things and things that I hold sacred enough not to dilute with too much tech. Every week I look forward to getting together with some girlfriends and cooking a meal. We take turns bringing ingredients and/or hosting. We catch up, cook, eat, and enjoy. It helps me stay sane. The recipe below is for my very favorite Chicken Pot Pie-- a dish I made at one of these girls' nights. It's part of my Thanksgiving post because Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays (surprise, surprise), and this is a great dish to make with turkey leftovers OR just because you're around the ones you love and want to show them how much. Although I am ever-grateful for advancing technology, next Thursday I'll be sticking with my non-updated version of Thanksgiving and expressing my gratitude for wonderful friends, family and health in person at an actual table!

p.s. If you do decide to use turkey leftovers, just use store-bought low sodium chicken broth in place of making your own as seen in the recipe below

1. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/09/the-real-reason-facebook-makes-us-unhappy.html

Chicken Pot Pie

Serves 6-8

Chicken Broth:

2 lb raw chicken breast, cut into 3 inch pieces

4 cloves of garlic

1 Tablespoons salt

½ Tablespoon pepper

1 sprig of Rosemary

7 Cups of water

Pot Pie Stew:

2 Cups diced yellow onion

1.5 Cups diced carrot

1.5 Cups diced celery

6 Tablespoons butter

6 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons thyme

2 teaspoons rosemary

1 bay leaf

¾ Cup corn starch + ¼ Cup cold water

1/3 Cup dry sherry wine

6 Cups chicken stock (from above)

1 Cup frozen green peas

1/2 Cup heavy cream

Crust:

1 package frozen puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

1 Tablespoon water

Directions:

1. Fill a medium pot with 7 Cups of water.
2. Chop the garlic and add it to the pot of water. Add salt, pepper, and rosemary to the pot as well.
3. Place the cut, raw chicken in the pot. Cover the pot with a lid and cook over low, medium heat.
4. Reduce the heat to low once it comes to a boil. Keeping the lid on, continue cooking for 15-20 minutes.
5. Turn the heat off, remove the lid, and allow the chicken and the resulting chicken stock to cool.
6. Start the process of cooking the pot pie stew (directions below). During the step of waiting for the veggies to cook, use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken from the stock. Cube the cooked chicken and set aside. Save the chicken stock (throw out the solids) because it is the stock you will use for the pot pie stew. 
   

1. In a large saucepan, sauté onions, carrots, and celery, in butter over low/medium heat. Once the onions start to turn transparent, add garlic and herbs in.
2. In a small bowl, mix the corn starch with ¼ Cup cold water. Stir until a smooth paste is formed. (this step helps you avoid the clumps that would form if corn starch was added directly to the hot pan).
3. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees
4. Once the carrots have softened slightly, lower the heat. Add the corn starch paste to the sautéed vegetables and stir constantly to form a roux.
5. Add chicken stock and sherry and stir to make sure clumps don’t form. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, and the mixture will become thicker. Turn the heat down to low.
6. Add chicken breast and stir to combine.
7. Add heavy cream, stir, and bring the mixture to a boil once more. Reduce to a simmer and continue to cook for 3 minutes or until thickened.
8. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Stir and allow the pot pie stew mixture to cool.
   

1. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper
2. In a small bowl use a fork to beat the egg with the water and set aside.
3. Sprinkle the counter lightly with flour.
4. Roll some refrigerated puff pastry to 1/8 inch thick. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter cut circles that are ½ wider than the rim of your individual ramekins or mini-pie dishes.
5. Fill each ramekin or mini-pie dish 80% full with the warm pot pie mixture
6. Brush each circle of dough with egg wash and place each circle of dough egg-washed-side down on top of each of the filled ramekins.
7. Cut a small slit in the middle of the pastry.
8. Brush the top of the pastry with egg wash. Place each of the completed ramekins/ mini-pie dishes on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
9. Bake for 15 minutes in the pre-heated oven. Decrease the heat to 400 degrees and bake until the crust is puffed and golden brown (another 15-20 minutes)

          Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe Adapted from Beth-Ann McFarland-Lyons' recipe at her restaurant Kitchen 324

Photo Credits: KiwiConfections

Getting By

"Getting by" might seem like the mantra of under-achievers everywhere, but when I use the phrase I mean doing your very best to handle/juggle everything life may hand you. For some it's raising kids while working, for me it's school and everything in between, and for others it's the daunting combination of work, school, and kids. Whatever the circumstances are, sometimes just "getting by" or surviving the day is quite a feat and, in my opinion, not possible without the support of friends and family. My parents, sister, and fiancé have all been my biggest pillars of support but my friends are the daily, even hourly providers of comradery and encouragement. Living alone underscores the importance of friends even more-- especially when it comes to the kitchen. Cooking for one is no fun (and since that rhymed, it's probably worth becoming an official "saying"). I'm ashamed to think about the once beautiful bell peppers, plump mushrooms, crisp kale, and nutrient-packed sweet potatoes I've thrown out...Not to mention the food I prepared, got sick of, and left "to mature" a few weeks in the fridge. I've had to learn the hard way that cooking and eating one's food alone is simply a recipe for disaster and waste. Once I started cooking for and with my friends and exchanging dishes, things became much more manageable. The social aspect of eating and cooking is practically imprinted in our DNA and done solo they can become yet another monotonous chore. Today, I'm sharing a recipe for Chicken Enchiladas that I make to share with friends. The flavors are best the next day, and it makes a great lunch you can heat up at work or school. Bonus points: it's great on your wallet at under $20 for the whole meal or less than $2.00 a serving. Whether it's cooking, motivating myself to get to the gym, or studying for hours on end, I get by with a little a lot of help from my friends.

p.s. Don't let the length of this recipe fool you. I made these again last night and timed myself: from start to finish, it took 30 minutes.

KiwiConfections Enchiladas

Serves 8-10

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

2 Cups sliced white mushrooms

6 Cups raw baby spinach

½ Cup finely chopped onion

3 Tablespoons chili powder

4 Tablespoons corn starch

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon oregano

3 Cups Organic, Low Sodium Chicken Broth

1 (8 oz) Can Low Sodium Tomato Sauce

1 pound cooked chicken, shredded

2 Cup reduced fat “Mexican Blend” cheese

Directions

1. Drizzle olive oil in a large saucepan or wok and heat over medium heat. Add mushrooms and onion to the pan. After allowing the onions and mushrooms to cook for about 1 minute, add the baby spinach to the saucepan. Sautee the vegetable until the spinach starts to soften. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the vegetables to cool down.
2. Pour the cooked vegetables into a colander and allow the excess water to drain while you make the enchilada sauce.
3. Combine all dry ingredients in a small bowl
4. Stirring constantly, add enough chicken broth to create a thin paste. Pour into saucepan and add the rest of the chicken broth.
5. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens.
6. Stir in Tomato Sauce
7. Pour half of the enchilada sauce into a heat safe bowl
8. Add the cooked chicken to the remaining half of the enchilada sauce and stir.
9. Pre-heat your oven to 400°F.
10. Heat corn tortillas in a pan or heat them up in the microwave with a wet paper towel on top.
11. Fill each warm tortilla with a mixture of chicken, mushrooms/spinach/onion, and cheese.
12. Roll the tortilla up and place it seam down in a baking dish.
13. Repeat this until your casserole dish is full.
14. Spoon enchilada sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
15. Bake the enchiladas for 20 minutes.
16. Serve and Enjoy
    

When in Singapore…

Eat Haianese Chicken rice. Actually, that goes for when you’re in Malaysia or Melbourne, Australia too. For me, Haianese Chicken Rice is the definition of comfort food. The elements seem simple enough, but the flavors are simply amazing. My aunt used to babysit my sister and I when we lived in Melbourne. She had lived in Singapore for a long time and had perfected the signature dishes of the region. To this day, the smell of this dish takes me right back to childhood. That’s why when Ry and I visited Singapore and Malaysia a few years ago, I ordered the chicken rice at pretty much every hawker centre we went to. It’s a universally loved flavor profile, and I love making it for friends and family—it’s pretty and hearty and in a small way it’s part of who I am. Selamat makan! <enjoy your meal>

Haianese Chicken Rice

Serves 10

Haianese Chicken

8 Chicken leg quarters (skin on), rinsed

Ginger, peeled cut into 4 one-inch pieces

8 cloves Garlic, peeled

1 Cup chopped spring onions

2 teaspoons salt

Haianese Chicken Rice

5 Cups long grain rice

Ginger, peeled cut into 3 one-inch pieces

4 Garlic cloves

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons chicken fat, skimmed from the top of the cooled stock

5-6 Cups chicken stock (according to the rice cooking instructions)

2 Pandan leaves (also known as screw pine leaves)

Brown Sauce

3 tablespoons Garlic oil (sauté 4 crushed pieces of garlic in vegetable oil to make garlic oil)

3 teaspoons sesame oil

¾ Cup Soy Sauce (use gluten free soy sauce for those with gluten intolerance)

3 tablespoons sugar

½ Cup chicken stock (from the Haianese chicken you cooked)

1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch

Garnish

Cucumber

Spring Onions

Sambal Oelek

Brown Sauce (from above)

Directions

1. Fill a large pot up with water (enough to cover the chicken). Do not place the chicken in the pot yet.
2. Place the pieces of ginger into the water, 8 garlic cloves, and spring onions in the water. Add in the salt.
3. Bring the pot of water to a boil, then turn of the heat, add the chicken, and cover with a lid.
4. Keeping the pot covered with a lid, bring the water to a boil again on low heat (level 3). Once the water has come to a boil, keep the lid on and turn off the heat. Leave the chicken in the pot to stand in the water for 30 minutes.
5. After 30 minutes, bring the pot of water to a boil at low heat. After it comes to a boil, turn the heat off and allow the chicken to stand in the water with the lid on for another 30 minutes.
6. Take the lid off and carefully remove the chicken from the pot. Remove the pot of chicken stock from the stove. Place the cooked chicken on a plate. Allow the chicken and the chicken stock to cool down. Once cooled, pat the chicken dry. Place in a sealed container and refrigerate. 
   
7. Add all of the rice ingredients to a rice cooker and cook.
8. While the rice is cooking, prepare the brown sauce for the chicken. Combine all the sauce ingredients except the corn starch in a small saucepan and cook on low heat, stirring until all of the sugar has dissolved. In a separate bowl, mix the cornstarch with a tablespoon of cold water. Stir the cornstarch and water into a thin paste. Add the corn starch paste to the brown sauce and whisk it until the cornstarch has completely incorporated (no lumps). Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow it to cool down.
   
9. Turn on the broiler in your oven. Remove the chicken from the fridge.
10. Pat the chicken dry, and place it on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil. Brush on some of the brown sauce onto the chicken. Place the baking sheet in the oven. Watch the chicken carefully. You only want to crisp and brown the chicken.
11. Once the rice is done cooking, plate the meal. Garnish with cucumber, spring onions, the brown sauce, and sambal oelek.
    

Photo Credits: KiwiConfections