Chicken Satay with West African Citrus Spice and Broccoli, Cheddar and Potato Soup
(Drum roll please) and the contents of this morning’s mystery freezer bag: strips of chicken for satay! Flavoured with West African Citrus Spice blend created by our friends/neighbours who opened a spice company called The Silk Road Spice Merchant and who -by the way- are opening up a hip little shop by Caffe Rosso in Ramsay in a few months. So after you grab your latte you can pick up some true cinnamon, or ras-el-hanout, or fennel pollen, or berbere, or Cubeb berries, or Turkish baharat.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: on Halloween they dressed up as Han Solo and Princes Leia, and their toddler daughter as an Ewok. Their homemade costumes were brilliant. When we went trick-or-treating and rang the bell at their house, K answered the door as Leia (and she totally pulled it off, by the way) a few springs in Mike’s head popped loose and he blurted out something along the lines of “what is this, Christmas? My teenage fantasies are coming true?” at which point she opened the door an inch wider and said, “Mike, I’d like you to meet my Mom and Dad…”
The West African citrus blend has a base of mustard and paprika with nutmeg and allspice for sweetness, ginger and chiles for heat and dried orange peel for tartness and flavour. How delicious does that sound? It’s killer on fish and grilled chicken, which is likely why I shook some into my baggie of chicken strips and squished it around before tossing it in the freezer to marinate as it sat in wait. Any meat cut into strips thaws much more quickly than a big lump, so it’s easy to pull out, thaw, thread onto bamboo skewers and cook in about 5 minutes under the broiler. The grill would have been better, but it was cold and I was lazy.
Because in other news: I’m sick. Snotty, phlegmy, sore throat, sore head. Sneezes that feel like they just might blow my head off my body. It could be that over the past few days my defenses were knocked down while every last reserve of energy was channeled toward digesting.
Alison brought soup. Creamy broccoli with chunks of unpeeled new potatoes and grated cheese melted in. She makes it like so: dumps a 1L carton of chicken stock into a pot, brings it to a simmer with a bunch of chopped broccoli and halved baby potatoes. When the veggies are tender she throws in a handful of grated old cheddar and a couple cups of half & half. If it needs thickening, she adds a quick slurry of flour and water and lets it bubble.
Soup always tastes so much better when someone else makes it for you. Even better yet while watching The Office online, on your laptop in bed, and coming across one you haven’t seen yet.
February 22 2010 08:42 pm | leftovers
Laurie in Burnaby BC on 22 Feb 2010 at 11:45 pm #
Poor baby, feeling so miserable. No doubt your immune system was thrashed by the emotional rollercoaster you’ve been on lately, not to mention working so hard.
I love the chicken satay, and broccoli/cheese soup is on of my all time favourites. If we were closer I would make real chicken soup for you, full of garlic and other good things that taste wonderful and are natural anti-virals.
bellini valli on 23 Feb 2010 at 7:04 am #
Sorry to hear you’re under the weather. These dishes should cure you of any residual sniffles.
Cori on 23 Feb 2010 at 7:22 am #
I was just fine before I started reading this post. One look at these nummy pictures and my tummy rumbled like no one’s business.
Jan (family bites) on 23 Feb 2010 at 7:55 am #
Feel better soon, Julie. My precious nine year old gave me his stomach flu so I’m in bed today too, with my computer, a glass of water and a bucket!
sue.d on 23 Feb 2010 at 8:08 am #
Okay, I feel badly that you’re sick, but just LOOK AT THAT SOUP! Can you let Alison know that we have a suite available?
Spice mixture sounds divine, can’t wait to check out the shop.
Angie on 23 Feb 2010 at 9:28 am #
Hi Julie! I am totally new to your blog. I found it yesterday when I typed in a google search for “two bite brownie recipes” and “dinnerwithjulie” popped up. I started reading and then learned that you are Canadian and writing from Calgary. I’m in Edmonton, so that’s kinda close? Love your great writing and recipes…I spent an hour last night copying and pasting some of your recipes to try. I sent links to all my foodie friends in Edmonton to you site. I love Micheal Smith too….being from the East Coast & all.
Hope you are feeling better soon!
Erica B. on 23 Feb 2010 at 9:38 am #
We just got through a round of strep in our house… the symptoms were identical (except for C who got strep but her only symptom was sore ears never a sore throat?!) Get some rest & TLC. Hope you’re feeling better soon!
Lana in South Mountain (ON) on 23 Feb 2010 at 11:17 am #
Hope you feel better soon!
Heather on 23 Feb 2010 at 12:31 pm #
Yum – those spices look fantastic! Often the thing that stops me from making an ethnic dish is that I have no idea where to get the spices, and don’t want to drive all over the city to the little ethnic places on the off chance they might have it. Will have to go through my various cookbooks and compile a list of spices I’m missing!
Donna on 23 Feb 2010 at 12:37 pm #
Hope you are feeling better soon.
How did the bison sliders work out this morning?
What a great idea for a sport / CDN theme.
Betty C on 23 Feb 2010 at 12:47 pm #
Get better Julie. You need to be better for dinner at Forage tomorrow night….it is still on I hope. Did the whole table get sold to ‘Dinner With Julie’ followers?
JulieVR on 23 Feb 2010 at 12:51 pm #
Yes of course it’s still on! It’s almost full – one or two spots left, I think! Can’t wait!
Amber on 23 Feb 2010 at 1:18 pm #
Feel better soon! Just got my Blog Aid cookbook and it looks beautiful. I’ve only flipped through quickly and have already seen a couple recipes even I can try making (beginner foodie here…but learning to try new things and be brave!). You are my inspiration:)
Aimee on 23 Feb 2010 at 1:52 pm #
Get better Julie.
So glad someone brought you soup..
gwendolyn (Patent and the Pantry) on 23 Feb 2010 at 2:10 pm #
Boo! I have this cold too and it sucks. I’ve been subsisting solely on soup (carrot-ginger, hot and sour) and think this broccoli-cheddar one may make the list too.
Hope you’re feeling better soon!
Kathy on 23 Feb 2010 at 3:20 pm #
I’ve had to cancel my spot at Forage tomorrow. I’ve been sick since Sunday.): Julie, one of these days we shall meet…I swear.
Kathy on 23 Feb 2010 at 3:24 pm #
If anyone wants to go to the Farm Table Dinner let me know, I may not get a refund, but if I can tell them that someone is taking my place …they might…
kathyatbignoise-enterprisesdotcom posted that way to avoid spam….
Cheryl Arkison on 23 Feb 2010 at 4:02 pm #
That cold is making it’s way through our house today. It appears that today is the start of my turn. Looking forward to seeing what mystery today’s freezer bag holds.
molly on 24 Feb 2010 at 10:44 am #
oh, MAN, that soup looks good! Nice steam, very nice…
molly on 24 Feb 2010 at 10:44 am #
You’d think I’d know my domain name by now, heh!
Jill on 24 Feb 2010 at 10:44 am #
Thank you for the link for Silk Road. I will definitely be checking it out and probably be making an order. I think I’m all Epicure’d out so it will be good to try something new.