You may not believe this but there is more to my life than photography and paintings. Some of my days in fact are swaddled in domesticity. Today is one of those days. Now that I have the half-dry sheets from the third load of laundry in off the line to finish up in the dryer, let’s see what we have to offer…
Sunday dinner at la casa de inspiracion simmered in a late May drizzle is an Oven-Baked mild chicken curry and rice served with a side of seasonal asparagus and dark rustic bread.
Ingredients are all are local organic whenever possible. Thank you Mayne Island Farm Gate Store. The ingredients are in bold for ease of identifying what is needed.
Step One:
Two chicken legs with thighs (cut at the joint)
1 chicken bouillon cube (optional but add salt if don’t use)
¼ cup chopped onion (will need one large chopped onion in all)
¼ cup chopped celery
½ teaspoon ground ginger (could use fresh if you have it)
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ – ½ teaspoon chili powder
Place chicken in saucepan with chicken bouillon, chopped onion and celery, ginger, smoked paprika, chili powder and cover generously with boiling water. Simmer for 30 minutes while you proceed with Step two and step three.
Step two:
Two medium Yukon Gold potatoes
Three small carrots
½ red or green pepper
½ cinnamon stick
½ cup uncooked Forbidden Rice (a pearl black rice – of course any rice will do)
Wash and chop potatoes, carrots and pepper in large stew size chunks. Put chopped potatoes, carrots, piece of cinnamon stick and rice into pottery roasting pot. Set aside.
Step three:
½ cup ghee or butter
½ cup chopped onion
½ teaspoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ teaspoon fenugreek
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
Chop onion. Grind spices with mortar and pastel – okay electric grinder if you must! Melt butter on medium heat in medium size cast iron frying pan. Add spices followed by chopped onion. Brown onions and pluck chicken thighs out of broth placing in frying pan. Set broth aside for later. Brown the chicken lightly on all sides.
Step four:
¼ cup raisins (not too many and can leave out but then don’t add cinnamon stick)
3 tablespoons slivered blanched almonds (or pistachios and cashews)
¼ teaspoon of saffron
Add raisins, nuts and saffron to pottery pot with raw potatoes, carrots and half of a cinnamon stick. Pour browned chicken with onions and spices over the potatoes and carrots, raisins and such in the pottery pot. Now cover it all with chicken stock that was set aside. Give it all a bit of a stir. Cover. Place pottery pot in oven and bake for about 1.5 hours at 300 F.
Oh shoot! Can someone pour the wine please?
What are you simmering at the moment?
By the way, the 12 x 10 inch oil on canvas painting NO REASON released last week has sold and will be on its way to California shortly.
All the best of the last week in the Month of May to you!
© 2013 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.
Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.
Creative Potager – Visit with painter and photographer Terrill Welch
From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada
For gallery and purchase information about Terrill’s photographs and paintings go to http://terrillwelchartist.com
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Creative Potager 
‘swaddled in domesticity’ -love that turn of phrase, Terrill.
To answer…
Yesterday I attended the Crime Writers of Canada mini conference. Currently all the information I collected is simmering in my brain so that I can write a report to be published on my blog this coming Thursday.
Oh that sounds like it is going to be a tasty read Leanne! 🙂 I shall keep an I out for it.
That looks really tasty. I love a mild curry with rice, particularly on a cool day. Congrats on your sale
A cool day and mild curry with rice seems like a perfect pairing to me too Jo-Anne. Thank you in regards to the sale as well. Nice when a painting finds an extra special home like this one has.
Terrill – Oh yum! That recipe sounds utterly scrumptious! CONGRATULATIONS on the sale of yet another gorgeous painting!
You asked, “What are you simmering at the moment?”
Len and I are both applying a lot of consideration to our up-and-coming move. The “For Sale” sign goes in front of our house this coming Thursday morning. Once it sells we have a pretty darned good idea of the general location, but we don’t have the specifics nailed down just yet. It’s fun to just let the ideas simmer 🙂
Thank you Laurie and I must say I am enjoying watching you and Len sort through and gather up before pulling stacks and heading out into the great unknown. I think you got the temperature set just right so it shouldn’t boil over 😉
I saw your facebook page yesterday and was amazed by the colorful “food” photo with steam coming up off the plate! Awesome “Food Magazine” worthy. A day in the life of a Domestic Goddess Artist Terrill Welch!
What is simmering? If I had read and responded to this yesterday, I would have had to say myself. This morning it is just to make one step at a time!
Yes Jeff, making one step at a time is the less of making a journey of a thousand miles. It is the only way really but often one we don’t need to make alone – but best traveled in the company of friends. This is how I feel when I see your comments appear for one of my blogs 🙂 All the best of today to you! And thank you for the kind words about my work!
I am touched by your response Terrill !
Reblogged this on Energy's Soul Mission.
Am I at all surprised Terrill, that a great artist like yourself has found that special touch on the culinary front, or that you have exhibited another special propensity in a field that is also under the umbrella of art? Well, I have copied down the recipe, though it seems these days that we have been eating away from the table, though still cognizant of the health properties of every meal. Needless to say the photos are succulent and the results intoxicating! Congrats on the sale of another one of your incomparable treasures, and hope you and David had a special weekend!
Where o where did this week go Sam? I quickly read your comment when you made it and now it is three days later! No worries, this recipe will keep until fall or even winter when its rich succulent flavours will warm body and soul. Our weekend was quiet as has been our week. Though the sun was scheduled a few days ago to shine today I think it changes its mind every time it peeks from behind a cloud.
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Yum…warm and cozy and I shared profusely. I am going to make this for this weekend…I have dinner for my book group (12) next Tuesday night – going to make Gluten Free pumpkin/cashew lasagna….and a salad from my first CSA box…but have added this recipe to my future book group dinner list.
What’s up for me? lots of new books for the summer ( we are getting off the war story reviews :)) and I am working on why I hate my Popeye upper arms…. I just have to admit it – they just bring me down – not enough hugs?
More hugs are always nice Patricia – sending a large virtual squeeze your way. We just finished the last of the left-overs from this dinner yesterday. It was so good! One of the steps that is unique about this recipe is the boiling of the chicken for 30 minutes in a chicken broth with ginger. Amazing how the flavour seems to go into the chicken rather than be leached out into the broth. That gluten free pumpkin/cashew lasagna sounds delicious too!
Thank you for the hugs! Ah that was great!
I have a free cookbook on my site called Harvest Potluck – it is free and one is welcome to copy the recipes and if inspired make a donation to the UN Women and Children’s fund…
The roasted Pumpkin Ricotta Lasagna is in the cook book…I add cashews to the pumpkin layer because they just seem to fit in well
Click to access PatriciasWisdomHarvestPotluck.pdf
here is the cookbook link
I asked on line for recipes that felt like love and these are the donations – everything is amazing
Enjoy
I should have had a couple from you – but I did not know you then
The cover tree is a photograph from Kim (lives near Toronto) takes stunning photographs and writes a very short story or poetry to post 2 times a week. (Looking for a publisher for her novel)
her blog is called TALON FYI
Thank you Patricia for the added links and information. I will take a look for sure. All the best of the week ahead to you my friend.
Terill, this looks so darn good! My mouth is watering. You are making me want to actually buy chicken and make this dish, even though haven’t cooked meat/poultry at home in probably seven years. (We do eat it out, sometimes.) Love that tablecloth and presentation. You can make art out of anything!
Cooking and presentation is just another form of creative expression Kathy – along with gardening or possibly arranging the tool shed Okay, arranging the tool shed might be going a bit far 😉 I think a person could replace the chicken for tofu in a vegetable broth with ginger instead. It might be worth a try anyway. At least if I didn’t want to eat meat at home I would be willing to give it a go.
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