Sweet and Spicy

Tonight's dinner wass a good mixture of spice and sweet.

First course, of course, was soup.

Spicy Tomato Soup
Tomatoes--I used five average ones, and a handful of baby tomatoes I had handy
One bunch of celery, including greens, but cut it into short pieces
One chili pepper, including stem and seeds
Ten fresh basil leaves
Salt and pepper

Juice it. Juice the celery last,or else it will clog the output. Oh, and if you leave out the chili peppers it makes a tasty drinkable juice. Pour the juice into a sauce pan and simmer over medium heat. Salt and pepper to taste.

Next, I whipped up a couple of sauces for rice.

Spicy Lettuce Curry
Juice:
One head of green leaf lettuce
One clove of garlic
Half a bunch of spinach
Three chili peppers
Three white potatoes
Half a 12oz. can of coconut milk

1Table spoon Red curry powder
Chicken breast sliced half inch thick
Cinnamon
Corn starch
Salt
Pepper

The white potatoes should be intermixed with the lettuce and spinach to keep things moving through the juicer. You're gonna love the aroma as the garlic goes through!

Coat the chicken in cinnamon, salt and pepper; I cooked it in the same cast iron frying pan I made the rest of the sauce in. I seared it a little--pretty tasty. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. Combine juice and coconut milk over medium heat. Add curry powder. I use the corn starch to thicken it a bit-- about four or five table spoons is what I used (don't forget to add a little water to the starch, not the starch to water. It's stiff at first, then dissolves). Add the chicken back in. Salt if necessary.

Sweet Mega Red
Juice:
Three bunches of Spinach
Two sweet potatos, skins on, but scrubbed thoroughly (otherwise it's gritty) sliced
One medium beet, juiced twice to remove pulp
Sweet table grapes
Half an inch of ginger root

Half a 12oz. can of coconut milk
A hot madras curry powder, or other yellow curry powder
Chicken breast
White raisins
Apple cider vinegar
cinnamon
Corn starch
Honey
Salt

The sliced sweet potatoes keep the spinach from gumming up the machine, so feed some spinach, then some potato; the potatoes also give a creamy feel to the sauce. The beet juice I had made previously, but it had too much pulp because my juicer was already clogged by some other stuff. So, I took the pulpy beet juice and ran it back through. It sweetens and gives the mega red color to the sauce. Then I added grapes for a little more mass and sweetness.

This is my special super tender chicken. Lay the chicken on a cutting board and coat copiously with cinnamon and salt. Then lay another cutting board on top and apply pressure. Smash the chicken until it is thin and uniform-- the thinner the more tender. I've also had good luck laying plastic wrap on top of the chicken and using a rolling pin to flatten it. It makes it super tender. Then, add some salt to an oiled frying pan on medium high heat and use a spatula to lay the chicken in the pan in one flat piece. Cook until you can turn it over, and cook both sides until it thoroughly cooked and pleasantly browned. Remove from heat, slice into thin strips and set aside.

Combine juice and coconut milk over medium heat; I like using the same deep frying pan i used for the chicken. Add curry powder. I used at least a quarter cup of corn starch with a little water added for thickening. The cider takes the edge off the pastiness left by the potatoes, and lends a sweet and sour flavor. I only usd a couple of table spoons' worth, but it could certainly stand more if you like the sourness. Add raisins and chicken. Honey and salt to taste, serve hot over Jasmine rice.

These two sauces are great complements, one spicy and one sweet. Plus the ultra green of the lettuce sauce next to the mega red beet sauce over white rice is a pretty stunning presentation.