pineapple chutney

 

This was a treat at Christmas, but I think it would be good any time you have ham or chicken for a meal. I'll bet it would be tremendously delicious on a ham sandwich, too, and I'm going to try it on vanilla ice cream sometime. It was packed full of spice, tartness, sweetness, and just overall perky deliciousness. 

(Borrowed from The Healthy Foodie, but I've slightly changed it.)

You'll need:

• 1 onion, finely chopped 
• 1 large pineapple, finely chopped (I used pre-cut pineapple in chunks, but then I had to chop it into tiny bits)
• 1 dried Japanese chili, deseeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 3 T. grated ginger
• 1 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 t. cinnamon
• 1/4 t. nutmeg
• a pinch of ground cloves

Do this:

Saute the onion a few minutes in a frying pan, then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer on low heat about an hour, until most of the liquid is gone. 

Serve with a festive meal or whenever you darn well feel like it. 

curry fried rice

 

I aggregated a few recipes plus my own ideas for this yummy curried fried rice, which one of our sons loves and one doesn't. I happen to be in the love camp. (I served it in my bento with carrot sambharo, another delicious concoction, and yogurt with honey, lettuce, tomato, and a lemon wedge.) 

You'll need:

• ground pork, about 500 g
• garlic cloves, minced, about 5 or 6
• ginger, grated, about a 1-inch or 4-cm knob
• cooked rice (I used 3 cups, pre-cooked)
• 1 or 2 carrots, chopped finely
• 1/4 head cabbage, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• frozen peas, about 200 g
• salt and pepper to taste
• Worcestershire sauce, about 1 T. 
• soy sauce, about 2 T. 
• ketchup, about 1/4 cup
• cooking sake, about 2 T.
• turmeric, about 2 t. 
• Japanese curry powder, about 1 T. 
• 4 eggs, beaten

Do this:

Saute the onions, carrots, cabbage, garlic, and ginger in a tablespoon of neutral-flavored oil, then add in the pork and stir till cooked through. Throw in those peas. Pour in the Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, cooking sauce, and ketchup along with your spices, then add in the cooked rice. Cook till you get little crispy rice edges in some places, then pour over your beaten eggs, let set a few minutes, then stir again before serving. 

If you need to do a little happy-taste-buds-dance, I won't stop you.