FOOD TINKERING

I will admit, I am not a good cook.
I am not 'Chef' material.
I am a Food Tinkerer.
I like to mix flavors till they become something that wakes up in my mouth.
I like spices, herbs, vegetables and fruits. Meats and beans(proteins) are the bed that they must lie upon. At least in my house!
I do not like touching to prepare chicken, meat or fish, but I do it because I must cook.
You really didn't need to know this, but there it is anyway.

I have been cooking lately and just not writing, so alas, you have missed some weird but interesting stuff.

• I made a turkey shepherds pie with pepitas. Leftover turkey and mashed potatoes. Lined the square bake dish with the potatoes, filled with chopped turkey, grilled onions, celery and spices and leftover gravy. More potatoes to cover and pepitas on top. Big hit with the kids.

• A few soups over the holiday that I can't remember what went into them. One was a Butternut squash with rice (leftovers of course) with a menagerie of spices. Max even ate this one.

• Tonight I made Coconut curry chicken over brown rice.

Two large breasts of chicken cut into good sized chunks (I always use a fork and knife so I don't have to touch it, see my aversion to it above.)
1 leek sliced thin
1tbsp garlic chopped
1 sweet potatoe
1 to 2 cups green beans (I used last nights leftovers and any leftover veggies would be good here)
2 to 3 plum tomatoes (I know these are not in season but I like tomatoes in curry)
4 to 6 baby bella mushrooms
Chicken broth
1/2 can Lite coconut milk
1/2tsp curry
1/4tsp coriander
dash salt
Saute in a deep dish the leek and garlic in about a TBSP olive oil or butter for about 1 min then mushrooms another minute. add in chicken chunks just to quickly brown on both sides.
Add; enough chicken broth just to cover, the coconut milk, sweet potatoe, curry, coriander and salt.
Bring to boil and then simmer for 15 to 20 minutes and add the leftover veggies and tomatoes in the last 5 minutes(if you add to early they will be mush, but I don't have to tell you that)

I go light on the spices because my kids would not eat it otherwise. Personally I would add more curry and some hot sauce if I was eating it. So go ahead and add what you like!

Oh, don't forget to cook your rice!
I bought a used rice cooker from a friend years ago and it is one of my favorite appliances. I always ruined rice cooking in a pot, but this rice cooker gets it perfect every time!