Fennel Tea

We had this last night for the first time at a lovely dinner party hosted by Remi, a friend from Nigeria (via Canada). It is naturally non-caffeinated, and Remi said that it aids digestion too.

• 1/2 tsp. (or to taste) fennel seeds per cup
• Pour over boiling water
• Tea is ready when most of the seeds have sunk to the bottom. Aim for a very very light green color, don't blame me if you don't strain out the seeds.

Try it out - it's a very interesting taste, a sort of savoury-sweet.

It suits nibbling on pieces of dark chocolate...

Lentil and Chicken Curry

This is a recipe from my Auzzie friend Di Lister here in Cambridge, infinitely modifiable, easy, cheap, and able to feed a crowd! I'd post a picture, but it kind of looks like brown sludge. Don't let looks fool you - it's nice and heart-warming food, and freezes very well. I'm calling it a curry, but that's because it's not a stew or a soup and I couldn't think of a better name; it is not in any way authentic. We have it a lot at the Listers because it's one of their 'Bible study recipes' - a pretty great use of the recipe!

Lentil and Chicken Curry
serves 10

Ingredients:
700 g. lentils
chicken or vegetable stock or water

500 g. chicken, poached, de-boned (if necessary) and cut into bite-size pieces
2 zucchini, chopped (opt.)
1 fennel bulb, chopped or ½-1tsp. fennel seeds
1 can of mushrooms, drained
2 onions, chopped
1 can chopped tomatoes and their juices
1 can chickpeas (opt.)
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ - 1 inch of ginger root, chopped or grated
1 heaping Tb. cumin
1 heaping Tb. coriander
½ tsp. turmeric
any other veggies on hand that you fancy (carrots, celery, eggplant, spinach, etc.)
salt and pepper, to taste

Before serving stir in:
1 heaping Tb. garam masala
1-2 red chillies, finely diced (opt.)
handful of roughly chopped cilantro (opt.)

Serve over rice with:
mango chutney, or a dash of apricot jam and a splash of white vinegar (or the vinegar from a jar of jalapeno chiles, if you’ve got it on hand)

1. Wash and drain lentils twice. Put in large pot with some stock and boil as you normally would. Prepare the rest as the lentils are simmering away, adding more liquid as necessary
2. Chuck everything else into the pan and simmer until lentils are cooked; add chicken in the last 10 minutes or so.
3. When the lentils are cooked, smash a few or use a hand blender to blend the curry to the desired consistency. I don’t mind if bits of anything else get blended, so I just stick the hand blender in and go for it.
4. Check seasoning, stir in garam masala and cilantro and serve with mango chutney. Grating over some fresh ginger at the end is also a good idea. Also, don’t skip the chutney; it really sets off nicely what would otherwise be a little dull and chili-tasting.

Buying kitchen virtue?

Thanks to Kitchen Daily Deal and a mail-in rebate, I was able to purchase aforesaid virtue-enabling appliance (the 750 model) for a whopping $85! Not bad for an item that normally retails at about $250 and even Target sells for only $200.

Is it possible to buy virtue? I think we all must agree that it isn't, but I can certainly buy virtuously!

The real question is, is buying something so good for so much less than it is worth the act of a properly virtuous person? Here are other variations of the same question:

• By spending only 85 bucks for years of aid in chopping and slicing by a well-made machine, do I dishonor the labor, both manual and intellectual, that went into its production?
• In demanding the lowest price possible, the "steal", the bargain basement blowout, am I buying virtuously?
  
• If I wait to buy an item until the retailer is desperate to dump extra merchandise, am I doing something akin to blackmail?
  
• Should I insist on paying at least the cost of production when searching for my bargains?

I am not looking for a laissez-faire reply referring vaguely to market forces making any good-faith economic exchange ethically ok, but a more wide-ranging discussion of what it could mean in principle to purchase virtuously.

Is there such a field as consumer ethics?

Who says that even if I like chicken pie, it can't like me back? See, it's even smiling at me!


Basic idea:
1-2 slices of bacon (opt.), sliced thinly
2 leeks, chopped roughly
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 carrots, chopped finely
2-4 chicken breasts (or whatever), chopped into small pieces
1/2 - 1 tsp. thyme
handful of mushrooms, chopped roughly
2 large handfuls of peas, straight from the freezer
hefty slurge of dry sherry or marsala wine
1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup
puff pastry

• Preheat oven to 400 F. Heat a little oil over medium heat and throw leeks, garlic, and carrots in (and bacon, if you feel like it); cook for a few minutes while you chop the mushrooms and chicken
  
• Toss in chicken and stir around furiously; sprinkle over thyme; cook, stirring infrequently until the chicken doesn't look super-pink, like it will give you salmonella (you know what I mean), but don't over-do it. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  
• Throw in mushrooms, peas, sherry/marsala, and soup, stir together and let it simmer away while you roll out the puff pastry to the size of your pan
• When pastry is ready, pour chicken mixture into a 9x13 or similar type baking dish and top with pastry. Cut a vent or two and use any scraps to make pretty or silly designs
• Bake at about 15-25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Let it cool 10 min or so, or you'll burn your tongue and it will slide all over the place.
  

Add also small cubed potatoes, celery, turnips, parsnips, etc. Whatever will cook quickly... :)

Accompaniments: Newcastle Brown Ale or Blackthorn Cider for lighter tipplers like Ladybug