A Spicy Valentines Day

Dear bloggers,
       What a wonderful week it has been. Snow hit our town and well, the University extended our weekend by an extra two days. I'd say it's been a pretty wonderful two days. Last weekend I had my dear friend over and we made some of Mama Phan's delicious egg rolls. I felt so happy, as I was in a sedated state of over indulgence. I served the egg rolls with some Japanese Miso Pork Noodle Soup and it was divine. On Valentines day, I wanted to give my dear a bit of a bite that he wasn't expecting so I made West Indian Curried Chicken. Both of these recipes can be found through the fabulous cookbook of Bullfrog and Baum, Cooking with Frogs.
       My friend Kara and I began our egg rolls by mixing all of the meats together in a bowl and adding some seasoning. We then grabbed our egg rolls and began rolling. She was such a natural and grasped how to make the egg rolls perfectly; I slightly stepped away and worked on our soup instead. If you are interested in this soup it can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7fZjiLV36c  . I can guarantee that Cooking with Dog does not disappoint any audience!
       Then for our Valentines day lunch I made a meal from Eastern Asia. The original recipe called for West Indian curry powder and in all honesty, I could not find this ingredient due to the snow and the inability to escape our barricade of apartment. I used some simple Trader Joe's curry powder and I felt that it did an equally wonderful job. I let my meat marinate for only 2 hours as suggested and it was SO flavorful. I truly was not anticipating that it would absorb so many flavors, but it was so beautifully bodied. Served on a plate of Spanish Saffron rice, the two flavors coincided so smoothly. The rice was slightly sweet which gave comfort to slight spice of the chicken. It was utterly delicious. Thank you Adri, for this excellent recipe!
     Take a stab at these recipes and let me know if you find the West Indian curry powder. Well, only 15 more recipes to go! Keep yourselves warm with some fuzzy socks and a fire, and as always, stay

healthy and happy cooking!