Cheers!

"Cheers! To friendship and good food!" After a day at Pike Place Market and the Seattle Sculpture Park Sue and I returned home to relax, uncork a bottle of Snoqualmie 2006 Chardonnay, more talk and the joy of slicing and stirring together in the kitchen. We had chosen a Madras Curry at the Market Spice shop and this was the perfect recipe to try it out:

CURRIED WALNUT CHICKEN
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can fat free chicken broth
3 Tblsp. cornstarch
1 Tblsp. Curry
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes
2 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 small red bell pepper (green is ok) seeded and sliced into thin strips
2-4 green onion, sliced on diagonal into 1/2 inch pieces
salt to taste
3 cups hot, cooked long grain white rice (we used a mixture of brown and jasmine)

Toast walnuts 1-2 minutes in a dry skillet, set aside
In a medium bowl whisk together broth, cornstarch and curry powder; set aside. Coat a large skillet with a tablespoon of cooking oil and saute chicken on medium high till golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in carrots, bell pepper and onion and saute 2 minutes more.
Stir in curry mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, chicken is cooked through and the veggies are crisp-tender,about 4 minutes. Season with salt, if desired. Spoon rice into bowls, top with curried chicken and vegetables, garnish with toasted walnuts.
Serves 6. (recipe from Healthy Eating magazine)

Sue and I have been friends since, well, a LONG time. We met through a mutual friend, Jeanne. All three of us swam at the YMCA going from Minnow through to Shark. Then in high school we all worked together in the kitchen of St. Mary's Hospital. Sue is a professor in the area of toxicology, Jeanne is a dietitian, and I teach kindergarten. Sue and Jeanne went to the University of Wisconsin in Madison while I stayed at home in Green Bay for college. I can't begin to tell you how I looked forward to those adventurous weekends when I went to visit them in Madison! And yet it is I who moved furthest from home when all was said and done. While our only contact is usually a Christmas letter or rare phone call; all three of us are scheming to have a girls get away in 2009.