Hey there!

Happy Wednesday! Can you believe there are only 4 sleeps left till Christmas? Yes, I still count in sleeps. Are you ready? I sure am – my head is already in holiday mode, now I’ve just got to get 2 days of work out of the way!

Over to my usual mid-week topic, here’s the weekly recap of new things tried this Tuesday:

1. Recipe of the Week: Have you got your Christmas menu planned yet? If not, here’s something to add to your list of appetizers.

Deviled eggs are definitely not new to the world, and as plain as eggs may sound, they make a great appetizer. Not only are they easy-to-eat, mess-free finger food, but they’re also a cheap source of high quality protein. Eggs are also a very low-fat option, especially in comparison to some of the other hors d’oeuvres you might encounter over the holidays.

These Indian-inspired Curried Deviled Eggs contain a mix of curry powder, plain yogurt, and dried apricots. Attempting to be fancy, I attached a coupler and star tip onto a pastry bag and began squeezing the yolks out.

Turns out this wasn’t a very clever method because some of my apricot bits were too big to fit through the tip. #fail. Plan B was to just remove the tip and squeeze the filling into the egg whites, and this was much more successful!

2. Coconut Dream dairy-free beverage. This is a product that I found at Bulk Barn over the weekend, and as soon as I saw it, I thought about using it as a replacement for coconut milk in a curry.

I’ve never been a big fan of the coconut taste, but I do like the creaminess that the milk adds. (I usually use plain yogurt instead since there’s almost always some in my fridge.) The following were the ingredients in my experiment, and the final dish was enough to make 2 servings:

• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 tsp each curry powder and tikka masala
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp each cumin and coriander
• 1/8 tsp chipotle chili powder (optional)
• 225g boneless skinless raw chicken breast, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 3 cups chopped bell peppers
• 1 cup Coconut Dream non-dairy beverage

After cooking the garlic and onion in the hot oil for a few minutes, I added the spices and stirred the pieces of chicken around in the pan until they were almost completely cooked. Then came the peppers and Coconut Dream. I dialed the heat down to low and covered the pan for about 10 minutes, then scooped half of the curry into a bowl. Then I took some photos….

….. then I transferred it into a container to take with me to work for lunch (not because I like washing dishes, but because Tupperware containers aren’t as pretty as bowls.) This dish was made on Monday, and when I finally let myself try it yesterday for lunch, I was surprised to find that there wasn’t a noticeable coconut taste. Contrary to my prediction, the creaminess factor wasn’t there, nor was the coconutty sweetness. This wasn’t disappointing to me though – the curry was still really tasty!

3. Anasazi Beans. Given that this is the third bean I’ve featured over the past month (after pink beans and appaloosa beans) I realize that I’m at risk of being re-named The Bean Lady. However, these ones are very cool looking and therefore, highly deserving of a mention.

According to Wisegeek (who seems to be even more wise than Wikipedia when it comes to my fancy bean experiments),

Anasazi beans are small kidney shaped purple and white beans in the same family as pinto beans. They can be used in Latin American and Southwestern cuisines, and have a mild, sweet flavor which pairs with a mealy texture. Anasazi beans cook much more quickly than regular beans, and they appear to have been a part of the human diet in the Americas for thousands of years. The beans are also marketed as New Mexico cave beans, Aztec beans, New Mexico appaloosas, and Jacob’s Cattle beans.

After soaking for 8 hours or overnight, the beans can be cooked in an assortment of recipes including soup, chili, and burritos. The slightly sweet flavor of Anasazi beans makes them excellent for spicy Latin American food.

Spicy food? Sounds good to me! Appearance-wise, the cooked beans were definitely not anything to write home about…

… so I decided to use mine in an egg white omelette. I whisked together some egg whites, lots of chopped bell peppers, cilantro, iced tomatoes, and a few pinches of chipotle chili powder and cumin. After the mixture began to turn opaque in the frying pan, I added the beans on one side and carefully folded it over. There is a reason that you don’t see many omelettes on this blog, and that is because what was initially supposed to be an omelette usually turns into a scramble. But not this time!

Flipped to perfection! Although their taste wasn’t very distinct, the anasazi beans did seem to pair well with the spiciness of the chili powder and salsa on top, and definitely helped to give this dinner some staying power!

Annnd that’s a wrap! Before you head off to have an absolutely fantastic Wednesday, tell me…

• What’s your favourite holiday appetizer? Feel free to leave links if you have them!
• Did you try anything new yesterday?