Mussamun Currry

My husband and I love to go out for Thai and Indian food and curries are our favorite dishes to get.  I have made a few curries at home but I'm often intimidated to try something new.  I get worried that the prep will be too long (my meal preparing has to be quick these days with a baby crawling all over the place and into everything), that I won't be able to find the spices and ingredients, and that I'll mess it up somehow.  I promise you, this recipe is really simple and can be easily incorporated into your regular meal routine.

Prepared mussamun curry paste is pretty readily available.  You can likely find it in an Asian market and even regular grocery stores can carry it.  If you can't find it, it looks like Amazon even sells some.

I got the recipe from this book and just made a couple minor changes to healthify it a bit.  Mussamun is traditionally made with beef, but I used chicken.  Feel free to substitute beef if you'd like.  This recipe makes a lot! I made half of the following recipe for the two of us the other night and we had plenty of leftovers, enough for dinner the next night and then some.

Gaeng Mussamun (Mussamun Curry)

1 pound chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 cups coconut milk (I always use low-fat)
1/4 cup mussamun curry paste
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth 
3 medium potatoes, washed and cut in bite-sized chunks (about 2 cups)
1 large onion, large dice (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 Tbs. fish sauce
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted peanuts
1tsp. lime zest 
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice

In a large saucepan or skillet, bring 1 cup of the coconut milk to a gentle boil over medium heat.  Cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened.  Add the curry paste  and cook for another few minutes, stirring to incorporate it into the coconut milk.  Add the chicken and cook another 3 minutes, tossing to coat it with the sacuce.

Add the remaining 2 cups of coconut milk, chicken broth, potatoes, onion, fish sauce, brown sugar, and salt and bring to a gentle boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.  Stir in the peanuts, lime zest and juice.  Serve warm over basmati rice.  Enjoy!

#50. Take Family Pictures (Part II)

Emily posted some of our family photos on her blog and they happen to basically be ones I picked as my favorites.  So instead of posting them here, I'll just direct you to her fun blog!

#50. Take Family Pictures

My brother and his wife stopped by for a visit during their voyage to California this past weekend.  Our time with them was short, but so fun.  We were very lucky to have my wonderful sister-in-law take family pictures for us.  I have had so much fun looking through them and editing a few.  I can't wait to see the ones she edits for us.  But for now, here is one fun one that I edited.  Thanks, Emily!

Watching

My husband took this of our baby girl the day we took her to the park to swing and slide for the very first time.  I think the thing she enjoyed the most was watching all the kids running around and playing with each other.  What a precious expression to capture!  Good job, Landon!

A Peek

 Wanna take a peek at my latest project?  Here it is.

Last night I finished all the squares I need for my project.  These are just two of the squares.  I'm excited with the way it looks.  It is pretty bold, but I think it's going to be a lot of fun.

Have I mentioned that Abby sometimes helps me with my photo shoots?

Well, she does.

So I decided to lock her up.

It was just for a minute.  I promise I'm not a horrible mother.

Lo-Fi

My husband and I have been having fun learning how to take pictures.  We are still amateurs, but it is a hobby we enjoy doing together.  My husband's favorite part of it all is the software and post-processing that goes along with digital photography (big surprise there).  If you have looked into photography software (well, photography in general), you know that photography is not a cheap hobby. 

He sent me this link the other day, and I did a download of the 7 day trial.  If you are a beginner and are interested in doing some fun vintage looking post-processing, this program might interest you.  It is extremely simple to use, has quite a few presets for film type, mood, and frames, and... it costs only $30 (which is seriously like a breath of fresh air).  It is not the most amazing thing ever, but for $30, you can have a lot of fun.  Here are some pictures I edited with it.

Architecture

Nature

Portraits

Still-Life

and even Food

Fun, huh?  I haven't purchased it, but am definitely considering it.  Go try it out and play!

Book Giveaway Winner

Thanks for your comments and favorite books.  I loved reading all of them and have added some to my list of books to read.  And many of them are some of my favorites as well.  I love The Alchemist, Pride and Prejudice, and Harry Potter (specifically numbers 3 and 6).  Oh, and yes, Matilda is also on my favorite book list, Jenny.

Okay, the book I'm giving away is...

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

If you haven't read this book, I would definitely recommend it.  It is John Knowles' most popular book, but even still, I don't think it is terribly well-known.  It is popular among my family members though.  When my parents were dating my dad gave my mom a list of books she had to read in order for them to get married.  This one was on that list.  It is also one of my brother's favorites.  And like I said before, Landon loves it as well.

As a man, the narrator visits his old prep school he attended as a teenage boy and tells the story of a terrible event that happened while he was there.  The characters experience a wide range of emotions and feelings, which I think are depicted perfectly.  That is all I'm going to say about it.  I don't want to give too much information.

Okay, on to the winner...

The winner is Annie!

I will get your copy of A Separate Peace to you soon!