Curry Love

I didn't have any magazines or books for my train ride home on Wednesday, so I borrowed some old Food & Wine magazines from a co-worker who had a stash of old ones in her desk. I already cooked chicken tenders on Tuesday night so I knew I wanted to incorporate those. However, I was really inspired by this Curry Crab Rundown recipe inspired by June 2008 Food & Wine's Jamaican Food Tour. I changed up a lot about this recipe based on what I had in my cupboard, but the idea was still there. I would say this dish is a cross between Indian and Jamaican and was so delicious. Rundown is a classic Caribbean recipe that involves cooking foods like crab in coconut milk.
(I will post pics when I get home)

Curry Crab and Chicken over Chickpea Golden Raisin Quinoa

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
4 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoon ground turmeric
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 teaspoon minced jalepeno
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cups light coconut milk
1 cup water
1 can crabmeat
2 cups cubed chicken
1 cup of argula
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup of golden raisins
1 15oz can of chickpeas

Instructions:
In a deep, medium skillet, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the curry powder, turmeric and cumin and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, jalepeno and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are just beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the coconut milk and water and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is reduced by one-third, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, boil 1 and 1/2 cups of water. When it starts to boil, add in the 1 cup of quinoa and cook until it absorbs all the water. Then transfer to plate and let set for 15 minutes. After the crab/chicken dish has reduced down, stir the crab and argula into the sauce and cook just until heated through. While that heats through, add the chickpeas to the same sauce pot as where you cooked the quinoa. Then add the raisins and quinoa and cook together with a touch of olive oil for five minutes. I then served the quinoa under the curry dish.

It was so different and tasty! I think I am really getting obsessed with quinoa. It's seriously amazing.

Workouts:
Monday- 5 miles
Tuesday- 5.5 miles 4X800
Wednesday- Physical Therapy
Thursday- 4 Miles
Friday- off

Tomorrow I plan to run with Nancy for as long as I can. It's supposed to be absolutely freezing! Last night we ended up going out to John Harvards and tonight we are meeting friends in the city.

PS-Since I am adding the pics, I might as well also talk about my run this morning (Saturday). I met Nancy at 8am and dressed in Nike tights, long-sleeve Dri-Fit Shirt, Hooded Dri-Fit Nike Sweat-Shirt, Nike Fleece Gloves, Nike Headband, and Fleece socks. It was 10 DEGREES! No joke! We ran for exactly 8 miles!!!
I felt strong. No real pain to report. But I was really cold. When we were like 2 miles away from Nancy's house, my legs were completely numb as well as my fingers and neck! Its crazy running in 10 degree weather. Here are our running splits:

Mile 1: 8:54
Mile 2: 9:11
Mile 3: 9:02
Mile 4: 9:07
Mile 5: 9:12
Mile 6: 9:16
Mile 7: 9:17
Mile 8: 9:05
Average Pace: 9:08
Fastest Pace: 7:40

I felt strong and after a long bath, I can finally feel my fingers! Lots of plans for Saturday. We are going to our friends Tara and Jay's house for a Potluck Dinner Party. I plan on making my favorite Kale, Butternut Squash and Cheddar Bread Pudding as well as Chicken Satay and Mini Cheesecakes. I better get cracking!