Chicken Korma

I recently received a slow cooker as a wedding present and had been eagerly waiting to use it, but the opportunity hadn't presented itself. Coupled with the new, improved and extensive spice rack that I also received as a wedding present, I decided on Saturday that I would try a favorite chicken korma recipe. The results were delicious and the process a breeze, since I didn't have to constantly check on the stove and stir to keep the ingredients from sticking.

Ingredients
* 1/4 C canola oil
* 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
* 2 t minced garlic
* fresh ginger, peeled and grated
* cinnamon stick
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 T ground coriander
* 1 t ground turmeric
* 1/2 t cayenne pepper
* 1/2 t ground cumin
* 1 1/2 C chicken broth
* 1 C (8 oz) canned tomato sauce
* 1 T sugar
* 1 t salt
* 2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts/thighs cut into bite size pieces
* 1/2 C buttermilk
* 1/2 C roasted cashew nuts
* 3 T chopped fresh cilantro

Directions
Heat the oil in a large, non-stick pan. Fry the onions till they are translucent. Add the garlic, ginger (I find that using a ginger paste makes it more flavorful), cinnamon, bay leaves, coriander, turmeric, cayenne and cumin and coat the onions in this mixture of spices. Sautee the onion and spice mixture for a few minutes and then add chicken broth, tomato paste, sugar and salt and stir to blend thoroughly. Bring to a boil and then transfer broth-spice mixture to slow cooker. Stir in chicken and make sure pieces are nicely coated in the mixture. Cover and cook until the chicken is very tender and the sauce is thickened, approximately 3 hours on high heat and 6 hours on low heat.

Combine buttermilk and cashews in a food processor and puree until the nuts are finely blended with the buttermilk. About 10 minutes before the chicken is done, pour buttermilk and cashew mixture into slow cooker and stir to blend with the chicken and sauce. Let it cook for the remainder of the time to bring out the flavors of the cashews.

Serve over hot basmati rice and garnish with chopped cilantro.

You can freeze leftovers for later use. It heats up well in the microwave.

Canning Tomatoes

I planted a garden this year, and with all the tomatoes getting ripe, it was time for canning! It may seem like a daunting task, but there is really nothing better than delicious flavorful tomatoes for sauces and soups in the dead of winter! Don't have a garden? No worries, just pick up some tomatoes at your local farmers market, and get to work!

I like to refer to the University of Minnesota's extension website for information on all the different ways you can preserve your delicious tomatoes. http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/DJ1097.html. Another great resource is the Ball Blue Book of Preserving. Put it all together, and voila! Delicious tomatoes, any time of the year.