Celery Root Salad

Do you ever look at some of the things we eat and wonder who on earth ever dug this thing out of the ground and decided to eat it??  Celery root is a case in point.  Would you eat this thing?

And yet, it's a really delicious thing to eat.  I was often served grated celery root in France as a side dish and never having seen one before, was mighty confused when I'd ask what it was and people would respond "celery".  Because I knew it wasn't any kind of celery we had back in Ohio.

It wasn't until several years later that I realized the French "celery" was "celery root" in english.   It's a hairy, ugly looking thing in its natural state, but actually pretty easy to deal with (don't be fooled by people who bemone the knife-crazy experiences they've had with these things.  A sharp knife is a good thing.).  You trim the rough outside off and chop it into pieces that'll fit into your foodprocessor tube.  Shred it and mix with some dressing.  That's it.  It's got the appearance of cole-slaw, but with a fresh, smooth flavor, seasoned to your taste, it's a great way to provide a light, healthful side to many meals.

Simple Celery Root Salad

Peel a celery root with a sharp knife, working your way around the outside.  Slice off any rough or dry parts. 
Chop the root into food-processor sized chunks and grate.
For dressing a softball-sized root, we used:
2 TB mayo
1 TB mustard
Juice from 1/2 a lemon (about 4-6 TB)
Salt and pepper to taste.

You could also use a vinagrette or other salad dressing in a pinch.

The lemon juice adds a nice tang to the dish.

Chicken with Coconut Curry

This dish turned out to be a very simple one-pot dinner that required very little effort on our part.  The hardest part was peeling and chopping two carrots and cleaning and chopping some mushrooms.  Once that was done, we were pretty much on mix-and-cook mode.

Veggies prepped, we heated a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, browned four chicken thighs for about 6 minutes each side and poured off some of the oil (you can use a baster to just suck it out if you have a high-temperature baster, or you can just tip the pan over a jar, catching most of the oil - we didn't even remove the chicken!).  We added the veggies directly in with the chicken, tossed briefly then added a can of light coconut milk, a cup of chicken stock, two crushed cloves of garlic and two tablespoons of red curry paste.

I like the flavor of curry but didn't want this dish to be overpowering.  You could add more curry paste if that's to your family's liking.  We also tossed in a couple of stalks of chopped celery, but you could add water chestnuts or another veggies (chopped bell pepper or onion, for instance) depending on what you have on hand.

Once the liquids came to a boil, I turned the heat down to a simmer and let it cook about 25 minutes, until the chicken was tender and cooked through.



We served ours with a prepared mix of wild and brown rice (Uncle Ben's microwave mixes are really handy on a weeknight;although I find them to be a little too salty for everyday use, they are convenient).

This dish was everything you want in a homemade weeknight dinner.  Minimal prep, not too much time at the stove, and it cooks just long enough to set the table, wash up and oversee a few worksheets of fractions and spelling words.

Based on this first foray into homemade curry, I think we'll be coming back down this path!

Chicken with Coconut Curry
4 chicken thighs
1 (14 oz) can of light coconut milk
1 cup chicken broth
two large carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
8-10 mushrooms, cleaned and quartered (stems can be removed or left on)
2 stalks celery, optional, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 TB (or more to taste) red curry paste
Cooked rice or noodles, for serving.

Brown the thighs in 2 TB hot oil about 4-6 minutes each side.  Add chopped vegetables and garlic, toss for about 1 minute, until garlic is fragrant.  Add broth and coconut milk (shake the can well before opening).  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer the chicken for about 25 minutes.

Serve over rice or noodles.