I've Got Mail: Curry!

I might as well as admit it right off the bat: I've never been a big curry fan. The aroma seemed a bit overpowering and never really jived with my tastebuds. But as my palatte has broadened over the years, I've begun to discover these intricate flavors that have been so seriously misunderstood by me, Miss Meat and Potatoes.

These days I really enjoy sampling and savoring curries at L.A.'s vast and varied ethnic restaurants but had yet to try it out at home – till I received the nicely packaged set of Curry Love sauces. Simmered up by L.A.-based chef Michael Buechi, this line of gourmet, USDA-certified organic curry sauces are a tasty way to spice up those weekday dinner doldrums.

Husband Steve whipped up the suggested recipes printed right on the jars, making dinner a snap. We've tried the Blissful Banana Ginger Curry, which combines banana and coconut milk with ginger, lemongrass and lime juice. Tasty. The Luscious Yellow Thai Curry gave the chicken a zing with its ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon with cumin and turmeric. The Passion Red Thai Curry, the spiciest of the bunch, will be dished up this week (I'm thinking with shrimp).

The only drawback? My kids werent' crazy about them. Nine-year-old Kate will always give our experiments a try, but Mr. Meat and Potatoes Jack, at age 4, stuck just to the rice side dish. But I'm thinking they'll both come around with time – just as I had to do.

The Curry Love Gift Set comes with all three sauces in a pretty, recycled and biodegradable box with a tea candle and set of matches (just to set the slightly saucy mood). The set retails for $25.50 while the individual sauces sell for $6.99. And just for good measure, 1% of the profits goes to 1% for the Planet.

To get those tastebuds fired up, Chef Buechi serves up some recipes on the Curry Love Web site, such as this one:

This summer recipe features the Curry Love^TM Luscious Yellow Thai Curry Sauce, mushrooms, sugar snap peas, peppers, eggplant, cilantro, cashew nuts, and chicken (optional for vegetarians) as the main ingredients.

Recipe Ingredients
*    2 Tsp cooking oil
*    1 pound chicken breast, skinless and sliced
*    salt + pepper
*    1 pepper (green, red or yellow)
*    3 Tsp cooking oil
*    2 cups eggplant cut into cubes
*    1 cup sugar snap peas
*    1 cup mushrooms quartered
*    Cilantro (for garnish)
*    chopped unsalted cashew nuts (for garnish)

Instructions
1. Heat the oil in a skillet and heat till very hot, add the chicken and season with salt and pepper
2. Cook until browned on all sides, approximately 2 minutes
3. Transfer the meat to a plate and keep warm
4. Add the second measure of oil to pan and add the eggplant, roast on low heat until brown
5. Next add the mushrooms and sugar snap peas and stirfry for 2 minutes
6. Add the Curry Love^TM Luscious Yellow Thai Curry Sauce to the pan and simmer over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally
7. Add the meat and bring to a short boil, do not boil for longer than 2 minutes or the meat will become tough
8. Before serving, garnish with cilantro and chopped cashew nuts

Serve with steamed rice, noodles or warmed grains. Recipe serves 2-4 people.