International Taste Test Courtesy of World Market

Living in the spectacular mountains of western North Carolina, fall is tourist season. We're  overrun with leaf lookers trying to take in our beautiful scenery and because of that, J's restaurant is impossibly busy. With the cooler temperatures and the changing colors, we had to jump on an opportunity for a date before the hellish rush of October and we went out on the town.

Our primary goal (besides spending time with each other) was to buy a couch for our new house, which we did. However, with home renovations and the purchase of said couch (and chair!) our date night budget was slashed. Yet, there are still inexpensive ways to have fun and not miss out on any adventures. 

While in Asheville, we went to one of our favorite stores - Cost Plus World Market. For those of you that have never been, World Market is exactly what it sounds like; a store filled with international treats of all sorts - including homegoods from a variety of countries, jewelry with cultural flair, and a plethora of foreign food items. They have niche cooking utensils and hardware - like North African tajines, hammered copper pots for curry, Oktoberfest beer mugs shaped like boots and more. But to me, the most exciting part of the store is the imported food and beverage department that is filled with all sorts of spices, candies, sauces, beers and wines from around the globe. Some of the items are fairly familiar, like Toblerone chocolate bars or Nutella; and some we've heard of but never tried, like vegemite or spotted dick, but the majority of items are (to me) completely foreign. 

And for foodies like us, that makes for a perfect date night stop! For less than $12 we both got several treats to try - that's cheaper than one movie ticket at some A-ville theaters. Aside from the finances of it, this trip was partly inspired by a series of Buzzfeed videos where they give a panel of staff members food/drinks from foreign countries or cultures. These videos are hysterical - partly because we're learning about random foods ourselves, like Japan's Every Burger wheat crackers or the infamously awful malort liquor; but that also it seems each panel has completely different responses, someone will inevitably love it, and others will be skeptical if not grossed out (except everyone hated Vegemite). 

This video was our main inspiration. I knew World Market carried the Ramune soda and I was dying to try it! 

Ramune soda comes in a glass bottle with two chambers - a large one at the base and a smaller one in the neck. To open the soda, you break the plastic cap to create a plunger, push the plunger down hard on the lid to force a marble into the smaller chamber. This creates a whole lot of fizz and a very satisfying glass-on-glass noise. Apparently, the marble serves no practical purpose other than stopping the flow of soda if it were to get overturned - but for some (childish?) reason, it's a whole lot of fun! 

We tried the "original" flavor, and if I am to go by the pictures on the bottle it is cigarette-smoking pig, melon, life preserver and Japanese lantern flavored...but I think that's inaccurate. It's got a very clean taste that is very simple; it reminded me of a very weak ginger ale or lightly sweetened seltzer water. J also got a strawberry Ramune - which appeared to be a very popular flavor at World Market. It was very tasty and quite sweet, not unlike the Southern Nehi drinks. There are over two dozen flavors of these sodas (we saw about six at World Market) and I'm certainly eager to try more! These would make great stocking stuffers, too (and WM is the place for one-off single serving treats for gifts). 

Also, J grabbed a bag of chocolate covered Turkish delight which was nothing short of disgusting. This appears to be a more traditional variety of the "delight" flavored with rosewater and according to the packaging, paprika (no, we didn't read the ingredients list prior to purchase.. damn). I bit into mine and immediately spit it out. J attempted to eat two or three pieces to isolate the ingredients, but to no avail. 

We also got a bag Walker's shortbread shaped like Scottie dogs (a favorite in our house); a Nutfulle hazelnut truffle, which tasted like a Ferrero Roche treat on steroids and a dark chocolate wafer cookie which you place atop your coffee cup to get warm and gooey, this was a hit for J despite his mega coffee cup trying to swallow the cookie whole.  

If you're a remotely adventurous eater or suffering a case of wanderlust on a budget, I highly suggest hitting up a World Market, specialty store or even the ethnic aisle of your local grocery store. You can find all sorts of interesting treats and even pre-packaged items to make unique international meals. 

If you're looking for a more regular culinary trip outside your comfort zone, I highly suggest signing up for a monthly subscription service. We highly enjoyed our Goodies subscription - which sent us a box filled with 8-10 snacks per month for $7 - until the company closed. There are many other food services that fill almost any niche and price range. For example, Plated ($60) offers all the ingredients to a gourmet meal, plus instructions, delivered straight to your door; Skoshbox ($12) and Candy Japan ($25) provide Japanese candies, snacks and "goodies" monthly; Tiffin Trove ($15) sends the Indian ingredients for a meal, all you have to purchase is the perishable items; and there are so many more - from gluten-free, to healthy, to wine-of-the-month! Like our shopping excursion, they can be hit-or-miss (hopefully no one sends you Turkish delight) but the thrill of a monthly mystery package and taste-test is a great experience. 

So, never suffer from food-travel FOMO (fear of missing out) - you can easily escape the mundane by a quick trip to the grocery store. Even buying one new item can open your horizons! 

No Nonsense Chicken Enchiladas

You all know that after flavor, ease and expense are my highest priorities in food. And since we bought our house and moved, that has never been more true. Our kitchen is the only room that is unpacked and remotely functioning; but we are still scrambling to find all our utensils and have been slack grocery shoppers. With that being said, dinners have been quick and easy, and usually come in a bag - but I took the opportunity this weekend to cook a real meal, and make several meals for later, to be kept in the freezer.

A great way to save money, is to scour your grocery store for "reduced for quick sale" items. This is especially handy with packaged produce, like mushrooms and lettuce; dairy items and the biggest savings are in meat. If you're an astute shopper, you can easily figure out which days are flagged for restocking and reducing current inventory. Our favorite local store, Ingles, puts bright stickers on produce and bulk items and that's the first thing we look for. Grabbing deals like this can be hit or miss, and sometimes on impulse rather than need alone but they're real steals! Be especially mindful of items that freeze or dehydrate well.

The other day, I went to Ingles to get some breakfast items, and I walked past the meat cooler where almost three pounds of chicken thighs were on sale for less than $2. Did I need chicken thighs? No. But, I brought them home, cleaned and repackaged them in two-portion airtight containers and threw them in the freezer. I later used a pack for last week's chicken panang curry and thawed the remainder to make two batches of these chicken enchiladas.

With meat already on hand, the rest of the items are staples in our home, so this recipe is incredibly inexpensive and would be easy to make on a whim, too.

Since you're making the roll-ups yourself, this is a very economical way to make individual servings, servings for two or a family. I doubled the recipe, which normally makes eight enchiladas or four servings. But instead of making two batches of eight I cooked in a smart way that would give us the most meals with the least amount of waste - one batch of eight for when we had a couple of friends over and two batches of four that we could eat ourselves; we ate one 2-person batch that night and I froze the other 4-pack and the 8-pack. Eight servings or 3-4 meals for under $10!

I love that these enchiladas are hearty but without feeling heavy or over-dressed with cheese or sauce. I chop my chicken into big, rough chunks, which gives the filling a thickness and great mouth feel as opposed to some saturated with sauce and runny filling. The green chiles add a mild heat and sweetness and the cumin adds that traditional "taco" flavoring we all love. You could easily dress this up with more spices or even some roughly chopped cilantro (which I despise). Also, you can add other vegetables to the filling; the Progresso soups include black beans but if you had some extra sweet corn kernels, kidney beans, sauteed onions or mushrooms (look in your fridge for leftovers or the reduced section of the store) you could add 1/2 a cup or so to the filling, too!

The recipe only involves mixing up two different bowls of ingredients - one for "sauce" and one for filling, and actually rolling the enchiladas. It's that simple, which makes this a great recipe for little helpers. If you chopped the chicken, this whole dish could be made by your children. How much would they enjoy eating something they'd made?

I hope you're able to incorporate this meal into your own fiestas and family dinners!

 

Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1 can (18.5 oz) Progresso chicken enchilada soup or southwestern vegetable soup

1/3 c sour cream

1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles*

1 t ground cumin

2 c chopped cooked chicken

1 1/2 c shredded cheese

8 flour tortillas (corn works, too)

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 350. 

In a medium bowl, mix soup, sour cream, chiles and cumin. Pour 1/2 c soup mixture into ungreased 2 quart casserole dish for full serving (use smaller dishes if making smaller, freezable portions - 2 enchiladas per person). 

In another bowl, mix 1 c soup mixture with chicken and half of the cheese. 

Place 1/4-1/3 c chicken mixture in each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in the baking dish. Pour remaining soup mixture on top and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover dish with a piece of alumninum foil sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. 

Bake 30 minutes, remove foil and bake 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Allow to rest at least 5 minutes before serving. 

If making to freeze: Only par-cook the enchiladas, about 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature then wrap with plastic wrap and foil to put in the fridge. When you want to cook it, pull it out the night before (so you'll have less reheat time) then cook at 350 for the final 15 minutes.

*You can use the canned green chiles, or roast your own if you have fresh peppers on hand. Green, sweet or red peppers would be good, but if you want to add heat add jalepenos or even something hotter! Toss your peppers on a baking sheet and place in a 500 degree oven. Cook until the skins are wrinkled and getting dark. Remove from the oven and throw them in a zip-top bag to steam, this will help the skin peel off, Rub them gently to remove the cooked skin. 

"Get Well" Panang Curry

My poor husband is sick. We thought his allergies were riled up from our recent new home renovation projects, but the sniffling has turned into coughing and a sore throat -- and now he's just pitiful. He's been curled up in our over-sized recliner with our "magic" (read: threadbare) blanket since last night. So today called for some serious get well food, beyond the Reese's cups I grabbed this morning, some real, homemade comfort food and I knew just the thing: panang curry.

If you've never had Thai food before or are intimidated by hot curries, this is a great place to start. The flavors are smooth and vibrant without being too spicy (heat or literal spice) and the ingredients are familiar, not foreign or off-putting (which also makes it easy shopping). Being filled with common vegetables and only a few non-pantry staples, you're able to ease out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary.

Unlike some curry dishes, which can be thick and almost gummy, this recipe uses two cans of coconut milk, making for an almost soup-like sauce that is creamy and sweet and perfect served over rice.   This thinner sauce allows the vegetables and meat/tofu to shine as solid, beautiful bites independently of the broth instead of being coated in one-note of flavor. Each of the bites is able to full of flavor and texture - which is made even better by large cuts, especially on the meaty mushrooms. Go as heavy as you want on the vegetables - the original recipe called for tiny quantities and I've increased them by almost half and it's still a thin broth with hearty vegetable pieces - you could even add more!

 

I first made this recipe last fall - following the original to the letter - but have since adapted it to our tastes and to my "use what's on hand" leftover philosophy. We both enjoyed the traditional, tofu preparation but carnivorous varieties are delicious, too! After last Thanksgiving, I used the overwhelming amount of turkey and have continued to experiment with it. Today, I thawed out two chicken thighs, boiled them in heavily salted water and pulled the meat off of the bone. But honestly, you could use almost any pre-cooked poultry cut (I wouldn't use ground meat) but leftover KFC or grilled chicken leftovers would be delicious!

In addition to being an easy trip to the grocery store (only panang curry paste might warrant a search in the "ethnic" aisle - an easier to find substitute is red curry paste, which is the main ingredient in panang curry paste anyway), this recipe is completely painless to cook - using only one pot and taking less than 30 minutes to complete. With good mise en place and prepping all of your vegetables and proteins ahead of time, this recipe literally requires two steps - browning the spices and dumping in everything else!

I don't think I have an easier international recipe in my arsenal and this curry certainly beats chicken noodle soup for curing any cold!

Panang Curry

Ingredients:

2 T vegetable oil
2 T chopped garlic
1 t grated ginger
2 T panang (or red) curry paste
2, 13.5 oz. cans coconut milk (FYI: I've tried this with light coconut milk and didn't enjoy it as much, but it's still good)
1 T palm sugar (or brown sugar)
1 t salt
1 T reduced sodium soy sauce
1 - 1 1/2 T lime juice
1/4 c roasted and unsalted cashews, roughly chopped (much cheaper when bought in the bulk dry goods aisle)
1 1/2 c quartered white mushrooms
1 c chopped white or yellow onion
4 Thai basil leaves (optional - these are hard to come by here, so you can easily nix them)
4 - 6 oz. cubed protein (raw, extra firm tofu or any precooked poultry cuts)
10 broccoli florets
1 cup chopped red bell pepper (these can be expensive, so don't hesitate to use cheaper, green peppers)
15 snap peas (strings removed)

Method: 

In a well-seasoned wok or heavy-bottom sauce pan, heat oil on medium heat. When hot, add ginger and garlic and sautee until light brown - don't let it brown too much or your garlic will be bitter.

Stir in curry paste. Whisk in coconut milk, sugar, salt, soy sauce and lime juice. Start with 1 T and add more to taste, it can be a bold flavor. Also, taste carefully for the salt; it doesn't take much but just a pinch brightens the flavor of every vegetable and the curry paste.

Add vegetables and proteins and simmer until tofu is cooked completely and vegetables are al dente (you can cook them softer if you'd like, but I prefer a bit of a bite).

Serve over warm rice, especially jasmine, and top with cashews and sriracha, if you like. And if you're a "dipper" like I am, this sauce is great soaked up by naan or spring rolls (we especially love Healthy Choice's Thai chicken spring rolls).