Curried Sweet Potato Soup with a Curried Caramelized Onion Garnish

This is the perfect melding of savory and sweet.  Spicy curry, pungent cayenne and a little brown sugar transform sweet potatoes and carrots into a wonderfully creamy and filling soup.

Curried Sweet Potato Soup with a Curried Caramelized Onion Garnish


1 large sweet potato peeled and chopped
1 large carrot peeled and chopped
1/2 cup of chopped onion
1 Knorr vegetable bouillon cube
1 teaspoon of curry powder
1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper or more to taste
1 Tablespoon of butter
1 teaspoon of brown sugar (optional)-  I actually found this detracted from the natural flavors of the soup, so use sparingly

Melt butter in a deep saucepan, add curry powder, cayenne and chopped onions.  Stir until onions become translucent.  Add sweet potato and carrot and sauté for about 5 minutes more.  Next, add 2 cups of water and bouillon cube, bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer until vegetables are soft, approximately 15-20 minutes.  Remove saucepan from heat, and using an immersion blender, puree until mixture is creamy.  Add brown sugar if using.  Use water to thin the soup if it ends up being too thick.

For Onion Garnish


1 Small Onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon of flour
1 teaspoon of curry powder

In a small saucepan, heat about an inch of vegetable oil.  While oil heats, toss onion, flour and curry powder together.  When oil is sizzling, drop onions in 2-3 batches into the hot oil.  Cook until onions begin to crisp and brown.  Remove onions from oil and drain on paper towels.  Use onions to garnish soup. You can also add a dollop of sour cream to kick it up a notch.

Social Media Train Wreck

As someone who runs a rather successful Facebook and Twitter account for a local restaurant, I can't but comment on the story I found in the local news about a restaurant owner, blasting a customer over a negative review on Yelp!

First of all I read the review and honestly it was not a bad review.  In fact,  the customer earnestly tried to find positive aspects of her overall experience several times.  I troll the review sites such as Urban Spoon and Yelp and I have found several not so stellar reviews for my restaurant but on the flip slide there are also a lot of good reviews, which I found to be the case for the restaurant in question here.

What is troubling is the restaurant owner's response to the review and I quote "If you see this woman in your restaurant, tell her to go outside and (expletive) herself. Yelp that, (expletive)."  I mean geez that's a little harsh for criticism over your watery baked beans isn't it?  I would of thought an intelligent, responsible and conscientious  business owner would of taken note of the criticisms and analyzed if (a) they were legitimate concerns and (b) if so, the action or actions that could be taken to improve upon the service, food, etc.   At least that's what we do but then we have been in business for over 50 years and experience is one hell of a teacher.

I mean the cornerstone of social media is free expression right?  I don't have to like what you say but I should be respectful of your right to say it and not attack you for it.

Of course this could boil down to the caveats of ScoutMob since the media is reporting that this customer used a ScoutMob deal during her visit.  All you restaurant owners out there repeat after me: " Don't offer a ScoutMob deal if you're going to resent your customers for using it!!"  Take it or leave it but please don't lambast those of us who choose to take advantage of it either!

Ok so, that's my 2 cents on the situation and remember you can agree or disagree that's the beauty of this great country we live in, just don't hate on me cause I choose to express myself.

Chinese Dahba

I found this place in the recently renovated Patel Plaza on Church Street in Decatur.  Chinese-Indian food sounded intriguing, so we gave it a try.  Inside this modest space, you place your order at the counter, choose a table and wait.

Up first, Vegetable Spring Samosas.  Spring roll wrappers, in a triangular shape filled with peas, and spring roll filling.  I was a tad bit disappointed because I was expecting a least the crispy traditional samosa crust.  The only thing I could attribute to a traditional samosa was the addition of the peas to the spring roll mix.  Ah but I then remembered that this is "Chinese food with an Indian twist." After creating my own dipping sauce of ketchup and a pepper condiment mixture on the table, they were actually quite tasty.  Next, Chicken 65 which was a garlicky and spicy hot salute to this Indian street food.  The vegetables (onions and green bell peppers) were crisp and the chicken, chunks of white meat chicken with that wonderful tandoori coloring were very nicely done.  I did though have a yearning for some naan which unfortunately does not appear on the menu in any incarnation.

Perhaps what I really craved that day was straight Indian food, we were after all next door to my absolute favorite Indian restaurant, Mirch Masala.  But Chinese Dahba's epic menu deserves a second, third and fourth chance.  Next time those Crispy Chili Potatoes sound divine.   And what about Chili Garlic Noodles? Or the chef's favorite Chicken Bullet Dry, a name that suggests all kinds of tasty possibilities? Old Chinese standbys such as Pepper Steak and Garlic Chicken round out the menu.

 The owner circulated the room surveying customer satisfaction and was curious to how we had heard about them.  If you have a thing about plastic utensils, drinking out of cans and styrofoam plates, steer clear but if you are looking for a new food adventure, come on in!

Clean Up Aisle 7

It's a day late but I had to share this photo I snapped at my local Publix on Halloween night.

Murphy's

WARNING! Saturday brunch at Murphy’s is absolute pandemonium.  I found this out this past weekend when I met some family members for lunch.  Thank God they offer valet parking and kudos to those guys who figured out how to fit a million cars in the adjacent itty bitty Wells Fargo parking lot.  Inside the restaurant, space was tight and I marveled how the wait staff seemed to effortlessly glide between densely packed tables.  

Ok, onto the food.  Like I always do, I studied the menu ahead of time, and had already decided on the Crab Cake Benedict with jalapeno hollandaise.  The hash brown potatoes were my side item.  After plying us with sweet orange corn muffins and fresh biscuits, the food arrived relatively quickly for such a crowd.  I was presented with 2 miniature crab cakes, a poached egg perched atop each and the entire thing drizzled with hollandaise sauce.  The hash browns were disappointingly shredded and topped with a mix of raw onions and peppers.  I say disappointingly because I was thinking more of crispy home fries with COOKED peppers and onions when I ordered the hash browns.  Caramelizing the vegetables would of definitely amped up the potatoes’ flavor.  Nonetheless anything drenched in ketchup is edible, so I poured it on.  The crab cakes were fresh but indistinct; the flavor was for the most part bland.  I do have to compliment the perfectly poached eggs, they were absolutely heavenly.  However, I was disappointed with the hollandaise, I was expecting great things and again I was presented with bland, indistinct flavors.  I was so sure that the jalapeno hollandaise would have some punch or bite to it, but it was almost unnoticeable.  Such a shame because this dish has such potential!  A little Old Bay and some diced jalapenos could begin to turn around what is sadly just an average dish.  The fresh pan fried trout that my dining companions had was tasty though and what I wished I had ordered along with a side of grits. 

Anyhow, Murphy’s is definitely worth a second visit.  The Chilaquiles and the Fried Green Tomato sandwich are next on my radar.

Curry Chicken

This smelled and looked so yummy, that I forgot to get an "after"  shot. This was taken right before the addition of the water.

Curry Chicken

6 chicken wings

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

½ teaspoon of flour

2 cups of water

2 chicken bouillon cubes

½ onion rough chopped

2 garlic cloves chopped

3 carrots peeled and chopped

4 red skinned potatoes, peeled and sliced

½ teaspoon of celery seed

½ teaspoon of red pepper

½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon of turmeric

1 palm full (about a tablespoon) of curry powder

½ teaspoon of garlic salt

½ teaspoon of black pepper

Brown chicken wings in 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or other oven proof deep pan.  Add spices and stir to coat chicken.  Add chopped vegetables and stir to coat, allow onions to soften.  Sprinkle flour over chicken and stir to combine, cook an additional five minutes.  Add 2 cups of water and the chicken bouillon cubes.  Bring to a boil, allow bouillon cubes to dissolve, and then transfer to a pre-heated 400 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes to allow gravy to thicken, stirring once halfway through cooking.  Serve over basmati rice and alongside naan bread.  Feeds 2-3 people.

No pain, No gain- Orgain That Is

I am not a breakfast person.  Especially on mornings when I am rushing to get my son to school and myself to work.  I could also stand to loose a few pounds.  So lately I have taken to consuming protein shakes in the morning as an alternate to breakfast and hopefully a conduit to weight loss since protein is more filling and will stave off hunger longer than a carb laden meal.

I've tried SlimFast, Chocolate Royale is my favorite and evidently everyone else's since it seems to never be in stock when I go shopping.  I've tried the Special K protein shakes, finding both milk and dark chocolate to be palatable.  These seemed to keep me satiated for an hour or two but nowhere near the 4 hours Special K claims.  And by lunch I was so hungry it was unbelievable.

Not too long ago, flipping through Women's Health magazine, I came across Orgain.  Orgain is a totally organic protein shake developed by a doctor while he was undergoing cancer treatment.  It seems his appetite was poor and he was looking for something to consume that was easy, tasted good, was healthy and provided sustenance.  Thus, the birth of Orgain.  Boasting 16 grams of protein, natural sweetener (cane juice) and green tea extracts, which have been known to be conducive to weight loss, I was sold and promptly ordered a case of the Creamy Chocolate Fudge flavor (12 drinks) from the Vitamin Shoppe.

First, let me say Orgain is not cheap.  A case was $33. Way more than Slimfast or Special K. Next, the taste was not the best, even though folks had raved over the Internet about the chocolate flavor.  Granted none of the protein shakes I have drank were particularly yummy, but Orgain left a peculiar after taste in my mouth that I'm still trying to figure out.  Now the BIG question?  Did it keep me hunger free?  I have to admit it does prove to be more filling than either Slimfast or Special K.  One weird side effect though was I had to pee noticeable more, which may be a good thing.  Perhaps all that organic goodness is removing toxins from my system, who knows?

And the verdict?  I will definitely finish my case and will probably continuing drinking it although the price may be a deterrent.  Visit their website and try one for yourself.  I would love to know what other folks think, so please leave your comments.