HF Tutorial: Tom Ka Gai (Spicy/Sweet Chicken & Lemongrass Soup)

This week's tutorial comes from Leah Butler of Reyna Red Jewelry

    I love spicy food – especially Asian cooking.  One of my favorites is Tom Ka Gai – which is a coconut milk based Thai soup made with chicken and lemongrass.  This is an amazing soup to make all year round, but I really like it in the Winter months, when it’s cold outside and snow’s on the ground.  The spicy/sweet flavor will warm you up!  The recipe I use for a base is from one of my favorite cookbooks – Thai & South –East Asian Cooking and Far Eastern Classics.  I’ve tweaked it over the years, so some of the ingredients I use are not in the original recipe.  Remember – cooking is about experimenting with flavors.  Have fun!

What you’ll need:

1 stock pot
Colander that fits into the stock pot
Meat tenderizer
Cutting board
Chopping knife

Ingredients:

4 lemon grass stalks, roots trimmed
2 cans of coconut milk (14 fl. Oz each)
2 cups of chicken stock
1 inch piece of Thai ginger, peeled and thinly sliced (galangal)
1 tsp. black pepper
10 lime leaves, torn
11 oz chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1 cup button mushrooms
1 can baby corn, drained and quartered lengthwise
4 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)
1 can bamboo shoots, drained and sliced thin

Optional:
Chopped fresh chilis (depending on how hot you want your soup!), green onions, and fresh cilantro to garnish.

 Step 1:  Chop ingredients and prepare

Cut off the lower 2 inches from lemongrass stalks and chop finely.  Bruise the remaining stalks with a meat tenderizer (4-6 strokes each) and set aside.  Quarter baby corn, mushrooms, slice bamboo shoots and Thai ginger; set aside.  Thinly slice chicken into strips.
 
Step 2:  Making the soup stock

Add coconut milk and chicken broth to stock pot and bring to a boil.  Place the colander into the stock pot (should be submerged into the stock), and then add all the lemongrass, the Thai ginger, the pepper and half the torn lime leaves.  Lower the heat and simmer on low for 10 minutes.

 
Step 3:  Finishing the soup

Remove the colander to strain the lemongrass, Thai ginger, and lime leaves from the stock.  Set into sink.  Add the chicken, corn, bamboo shoots and mushrooms to the stock and simmer an additional 5-7 minutes on medium, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked.  Stir in the lime juice and fish sauce, as well as the remaining lime leaves.

 
Serve hot – garnish with chopped chilies, cilantro and green onions as desired.  Accompany with jasmine rice for traditional meal.

Serves 4-6 people.  Freezes like a dream for up to 6 weeks.

Enjoy!

Thank you Leah for sharing this recipe.  If you would like to be featured in this place, please contact us via the CONTACT tab at the top of the blog.

Robin Norgren, Blog Coordinator 

Shop Diagnostics: Mad House Mind Works

Shop Diagnostics is a series where we share tips coming from creative entrepreneurs who can run shops in light of adjustments brought on by military life YET APPLICABLE to all those interested in improving their shop's presence online and worldwide.

This is PART 3 of a three-part Series written by Lauren of Mad House Mind Works:

Gearing Along Mixed Metal Bracelet

  Selling at Your Local Exchange

      Expanding your customer base by selling in your local military exchange is not hard to do and brings great rewards in the form of a new cash influx and new friends! It is relatively easy to get started.  The first step is to talk to your local exchange manager. Make sure that you have a business license and tax number before taking this step. They will ask you that, right off the bat. Next, you will need to fill out a contract which designates the days you sell, your prices, and your inventory. 

      Keep in mind that you will be competing with wholesale vendors and other crafters so you will need a large inventory with different price points to do well. Once your contract has been approved, you will be assigned your space and schedule, which will hopefully be fairly close to the days you wanted. Weekends and pay days are usually very busy and have the most vendors while the weekdays are typically less crowded. Your local exchange will most likely  have vendor rules that you will want to follow to ensure good cooperation and a great sales environment for your customers. Good Luck and Good Sales!

SHOP 

Thank you Lauren for sharing! If you have any shop tips you would like to share, Contact us via the Contact tab at the top of the blog.

Robin Norgren, Blog Coordinator

Creative HomeFires: Heather Mac Arts

Creative HomeFires is a series which highlights the value that creativity offers to family members of a deployed spouse/significant other.  We offer stories of the creative life and the beautiful benefits experienced during some of the most difficult seasons.

Let me introduce Heather Mac of Heather Mac Arts.  Here's her story:

Hi! I'm Heather Mac, a Floridian army wife who toughed out three years in Alaska and got three years in another place where it snows for my trouble. Ah, well. It may be way colder than I'm comfortable with, but sunsets over snow are beautiful! I have a husband, Chris, an almost-girlfriend, Fizzy, a huge family that's mostly in Florida, and no kids or pets (yet). :)

I love to crochet, and my round Knifty Knitters are a new toy that I haven't gotten tired of. I've made a zillion in the past couple of weeks, and before that was a scarf kick. 

Places to find Heather:

Etsy

Flickr

Blog

Live Journal

Thank you so much Heather for sharing your story! If you would like to submit a story for this series please contact us ("Contact" tab at the top of the blog) for consideration.   

Robin Norgren, Blog Coordinator

Military Life...from a Spouse's Perspective: Crystal Hartung

The Military Brat Team and the Homefront Team are combining efforts to share our experiences with the military lifestyle so that others can fully understand the sense of community, sacrifices, benefits, and expectations we all share as members of a truly unique group of people. Each month we will feature a story shared by a Military Brat Team member, and a story shared by a Homefront Team member.

  This Feature is written by Crystal Hartung, shop owner of Crystal's Treasures

Military Life….

From a spouse’s perspective

First off, I’m an AF Wife and proud!  My husband was in the military when we met, and we have been together for over 10 years.

One of the hardest things to do is say goodbye to your spouse never knowing if they are coming back, and having to see the heartbreak on your children’s faces as the spouse walks out the door.

I become a single parent each time my spouse deploys.  The kids in school and their sports practices, working a regular job, and crafting all take time.  Then there is the home life of cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, clothes and necessity shopping, etc.  Sometimes it’s so hard, but then you get to talk to your spouse by phone, or Skype, and it all just washes away.  Nothing I have to do can be harder than what my spouse does.

 Dragonfly Dreams Necklace

Our spouses work every day to give us our freedom, and for that, I thank each and every spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend, etc.  One of the hardest jobs is to be a military wife, and we are STRONG!

Making jewelry for me has been a large outlet of energy for me.  I love it, and it’s not considered a job to me, but a vision of fun.  I love creating!

 Sophia

Crystal's Shop

Thank you so much Crystal for sharing your story! If you would like to submit a story for this series please contact us ("Contact" tab at the top of the blog) for consideration. 

HF Tutorial: PEANUT BUTTER Chocolate Chip Cookies

     I found this recipe in the December issue of Southern Living magazine.  It looked to be very simple to make so I tore out the page and saved it for later use. Last month I was hungry for something sweet and easy to make and remembered this recipe that I saved. I must say it was very easy to make and scrumptious to eat! I do have a confession though I ate all the cookies within 2 days.  So if you are a person who does not have self-control like me, you may want to pass on this recipe or give half the cookies away to a friend or neighbor.  :)

The recipe claims to make 2 dozen but I did not get that many out of the dough. This recipe doubles nicely.

1 cup of creamy peanut butter
¾ cup sugar
1 large egg
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
  Parchment paper

 

1. Preheat the oven 350°
2. Combine peanut butter, sugar, egg, baking soda, & salt in a medium bowl and stir until well blended. Gently mix in chocolate morsels.
3. Line baking sheets with parchment paper place rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart on them
4. Bake at 350° for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned. Cool the baking sheets on a wire rack for 5-7 minutes the move cookies to a wire rack and continue to cool for 15 minutes. 

 

This post was submitted by Heather Strickland of The Nature's Thread

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BLOG

USE COUPON CODE: "Spring 2011" TO RECEIVE 15% DISCOUNT ON THE ITEMS IN HER SHOP

Thank you Heather! If you are interested in submitting a tutorial to this blog, please contact us via the CONTACT tab at the top of the blog.

Story Behind the (Shop) Name: Ahoy Graphics

Shop Link

Kristen Hodges of Ahoy Graphics

Here's the story behind her shop name:

"Why a Design Shop went Nautical"

I chose the name Ahoy! Graphics for its double meaning. On one hand, the good ol’ sailor speak reflects my new lifestyle as a Navy wife. On the other hand, “Ahoy!” is my constant reminder that graphic design is essentially a visual conversation between two people. In my line of work, it's between a business and its customers—a great way to build connection with your buyers! The very definition of "ahoy" is to hail a ship, a boat or a person, or to attract attention.

I also keep it as my overall goal, because "Ahoy!" is more than a greeting, it's meant to get your sole attention—a key ingredient for good communication. Think about it, when you first meet a potential client, you don't say, "Hello!" without the intention of starting a conversation, right? Shouldn't your branding do the same? It's the welcome mat and greeting party to encourage potential customers to come take a look around.

SHOP 

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

Thank you Kristen! If you would like to be featured in this space, please contact us via the Contact tab at the top of the blog.

Creative Homefires: Reanna Lilly Design

Creative HomeFires is a series which highlights the value that creativity offers to family members of a deployed spouse/significant other.  We offer stories of the creative life and the beautiful benefits experienced during some of the most difficult seasons.

Let me introduce Jen Eskridge of Reanna Lilly Design.  Here's her story:

 Flight Suit Cube

 

Hello, everyone, my name is Jen Eskridge and I am thrilled to share my motivation behind my Etsy shop.

I sew all sorts of items.  In fact, my background is in Apparel Design.  Armed with that, I set out sewing and designing.  I stitch with used military uniforms.  There are many ladies who also sew with uniforms.  All of our designs vary a bit, but we do all love what we do.  We make things from bags to baby items, and from garments to accessories. 

My Cube Purse design is what "put me on the map" for sewing.  I conducted most of my business as word-of-mouth through the spouses groups on various different military bases.  My husband was Active USAF for 11 years, until recently transitioning into the Active Guard Reserve.  While sewing on commission, I realized that there was no real way to stay ahead of the demand, efficiently.  I took my original designs and turned them into sewing patterns.  They offer instructions on how to make the item as well as how to "break down" a uniform for its new, re purposed end-use.  All the patterns include directions to make the item featuring the uniform, or stitch it up using only traditional cottons.

Most recently, one of my designs, The Home Front Sunggler Quilt was featured in McCall's Quick Quilts magazine.  Aside from bags and items being a great way to show your support for your loved one, a quilt made from a parent's uniform is a great way for the kids to feel close to the parent while they are separated.  The quilt is quick, and the pieces for construction are chunky rectangles.  Great for a beginner or seasoned quilter/sewist.  The pattern will release under my own company name, ReannaLily Designs, later this summer.  More uniform quilt designs are on the horizon, as I do think they are a very important way to feel just a little bit closer.

Just because uniform has a rip or stain, or was washed with a ball point pen in the pocket is no reason to cast it aside.  These uniforms represent our way of life and the life our loved ones have decided to lead.  I support my favorite military man 100%.  Now... if I can just get him to go TDY  so I can ransack his half of the closet...

Look for more patterns in upcoming issues of Quilter's World (April 2011) and 101 Patchwork Projects (Summer 2011).  I currently operate two shops, one for finished stitched samples at llyrric.etsy.com and the pattern shop at reannalilydesign.etsy.com. 

If you are looking to dabble in sewing and quilting, I also maintain a blog site that has 32 different sewing related tutorials as well as all sorts of sewing and quilting related posts.  http://www.reannaliliydesigns.blogspot.com

Thank you so much Jen for sharing your story! If you would like to submit a story for this series please contact us ("Contact" tab at the top of the blog) for consideration.