Curry Veggies

Ok guys n' gals... here is my first recipe post! Oddly enough, I rarely follow a recipe when making dinner. It depends on what we have in stock in the house. Carrots? Sure! Baby bella mushrooms? Sounds good! So... yea, you get the gist of it. I try to stay on the safe side by using a pretty set collection of spices and sauces so that the bf doesn't give me odd looks when he takes a bite into dinner. If I strike gold (i.e. we both inhale our dinner), the recipe gets archived... in my head. On my wishlist now is a blank recipe kit (blank book, box w/ index cards and dividers, etc.) so I can file all these recipes away. Soon!
Anyhow, onwards to the recipes! (Yvo - the garlic chicken was really good!... but, it was from a restaurant. I will have to experiment to try and replicate it...)

Curry Veggies (chicken optional)
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 tbsp. jarred minced garlic)
1 cup raw chicken, diced (breast or thigh)
1 tspn cooking wine (I prefer ShaoXing brand... it's dark and sweet)
1 cup frozen sliced carrots, defrosted
1 cup frozen peas, defrosted
2 potatoes, diced
1 1/2 tbps indian curry powder (bright yellow/golden. it's spicy)
2 cups chicken broth (or veggie broth)
salt
white pepper
sugar

Marinade chicken cubes with cooking wine, salt, pepper, and sugar for about 10 minutes. The cooking wine will help tenderize the chicken pieces.
Place large skillet with oil (I prefer olive) over medium-high heat until oil starts to smoke.
Add onion and garlic while stiring constantly. Don't burn the garlic! Season with salt and pepper.
Add chicken cubes and toss with onion/garlic mixture until outside of chicken is cooked.
Add veggies and potatoes, sprinkle curry powder and sautee until curry turns golden brown and slightly crispy (this cooks the powder and releases more flavor... but beware, the smell is fairly strong).
Pour in half of the chicken stock to de-glaze the pan (be careful of steam!). Make sure to scrape those yummy bits off the bottom... yum.
Add remaining stock and bring to a boil; then cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
Serve hot with some rice or baguette!

Indian curry is a lot stronger in smell than japanese curry sauces, but I've found that the reed diffusers do a pretty decent job at combatting the smell. By the next morning, your house should smell normal again. =)
Since I have lunch meetings every Thursday, which means no bento, I will try to make that my recipe post day! Pictures will also try to make its way to these posts. Stay tune for more...