Indian Peach and Tomato Chicken

Makes 4 to 6 servings

It may seem like an odd pairing, but the tangy tomato and lime juice, the sweet ripe peaches, the onions, and the hot green chile peppers all balance out, and the spices weave their own special magic in the dish. (The writer's gloss, not mine. I would say: damn tasty!)

6 to 8 quarter-size slices peeled fresh ginger
2 large cloves fresh garlic, peeled
1 to 3 fresh green chile peppers, such as serrano, stemmed
6 large ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and coarsely chopped
1 large tomato, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons peanut oil
2 large onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garam masala + 1/4 teaspoon for garnish
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 (2 1/2 to 3 pound) chicken, skinned and cut into serving pieces (discard back and wings)
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, including soft stems

1.) In a food processor, process together the ginger, garlic, and green chile pepper until minced. Then add the peaches and tomato and process until pureed.

2.) Heat the oil in a large non-stick wok or saucepan over medium-high heat and cook the onions until browned, about 10 minutes. Add the coriander, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon garam masala, black pepper, and salt.

3.) Add the chicken, mix in the pureed peaches and tomato, and cook over high heat the first 5 to 7 minutes, then over medium-low heat until the chicken is tender and most of the juices evaporate and a thick sauce clings to the chicken.

4.) Add the lime juice and 1/4 cup cilantro during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with garam masala, and serve.

Rhubarb (or any fruit) Crisp

This is the recipe I used for Wednesday's rhubarb crisp. The part for the topping is my aunt's. You can pretty much adapt it to any kind of fruit you want. It is easy peasey. Which is why I love it.

For the fruit part, I used 5c. of chopped up rhubarb for a 9x13 pan, but you can use however much you have or need in order to fit the dish.

Mix the dry ingredients (sugar, flour, salt, and cinnamon) and then mix them into the fruit.

I used 1/3c. of sugar and 1T of flour per cup of rhubarb. If you use another kind of fruit, adjust according to the sweetness of the fruit. I also sprinkled a little salt and a little cinnamon into the mix. A little lemon zest is nice too, if you have it. Dump the fruit mixture into your pan.

For the "crisp" part, I used 1 stick of butter, 1 cup of sugar, and 2 cups of flour for a 9x13 pan. Sprinkle a little salt in there too, if you remember (which I didn't). Cut the butter into the dry ingredients. So long as you keep these proportions, you can make as much or as little of this as you want, according to the size of your dish. Usually I like to have about 1/4" or so of topping spread over the whole thing.

Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then continue baking at 350 for 25-45 minutes, until the fruit is soft and the juice looks like it's getting good and thick.

At the end, I stick it under broil for a few minutes, just to make the topping brown and crisp up a bit.

Happy crisp making!