Braddy's Leisurely Weekend Yields Two New Recipes

Man, it's been a long time since I've had a weekend that relaxing. Definitely not since I started working on lines for Blithe Spirit (opening May 4th at the Empress Theatre). So the fact that I had time to try out not one, but two new recipes makes me feel pretty good.

The first recipe, I'll admit, is a bit of a cheat. This recipe for a peach and yogurt soup comes from Desperation Dinners, a book of quick and easy recipes that all supposedly take less than twenty minutes to prepare. This "soup" is really just a glorified smoothie made from frozen peaches, orange juice, and vanilla yogurt. However, when it's all mixed up, it has the consistency of a soup, and really does deserve to be eaten out of a bowl with some blueberries mixed in as well. I found the soup just a little too tart, but delicious and refreshing nonetheless.

The second recipe took me a great deal more time to prepare. This recipe for tamarind and lemongrass chicken stir fry comes from the Mighty Spice Cookbook and calls for a lot of exotic ingredients I've never used before. The dish didn't turn out quite right - I think I mixed too much water in with the tamarind, so the sauce didn't thicken and stick to the chicken like it was supposed to. Still, it was a pretty tasty dish and one definitely worth revisiting... in another month or so, when I get free time again.