tableofcolors

I have been hearing rumors and even seen some photos shared on facebook that there is snow in Minnesota. I’m hoping that it might have melted by the time I come. Spring is in the air here in my kitchen. The cranes have returned and can be seen flying over the house and feeding in the field in the back and dancing their mating ritual. Their call could not be called beautiful as it is a raw sound just as the cold spring breeze often feels quite biting even if the sun is starting to warm the ground. But the call means spring has arrived.

In my kitchen are spring green sprouts that carry the promise of summer and bounty. This gentleman has been regularly visiting our yard and one morning was stepping regally on the patio right outside of the kitchen.

Our kitchen is really never a place of just cooking and eating. It is a place to spend time together. Some of our kids are quite into crafts and since we had leftover paint from the piñata project from the previous week they were looking for a way to use it up. Someone suggested painting shoe boxes. I agreed that it might be a good idea and actually look cute in their rooms. It would be a place to keep their treasures. You know, the diamond rock found in the driveway or favorite sticker that really isn’t sticky anymore or a frayed friendship bracelet that keeps falling off but cannot be thrown away.  Often when one is enthusiastic about something, there is soon a few more involved as well and a total of seven boxes were made, some pink and some black. So this week in my kitchen we made treasure boxes.

Of course we need to eat in the midst of all of the other activities. We had wokked chicken and vegetables and Tahini noodles. The Tahini noodles have become a favorite with the kids. The Tahini sauce received its inspiration from a post by REMcooks.

Chicken Wok with Tahini noodles

This dish perhaps mixes the flavors of cuisines, but it worked and was quite tasty.

Tahini noodles
6 circles (300g) of whole wheat noodles (I used Blue Dragon)

Sauce
2 heaping tablespoons of Tahini sauce
clove of garlic minced
juice of 1/2 of a lemon
1/2 dl / 1/4 c olive oil
black pepper
salt
I mixed the tahini sauce with my immersion mixer until it was smooth. Set aside and place a large pot of water to boil for the noodles. While waiting for the water to boil prepare the chicken wok

Chicken wok Indian style

3 chicken breasts
1 onion
1/2 leek chopped (I used frozen leek from a friend’s garden)
20 g/0.7 oz fresh or frozen kale finely chopped with the tough stalk removed
20 g/0.7 fresh or frozen spinach, chopped
1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped
juice of 1/2 of a lemon
1-2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
olive oil
NoMu Indian spice mix (includes: coriander, chili, cumin, fenugreek, turmeric, ginger, caraway, cloves, bay leaf and cardamom oil)

Pour the olive oil on the pan along with the chicken breasts, garlic, onions, and leek. Cook at low to medium heat for about five minutes and turn the chicken over and continue cooking until the chicken is done. Add in the rest of the vegetables and remove the chicken and cut into bite size pieces. Return back into the wok pan and mix.

By this time the water will have boiled. Cook the noodles according to package instructions and drain. Mix the tahini sauce with the noodles and combine with the chicken wok. Add a drizzle of olive oil.

In my kitchen in April are butterflies…in my tummy. It won’t be long and I will be flying to go visit dear family and friends in the USA. My blog might not have as regular posts for a couple of weeks but I will post pictures and thoughts of the trip on my facebook page. Click on the link below to follow if you wish. And as usual I will be accompied with my littlest one. The photo below is from one of my previous trips.

Really, it doesn’t matter if there is snow still on the ground in Minnesota. It will be nice to see you all.

This post is part of Celia’s In My Kitchen series. Check out her blog for links to kitchens all around the world.