Hi Brown!
So I live close to lots of interesting markets and stores. I had one traumatic experience (okay, I was the only one who thought it was traumatic) at a Chinese supermarket, but other than that the high concentration of family-owned grocery places around me have been great. There's lots of fresh vegetables and meat.
Yesterday I discovered a poultry store called "Cirque du Poulet"! So I got some chicken and then I made this risotto-style pasta.
Kathy showed me how to do this over the summer, so this is really her recipe. It takes about an hour from chopping veggies to delicious dinner, and a bit longer if you have to debone the chicken. Exact quantities are not really important, but for 2-4 servings I used approximately:
2 cups chicken stock
300g pasta (penne, or some other small noodle. Not spaghetti)
1 bell pepper
Half-fist-sized chunk of broccoli
A bit of olive oil
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
About 1.25lbs chicken (that's how much it weighed before I deboned it).
You start by chopping up the onion, heating the oil, and throwing the onion in. Use a big skillet / frying pan. Then chop some garlic and throw that in as well. Let it sit and think over medium heat for a couple minutes.
Then, add the pasta. Stir it frequently. Let it cook for about 5 minutes.
Now, this is the key to this recipe: keep adding chicken stock as it evaporates.
When the pasta is about 2/3 done, throw in the chicken. Wait a minute or two and then throw in the broccoli. When you're almost ready to serve, throw in the red pepper.
Yum. Co-op love from Toronto! There is a comfy (orange!) couch in my living room, waiting to receive guests...
