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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 2016)
16 // COASTWEEKEND.COM Barbey Maritime Center to hold classes Make an easy Chicken Tikka Masala Learn to create botanical art, craft a cedar bark basket this October ASTORIA — The Columbia River Maritime Museum will host two classes this October at its Barbey Mari- time Center. Artist, educator and for- ager Dorota Haber-Lehigh will teach the class Botani- cal Drawing of Native Plants from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4, 11, 18 and 25. Students will explore the fundamentals of botanical drawing while learning about native plants of the Paciic Northwest region. You can develop basic drawing and observation- al skills through fun and engaging exercises and learn how to incorporate line, value, shape, texture and T he Illah ee A partm ents Easy T o Fin d , H ard T o Pronounce. 1046 Grand Avenue Astoria, OR 97103 503-325-2280 By MELISSA D’ARABIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS SUBMITTED PHOTO Create a cedar bark basket Oct. 13 and 14. SUBMITTED PHOTO Learn to create botanical drawings at a four-week class this October. color to create a botanical illustration. Participants will learn the difference between scientiic botanical illustra- tion and expressive botanical drawing by studying various artists and leave the class with a better appreciation of native plants. Cost is $55 for muse- um members and $75 for non-members. On Oct. 13 and 14, take the class Northwest Na- tive American Cedar Bark Basket. Held from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., students will weave a small Northwest Native American cedar bark basket. Students will learn traditional Northwest plait- ing, twill work, how to work with wet cedar bark, and a traditional folded rim design. The instructor will share her experience in the skill of harvesting cedar bark, pro- cessing the outer and inner bark, and preparing the bark for weaving. Cost is $45 for members and $70 for non-members. There is a $45 materials fee payable on arrival to class. All classes are held at the Barbey Maritime Center. For more information, call 503- 325-2323 or crmm.org I’m a big fan of saving takeout food for true crav- ings, not convenience. Even the healthiest of eaters has a few culinary vices — for us, it’s Indian and Thai food and pizza delivery. Sometimes, we just want our favorite pizza delivered, and no homemade version will scratch the itch. Fine. But calling in an order of pad thai and dumplings just because we can’t be both- ered to spend a few minutes to make our own food is a troubling slippery slope. Delivery isn’t the devil; but save it for cravings. The key to fending off the temptation to order in takeout as a convenience on a busy weeknight is to have a few easy recipes you can whip out at a moment’s notice. And, it has to be easy enough to execute, even if I don’t think of it until 5 p.m. For me, bonus points if it’s ethnic food. Since we don’t have an Indian restaurant within a 20-minute radius of my house, I’ve been recreat- ing the lavors at home. Today’s recipe, Weeknight Chicken Masala, is a bit of a hack; not fully authentic, I’ll admit. But the spices are easy to keep on hand (and truth: if you are missing one of them, make the recipe anyway and the world will continue to spin), the recipe is fast to prepare, and it can be made totally non-spicy or loaded with whatever spice I have on hand, from sriracha to fresh serranos. Frozen chicken breasts won’t slow you down either: microwave for a minute or two until the meat is thawed enough to cut into cubes small enough to thaw quickly. I indulge in a small amount of cream added at the end, which brings a lush- ness that is worth the few extra grams of fat, but feel free to sub plain yogurt. MELISSA D’ARABIAN VIA AP Chicken tikka masala by Melissa d’Arabian. This dish hits all the marks — lavor, easy, inex- pensive, healthy and quick. Serve it over brown rice, zucchini noodles, caulilower rice or just plain raw spinach leaves for extra nutrition. WEEKNIGHT CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA Start to inish: 1 hour Servings: 4 Marinade: 1/4 cup plain yogurt 1 tablespoon lime juice 1 teaspoon lime zest 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons fresh ginger 3 chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes Other ingredients: 3/4 cup chopped onion 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil, divided 1 tablespoon fresh ginger 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 teaspoons paprika 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (or cinnamon) 3/4 teaspoon paprika 1 teaspoon sriracha (op- tional) (or dash cayenne) 1/4 cup tomato paste 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes 3 tablespoons heavy cream (or 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt) Chopped cilantro Lime wedges Directions: In a medium bowl, whisk together all the marinade ingredients, and stir in the chicken cubes to coat. Let sit for at least 10 minutes or refrigerate up to a few hours. In a large heavy sauce pan, cook the onion in half the oil over medium high heat until onion begins to soften, about 5 min- utes. Add the ginger and garlic and stir. Add in the dry spices and stir with a wooden spoon until very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the sriracha and toma- to paste and cook until to- mato paste has deep color and aroma, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick saute pan, heat the remaining oil over me- dium high heat and brown the chicken (remove any excess marinade). Cook the chicken on all sides until golden — it will not be fully cooked in center. Pour the chicken cubes into the bubbling sauce, add between 1/3-3/4 cup water and let it all cook together for 10 minutes, or up to 30 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the heavy cream or yogurt and serve with chopped cilantro and lime for garnish.
