Winter warmers...

*Sigh* It is the final leg in the run up until Christmas and I am getting up later and later as it gets harder to leave my warm nest of a bed. Good thing my mum has taken to roasting a bag of chestnuts in the morning which I am munching my way through as I type this.

When it gets colder, I love the frosty windows and reading in the evenings by the fire, but most of all, I love the excuse to eat warm, comforting foods such as porridge and stews. When I am extra hungry in the morning, I always whip up a bowl of porridge and poached egg. I prepare the oats with water instead of milk, mix in a good pinch of salt and pepper, then simply poach and egg until the outside is just cooked and place it on top with a generous few twists of the pepper shaker for good measure.

My friend Z came up to York for a couple of days and as she shares my deep love of Japanese food so I decided to cook Japanese Curry (pronounced Kalleh). It is so simple to make, a staple for all Japanese families so there are many recipes flying around the internet. Best of all, anyone can make it as long as you have the block of seasoning (found in almost all Asian supermarkets for about £3-5). It freezes really well and I am always sure make up a huge batch that is supposed to last me a few weeks.
It never lasts that long in my freezer...

I fried up one medium onion, about 500g of chicken (I always use dark meat for the flavour), three large carrots, two large potatoes (cut into fairly large chunks). Once the chicken has lost it's pink colour, I poured enough water to cover everything, replaced the lid and left it to simmer until the vegetables were cooked (around 20 minutes). Oh and I almost forgot, I love to add broccoli around 10 minutes before the end. It just marries so well with the sauce and who doesn't love broccoli?
 I melted a block of the seasoning into the stew. The amount you put in really depends on how thick/strongly seasoned you want it to be, I put in just over half the block because I like it to be fairly liquid. Once it has bubbled away for a few minutes, I served it with generous helpings of steamed white rice. This dish definitely makes me extra thankful to have a mixed heritage,  I always  cook it for my friends and it has never let me down yet.