16 ounces dry penne
1 small apple, cored and sliced
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
1 small onion, sliced
2 tablespoons butter or ghee
1 cup Mango Chutney
4 Grilled Lemon Ginger Chicken breasts, sliced
water
salt

1-1/2 cups coconut milk
2-1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ginger puree
1/4 cup white vinegar

1. Toast coriander, cumin and peppercorns in a dry pan over medium heat until fragrant.
2. Transfer seeds and peppercorns to a mortar or food processor and grind them to a smooth paste.
3. Add in turmeric, garlic and ginger and continue pulsing or using the pestle to make a paste.
4. Mash in vinegar and allow to sit and absorb the flavor of the spices.
5. Heat coconut milk in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat. Strain vinegar into the coconut milk and cook until reduced by half.
6. Also, in a separate sauce pan over medium heat, heat butter or ghee with sliced onion. Continue cooking until caramelized, stirring frequently.
7. Meanwhile, bring salted water to a bowl in a large pot. Add penne.
8. Once onion has caramelized, add apple and cook until softened.
9. Once penne is tender and sauté has reduced, drain the penne and add it to the sauce, along with the apple and onion, pineapple and chicken breasts.
10. Stir and transfer to a plate and top with mango chutney to serve.

Makes 4 servings

4 medium mangoes, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
1 tablespoon ginger puree
1/4 cup pineapple juice
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon curry powder
3 tablespoons raisins

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat with the chili flakes. Be careful not to burn.
2. Stir in the ginger and the mango and cook until mango has softened and absorbed the flavors, about 3 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine pineapple juice, vinegar, sugar and curry powder in a separate bowl.
4. Add the pineapple juice mixture to the mango and reduce heat to a simmer. Reduce until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 20 minutes.
5. Remove from heat, allow to cool to room temperature, then stir in raisins.

Makes 4 servings

4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved and tenderized
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 tablespoons ginger
2 tablespoons garlic
1 tablespoon turmeric
salt and pepper

1. Combine lemon juice, ginger, garlic, turmeric, salt and pepper in a bowl.
2. Rub mixture into the chicken and marinade for at least an hour.
3. Meanwhile, preheat grill until coals are hot.
4. Cook chicken on the grill, about 5-6 minutes per side, until no longer pink.
5. Make additional marinade to baste, if desired.

Makes 4 servings

I hadn't really planned anything for dinner tonight, but tomorrow we're having company and I needed to go to the grocery store. So, while walking around the supermarket I asked Shannon what she wanted for dinner. Mangoes happened to be on sale, so we picked up a couple and she said she wanted Madras Curry Penne. I had tried making this for her before with semi-disastrous results, but I decided to try it again. See, there's a particular flavor she has in mind for what this madras curry penne is supposed to taste like. That is, exactly like the one on the menu at Moxies restaurant. Unfortunately, they don't offer a recipe, just the ingredients, and I have to basically make up the rest as I go along.

After grilling her (not literally) for the flavor I'm trying to go for, I start to prepare the sauce. I start toasting cumin and coriander seeds and she starts wondering what's going on. I explain that I'm preparing ingredients for the pasta sauce and she politely explains that I'm doing it all wrong. I do what any decent man would do and tell her that a woman has no place in the kitchen (okay, that's a bit of a dramatization, I ask her to slice a mango) and proceed to make what tastes like spiced vinegar. She approves, but only because I look like I'm about to cry.

I throw the Grilled Lemon Ginger Chicken (which is great for a salad or pasta dish like this, by the way) on the grill, something I know I'm unlikely to screw up, and forget about it for a couple of minutes while I heat up a pan for the Mango Chutney. I make 2 separate batches, 1 simple with nothing but brown sugar and chili flakes for Shannon, and another one with a few more ingredients for myself. The chutney, if I do say so myself, is a very good recipe. It ends up being what tops the pasta in the end, so its flavor is key. For those of you that don't know, chutney is sort of like a spiced relish that is usually made from fruit. It's often used as an accompaniment for meats or with rice or whatever. Think of it like American relish or cranberry sauce.

After it was all said and done, somehow I managed to concoct something that tastes like what I was going for. She said the sauce was a bit tart, but when all of the elements were combined it was almost perfect. Perhaps this is by fluke or perhaps it's because I'm becoming more familiar with these spices in the kitchen. It's about time, really. When I first met Shannon I had the opportunity to introduce her to a wide variety of new flavors. I cooked her dinner after dinner of things she'd never had before; like pesto, roasted red peppers, and so on. The first thing she introduced me to was curry. She pulled a recipe off the internet and we picked up the ingredients and made curried chicken. It was delicious, she said it was perfect and I've been craving it ever since. I even enjoy the smell of curry as it seeps out of my pores like a sweet ginger deodorant, but that's probably a little too much information.