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Greetings. This chicken recipe is flavored with curry spices – warm, soothing, and not too spicy. The ingredient list is long, but the dish can be completed in about an hour from start to finish. If you don’t have all of the spices handy, substitute some prepared curry powder of your choice in an amount to suit your palate. The short-grain rice is not at all customary, but I like the creamy, risotto-style texture.
Chicken Breasts with Curry Spices
6 chicken breast halves, boned and skinned (6 to 8 ozs each)
flour for dusting (about ½ cup)  4 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt  1 tablespoon dried basil  1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander  ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom  ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper  1 large, or 2 small shallots, minced
½ tablespoon minced jalapeno pepper (or to taste)
½ tablespoon minced garlic  ¼ cup raisins or sultanas
1 cup short-grain brown or white rice (like Aborio)
2 cups chicken stock, or more as needed
1 cup frozen peas (allow to thaw while proceeding with recipe)
optional fresh herbs (such as parsley, cilantro, mint, or chives) for garnish
Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Dredge in flour, shaking off excess.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large, deep skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 3 chicken breast halves and brown on both sides. Do not allow to cook through – it should take only 3 – 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate.  Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan, and brown remaining 3 breasts. Add breasts to the first 3 on the plate. Set aside. Add remaining oil to the pan, and lower heat to medium. Add salt, basil, cumin, coriander, cloves, cardamom, turmeric, and black pepper to the pan, and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add shallots, jalapeno peppers, garlic, and rice to the pan. Cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, stirring to combine. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes for white rice, and 20 minutes for brown rice. Uncover, stir, and place chicken pieces and accumulated juices on top of rice. Add more chicken stock if there is not enough liquid remaining to finish cooking rice. Cover pan, and continue to cook until both chicken and rice are done. Remove chicken from pan. Combine peas and raisins with rice in pan, and continue to cook for a minute or two to allow peas and raisins to heat through. Serves 4 – 6.

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Frosty Visit
Two sea gulls took a breather on a piece of debris in the Quinebaug River, next to Rotary Park last weekend. More photos of feathered visitors on page 6. Linda Lemmon photo.

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By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
WOODSTOCK --- They fit together like hand and glove.
Rev. Susan J. Foster, who grew up in a Connecticut dairy farm town, found she fit right in when she became pastor of the East Woodstock Congregational Church 25 years ago.
Foster and the congregational have grown together, forming a bond that seems flexible yet strong.  She finds the congregation is tremendously faithful. As they bear witness to God's words, "we try to be as creative as we can to reach as many people as we can," she said.
Originally Foster majored in German at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania, thinking she would get into the travel business, leading groups. After graduation, she found herself working as the "English speaker" for a crystal manufacturer in Germany. The business was looking to improve sales. "I realized that the business world and I were not a good match," she said.
After long walks, searching her soul, she realized what she was meant to do with her life.  Writing to her parents, she wrote she thought she might be interested in helping people, through teaching, nursing or through ministry. She said she had settled on ministry and added the other two professions to kind of soften the blow to her parents. But her mother wrote back and said "You'd be a great minister," confirming Foster's thoughts.
She worked for a year to earn the money to go to seminary and went to Lancaster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, earning a master of divinity. She came to the East Woodstock Congregational Church right after seminary.
Her goal at the church? "I want to be able to offer the people something bigger than ourselves, something of lasting value. Not fleeting," she said.
When she first arrived at the church, she said she was "scared to death." She added, "You see how little you know."  As pastor, she said, she sees the highlights of people's lives and the lowlights of their lives, often being at  final bedsides.
She and her husband Roger Solomon live in Woodstock and three children, Daniel, 20, Rachel, 18 and Jacob, 16.
When asked what congregation members might say her strong points are, she answered: "I love this church. I care deeply about them." She said she hopes that she listens well and helps make connections with what's "going on in their lives and the God that loves them."
She views the individual circumstances of people's lives --- unemployment or sickness and other struggles --- as a challenge for her calling. They turn to the church for support and the congregation helps, she said. She stressed that the congregational and she work together.
Also a challenge, she said, is that the church is changing. Despite the modern day challenges, she said she loves that "the congregational is willing to entertain new ideas. The message of hope we have is big enough to fit in today's world," she said.
"It's a real privilege to be on this journey with people," she said.

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Bible Fellowship Church, 400 Quinebaug Rd, Thompson  923-9512
B'nai Shalom-Conservative, 125 Church St., Putnam; 7 p.m. Fri. (followed by Oneg); 9 a.m. Sat. (followed by  Kiddush); 9:30 a.m. Sun. All welcome.
Chepachet (R.I.) Free Will Baptist Church, Rt. 44  10:00 Sunday
Chepachet Glad Tidings Community Church 111 Victory Hwy. (Rt. 102)
    401-568-0060; 10:30 a.m. Sunday
Chepachet (R.I.) Union Church, Rt. 44  9 and 10:30 Sunday
Christ Church of Pomfret, Rt. 169, 928-7026
Church of the Good Shepherd, Congregational, 12 Bradford Cor. Rd.,
    W. Woodstock 974-2047 10:30 Sun.
Church of the Nazarene, 440 Westcott Rd., Killingly  774-5844    10:45 Sunday
Congregational Church of Eastford, 8 Church Rd. 974-0294  8:30 & 11 a.m.
      Sun Service; Sun. School 9:45 a.m.
Congregational Church of Putnam, 175 Main St. 928-4405  10:30 Sunday
E. Putnam Community Church, Putnam 928-2193  10:00 Sunday
Eastford Baptist Church, 974-1414 9 a.m. Sun. school; 10:30 a.m. Sun. worship
E. Woodstock Congregational Church, 220 Woodstock Rd. 928-7449
    10 a.m. Sunday worship
Emanuel Lutheran Church, 83 Main St., Thompson 923-9418
Evangelical Covenant Church, 24 Childs Hill Rd., Woodstock 928-0486
Faith Bible Evangelical Free Church, Rt. 171, Woodstock 974-2528 9:30 Sun.
First Apostolic Church of Danielson, 774-3564  10 a.m. & 6 p.m. Sunday
First Congregational Church of Woodstock, United Church of Christ,
     543 Rt. 169 928-7405     10 a.m. Sunday
First Congregational Church of Pomfret, Rt. 169  928-7381 Adult Sun.
 School 9:15; service at 10:30.
High Pointe Church, 1208 Thompson Road, Thompson. 935-0357
    9, 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday.
Hope Community Church, 25 Kennedy Dr.  928-2794. 10:00 Sun.
Living Faith United Methodist Church, Grove St. 928-9705. 10 Sun.
Most Holy Trinity Church, Pomfret 928-5830. 4 on Sat.; 8 and 10 Sun.
N. Woodstock Congregational Church, 1227 Rt. 169  963-2170 10:00 Sunday
Putnam Baptist Church, 170 Church St.  928-3678.  11:00 Sun.; 9:30 Sunday School
St. John Lutheran  Rt. 6, Brooklyn 10:30 a.m. Sun.; 7 p.m. Thurs. prayer service
St. Joseph Roman Catholic, N. Grosvenordale 923-2361 4 on Sat.; 8 & 11 Sun.
St. Jude RC, 25 Old Farms Rd., Willington. 429-2860. 9 on Sun.
St. Mary of the Visitation, Prov. St., Putnam  928-6535. 4 on Sat.; 8:30 & 10:30 Sun.
St. Philip's Episcopal, 63 Grove St., Putnam, 928-3510.  9:30 a.m. Sundays
St. Philip the Apostle RC, Rt. 44, Ashford. 429-2860. 4:30 Sat.; 11 on Sun.
St. Stephen, 130 Rt. 131, Quinebaug  935-5205 4 on Sat.; 9 Sunday
Sons of Zion Synagogue, 125 Church St., Putnam 774-7187 7 p.m. Fridays;
       9 a.m. Saturdays; Hebrew school Sunday mornings.
South Woodstock Baptist Church  928-9341 9  a.m. Sundays.
Thompson Congregational Church, 347 Thompson Road. 923-2431 - 10 a.m. Sun.
For additions, changes, call 860-963-1050;  email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.