Rub a Dub Grub

Ok....so, I didn't have to wait long to have the opportunity to assembly this yummy salad! First of all, let's review the ingredients: Chicken (not pictured, as it was in the steamer, working on getting cooked), rice (also not pictured...also getting cooked), celery, green onion, frozen peas, mayonnaise, lemon juice, curry powder, salt and pepper. Don't they all look happy...so much potential!
So...I like to steam my chicken in this Black and Decker "handy steamer". It's one of my favorite appliances and it gets a lot of use in my kitchen. Chicken, when cooked this way is very flavorful and moist.
So, while the chicken and rice are cooking, let's work on the rest of the salad. First I chopped up the celery. I also chopped up the celery tops (the leafy part). I like the added flavor those leaves give to the salad. Kind-of slightly spicy. Also, I will just note, that if you are lucky enough to own a knife that is celery green like mine...you should definitely choose to use it whenever you have the opportunity to chop celery! I mean, how fun is that? :) In case you are wondering...I got my knife from the Pampered Chef. I really really really wanted a santoku knife, but didn't want to pay as much as they cost. This was kind-of a mini version, and the color is what sold me completely.
Ok...enough about my knife. Once you've chopped the celery, add it to the bowl. (And don't pay attention to my cell phone sitting under the bowl!)
Next add the frozen peas to the bowl. Don't worry about thawing them out. They will thaw pretty quickly all on their own.
Then chop up some green onions....(there's that green knife again!)

Oh! I just realized I also left the cashews out of the ingredient picture. I'm not doing so well today, am I? You are going to need 2 cups of cashews, and that's a lot. I bought this big container at Costco. I like that they are whole cashews and "fancy" at that. But you can use any variety.
Ok....now let's work on the dressing. It's hard to see, but there is mayonnaise in that bowl.
Next we will be adding some curry powder. Those of you who don't love curry...(Alan)...don't worry because there is only a 1/2 teaspoon. Really, that's not much. If you love curry (like me) you can always add a little bit more.
And now a little salt. (note: I use kosher salt)
And add some pepper too. I was busy grinding my pepper, and it takes two hands, so you don't get a photo of that, but you can see that I've put the pepper in...
Did I mention, I LOVE this pepper. :) I didn't used to like pepper at all, and then I discovered this. It's a whole new world of pepper for me!
Hopefully your chicken is done steaming. If you are me, and you are bad at timing your salad making, you probably had to go surf the internet for a half hour or so while your chicken finished. So, now, being careful not to burn your fingers, dice that chicken into bite-sized pieces.
Again, I was not really good at my salad-making-timing this day, and I really needed to leave in about 20 minutes. The chicken was still hot, and the rice wasn't cooling down very well either. Well...I thought you might enjoy my solution...the freezer! We did a quick chill.
Then put it all together and stir. (I was in a hurry and forgot to photograph the stirring) But here is the final result. Yummy!

And here we are at the party....everyone LOVED the salad. And the party was fun too!