Coldgreyrainyday

But not a bad one.
Yesterday morning I slathered four drumsticks with real honey Dijon mustard and a little apple cider vinegar. After work I threw them on Big George (thank you, Takeo!) and let 'em do there thing for about half an hour. Had them w/ rice and veg. Very nice, very easy.


What an entry.

Madeleines dipped in tea...

When I was in the fourth or fifth grade, a family moved from NYC into the house across the street from us. Dad was Iraqi, Mom was Jewish, the kiddies were evil. Their house was huge, and in my child's memory, so were they. Tall and dark is everything about them and their home, but the smell is very clear to me... strong coffee scented with what I now know was cardamom. There were other spices, too, but it's the cardamom that stands out in my mind's nose.

I blend my own perfume and somehow today I smell like the Mukamal's house.
Every time I breathe, I think about some people I haven't seen in twenty years.

Not a good day...

Last night was a total loss on the food front. Three pieces of Pizza Hut chicken and tomato pizza. It was delicious, though.

I got my W2 for last year today. I can't wait to see how much I owe Uncle Sam- I mean Iyad Allawi this year. I don't have a problem with paying taxes, I just wish I had a say in where my money goes. Bush asked Congress for another $80 million on Monday and they'll give it to him.

What to do? Cook a damn fine chicken tonight.

Only I can't use the farging oven because it sets off the fire alarm.

Oh, well, at least we have electricity and Big George.

Enjoy your day, hug your children and your friends- and your friends' children, too, and be glad you don't live in Baghdad, Gaza, Thailand... phhh.

Salsa Emilese... qu'est ce que c'est?

Ingredients
1 medium onion
5 oz Shredded Carrots
7 clove garlic cloves
olive oil
1 oz red wine
1 Tbsp canned tomato paste
168 oz canned diced tomatoes - six big cans

Heat (salted) onion and carrots over med-high heat in a large pot or Dutch oven till they soften. Do not let them brown. Increase heat and add minced garlic to the pan. Saute briefly- do not let the garlic burn. Add dried basil and oregano, stir a couple times. Add wine and reduce till it has all evaporated.Add tomato paste and stir. Add canned tomatoes, stirring to mix all ingredients. Once sauce starts to boil, reduce heat to medium-ish and let it simmer half an hour or so. Cool and freeze or can it if you're that cool.

Back to normal...

Well, now that we've got the Ring all nice and destroyed, we can go back to sitting at the table to eat. Ever since the marathon Ring viewing, I have been compelled to watch all three movies again... more slowly this time.
But now that the LOTR orgy is over, it's back to work.

Last night it was chicken soft tacos, not exciting, but yummy and quick enough for Starvin' Marvin here.

Tonight will probably, horribly, be Chinese delivered, but tomorrow, ah, tomorrow will be Poulet Rôti à la Nigella- with half a lemon up it's bum, some butter massaged lovingly into its skin, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. We'll have tiny roasted new potatoes, too.

I'm hungry already....

Bonjour, world...

Mealtimes were getting stale. Almost every night we were eating some form of chicken and pasta with Salsa Emilese, emphasis on the la-zy. Either that or ordering Chinese. No bueno. What happened to my extensive repetoire gleaned from the world's cuisines? The Moroccan spice-crusted chicken with orange sauce? The tangy tarrgon-infused vinegary breast of chicken from the bistros of Paris? The sweet burn of Thai Basil Chicken? The creamy drunkeness of Poulet Normandie with Calvados and cider??? Okay, so it's still all chicken, but jeez! What about the sweet, warm meditative comfort of my risotto with sundried tomatoes and basil, lovingly finished with butter and parm... off the heat, of course? My Penne à la Vodka?
I know what happened. Weight Watchers happened and I'm glad it did.
A new job happened and I'm glad it did.
Kevin's new job happened- bets are still out on that one.
Point being we were fit, we were trim, we had money. We were tired and stressed.
We had money and started eating out... which made us not so fit, not so trim, just as tired and more stressed because we were no longer so fit, so trim, or so moneyed.
Whew.
We had a fight.
About dinner.
It was ugly.
I lifted the ban on purchasing cookbooks, went out and bought Marcella Cucina at Half-Price Books and started reading. And cooking.
The first new recipe was a chicken (shocker!) fricassee with cherry tomatoes in a white wine sauce. Cut up a whole chicken, brown it, dump in white wine, lower heat, cook till tender, toss in tomatoes, cook till they split.
Served it with a crusty bâtard and a spinach salad.
It was so easy.
And it was divine.

Three weeks have passed since we've had chops and sauce, and I've lost 5 pounds. Whoo-hoo!

Every time I turn on the oven now, the fire alarm goes off.
Thank god we're moving in less than a month.
We'll have a bigger kitchen, too.