Butterfly Chicken & Misdemeanors
Hello again! I’ve been fulfilling my New Year Resolutions, so haven’t had much time to post (plus I gave up computer games for Lent and spent considerably less time on my laptop). My resolution of “Just do it” has led to me doing many things that have kept me busy, and my resolution to read the books already in my possession has kept me occupied in my downtime.
Thus far this year, I have:
Finished reading eight books
Sewn another baby quilt (my first applique, I usually do patchwork)
Re-organized my desk and the kitchen cabinets
Written letters and postcards to friends/family
Helped build the set for a show at my old theatre
Started volunteering at a local ranch that provides equine therapy for teenagers, and
Finally dived into Mediterranean cooking
Our doctor has been telling us for years at our physicals to adopt the Mediterranean diet, but I’ve been avoiding it because I assumed it was very fish-heavy, and I’m not really much for seafood. Also, husband hates olives and they’re included in most recipes I found. However, in desperation, I googled “quick easy mediterranean meals for two” and come across this site: A Couple Cooks. One page on their site is sixty Med recipes (not for two, but the servings on most are for four, so easy to halve) and I started at the top and printed out the first five recipes and went to town.
Things I have learned while using these recipes:
I like chickpeas, lentils, and capers (I have been very good and not left out ingredients I’d never eaten before)
It’s easy to substitute capers for the olives in most recipes, which husband likes
Shallots are not, in fact, green onions
Tahini is next to impossible to remove fully from a plastic measuring cup
There are just as many chicken and vegetarian recipes as there are for fish
I now know how to butterfly a chicken breast and peel fresh ginger
On the book front currently, I am listening to the audiobook version of Agatha Christie’s “The Mystery of the Blue Train” and reading in paperback a true crime history about the birth of forensic medicine. My online book clubmates sweetly agreed to read one of my to-be-read books, “Ms. Demeanor” by Elinor Lipman, and it’s completely different from what I assumed it would be like when I bought it, but I’m loving it regardless.
