Nap Time Squeeze - a continuum of rebranding.
I have yet to master the ability to pick one of many equally plausible options for the time and let go the rest. It’s a work in progress. I am working on it. Like today, I watched 10 minutes of TV while eating lunch, then stared at the beautiful snow falling for 5 minutes. Then just as I was debating whether to watch more TV or the snow, the snow stopped and the TV paused into screen saver and I decided to commit to posting. Et Vôila! :)
Ok, 5 minutes countdown….. Recipe to post. Its a one pot recipe
Two Bean Chicken Casserole
This casserole, is simply layers of love - from the richly browned and crisped chicken thighs, to the caramelized mushrooms, the depth of sage and the richness of a double bean stew. Pour yourself a glass of crisp white, because it is that kind of saucy indulgence - cold wine, warm belly!
Hard to Pronounce Names and Simple Awesomeness
Time seems to running away, at least from me! I am a few hours away from heading out for a close couple's wedding, and then, a month long travel, and, I still have so many loose threads trailing around me. I am consciously not calling it my 'to-do list', you see.
Meanwhile, in between, I am happy that I atleast manage to feed myself well, actually, really well. Bless the person who invented the freezer and then all the technology revolutions that made it a affordable home appliance! I use it as much as I can for make ahead meals. Recently a friend recommended a Greek chicken soup that I was shocked to not have heard of before. It is one of the most comforting, incredibly delicious and satisfying and stupidly easy soups to make.
A Chicken Story and A Summer Salad
It is natural that as the Summer haze sets in, there is less and less inclination to spend in the kitchen. Yet, the desire for tasting the splendor of the season does not abate. So, we all find ways to get around it - from barbeques to salads, outdoor fun and rooftop joys to easy dinners, cooking big and making the most of leftovers. Summer offers the best chance for making magic with mere leftovers.
Recently, I have taken a partiality to whole roast chicken.
The chicken giveth in spades and every bit of edible or can be made into something edible. A farm, pasture raised chicken typically weighs about 3.5 lbs and you can get a fair bit of meat from it, even though not as much as its larger industrial cousins. What I like is that the leg and thigh is about the same size as the breast and I have always the darker and juicier meat from here! The first meal from the roast is always the thigh with a side of vegetables.
Then, I peel every bit of the meat off the carcass and use it over a week in several dishes, from salads to tarts to sandwiches to curries to rice toss, oh, endless...! The carcass itself becomes ideal for stock with a bunch of vegetable scraps. The jus, becomes gravy or vinaigrette based on what I am making. All savored, nothing lost.