They call it comfort food...I call it sweatpants for your belly.

A braised chicken is probably one of my favorite meals.  It's relatively inexpensive to prepare, It's all cooked in a dutch oven (only one dish), and its really good...really, really good.  People will probably bring you daisies and goodies and stuff if you make this for them.  Here's what you do:

Get a chicken.  You could buy one.  Or you could steal one, but if you're gonna steal one, steal a live one, at least make some sport out of it.  

cut up the chicken, or have your butchers cut it for you. (hmmm...perhaps picture tutorials of how to cut up meat would be a good post...).

Season with salt and peps, some thyme and sear on all sides in a dutch oven coated with olive oil. Remove previously mentioned seared chicken and place on plate.  Add root veg to pan (chunked up onion, carrot, celery, WHOLE garlic cloves)---these are the must haves, and you can also add potatoes,mushrooms, turnips, rutabaga, quartered tomatoes, etc., if you would like.  Season veg with salt and pepper and then add a couple splashes of vermouth, or wine, or beer (preferably ale) and then chicken broth/stock until it reaches about 3/4 way to the top of the veg.  Place chicken pieces back on top and cover.  Chuck into the oven at 350 for about 1.5 hours and wait.  Now is a good time to drink the rest of your ale.

Tell it to the one-legged man...

Finally got around to making some tostadas.  It is fast becoming a favorite for us which is good because it is really easy.  We have tried lots of different meat choices in these and they have all been pretty tasty.  I always saute some onion, garlic, and peppers with cumin, chile powder, coriander, salt, and pepper.  After that has cooked a bit, I add my meat and get some nice color, then tomatoes/tomato sauce and some stock.  Let it reduce until thick and then mix in some chopped cilantro.  Toppings are up to you but we usually do some avocado and maybe cheese/salsa.

Also, a word to the wise:  DO NOT TRY TO HEAT THE TOSTADAS IN A TOASTER.  Smoke, flames, etc.  It was a big stank mess.  I don't know what I was thinking.  In fact, I think my mom did the same thing and even told me about it.  Anyway, use a toaster oven or skillet or whatever.  

The insects are leaving my veg alone, finally.  Although, I am a bit apprehensive about the whole pesticide deal.  It'll probably wreak havoc on my endocrine system, but then again, so will drinking out of a nalgene bottle and I still do that.  Fearless...

I heart cupcakes

Amy started making these cupcakes about a month and a half ago.  They're so JEM (simply outrageous, duh!).  they are made with buttermilk, and a lot of eggs.  I usually don't get all that excited for cake but these rock my socks off.  The eggs are separated, the whites being beaten and folded in at the last minute.  I think this is what really makes them so nice and light and fluffified. The frosting is something that I threw together.  I started out making a buttercream (butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar) and where I usually add the heavy cream, I substituted dark chocolate that had been melted into heavy cream in a double boiler.  It turned out pretty well, I will probably do it again, if I can remember how, I should really write that down, along with tons of others.

Also, I made some flank steak with olive oil mash and sweet corn for dinner.  I marinated the flank steak in bourbon, balsamic vinegar, and soy.  All in all, pretty decent, would have liked the corn to be sweeter, but we won't get the good stuff until the middle of august.  

Making some shortbread as we speak, man I love shortbread.  Need to run to the hardware store to see if I can get something for bugs to stay away from my tomatoes.  I picked about 6 today that had been eaten by the little buggers (no pun intended).   Also need some charcoal, thinking about picking up some of the "hardwood" kind because it supposedly burns hotter but will still have to pick up lump for other applications.  peace

into the wild...salmon

So, Amy has been asking me to make some fish for about a month now, and yesterday at the store they had some really nice Alaskan wild salmon so we picked some up.  I made a teriyaki-type glaze with oj, ginger root, cardamom, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and honey.  Whacked it under the broiler for about 5-6 minutes...BOOYAH!

The green stuff is flash-sauteed spinach with baby garlic.  My friend pam gave me some baby garlic from her garden and it has a really nice mild flavor.  Topped the dish with some toasted sesame seeds and that was that.  Nice and light, which was good for this heat wave.  I wish there were leftovers.  Tonight I am going to make some tostadas, probably with flank steak, just because I have it on hand.  

We are seriously entertaining the idea of making fruitcakes for the holidays at work.  We have to start them really soon because they age for at least 3-4 months.  I know what you are thinking,"fruitcake is the lamest of the lame," but hold on there, how can it be bad if you are the one making it?  This is one of my theories.  If you can control everything that goes into a recipe, and you are knowledgeable about food, there should be little excuse for a total loss.  Anyway, they are going to be delicious.  We will saturate them with either brandy or whiskey and then let them age accordingly.

Got a pretty sweet bike ride in yesterday.  It was really hot though.  I am really digging my new straps for my pedals, they're great.  Hopefully I can put some on my 29'er soon.  Well, lots to do today, so I had better scoot. peace.

The hotness never ceases

  We have been trying to eat outside as much as possible lately, and it has been pretty easy except for the past couple of days.  Yesterday was about a million degrees outside and it looks like that trend will continue throughout the week.  Well, that just means primo grilling time!

We made some barbecued chicken the other night.  Pretty self explanatory.  Also roasted some beans and peas with shallots and some potatoes and cherry tomatoes.  The cherry tomatoes were nice, they kind of caramelized and became super sweet.  Try it out.

I don't know if it is the warm weather or what, but around this time of year I always start to get the desire to eat healthier/ lighter.  So, with that in mind, the coming posts should be somewhat healthy and light.  Not that it's a bad thing.  Who can eat a ton in this heat anyway?  

I made some granola/energy bars last night from a recipe that was in one of amy's martha stewart magazines.  Really tasty, kind of like a cliff bar sans chemical aftertaste.  On my days off, I will also be making shortbread and cupcakes, etc.  peace