When the Rain Comes

A rainy day off of work.  The best kind!  And it's spring so the air is still very cool and fresh.  The sun hasn't hit the sidewalks in a way that the pee smell has surfaced yet.  Bonus!  These are the truly free days for us socially awkward people. Society does not expect you to be out frolicking in the sun on these days.  It's acceptable that you bunker down in the apartment and 'just enjoy yourself' like Michael Jackson.

We have leaky windows in the kitchen so I had to wait for the downpour to end before attacking my duel chicken project.  I figured I'd make soup and roasted lemon chicken out of my family pack of thighs.

With all the guilt and anxiety baggage lifted from my day I was free to be meek in the comfort of my little Brooklyn apartment.

I got busy with a great little recipe for baked skinless chicken thighs with garlic and lemon. Squeezed the juice of two lemons in a big bowl with lots of chopped garlic, dried red pepper and fresh thyme, about 3 spoons of olive oil, s&p. I massaged the thighs in the mixture before laying them on the baking sheet. I also threw the lemon wedges in the mix and some green onions on top.

This was awesome and you can spoon the roasting juices over top.  I served with organic brown rice which I found to be quite a different experience than the cheaper kind I've bought that looks just like white rice but tan in color.

This was very grainy and hearty, more nutty tasting.  You really feel like you're eating something substantial.

Then I roasted a small batch of salsa to add to my soup.
I took the second half of my chicken thighs and poached them while making a nice homemade chicken broth.

 

After defatting the chicken stock and deboning the chicken meat, I put them back together along with carrots, cabbage and peas

and then a big dollop of my fresh salsa for a bold addition to this earthy cabbage soup.

Brown rice with roasted chicken is just so comforting.  Everytime I eat it I wonder why I don't make it everyday.

The gray stormy day gave us a bunch of microbursts and instead of making me blue it just gave me such a deep feeling of contentment.  Hard rain is the only thing that can shut this damn city up.  People are not the rulers of the universe.  Nature proves it by sweeping her arm and everyone scatters like tiny cockroaches.  I love it! What a beautiful reminder that all the darn bullies I deal with everyday do not have ultimate power.

I with I could put that feeling in my pocket and take it with me when I go out into the world.