Iffin You Really Care for Me

I had considered this an iffy prospect, Spaghetti with Braised Chicken and as a dump casserole to boot but surprisingly it was kind of awesome.  I browned the Italian spiced chicken, added oregano, vegetables, tomato paste, onion, garlic, black olives and uncooked spaghetti noodles, along with water, covered and put in oven.

I figured if you can throw raw rice in the oven, you could cook pasta as well. But I envisioned it coming out all over cooked and mushy. Not the case at all and it was in there for about an hour. The chicken was fall off the bone and had absorbed much of the tomatoey liquid goodness and the noodles were al dente. The chicken fat helps divide the noodles and keep them silky but you do have to open 'er up and stir once.

All in all a successful experiment for lazy, after work, quick meals.  It's filling and real enough where you can feel good about eating it unless you're not supposed to consume white pasta.  In which case you really need to stop this nonsense.

God Bless the Child That's Got His Own

I've been taking mental health days off of school and work since birth, I was actually late coming out.  As a matter of fact I was given a choice to join society for Kindergarten by my mother who didn't sell it strongly but still I was very reluctant to commit to daily interactions with the public and so I declined.  I knew very early on that this was my Achilles heel...joining human kind.

To this day I need major recovery days.  Today was that day. 

Previously on 'Retail Hell' - I walk into my shift and report to the host desk.  That's where we take names and people wait for the next available coworker, like a restaurant.  There a woman is beginning to get to that point, almost yelling, getting riled up, something about what she was told over the phone.  There are a few scattered contractors waiting for help and now an older couple walk up.  I can see the host is rattled and needs help so I chime in.  Immediately the woman is telling me in a very loud high pitched voice, Yes you WILL sit down and plan out my kitchen with me right now!...she started fading out.  This was enough to really push me right up to my edge.  That boundary where all gloves are off.  Where I agreed never to crossover at work.
I just clocked in but what I didn't realize was just how close I was to that rim upon waking.  My heart was racing like a rabbit, she took two more jabs, something that sounded personal.  I immediately disengaged.  I took the next person ignoring all protocol. There was a full moon coming I instantly realized. I can't ignore the symptoms.  The darting mind and nervousness.  The rage levels.  The unease, very similar to coming down off 70's acid if you recall that werewolf-like night of breathing heavily and inability to sleep.  The worst. 
Similar situations occurred all day where we finally had to acknowledge it in a short conversation. Isn't it strange Blanka said, everyone seems to be whack.  Must be something in retrograde she snickered.  The night ended in an appointment with a couple, the woman named Bliss.  By that name I just knew she had been told her whole life she was special.  She was very pretty and fairly young.  Unfortunately very annoying and bossy too.  Her husband was homely and I decided he wasn't about to reign her in for me although he did surprise me and agreed with my logic more than a few times.   I know exactly what I want and where I want it, she said.  She spoke quickly and definitively.  I announced right off the bat I was running at about half of their speed, so please have patience.  Its an old Columbo type trick I use on the privileged to put us all at ease.  They see me as inferior and their guard comes down.  I get to run the appointment on my own timeline otherwise I'd be chasing butterflies all day as our general public suffers from a serious lack of focus.  Still, when I questioned her desire to put a 109 inch peninsula in the middle of a tiny apartment, she made clear she was a designer.  She insisted on seeing multiple views and changing the cabinet orientations every few minutes.  I jokingly brought up the irony of her opening statement.  The husband caught it and started to laugh but quickly stifled himself.  I was spent at the end of the appointment that ran over 2 hours.  Their layout was whack to use Blanka's term. Afterwards she clarified that she was a designer of greeting cards, to which I had to mentally excuse myself and leave the entire building because of the ridiculousness of human behavior this week.  And THIS is why mental health days are real and should be covered, especially in retail. 

 Burrito and taco. Take out from Fatty Daddy on Smith St in Brooklyn.  

Flirting With Disaster Everyday

Ham and Swiss Cheese Frittata

Ham, onion, potato and green pepper frittata with Swiss Cheese.  You really can't mess up a frittata except to not season it enough.  That's lucky because I made a slew of them before ever reading a recipe.  I question why I put myself through these senseless experiments when I could just make it easy on myself.  I guess it's just more fun this way.

And they're always so pretty and can feed an army.  Too bad eggs aren't amazing reheated.

Signs of spring in Brooklyn

Danger There's a Breakdown Dead Ahead

I take pictures for my sister to see what I ate at work, because she's freaky like that too.  True foodies really do want to see what you ate.  That's why the constant posting of lunch and dinner shots doesn't bother me one bit on social media.  I love to see what's for eats.  I don't even care if I know you.

On my way to work I walked because of the rain but I took a short cut through the Red Hook park.  Even though its fairly safe, it was only 7 in the morning.  I was the only one there as far as I could see.  Except for two men standing in the entrance of the restrooms straight ahead.  Gulp. There are fences on all sides. And the park comes with it's own abandoned shipyard where dumping bodies is way convenient.  I quickly envisioned an escape plan after I took that lefty up ahead in the case they were going to drag me into the damp, dark, stanky restroom and slice me up into tiny pieces.  I mean, most likely they were just park workers looking all shady but I'm a girl who lives in worst case scenarios.

I lived to see lunch.  Praise the Lord! As a matter of fact, they didn't even pay me no mind as I walked by in slow motion making note of all identifiable features with wide eyes.

Just As Long as it's Groovin'

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joe Lettuce Wraps

https://tipbuzz.com/philly-cheesesteak-sloppy-joes/

Melissa turned me onto this recipe.  Well sort of.  She posted it on Facebook.  I forgot she was from Philly so she probably thought this was a disgusting disrespectful nod to their beloved sandwich. I wasn't sure either...ketchup and provolone?  Didn't sound promising.  I really loved the sound of both dishes though and all I needed to buy was the cheese.  I love me an easy, fun, affordable recipe idea. And actually, it worked for me.  And it was cool to serve with lettuce cups to spoon it all up if you're going bread free.  A nice seasoned rice with green onions rounded out the meal.

Kick Out the Jams

Quantity used to be my jam.  Now that I'm approaching a particular age, I tend to love small nibbling plates.  In looking at this, it wasn't as tiny as I thought but I considered it a snack at the time.  A fried egg over greens and a few leftover baked potato wedges, seasoned tomatoes. The joy is to reheat something you loved the first round, this time being the potatoes, and eat it with a great anticipation of the flavors intensifying.  The crunchy greens and egg yolk for dipping. Ooops! a little cheddar musta found it's way onto those crispy taters. 

Try to Set the Night on Fire

My dinner tonight consisted of baked fries and cheeseburgers in lettuce wraps.  It was

 very satisfying and friendly to the gut. Leaves you feeling clean and light. You do get the satisfaction of the cheeseburger experience without all the bloat of the buns.

My lunch however consisted of a small carne asada burrito from B'klyn Burro.  The combination of the warmed, slightly toasted flour tortilla and the freshly fried chips gave a deeper, more instant gratification.  What I would call good, bad food, meaning well made with good ingredients, just not low fat, is like the steamy sex scenes in movies.  It's fast and hard and passionate giving the stomach the sensation of an oncoming orgasm. Whereas the lettuce calls up to the brain and gives it sweet loving mommy kisses.

Yep, the long lasting gusto of eating healthy is no quick roll in the hay.

Sweet Potato Breakfast Hash

Sweet Potato Hash

You need fried eggs for this, over easy. Sweet potatoes love to buddy with red bell pepper.  For this I also cubed sausage, onions and Yukon potatoes.

I've Been Looking So Long at These Pictures of You

The white flowers on the trees tell us that spring is here ready or not.  I'm pretty ready, although the winter was mild in comparison to some.  The long hibernation aided in my regeneration.  I love the dark, cold quiet of winter.  I remember this day, riding with a little less gear, a lot more pep.  I was happy there was finally something to take a photo of as the stark trees were finally filling up.  Spring is like an old friend that comes to cheer you up at just the right time. It's the real Easter bunny. 

Pulled pork sandwiches with mac and cheese and fries from the Smoke Joint.  Another bonus to the day.

Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing

Western Omelet with ham, green peppers, onions and cheddar cheese.  I blame not being able to make a decent looking omelet on lack of a good pan and my insistence on putting two tons of fillings inside.  P has burned all my good non stick pans and no amount of butter seems to matter.  It's a real shame because there is absolutely nothing I can do about it.

Still Crazy After All These Gyros

Mexican Lettuce Gyros

So called because I formed the spiced ground turkey with black beans, jalapenos, onions,cumin and cayenne into patties and served them with a chipotle yogurt sauce and guacamole slaw.

All the cool creamy refreshment of the condiments made the hot spicy meat that much more rewarding.

Whatever You Do, Do it Good

Pepperoni Salad with Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers

The poppers were stuffed with leftover brown rice, white cheddar and thin sliced turkey pepperoni because that's what I had.  No one would put those things together on purpose but rice gets nice and nutty when given a little crisp and it worked.  Not bad but I it made me realize that even though hollowing out these little suckers is very time consuming, the stuffing choices are never ending.  Whatever you stuff them with would be delicious because grilling or roasting those peppers alone is divine.