Until You've Seen This Trash Can Dream Come True

A healthier go-to option that always tastes good but I often forget about is Chicken Scallopini.  Lemons, capers, butter and garlic give this thinly sliced chicken breast a gourmet feel and taste for the smallest amount of effort.  Smashed sweet potatoes dressed with only butter and s&p, steamed broccoli and brown sprouted rice.   

After eating a ton of pizza, jerk, Korean BBQ, these kinds of meals come in handy to get your gut back on track. A reminder to partake in moderation of all the fun, delicious fatty take-out food NYC has to offer in order to continue partaking.

Take Me to the Pilot of Your Soul

A Trump Storm

The great thing about  past news is that you rarely care about it just a short time later.  Months ago, Trump in church was the talk of the town on this day along with a gnarly windy sleet storm here in Brooklyn.  At the time it seemed important and I recall having tons of thoughts on it.   Yet, this slow cooker chicken chili is what will be etched in my mind from that cold day. 

Black Bean Chicken Chili

Cheap Easy Meals Are Hardly a Home on the Range

Hunter's Chicken - Chicken braised with mushrooms, onions and peppers in a tomato sauce. Lots of garlic cloves. Served over polenta with broccoli rabe

I took a shortcut by adding in a full jar of Rao's Marinara Sauce and chicken stock as the base for the braising. After browning the chicken and adding the vegetables, you can add the sauce.  After bringing to a boil, turn to low, cover and leave for about an hour until the chicken is falling off the bone.  (alternately, you can stick it in the oven if it's not 90 degrees out). I also added a 1/4 cup of rice to stretch the meal a bit. 

My little Brown Dirt Cowboy

I was happy to see that the New York Times featured Migas in their Cooking Column.  These are a real treasure and easy.  Again, I'm obsessed with cowboy food, as I call it.  As you're making these you can imagine your horse nearby, grazing under a tree.  There would be a running stream and you cook these up on your open fire.  Your gun at your side in case you run into any bad hombres.   Mind you, I've never even been camping once in my life and would be deathly scared of wild animals but I have romantic notions of the idea and imagery of cooking outdoors in the rugged West. 

Breakfast Migas

Cut up and cook the corn tortilla strips in a a little onion and I had red pepper. You don't need a lot of oil but you should stir to coat the torts. 

On medium high heat, wait until they get crisp and toasted before adding eggs, cheese and sauce

Turn the heat down a bit, make a little well in the center, add a dab of butter and add the scrambled eggs, you can add cheese now if desired. 

Allow the eggs to set a bit before slowing adding in the salsa and then fold everything together.  From underneath bring the chips up onto the eggs. 

Until I Saw Your City Lights, Honey I was Blind

The Northern Lights from a nephew's home in Alabama.  There was no such show here in New York, due to city lights and cloudy skies.

Breakfast Migas
You must never allow yourself to forget the deeply satisfying taste of a toasted corn chip fried along with some onions, eggs and a little hot sauce mixed in.  True brown dirt cowboy food.  If you have the bright idea to add a little cheese then absolutely no one in their right mind would likely have an objection.

Looking for an Answer, Trying to Find a Sign

The day of the famous eclipse - pictures shared with me from other states

This is about what I saw (above) when a kind stranger allowed us to look through her glasses on the street here in Brooklyn.  

Another shared photo from another state

You can see an eerie glow on these burgers from Black Forest. The light in Brooklyn wasn't life changing but it DID get us to focus (for about 45 long moments), while waiting for the magic to begin.  We sat outside at a booth facing the sun to reel in this spiritual awakening or whatever was supposed to happen.  Of course, when you talk about something for weeks, about how amazing it will be to 'see', it was impossible not to look up at least once.   We're sort of idiots when you break it down and did not come prepared with glasses.  

Like ordering these amazing grass fed burgers on Brioche buns from the German place that hand makes their own sausages. spaetzle and kraut.  Such a Hoosier move.  I make no excuses for my lameness, other than a burger sounded perfect.  

Yes, we'd love the booth next to the compost bins please

I Need You To Turn To When I Lose Control

Switch Up Dinner

These days particular items can be hard to find randomly, like corn meal of all things.  Turns out some corn meal doesn't work to make polenta, like the kind P bought from the store, twice.  My plan was shrimp and grits, then cornbread. Finally, I settled on a confetti corn with shrimp and sausage.  This begs the question: Do you need a proper starch for dinner?  It's a fair question.  My answer is, not always, but it's usually a welcome addition.  If you can skip it a few times a week, you most certainly will feel lighter.  

I love carbs and fat and meat and even sweets, so I'm not the best judge of what is best.  When I don't eat sweets, I feel a hundred times better.  The same with carbs.  Then again, I might at some point be willing to roll an invalid for a plate of spaghetti.  I'm not sure if that is a sign of a bad addiction or your body just saying it could use a little starch. 

We'll Kill the Fatted Calf Tonight So Stick Around

Okay, the pork shoulder doesn't come from a cow, it's from our piggy friend but it is cause for a celebration.

Nigella Lawson's Slow Roasted Aromatic Pork 

Served with Red Cabbage Apple Slaw & Cilantro Lime Rice

This time instead of the rice wine vinegar, I added the brine from a jar of Cherry Peppers 

For the Red Cabbage Green Apple slaw I used plenty of fresh cilantro,lime, red and green onions and of course jalapeno for heat. 

And It's Getting More and More Absurd

Jerk Chicken Lunch from Island Shack

This chicken is the reason we take out food from local eateries.  Just look at the glossy finish of the sauce draping across the charred chicken.  I could cry, knowing how amazing the slightly sweet rice will taste with the steamed crisp vegetables against the deep heat of that Jerk sauce.  I look on this with utter respect for the cook.  How unworthy are we mere mortals for this type of food, when you think about it.  I mean, we were hunter gatherers minutes ago and now, just a notch on the evolutionary scale, we're living in a time when we can eat exceptionally prepared food, that may not be around for too much longer.  Food that only Kings and Queens were privy to in their palaces years ago, I'm eating in elastic pants, in my Brooklyn apartment.  Life can be so absurd.

Oh, It's Full of Nasty Habits When the Bitch Gets Back

I can't remember the last time I had a taquito.  Mmmmm!

Mexican delivery from Maya Taqueria.  No disappointment was had, although one person in my party wasn't impressed with the mole tamale.  My Everything Shredded Chicken Taco was everything.  Big huge bite of stewed tomato-ey shredded chicken, guac, lettuce, red onions, cilantro and sour cream. In fact, this was a perfect combination plate.  After dousing the carne asada taco in hot sauce, the rustic corn masa flavor popped through on the tamal, each a unique oral sensation.  By the way, their chips are fresh fried, which makes the biggest difference. 

Have you ever been shamed on the spot?  I've once or twice been on the giving end of that but today, it was my turn to hang my head.  An older Asian gentleman who struggled a bit with the language came in 25 minutes before I was to end my shift.  It had been a typical whirlwind Saturday night at retail and I was ready to leave two hours before that.   He had a ridiculous amount of questions and answering back took a lot of effort to explain and be heard.  He was very nice but annoying.  Many of the answers he didn't need to know.  How do the lights connect? How do the drivers work. How are fillers installed?  What is a filler?  Ugh!  Yes, he had a contractor who would do all of this work.  Just purchase the correct pieces, I said, let the guy you're paying worry about all of those details.   No, he insisted on wasting more time getting my full name correct, which lead to other prying questions, which is always a big turn off for me.  What does it matter???? Call me anything, let's just get this interaction moving along, shall we?!  We get these clingers that sabotage so much of your time with their endless needs. I brushed him off, telling him I needed to finish a project, which I did.  Another sales person had extended him a free walk-in appointment, sitting with him explaining everything in detail, twice over and I suffered through listening to all of that.  So, for me, we gave enough already. 

  

My other coworker came back from lunch looking eager and refreshed.  A self described lover of customer service.  He also claims people adore him because he's a gay, white man with gorgeous green trusting eyes.  His words, I promise you.  I don't wish it, but I feel like that's inviting karmic trouble.  He instructed all the folks in the department to hand him irate customers as he is a whisperer of sorts.  Actually, he is very pleasant and has that butler like quality that is calming, but still, it's Brooklyn.  Before I could warn him, he immediately offers our customer further help.  Within two minutes he's siting down and commenced to redesign another plan, something i refused to do.  As I was leaving, I heard the man whisper something to my coworker to which he replied loudly, I am here for you. There is nothing more important than you.  I will make time.  I will answer ALL of your questions.  

I immediately pictured this coworker using this story to virtue signal to his friends over Spiked Lemonades on someone's deck before getting drunk and sloppy kissing on someone else's boyfriend... but then I felt bad.  I could have done better because he's right, that's what we are there for.  And we should always be kinder to the elderly, and it wasn't lost on me that he was Asian and they're getting targeted unjustly with senseless violence, so naturally, you want to be more considerate.   There were a lot of I's in my peers comments though and as I walked out to my bike, I realized yes, I felt a little bad but also there is something creepy about advertising your kindness.