weary as water

every time i blink i have a tiny dream

Monthly Archives: February 2010

weekend cooking adventures: how to roast a chicken and then make chicken stock

I decided not to post a picture of this week’s vegbox, because it looks pretty much like last week’s vegbox. Cabbage + carrots + parsnips + turnips + salad greens + broccoli + sweet potatoes + tangerines. I have no idea what to do with this much cabbage…am going to try roasting it tomorrow. I’ve been a little under the weather (ok, a lot under the weather…I even stayed home sick from work last week), and I’ve been craving chicken soup. So yesterday Emily picked up a whole chicken from the store, and today we had roast chicken for lunch.

Roast chicken is so frickin easy to make. Seriously. Four steps.

  1. Preheat the oven to 400
  2. Rinse off the chicken & pat dry with paper towels.
  3. Sprinkle generously inside & out with sea salt.
  4. Put in dutch oven (or roasting pan) and roast for 1 hour 15 minutes, or so.

If you’re feeling fancy, chop up an onion & potato and put them in the bottom of the dutch oven. If you’re feeling EXTRA fancy, poke a bunch of holes in a lemon and put it inside of the chicken before roasting.

The real reason for making roast chicken (besides delicious juicy chicken) is making AMAZING chicken stock. This is also very simple.

  1. Get most of the meat off the chicken bones.
  2. Put the chicken bones in a crockpot.
  3. Chop up any/all of the following and add to the crockpot: onion, carrots, celery, turnips, parsnips, sweet potatoes, herbs
  4. Fill up crockpot with water.
  5. Turn on crockpot to low, let the magic happen overnight
  6. Strain through cheesecloth.

This magic is happening AS WE SPEAK in the kitchen, and it smells amazing. Tomorrow I’ll strain the broth, then saute an onion & some carrots, add the chicken, and voila, delicious chicken soup!

Book 10: Day by Elie Wiesel

“Love is a question mark, not an exclamation point”.

“Day” is the last book in the Night/Dusk/Day trilogy by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. I found it rambling and not as emotional as the first two. Maybe that was the point, as this book was supposed to characterize the struggle that Holocaust survivors have in living their lives, while constantly remembering the past.

109 pages
3/5

Book 9: The Good Soldiers by David Finkel


A well-written look at the Iraq war, by a reporter who spent a year embedded with army infantry battalion 2-16. I’ve been an opponent of the war(s) since before it they started, but having a brother in the military makes me a little more compassionate towards the people who fight our Leaders Battles. There’s a lot of compassion in this book, for soldiers who lost gave their lives, limbs, and sanity for the Leaders Battles. There’s even a little compassion for the Iraqi people, which made this wacko liberal’s heart go pitterpatter. But mostly reading this book made me realize how hopeless this war is, in the eyes of the people who oppose it, and those who are fighting it.

304 pages
5/5

snow day!

Last Friday there was snow in all 50 states…including Alabama. The ensuing panic caused my workplace to close at 2pm on Friday, and I spent the rest of the day playing in the snow.

As soon as I got home, I grabbed Emily and the lid of a Rubbermaid container, and headed to the park. Partial sledding frenzy ensued. We got back to the house just in time for Whitney to call, did we want to go sledding? YES! So back to the park, Rubbermaid lid in hand. Afterwards we had a little snow cream (with bailey’s). It was one of the best times I’ve had in weeks…I guess the snow brings out the kid in me.


Book 8: Under the Dome by Stephen King


I’ve never been a huge fan of Stephen King – he’s always been a bit too perverted for my tastes. But somewhere in my little brain I thought it would be a good idea to read his new book, “Under The Dome”. This thing is a monster – over a thousand pages long – and for the most part the story is pretty good (if you exclude the gang-raping and multiple instances of just plain old raping). That is, for 1059 pages the story is pretty good. After that, I was severely disappointed.

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT (but you’d be better off reading it, and not wasting your time with the book)
Continue reading →

Baking Bread

I have found the secret to making delicious bread. Get your water really hot (not boiling, though), and then sprinkle the yeast overtop. Let sit for about 10 minutes. Then add honey & butter. Then add pre-mixed dry ingredients.

I make my dough in the bread machine, then after it rises for a while I take it out of the breadmaker, put it in a pam-sprayed pan, and let it rise some more. Bake 20-25 minutes at 400F.

  • 1.25 cups of water
  • 2.5 tsp bread machine yeast (or 2 tsp SAF yeast)
  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into little pieces
  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 Tablespoons nonfat dry milk
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon gluten
  • 1.5 tsp salt

vegbox #2



This week there was a little screwup with the vegbox – apparantly there is a new delivery guy, and he likes to play “hide the veg box”. But, after a completely frustrating phone call with the GrowAlabama folks (in which they promised to do absolutely nothing and basically called me a liar), Emily “The Best Finder In The World” opened the closet door named “gymnasium” and found the box. Hallelujah!

This week we have:

  • broccoli
  • potatoes
  • tangerines
  • cabbage
  • spinach!
  • carrots
  • one lonely parsnip
  • (plus, the leftover zucchini from last week).

Book 7: The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Book #7 is “The Complete Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi. I first ran across this autobiographical “coming of age in Iran” story via the animated film Persepolis (slyt) – and was so taken by the film I decided to read the graphic novel. Even though I knew the major plot points from the film, the book was fascinating. I know very little about the Iranian cultural revolution, and it was neat to read about it in an autobiographical comic book. (Another great autobiographical comic book is Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic – although without the political and historical overtones.)

352 pages
4/5

mushroom barley soup

Got home last night after a cross country flight, got up early so I could be to work by 7, left work at 4 to pick up the vegbox by 4:30, and yet by 5:15 there was still no vegbox. Tired and grouchy and cold, I decided to make some soup.

Mushroom Barley Soup

You need:

  • 1 VeryLarge portobella mushroom, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • handful of baby carrots, diced
  • 3-4 cups of chicken broth
  • herbes de provence
  • handful of barley

Saute the onion and carrots in oil (or butter) until browned.
Then add the portobella mushroom. Saute until steamy.
Add chicken broth and a teaspoon of herbes de provence.
Bring to boil.
Add barley.
Reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes, or until barley is cooked through.

home sweet home

I’ve been in Montana for the past few days. My dad is having issues with his heart, and I wanted to come home for a bit. Luckily, Delta was practically giving away plane tickets, so here I am.

It’s a stressful thing, seeing my father weak and weary. I went to the doctor with him today and when I saw the nurse run an oxygen tank and a EKG machine back to his room, a boulder hit the bottom of my stomach.

He is ok for now. But I am coming to terms with the fact that he won’t be here forever. Tonight I got a little irritated at him, and then felt ashamed because he is sick, and tried to put my irritation to rest. As many differences as we have, and as many disagreements we have had, he’s my dad and I love him.

Flying home in the dark, I noticed the lights in the countryside far below looked like constellations.