Recipe #4: Baked Chicken Nuggets

Source:  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Chicken-Nuggets/Detail.aspx

Like many busy parents, chicken nuggets comprise an entire food group for my kid.  Hey, both my husband and I work full-time and time is always of the essence.  Yet I've watched enough Morgan Spurlock and flipped through enough Cooking Light magazines to know that fast food pretty much scrapes the bottom of the nutritional barrel.

Sadly, knowledge alone is not enough to stop me from cruising through the drive thru when there is just not enough gosh dang time to get anything else to eat.  To combat the twinge of guilt I feel every time I see my kid pick up and put a McDonald's processed chickeny substance in her mouth (why is it that they're always the same exact shape?), I'm constantly in search of a healthier nugget alternative.

Did this recipe fit the bill?  Unfortunately, no.  Despite my modifications -- panko instead of standard bread crumbs, the addition of my beloved garlic salt -- these chicken nuggets were really just...... bland and boring.  Too boring to ever fool my kid into eating and liking them.  I do realize though that I am probably being overly critical and that my desire to eat healthier is not always successful at overcoming the fact that I truly love the taste of real, deep fried breading.

One thing I am learning as I wade through my clipped out recipe file is that I feel like one can never wholly trust user uploaded recipes from sites like allrecipes.com, despite high ratings.  Maybe my palate is just non-traditional or something, but it's pretty rare I've found something online, published by a home cook that meets my expectations.

Recipe #3: Apple Cranberry Galette

Source:  Parents Magazine, Sept. 2010, from the article "Easy as Pie."

Plenty of the recipes in Parents Magazine, which I really don't read all that often because it's just so good at making me feel like an inadequate parent, are the type you can do with your kids.  This one was true to its promise.  Here's my 5 year old forming the dough for the crust prior to putting it in the fridge to chill. 

And another pic, 'cause she's so dern cute.  The little one also helped me stir the sugar and cinnamon into the apple-cranberry mix.

Our pre-oven galette, which I learned is basically a free-form pie.  Mmmmm....  look at the cubes of unsalted butter dotting the fresh fuji apples and frozen cranberries from Trader Joe's (or as my mom used to like to say, "Trader's Joe").

And our absolutely loverly galette post-oven.....  Gotta say, score one for The Box!  This was completely delicious.  Not overly sweet, cranberries adding a nice tartness.  The crust was light, crispy, also not too sweet, and slightly healthier than usual due to the addition of whole wheat pastry flour (hey, gotta counteract the whole dotting the fruit with butter, right?).

3 recipes down, 36 to go, 2 additions to the recipe box.  Ah, progress feels good.

Recipe #2: Ikea Swedish Meatballs

Source:  A brochure picked up while on a random trip to Ikea which included a recipe for swedish meatballs from scratch.

Pretty meatballs before cooking, as made per directions, but with about a teaspoon of kosher salt added.

The final result.....  Which sadly looks much tastier than it actually was.  The meatballs themselves were a bit dense, but overall okay tasting.  The sauce though (condensed cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, and water) was pretty dang awful.  Ugh.....  Super bland and tasted nothing like the yummy sauce they put on the meatballs purchased in the Ikea cafeteria.  Good thing I found a packet of instant Ikea swedish meatball sauce in the back of my pantry to add and rescue this dish.

This recipe was definitely not one for The Box!  Oh well, I figured there'd be quite a few fails amongst the bunch.

Recipe #1: Lemon Garlic Roast Chicken with Potatoes

Recipe source:  http://bakespace.com/recipes/detail/Lemon-Garlic-Roast-Chicken-With-Potatoes/20108/

Printed this recipe out because I was looking for something to roast in my new dutch oven.  Made a few modifications.  Added salt to the butter/herb compound that went under the skin because I only had unsalted butter. Tied the chicken legs together because the chicken just looks so indiscrete, all spread-eagle, when you don't do that.  Here's a before pic....

And then out of the oven....












Plated up pretty.....

 

Verdict?  Into The Box it goes, with some changes.  The roasting technique was spot-on; never have I been able to produce such a juicy chicken (go dutch oven, go!), and the skin was nice and crisp.

But what this recipe lacked was SALT!  A whole bunch of it!  When I looked back over the recipe, I really should have rubbed that whole chicken with a generous helping of kosher salt after the lemon bath, followed by the compound butter.  I also found the lemon rind a bit overpowering and would probably like this better with thyme instead of rosemary.

Did the husband eat almost the whole dang thing?  Yes, so I take that as a good sign.  So that's 1 recipe down, 38 more to go (unfortunately I found 3 more recipes that I forgot to include in my first count).  Off to a pretty good start, I think!

2011: The Year of the Recipe

So, I've finally figured out a fairly reasonable and tangible goal for the new year.  Inspired by the need to clear out the kalat (tagalog for clutter) in my kitchen and watching Julie and Julia via Netflix instant queue, I am going to cook my way through the recipes I've collected on little scraps of paper from the Internet, various cookbooks and magazines, and coworkers and friends. 

After going through my bits of paper, I've narrowed it down to 18 entrees, 8 sides and salads, and 10 desserts. 36 recipes over a year......  Not too undoable I think, especially considering a few months of this year will be dominated by trying to stay awake as we transition to having 2 brand spankin' new babies in this house.  Armed with my slow cooker and my new dutch oven and immersion blender, I think I can do it!

Once cooked, I will determine whether or not those recipes are good enough to make it into The Box -- what I've designated as my permanent recipe collection to be shared with loved ones, at potlucks, and passed down to my kiddos.  Wish me luck!  Hmmmm...... I should probably sharpen my knives.

Getting me some Nook-ie

Here I present my new love, my Barnes & Noble Nook.  As a librarian who will always love the feel & weight of a printed book in my hands, it took me awhile to warm up to the idea of the ebook reader.  I find I am now almost embarrassed to say how much I love my Nook.  If you're willing to spend a little bit of money, less than the cost of a hardcover, to get the book you want to read right now, this is the thing. 

I bought a Nook instead of a Kindle because it combined eInk technology with color touch screen navigation.  Not that I don't ever buy anything from Amazon, but I just felt better about patronizing a bricks & mortar bookstore.  And, best of all.....  Barnes & Noble sells the cutest Nook covers like my snazzy Jonathan Adler one.

So far I've downloaded The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Help, Mockingjay, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, and the newest by Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel.  (Can you tell my reading tastes are rather eclectic?)

Re: this last title, I literally woke up this morning and said to myself, "Oh, didn't Clockwork Angel come out yesterday?"  I tapped the little "shop" button on my Nook, searched for it, and downloaded it via wifi all in a matter of five minutes.  Completely addicting! 

Champurado, how I love thee

One of my favorite comfort foods is champurado, a Filipino breakfast food.  Think of it as chocolate oatmeal, except instead of oats it's made with rice.  Making it has become my Sunday morning ritual.  Champurado equates home for me.  You'd be hard-pressed to find champurado in a Filipino restaurant, although now our local Goldilocks has it at their weekend breakfast buffet.  When I want to feel closer to my mom who passed away two years ago, or introduce my daughter to a taste of my own childhood, or when I just need a dose of warm, carby, chocolatey goodness, I make champurado.

My Mom's Champurado
Serves  4

1 c. glutinous, sticky rice, uncooked
5 c. water
1/2 c. or more good quality hot chocolate mix
sugar
evaporated milk

Start with 1 cup of glutinous, sticky, sweet rice.  Do not use regular Calrose or Uncle Ben's!  I like this brand, Shirakiku:

Put it in a medium saucepan along with 5 cups of water.  Bring water to boil, then lower heat to medium-low to reduce to simmer. 

Add about 1/2 cup or more, to taste, of good quality hot chocolate mix.  I like my chocolate strong tasting, so I probably use more than 1/2 a cup.  I try to use Filipino tsokolate, that bittersweet stuff that comes in rolls wrapped in waxed paper from the Philippines when I can get it, but regular old hot chocolate mix, the good stuff, will do.  I happened to have this in my pantry, so this batch of champurado turned out rather fancy:

Stir in the cocoa until it's dissolved.  Simmer the rice, water, and cocoa for about 30 minutes, stirring occassionally.  During the last 10 minutes of cooking, you may want to stir more frequently, as your champurado should be pretty thick and goopy by then and you don't want it to stick to the bottom of your pan.  The rice by this point should be breaking down nicely, with little cracks forming around the edges of the rice grains, and you should have the consistency of thick oatmeal.  Adjust flavor to taste, adding sugar or more cocoa if needed. 

Serve warm with a little evaporated milk to stir in, or just regular milk if that's all you have.  Enjoy!

This Book is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson

So, one of my favorite old man library patrons walked up to the reference desk, put this book down in front of me, and opened it to one of the blankish pages near the front that had this lone quote on it: 

"Show me a computer expert who gives a damn, and I'll show you a librarian."
--Patricia Wilson Berger, former president, American Library Association

And then he pointed at me.  See, this patron, let's call him Mr. Y, is one of my favorites because he is:  a) kind, b) patient, c) waits his turn, d) practices good hygiene, e) does not act as if he's the most important person in the world, f) asks me computer questions and then does his darnedest to remember what I told him, and g) is always appreciative of what I'm able to teach him about technology.  He said, "Half of the chapters in this book are about you."

I now feel extremely compelled to read this book over the weekend because, well, of course I want to read about how wonderful I am!  False immodesty aside, I hope that I do actually find this book complimentary and fun.....  For as many stereotypes about librarians as there are, and in light of this super crappy economy, I am still proud to count myself amongst this rare breed and anything I can get my hands on that will give me a boost is a good thing.

My sister has inspired me......

to start blogging again! She's got a new food blog that chronicles her many, many, many eating adventures, of which I am a part of some. Check it out at gameoverfood.com!

Book review: Catching fire/ Collins, Suzanne

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
While not quite as well written as Hunger Games, this sequel rocks!!!! My love for these characters is neverending. Read read read these books! They are so fabulous. I am currently rereading the 1st one 'cause I can't get enough.

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Book review: Paper towns/ Green, John

Paper Towns by John Green

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
John Green loves to write the teen novel about the perfect, ungettable girl and this is no exception. Paper Towns is similar to Looking for Alaska, but much more humorous and lighthearted. Quentin, a self-professed band geek who doesn't play an instrument, has known his great love, Margo Roth Spiegelman, since childhood. High school forces the childhood friends apart into separate, cool vs. uncool social circles, and Margo maintains the peace between the two circles, protecting Quentin & co. from the wrath of the jocks and homecoming queens. While Q continues to love Margo from afar, he has no idea how troubled Margo has become since they were kids. When Margo invites Q to join her in a night of pranks and schemes, barriers fall and high school as Q knows it begins to unravel. Engaging read to start, drags a bit in the middle, but part 3 is so hilarious I was in stitches.


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Book review: Prep/ Sittenfeld, Curtis

Prep: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
Set in a fictional, elite Massachusetts boarding school, Lee Fiora applies to Ault School on a whim, gets a scholarship, and leaves Indiana for a world completely unlike her own. While the prose was well written and pitch perfect, Lee grated on my nerves. Definitely an engaging read, if only for the spot on characterizations of life behind the ivy-covered walls of prep school. Admittedly I love a character who's fiesty and outspoken (I mean, really, who doesn't?) and I can abide by a character who's shy and introspective, and both must at least be likable or endearing in some way. Lee was neither of those things. Spineless, whiny, fearful, skittish, snobbish to the people who did actually try to reach out to her, Lee commits a mortal sin in my book--hanging her entire self worth on a boy. Perhaps I've forgotten what it's like to be a teenage girl, but if this is what it was like, thank goodness I am an adult!


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Book review: Beware of the frog/ Bee, William

Beware of the Frog by William Bee

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This one actually made me LOL, for real, and it's been a long time since a picture book has surprised me. Love the retro illustrations, story structure, and twist.


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Book review: Dragonfly pool, The/ Ibbotson, Eva

The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
12-year-old Tally knows the war between Hitler and Britain will begin soon and she wants to do everything she can to help. When her father secures a scholarship for her to attend boarding school in the countryside, Tally is at first dismayed she'll have to leave her father and aunts. She soon learns that Delderton, a hippie-ish "free school" where children are not forced to wear uniforms or even attend classes, is an amazing place where she begins to discover who she is. What starts off as a school story then turns into a trans-European adventure as Tally and her young friends form a folk dancing troupe, visit neutral Bergania, and end up smuggling its young crown prince away from the clutches of the Gestapo. Slow to start and definitely not for reluctant readers, this turned out to be very enjoyable as the characterization, action, and plotting picked up.


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Book review: Paint it black/ Fitch, Janet

Paint It Black by Janet Fitch

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Set in 80's punk LA, Josie Tyrell struggles to come to grips with the suicide of her tortured, gifted, artistic boyfriend, Michael. Michael's mother, a world-renowned pianist, and Josie are simultaneously drawn to and repulsed by one another as both attempt to cling to the bits and pieces Michael has left behind. Gritty, very sex-drugs-and-rock-n'-roll, and filled with all sorts of Oedipal craziness, this proved to be quite a compelling read. I knocked off a star only because Josie's ruminations tend to be a bit long-winded and repetitive. Side note: I got to meet Janet Fitch at last year's Literary Orange and she's nothing short of amazing!


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Screaming into the void

That is what I feel like tonight as I sit here remembering my mother. It's been four months now since she passed away and the grief just comes out of nowhere and knocks me senseless. I must be senseless right now since I know my logical mind doesn't usually allow me to bare this much soul online.

I usually feel like I put up a very brave front -- few public tears, laughter as if nothing this sad and awful could possibly be happening to me. Some days I even wonder, "What's wrong with me? Am I done with the whole grieving thing? Wow, that was quick." But some nights, the sadness just comes barreling into me, making the tears fall like, well something poetically tragic that I just can't think of right now. No idea, really, what's triggered this current onslaught. A stroll through Lowe's yesterday afternoon in search of kitchen tile brought on tears as I hit the ridiculously gaudy Christmas section, a section I know my mom would've loved. Sometimes there's just this dull emptiness....

I'm so frustrated and even a little pissed off that I can't just pick the phone and call her anymore. Such a cliche, but all the little things I took for granted are the things I miss about her the most. Her calling, leaving message after message, wanting to talk to Koa on the phone even though all she'd do is stand there and nod. Knowing I could always get good parking when she was with me because of her handicap placard. I can't even begin to describe how angry I am at myself for not realizing how little time we had left.

Ah, enough for now. This crying jag has left me weary and my logical brain is telling me that it's way past my bedtime.

Book review: Hunger games/ Collins, Suzanne

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Since the death of her father, 16-year-old Katniss has been forced to hunt beyond the fences of District 12 to feed her mother and little sister. Despite being abjectly poor, Katniss finds solace in caring for her sister, Prim, and her friendship with Gale, a boy 2 years older and in similar circumstances. All that is stripped away by the Hunger Games. The Capitol, the authoritarian center of Panem (what's left of North America) keeps the Districts in line by forcing two teenagers from each District to compete in the annual Hunger Games, a media-frenzied gladiator-style tournament where there can only be one victor -- the last one alive. A bit 1984, a bit Blade Runner, and a bit Uglies, this one was so wonderfully suspenseful I couldn't put it down once I started. This one is a must-add to my list of best YA books.


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Book review: Brisingr/ Paolini, Christopher

Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I still can't believe Paolini is so young! While a bit overwrought with the weapons/armor jargon (a D&D kid's dream!), this is still pretty masterful storytelling. Despite a bit of predictability, I was pretty much glued through all roughly 750 pages. Can't wait for the final installment.


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Pinoylife is back!

Yay, Moonie! So glad you're back:
www.pinoylife.com

Book review: The witch of Blackbird Pond/ Speare, Elizabeth George

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Although slow to start, but beautifully written, you can't help but wonder how newcomer Kit Tyler will fare in her Puritan uncle's household. Kit, arriving fresh off the boat from Barbados, is a colorful, tropical bird amongst a flock of brown sparrows and just doesn't get these uptight colonial New Englanders. In an act of teenage rebellion as well as a desire for friendship with a fellow outsider, Kit defies her uncle and befriends Hannah, Quaker and fabled "witch." As I was reading this, I thought to myself that if I had read this during middle school, I would've found American colonial life a whole darn lot more interesting!


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