This Is How I Cook: Curry Chicken Salad Edition

So.  Cooking.  Some people like it, some people hate it.  I cook for a living every day, so honestly, I don't get super excited about making dinner for myself all the time…But when I do, I don't use recipes, or really measure anything.  Cooking for me means throwing things in a bowl/pot/pan/what have you, and mixing, tasting, adding, repeating, repeating, repeating.

Today, I was toddling around in the Whole Foods, and the idea of curry chicken salad got into my brain.  All I wanted, nay needed, was some curry chicken salad.  So I went over to the deli case: $10.99/lb.  Ugh.  I'm sorry, but that's absurd.

So I turned myself around and picked up a rotisserie chicken (ok, truth: I got two, but only because they were buy one get one half price, haha).  I could definitely take 20 minutes or so to pick a chicken, and save all that money on pre made chicken salad that would cost too much and be gone too soon.

Are you craving curry chicken salad yet??

Make it.  Bethy-style.

Ingredients:
1 rotisserie chicken, picked clean, and in smallish pieces
Mayo
Curry powder
Turmeric
Celery
Sliced Almonds
Raisins
Salt
Pepper

Instructions:
(this is where it gets pretty Thug Kitchen-esque)  What?!?  You don't know what Thug Kitchen is??  Oh dear me, that is sad if you don't.  This is perhaps the most amazing website/organization out there.  Love it.  And I think if all people listened to TK's instructions on life, the world would be a better place.  But I digress…

Put your chicken meat in a medium size bowl.  Add enough mayo to it so it mixes well.  Chop some celery into pieces that are as big as you want them (I mean, generally smallish is better in this case, but you do you…).  Add curry powder, turmeric, salt, and pepper to taste.  (Generally this means add a little and then taste it.  And then add some more and then taste it again, and so on and so forth).  Add the raisins and almonds.  I'm not going to tell you how much to add.  I don't know what you like, and I'm not going to assume that you'll like what I like.  So add a little, and then see if you feel moved by the spirit to add some more.

When the chicken salad seems right (and your tastes are super delicious!), it's right.  Eat it.  On a sandwich, or on a cracker, or, as it usually happens in my kitchen, straight off a spoon.  Yum.

Straight up modeling with the chicken salad :)

TL;DR
Put chicken, mayo, curry, turmeric, salt, pepper, celery, raisins, and almonds in a bowl.  Mix.  Eat.  Never pay $10.99/lb. for curry chicken salad again.

-Bethy

Smoothies for the Sickly

So I basically worked myself into a cold this week.  By last night, I was at three 17 hour or longer days since Monday (and that fourth day I had to wake up at 4am, so let's just say that my sleeping schedule has been less than ideal).  With all that, I'm not surprised that I woke up this morning feeling like I was absolutely dying: my nose running, a wicked cough, sore throat, the whole works.  I'll just say that I'm glad it's Friday so I have the weekend to recover.

I ended up taking the day off of work (that's one thing about working in a kitchen - it's not really like you can come to work "a little sick" and "tough it out"…).  I did a lot of sleeping, and even more laying in bed watching Jeeves and Wooster on Hulu.  (It's here, and you don't even need Hulu plus!!)

I also made a few smoothies, and they were all fantastic, but I thought I'd share one of the recipes with you, inspired by my father's love for those Dole juice blends.  I didn't have any strawberries in my freezer, but I did have raspberries, so here's a delectable raspberry orange banana smoothie, more delicious and more nutritious than spending your hard earned dollars on Dole:

Raspberry Orange Banana Smoothie
serves 1

3/4 c. frozen raspberries
1/2 c. frozen banana (about half a med. banana), cut into slices
enough orange juice to cover the fruit in the blender (I think I used about 1/2 c. or so)

(optional)
1/4 c. plain unsweetened yogurt

Put frozen fruit in blender.  Add orange juice.  Blend until smooth.  If it's too thick, add some more juice, too thin, add some more fruit.  If you want some protein in there, add any kind of unsweetened yogurt.  You should get a sweet and tart beautifully pink smoothie that packs a nutritional punch without any added sugars.

(So, here's the deal: I think it's stupid to focus on things like calories in most recipes.  In this recipe, it's pretty clear that it's something good for humans to eat.  It's fruit.  Whole fruit.  And juice.  100% orange juice.  You shouldn't need a calorie count to tell you that it's good for you, and anyone who is counting calories on a fruit smoothie only made with whole fruits needs different diet advice in my opinion.  THAT SAID, I know that some people just want to know this stuff, so here's some nutritional facts on this recipe):

Calories: 171
Fat: 0.8g
Dietary Fiber: 8.5g
Vitamin C: 224% Recommended Daily Value

Forgive how sickly I look.  Ugh.

HAPPY SMOOTHIE-ING!!

-Bethy

Too furious not to post

Ok.  So I tried to ignore this.  I tried to read this, and be silently a) disgusted and b) sad.  To chalk it up to someone who I don't know doing something I didn't want them to do because I didn't think it was good for them.  And it sat.  And marinated.

And I found myself coming back to this article, and becoming a) more incensed with every moment and b) so so SO sad.

When I was living in Alaska, I worked in a domestic violence and sexual assault shelter for a year.  Now, I don't know everything there is to know about abusive relationships, but I do know a lot.  Probably more than your average citizen.  I've attended trainings and classes about abusive relationships, as well as spending a lot of time being and speaking with women who have endured unbelievable experiences of abuse - both physical and emotional.  I have heard stories that made my blood run cold hearing about the power that someone can hold over another person.

Now, I know that you're wondering - where's the food connection?  Why are we talking about this?

Well, I'm sure that most of you have heard about the 300 sandwiches lady.  (If not - here's an article that should catch you right up.)

I have a few things to say about this.  No, scratch that - I have a few things to say to Stephanie Smith.

1.  If, in fact, you are serious about this - if you really do feel that a partner saying to you "you've been awake for 15 minutes and haven't made me a sandwich?" in a serious manner, like, he means it - for reals - is ok, then girl, please GET OUT NOW.  Relationships take many forms, and every one is different, but power dynamics like this have no place in a healthy relationship.  I repeat - this is not a healthy relationship.  It doesn't matter if your man cooks the rest of the time or not.  It's just. not. ok.

2.  If this is not serious - if you're joking about the whole thing, just doing this for a book or movie deal, or came up with this while you were bored one night sitting in front of the TV with your man, I'm sad that you're willing to claim your 15 minutes of fame with something that could be so hurtful as to normalize abusive behavior, and to put it on the internet in such a display.  According to the National Council Against Domestic Violence, 1 in 4 women in the United States will experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime.  Let that sink in for a second.  1 in 4.  If 1,000 people look at your website, that means that 250 have lived through violence by a partner, or are currently in a relationship with a skewed power dynamic.  Your insistence of normalizing the interactions that you have with your partner could be harmful on a HUGE scale.  You and your partner may think that this is all good and fun and casual, but there are so many women living in relationships where their partners say these things and mean them.

3.  I'm really upset that the kitchen is the place where these skewed gender relations are taking place.  I'm more upset that sandwiches are the object in question.  The phrase "make me a sandwich" is a charged one.  To many, it lies on the same plane as "women should be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen."  It has become somewhat of a joke because of the obvious mysoginistic undertones.  Because now, in 2013, we assume that no one would say these things with any seed of seriousness.  It feels awful to see these words being acted upon seriously, even if they are not said in that way.

4.  I love to cook for others.  I love to make sandwiches.  When I was living with my ex-boyfriend, I cooked for him often.  And yes, sometimes he asked me to make him food.  But he never commanded me to do it.  And if he had ever put the development of our relationship on the table in exchange??  It's too far, it's offensive to women, it's offensive to people who have been abused, it's offensive to everyone in a relationship who cooks for their partner.


The internet has exploded with comments about this article.  Many people are angry.  Some just want to eat all the sandwiches that Ms. Smith is making.  I'm alright with being angry AND wanting to eat those sammies.  They do, in fact, look delicious.  But delicious enough to publicize and glamorize a relationship with an unhealthy power dynamic?

Ehh...no.


-Bethy

Acorn Squash Deliciousness

I know.  I need to catch up my blogs to my life.

But, for now, a placeholder.


Has fall gotten to you?  Did you pick up a squash at the grocery store because you were caught up with the explosions of fall that happened as soon as you walked in through those doors?  Or did you get an acorn squash in your CSA box, and not have a super good idea on what to do with it?  Are you intimidated by something that has such a thick skin that you don't eat raw?

Well, do I have the recipe for you...

Now, bear in mind, when I say "recipe," I don't mean 1/2 tsp of this and 2 cups of that.  This is what I mean:

1.  Wash off the squash.
2.  Cut in half (I cut mine lengthwise, but I don't see any reason why you shouldn't cut yours the other way if that's your jam.)
3.  Scoop out the seeds and stuff on the inside so you you have a fun indentation to put things in!
4.  Make cuts into the squash - 3 or 4 lines diagonally across.  (You'll see what I mean when you see the picture).  This helps the flavor to seep into the squash, and makes it easier to eat later!  You don't have to cut all the way down to the rind, just a shallow cut is fine.
4.  Add flavor!  I put a little pat of butter, some maple syrup, a sprinkle of raw sugar, and some salt in mine.  You can add that, OR, whatever the hell you want.  Seriously.  Want a sweeter snack?  Put some brown sugar in there.  Want something savory?  Try some of your favorite herbs.  I personally think that curry powder makes most things delicious, so maybe next time, I'll try some of that.  Do what makes you feel good!  I would make sure that you've got some sort of fat (butter, oil, etc) in there, as that is what will make the liquid in the middle that you'll dip the squash into.
5.  Put in a pan.  Add a cup or two of water in the pan (so the squash halves are sitting in just a little bit of water.)
6.  Cover with tin foil.  Bake at 400 degrees.  I baked mine for maybe 30 minutes?  This is definitely something that you can put in the oven and forget about.  Do something else.  Then after you remember about it, take a look.  Poke at the edge with a spoon.  Is it getting a little bit soft?  If yes, proceed.  If no, do some more dishes or whatever, and check a little bit later.
7.  Take the tin foil off.  Whatever you put in the middle of the squash should be a delicious looking, delicious smelling soup of flavor goodness.  Check after 10 minutes or so.  Are the edges starting to get a little bit brown?
8.  Remove from oven.
9.  Procure a spoon.
10.  EAT.  SWOON.  REPEAT.  (I mean, I guess you can put it on a plate or something, but let's be honest, I ate mine right off the baking pan.)

You're welcome.

-Bethy