The last seven months have marked a personal journey, one that has touched work, family life, and health. Throughout this time, I have been reflecting on whether or not I would continue this blog. It was originally meant to record my progress through my MLIS program, then morphed into something that still encompassed that but also included some of my other interests. But after my last post and during the time since then, I wasn't sure if my blog really had a place anymore, like a favorite shirt you outgrow. I liked it, but was it really still for me ?
Other things in life took center stage and this was pushed back to the shadows. But now I feel ready to take it out again, dust it off, and try it back on in the hope that it will fit.
What has changed? My job, my marital status--sorry guys and gals, I'm officially taken--and my husband's health. In two hundred characters or less, I'm now working in two elementary school libraries (a job I love), Scooter and I got married last December, and Scooter has been diagnosed as diabetic. It's a lot of life-changing events, and I'm sure you can see why I both neglected my blog and began to question its relevance to me. Now, I see a bit clearer that it can be a forum for me to discuss my successes and failures in my new job, especially since I've been able to develop new skills and have new experiences; it's been very liberating to be "just" a librarian for my two schools, rather than the librarian/test adminstrator/student success coordinator/event planner/anything-else-they-could-make-me that I was at my last job. I don't feel spread too thin and can concentrate on what I love to do. My blog can also continue as a recipe book, with the new addition of diabetic-friendly recipes. It's not easy to find stuff that Scooter will like that won't spike his blood sugar, so it seems only right to share our culinary successes here for others to use. And lastly, my blog can continue to be a space for my creativity and my other thoughts, as it was before.
So, my new journey begins. I can't begin to guess where it will take me this time, but I can almost promise some fun along the way.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
How about some mashed potatoes with that chicken?
Things have been rather active professionally. In addition to passing our accreditation review with flying colors, I've also had some opportunities come up for new positions elsewhere. While I have had a lot of rewarding experiences where I currently work, I'm ready for a change. I'm hoping to get into a public library system where I can work with the public at large. I may be making this change as soon as mid-October. It's a very exciting time for me and although it will be hard leaving the campus where I have spent the last six years, this is a decision I feel is right for me both personally and professionally.
Since my last post in early August, I have tried out a number of recipes that I'll be sharing here over the next couple of weeks. I anticipate that I will be doing a lot more cooking too if I make the job change I'm hoping for, so recipes could come rapid fire. I'm also hoping for time for gardening and some of the other things I've had to put aside (art, music, spending time outside).
Today's recipe is a mashed potatoes recipe that compliments the oven-fried chicken recipe of my last post. These mashed potatoes are so creamy and good. This is not heart-healthy, low-fat, low cholesterol, or any other healthy moniker. Actually, there's no wheat in this recipe so it would be OK for someone with a wheat allergy. There, that's something. So here ya go, mashed potatoes with caramelized shallots.
What you'll need:
5 lbs. potatoes (your choice, but I like the sweeter red potatoes)
5 medium shallots
1 Tbs. bacon grease or olive oil
1 stick unsalted butter
3/4 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. heavy cream
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
What you'll need to do:
1. Peel and cut the potatoes into 2-in pieces. Place into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and cook until you can easily poke them with a fork or toothpick (about 15-20 min).
2. Drain potatoes and return to the pot.
3. Peel and chop the shallots (they always makes me cry).
4. In a medium frying pan, heat the bacon grease over medium heat and add the shallots. Saute and stir occasionally until the shallots have turned golden brown. You may need to reduce heat slightly to avoid burning them (low and slow is the key to good caramelized onions). Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Add the butter, buttermilk, heavy cream and spices to the potatoes and mash with a potato masher (the handheld kind) until creamy. Use a spoon or spatula to fold in the shallots. Serve warm.
You can up the ante even more with this recipe if you add bacon. You can soft-cook your bacon (even cook it way ahead of time), cut it into smaller chunks, and reserve the bacon grease if you don't have any already on hand.
Since my last post in early August, I have tried out a number of recipes that I'll be sharing here over the next couple of weeks. I anticipate that I will be doing a lot more cooking too if I make the job change I'm hoping for, so recipes could come rapid fire. I'm also hoping for time for gardening and some of the other things I've had to put aside (art, music, spending time outside).
Today's recipe is a mashed potatoes recipe that compliments the oven-fried chicken recipe of my last post. These mashed potatoes are so creamy and good. This is not heart-healthy, low-fat, low cholesterol, or any other healthy moniker. Actually, there's no wheat in this recipe so it would be OK for someone with a wheat allergy. There, that's something. So here ya go, mashed potatoes with caramelized shallots.
What you'll need:
5 lbs. potatoes (your choice, but I like the sweeter red potatoes)
5 medium shallots
1 Tbs. bacon grease or olive oil
1 stick unsalted butter
3/4 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. heavy cream
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
What you'll need to do:
1. Peel and cut the potatoes into 2-in pieces. Place into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and cook until you can easily poke them with a fork or toothpick (about 15-20 min).
2. Drain potatoes and return to the pot.
3. Peel and chop the shallots (they always makes me cry).
4. In a medium frying pan, heat the bacon grease over medium heat and add the shallots. Saute and stir occasionally until the shallots have turned golden brown. You may need to reduce heat slightly to avoid burning them (low and slow is the key to good caramelized onions). Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Add the butter, buttermilk, heavy cream and spices to the potatoes and mash with a potato masher (the handheld kind) until creamy. Use a spoon or spatula to fold in the shallots. Serve warm.
You can up the ante even more with this recipe if you add bacon. You can soft-cook your bacon (even cook it way ahead of time), cut it into smaller chunks, and reserve the bacon grease if you don't have any already on hand.
Monday, August 11, 2014
Crispy Oven-Fried Chicken
I love fried chicken. It's one of my guilty pleasures in American cuisine (save the oxymoron jokes and comments for another time). The crunch of the batter, the moist meat, the flavor of the seasonings on my tongue. Every so often I get a craving that nothing else seems to satisfy except a bite of good fried chicken. Well, I found several recipes for oven-fried chicken that I borrowed from and cobbled together to create the recipe below. The beauty of oven-fried chicken is that it shaves off some of the fat and calories that inevitably come hand-in-hand with chicken fried the old-fashioned way in oil and grease. And this recipe allows you to still get that crunch that is such a key characteristic of fried chicken.
What you'll need:
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbs. salt
2 tsp. onion powder
1 Tbs. garlic powder
1 tsp. dry mustard
6-8 meaty chicken pieces
2 c. buttermilk
5 c. ground cornflakes
4 Tbs. melted unsalted butter
What you'll need to do:
1. Mix together the cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and dry mustard in a small bowl.*
2. Arrange the chicken pieces in a 13x9-in baking dish so that no pieces overlap. Sprinkle with the spice mix. Pour the buttermilk over the chicken, cover, and put in the fridge for at least an hour. You can also chill overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degree and fit a wire rack inside a baking sheet.
4. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and dredge in the cornflakes. Drizzle the melted butter over the top of the chicken.
5. Place chicken on the rack so that no pieces overlap. Bake the chicken until crispy, about 35-40 minutes.
*You can adjust the spices to your taste. Scooter and I like garlic, so I added more. If you like your food with a little bite to it, up the amount of pepper you use.
The buttermilk "marinade" helps to keep the chicken super moist. You can use low-fat buttermilk and cut calories and fat further. Also, because the chicken cooks on a rack, the excess oil and grease drips down and away from the meat, meaning it's not cooking in a pool of fat. This is by no means a fat-free or low-fat recipe, but it will help trim some of the bad stuff and will be better than getting fried chicken from a fast-food chain.
You can serve this dish with this mashed potatoes recipe.
What you'll need:
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbs. salt
2 tsp. onion powder
1 Tbs. garlic powder
1 tsp. dry mustard
6-8 meaty chicken pieces
2 c. buttermilk
5 c. ground cornflakes
4 Tbs. melted unsalted butter
What you'll need to do:
1. Mix together the cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and dry mustard in a small bowl.*
2. Arrange the chicken pieces in a 13x9-in baking dish so that no pieces overlap. Sprinkle with the spice mix. Pour the buttermilk over the chicken, cover, and put in the fridge for at least an hour. You can also chill overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degree and fit a wire rack inside a baking sheet.
4. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and dredge in the cornflakes. Drizzle the melted butter over the top of the chicken.
5. Place chicken on the rack so that no pieces overlap. Bake the chicken until crispy, about 35-40 minutes.
*You can adjust the spices to your taste. Scooter and I like garlic, so I added more. If you like your food with a little bite to it, up the amount of pepper you use.
The buttermilk "marinade" helps to keep the chicken super moist. You can use low-fat buttermilk and cut calories and fat further. Also, because the chicken cooks on a rack, the excess oil and grease drips down and away from the meat, meaning it's not cooking in a pool of fat. This is by no means a fat-free or low-fat recipe, but it will help trim some of the bad stuff and will be better than getting fried chicken from a fast-food chain.
You can serve this dish with this mashed potatoes recipe.
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