The chicken that was a guinea pig
So the Vega's gave me this awesome countertop oven that has a rotisserie setting. Tried it out a couple weeks ago. The oven usually takes longer to cook something, which is what turned this 40 minute cook time into almost 2 hours, but it turned out okay for the most part.
Step 1: I really couldn't figure out the whole chicken butter rub idea.
Step 2: 30 minutes later....
Step 3
Here's the recipe for the VERY tasty glaze I used. You can use it on your raw birds. ORrrrrrr.... you could do the short cut thing and get an already prepared rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and toss it in a warm oven for about 15-20 minutes and glaze it in there. Much easier than what I went through.
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons real fruit juice (apple, grape, cranberry, etc. you know, no citrus types)
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion (or shallots ;) )
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed or crumbled between the fingers
You gotta use the real maple syrup though. No Log Cabin or Aunt Jemima. Eez very yummy!
Just call me Elasti-Girl!!
So...apparently, I have loose joints? I went to the physical therapist after complaining about my bum ankle. She started doing her measurements around my ankles. Then she told to (I guess) medial flex my foot (i.e. I pointed my right foot to the left) and her reaction was "Whoa! Look at you go!" Apparently, my loose joints allow me to stretch my limbs further than other folks. So, she started looking at my elbows and my knees and my wrists and fingers. Then she said, "Yep, you've got loose joints. Which means that you're going to have problems with your knees and hips (if you don't already have problems with them)."
Well, at least now I have some sort of understanding as to why my legs, hips and knees get so tired whenever I stand for too long.
But, if I've got loose joints, why do they always feel so tight? Does this mean I have too much tendons, etc in my joints? So, I have a little extra which means that I can stretch further?
Di you know that it's Captain Kirk's birthday today? :)
Jambalaya, mon ami!
Here is the jambalaya I made in celebration of Mardi Gras.
I made some really excellent acorn squash soup, too, but I ate it all before I took a pic. So I have a new resolution to take pics of all the cool new food I make. I guess as a way to validate my culinary skills. I think next on my list is a rotisserie chicken. And then maybe corned beef brisket and cabbage for St. Patty's.
Awesome salad!
Oh my goodness...If I came back from Tbilisi with anything good, it's the "recipe" for this salad. One of the ladies at the bed and breakfast made it for me and I absolutely fell in love with it. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I made it today, added some grilled chicken, walnuts, and some raspberry walnut vinagrette. But you can easily eat it by itself or with a little bit of oil and vinegar. Soooo good! Enjoy!
romaine lettuce
One stalk of spring/green onion chopped up
handful of cilantro chopped up
one half or one mini cucumber
some shredded carrot (for a little color)
dash of salt and pepper for taste
The cilantro and spring onion really added to the salad. Oh, it makes me hungry just thinking about it.
I'm a Gimp
Well, I made it to Tblisi, Republic of Georgia. It's a nice little city still recovering from the Iron Wall and Russian influence. But the main point I write this blog is to tell you about my bum ankle. Not sure if I told you guys, but when I was back in Washington, I twisted my ankle snowboarding. Well, I slowly recovered when I got back to Germany. It seemed as if I was getting better. And then, I arrived in Tblisi. My host took me around the city showing me some of the more interesting sites and telling me about it's history. When I got back to my room at the bed and breakfast, I was taking off my shoes and something in my right achilles tendon popped! And it really, really hurt. As in, I couldn't walk from here to there. I hobbled over to my bed and tried to extend my foot. Pain shot through my lower leg. Anytime I put weight on the foot, I felt as if someone had just shot me in the ankle.
I wasn't sure if the doctors in Tblisi would be able to do anything (seeing as how their economy is just now starting to rebuild itself). So, I opted to just hobble around for the next two days until I got back to Germany.
Four days later, it's snowing like crazy over here and my doctor's appointment had to be cancelled because the base commander called an early day for everyone. Now, I don't get to see a doctor until Tuesday. Luckily, i've been speaking to a doctor at the medical center and he seems concerned enough to want to see my foot.
That's pretty much it. I'm still hobbling around, I can't work out, and I think I'm bloated. :(
In a funk
I started this semester not very excited about it. I just wasn't jazzed about any of these classes. and I'm still not and it's a month later. I'm not motivated to study. Even though I have a test on Monday, I'm not feeling the need to get studying. Maybe it's because my book for the class hasn't arrived and it's not going to. That's right I ordered the textbook weeks ago only to get an email recently saying that they no longer have the book. Grrrr... Now I have to go to the bookstores where they hopefully still have it.
And I am slowly starting to dislike my job. The company is run by micromanagement and it is honestly getting on my last nerve. At first I thought I'd get this job and probably keep it throughout grad school. But now... ugh... I think I'll only keep it till the summer when I have to start my internship. But with the way things are getting to me, I have to just pray that I can make it that long.
All I can think about is snowboarding and spring break. Those are the only things that I have to look forward to.
