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Tasty Tuesday – The Quickie
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| Photo by Jason Trommetter via Picasa |
The Quickie
Let’s face it. Sometimes, there’s just not time for all the preparation, the toys, the sensual build-up, the foreplay, the main event, the follow-up, the afterglow, the cleanup, and the nap. Sometimes, it’s gotta be now.
For those moments, I like to have a few tried-and-true recipes in my back pocket that I can throw in a pan to feed myself and my hungry partner.
After all, we must keep up our energy.
So. What to do?
This isn’t a recipe, in the strict sense of the word. More, it’s a trip into the kitchen with Noony, which may or may not be a good thing. Come along with me and find out. You’ll be glad you did – and we’ll be done in a jiffy!
Collect chicken parts (doesn’t really matter which, but I like chicken breasts), enough for you and a partner. (It goes without saying that these are things you should buy and keep in your freezer as a staple item.) If you need to thaw your chicken, do so in the microwave.
Now hold it. Do not use the fancy “defrost chicken” setting on the stupid thing. You’re a chef, not an automaton. Put the chicken on a plate, put the plate in the microwave, and then put it on 3 minutes at 50 per cent power. Period.
No, don’t argue with me. TRUST the Noony.
If the chicken is thawed enough to cut, you’re done. If not, hit it for another 2 minutes on 50% power. Then put it on a cutting board and use your best, sharp chef’s knife.
Wait. You don’t have a chef’s knife?
Go buy one. Right now. You need a good, sharp knife in your kitchen. Come back and finish the recipe when you’ve got your knife.
Wait! Put the chicken in the fridge first. What, you want your cats to eat it?
Okay. Take your knife, and if it’s brand new, WASH IT IN HOT SOAPY WATER. You don’t want the gathering of whatzits in your food, do you? Didn’t think so. Sheesh! We’ll be at this all night if you keep interrupting me.
Cut the chicken into one-inch strips, about two inches long. An inch is 2.54 centimeters, you can do the math. It’s good for you. Makes you hungry.
Where was I? Oh, right. Chicken.
Get out a skillet. Put some oil in the skillet. What kind of oil? I don’t know, what’s your favorite? I like olive or roasted sesame. How much? Enough, I say! Enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Coat it, silly, not fill it! Pour a dollop about 2 inches in diameter and let it spread around the pan.
Cut up some onions, or scallions, or leeks. Something oniony. Put that in the oil and saute them. Then plop the chicken into the pan. Take some fresh broccoli flowers, or snap peas, or something yummy and green, and put that in too. If you don’t have fresh, then put some frozen vegies in there. Trader Joe’s carries frozen artichokes – OMG! LOFF! If you use frozen, put the veggies in first, let them thaw and steam and stuff, then put the chicken in.
While the chicken is busy sizzling, splash some wine on it. White wine is good. If you bought cooking wine, throw it out. It’s garbage. What makes it cooking wine is they add salt to it. Blarg! Gross. Use a wine you’d like to drink. If you don’t know what to buy, get a Chardonnay.
To this, add a splash of cranberry juice, some Worcester sauce, and a dab of hot mustard – Grey Poupon is good, or some seedy German kind that’s hard to pronounce. Grab some nuts – any will do, peanuts or cashews are my favorite but mixed nuts work too. Don’t forget your spices. Wander your spice shelf and sprinkle some garlic powder, oregano, or Italian herb blend. Sprinkle lots; don’t do this “one quarter teaspoon” nonsense. That’s for the lowest common denominator of palate – i.e. people who can’t taste food. Use some gumption!
Let all this simmer and shake and when the chicken is done (cut a piece and no more pink in the middle means done), serve with something ice-cold to drink. Voila.
Then use your imagination for desert. YUM!
Visit my other Tasty Tuesday compatriots:
Recipes from my Erotic Garden by Selena Robins
The Automatic Reboot by PG Forte
References
Photo of clock by Jason Trommetter, via Picasa, licensed under Creative Commons for non-commercial use. Accessed from the following link: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-X-th-yedHGs/SL9jUtIkbqI/AAAAAAAADYs/RbND-obMa64/s512/DSC01994%2520%2528square%2529.JPG on Monday, August 13, 2012.
Taking a Chance!
Rachel and I are so excited! Our short story “Taking a Chance” has been accepted by Torquere Press in their Charity Sip 2012 series. We will donate all royalties to the charity NOH8 and Torquere will match us, dollar for dollar.
We’ll have a blurb of “Taking a Chance” shortly, and the stories will be available September 12, 2012. Stay tuned!
Unusual Travelogue
Ever heard of a salt cave? Want to spend some time in one? Never heard of it but curious?
Join me today at Delilah Devlin’s blog, in my guest post about the Galos Salt Caves.
Tasty Tuesday – Aunt Noony’s Afterglow Dinner for Two
Let’s face it. Sometimes, sexy is about the passion and the heat, but sometimes it’s about the intimate, slow and sensual moments that happen between two people in the quiet spaces. For those times, it’s nice to have a few meals in your basket of tricks that you can whip up quickly, but that bring the two of you closer together.
Ingredients
2 pork chops, cut 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick
1/3 cup long grain white rice
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped apple
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or, if you have it, cake spice)
1/2 cup sliced apples
Directions
Trim the fat from the pork chops.
Cook the trimmings in a skillet until 2 tablespoons of fat accumulate; discard the trimmings.
I know, I know, pork fat isn’t super healthy. If you really don’t want to use it, then use olive oil.
I like using a CorningWare® pan, because it’s safe to use on the stove and it has a lid that fits. It’s deep enough that it can hold the entire recipe so I don’t have to use a different pan for different things; though I will say I like using my cast iron skillet for the first step.
Slowly brown the chops in hot fat; remove chops.
In same skillet, cook the rice and onion until the rice is golden, stirring constantly.
Stir in the broth and bring to a boil.
Stir in the chopped apple.
My husband loves Granny Smith apples because they’re tart; I like Gala apples because they’re still tart but a little sweeter. I recommend using a tart apple because they hold their form during baking. Any apples you would use for an apple pie or tart are good here.
Turn the mixture into a 6.5 x 6.5 x 2 inch (16.5 x 16.5 x 5.08 cm) baking dish; arrange chops on top.
Bake, covered, in 350° F (177° C) oven for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the butter, sugar, and cinnamon or cake spice.
Brush the sliced apples with the mixture. Arrange around the chops.
I cheat here. Rather than just combining them in a bowl, I use a small cast iron skillet and melt the butter, then stir the spice into it. Once you’ve created a nice, well-blended butter and spice mixture, put the sliced apples into the skillet remove it from the heat. Stir the spiced butter over the apples, coating them completely. Then use a fork and arrange them over the pork, covering them in a thin layer. I then pour the remaining spiced butter over the pork and apples, drizzling all of it into the dish.
Bake, uncovered, about 20 minutes or until the applies and pork are tender.
Makes 2 servings.
The recipe can be doubled or quadrupled if you’re feeding more than two people. It is good for leftovers.
Chocolate Cherry Dream Pie by PG Forte
Devilishly Decadent Dip by Moira Keith
Stress-Free Layered Salad by Nancy Lauzon
Decadent Angel by Sloan McBride
Sexy Sassy Saucy by Selena Robins
Sweet & Sassy (Oriental) Chicken Wings – Fab For Any Gathering! by Renee Wildes
Tasty Tuesday – Ambrosia
It’s Tasty Tuesday, where me and my fellow authors will share some sexy, fun recipes for you to try out. My contribution this week is a beverage, and my fellow authors have items from main entrees to desserts. We’re glad you stopped by!
Ambrosia
Unlike coffee or tea, Ambrosia combines the effects of both and adds the bliss of chocolate. One cup will open your mind and awaken your senses for whatever you desire, sexy, sweet, or serious.
1 part high quality brewed coffee (or, even better, make it in a French press)
1 part high quality black or green tea (Dragonwell is an excellent choice)
1 part high quality hot cocoa (Valhrona is my personal favorite; Vosges is a close second)
Combine in a tea pot and whisk briskly for thirty seconds. Serve hot with a dash of cream and sugar.
I found this recipe in the Herbal Studies Course by Jeanne Rose, called the Cosmic Caffeinator. I have made it many times and the darker the cocoa, the better the results. The quality of the ingredients make a difference, as in anything. But it’s well worth trying, even if all you have at hand is office coffee, black orange pekoe teabags and hot chocolate. But making it with “the real deal” will show you why I call it Ambrosia.
If you have any interest in herbalism at all, Ms. Rose is the best source of information, bar none. Her sense of humor and wealth of knowledge are vast and she’s written extensively on both herbalism and aromatherapy, as well as other topics. You can find out more about Ms. Rose, her books and classes, at her website.
Please stop by the following blogs and load up on their tasty treats:
Salacious Salad and Naughty Nachos by Denise A. Agnew
Sweet Summer Lovin’ by PG Forte
Bewitching Bailey’s Cupcakes by Moira Keith
Happy Trails Trail Mix by Nancy Lauzon
Sassy Sangria by Sloan McBride
Sweet and Spicy Menage-a-Trois, by Selena Robins
ROGUE REFORMATION (CHEESY POTATOES) – The Ultimate Comfort Food For Heating Up A Cold WI Winter Night! by Renee Wildes
Join me at the Samhain Publishing Blog today!
I’m at the Samhain Publishing blog today, talking about writing with a collaborator. I hope you’ll join me!
Vacation This Week
Greetings from Philadelphia! I’m on vacation this week and Rachel’s got the stomach flu, so today we bring you our favorite vacation photo.
What do you like to do on vacation? Do you have a favorite vacation-related writing prompt? Tell me in the comments and we’ll write a flash-fiction piece for you for our next post.
Happy summer vacation!
Underwater Basketweaving – or, “It’s Research!”
One of our newer stories, which will be part of the forthcoming Bound series, features a character who owns a pleasure boat. He used to be a sailor and worked on a fishing trawler, and the group of people he’s part of used to run a trawling company.
The only problem is, Rachel and I don’t know much about boats.
I mean, they float, right? And they’re pretty. Seagulls like them. They have masts with sails. Pirates used to steal them. I saw Pirates of the Carribean and, aside from not being able to spell Caribeane to save my life, that means I know about boats, right?
Wrong.
Off to research we went. I work near a marina with a lot of boats, so the first step was to wander around and poach. Boats, not fish. I’d send pictures to Rachel for boats that I liked, and we found a couple brand names. Then the real work began. Rachel looked up the brands on the internet and we ran smack into our first problem.
Apparently, “boat” isn’t a very precise moniker.
Jeez.
We had to learn the right definition for the size of boat our character owns. Does he fish with it? Is it a sailboat?
Does it have a shower? (You’d be surprised; this is an important question; not all boats have them.)
We finally settled on a boat we both like. We’ve been working on the scenes with this particular boat so when you read it, you’ll have to see if you can tell whether we did our research well or sound like land-lubbers.
And next time someone gives you a hard time for internet surfing because you got curious about the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow? Tell ’em, “It’s Research!” with a capital “R”.
Working and Writing – Creating Sane, Grounded Practices
Many of us who write, do so while working for a living doing something other than writing. While on the one hand, this seems like we might rather write full time, on the other we can see it for the opportunity it is while we’re waiting for our ship to come in.
Structure
When we work outside the home, we have to be somewhere at a set time. This teaches us structure. This also gives us the idea of working hours.
Why not set working hours for your writing, as though it were a second job?
Discipline
When we work at a job, we must do things on time and according to standards that are already set for us. This can give us the starting-point to set our own standards and procedures.
Why not set a word count goal for each day? One thousand words a day, or about 3 or 4 pages, is enough to write a novel in 2 or 3 months.
Networking
When we work outside the home, we have a resume and a network of professionals that we know in our field. This helps us stay employed and, if necessary, get a new job.
Why not write a writing resume for yourself? Include all the different kinds of writing that you do. Are you an active blogger or Facebook user? Proficient in social media. Are you active in an online forum? Member of thus-and-such group. Use your imagination – just don’t make up things out of whole cloth. But not everything on your resume must be related to a job-for-pay.
With a little thought, we can leverage our working experience together with our writing experience and re-craft our lives into something we’ve always dreamed.
Write on!