Hi friends. I hope you all had a good weekend, and got to get out at some point and enjoy the fact that spring may have actually arrived in Minnesota (yikes, I hope I didn't just jinx the whole nice-ish weather thing). I, unfortunately, have spent the majority of the weekend indoors, up to my freaking ears in scientific articles for this grant proposal I'm supposed to be writing. If I have to decipher one more acronym, I think I'm going to hurl this nice ivy plant here across the room, and I don't think my roommate or the cat would approve of that. Plus, I have been working on this project pretty steadily for the last two days, and do you know how much I have actually written? Three pages, you're guessing? Four and a half? You there, the ambitious one, you think I've probably written as many as eight complete pages in this amount of time?
I've successfully finished two and a half paragraphs.And I'm not sure how many of the sentences are actually coherent and/or understandable ideas. I know. Sigh.
I have gotten a ton of reading done, though, so legitimate progress has been made, it's just hard to account for at this point. Also, I figured out the thing you're supposed to use for all the citations, which took a fair amount of time, so that's a positive.
I need to tell you this, too--I stayed home and worked from the kitchen table today, instead of leaving to go study somewhere else. Why is that worth mentioning? Well, it's risky. You see, my roommate is incredibly interesting, and always full of amusing information that can successfully distract me from almost anything I try to accomplish. It's impressive. We've decided that I actually have a kind of learning disability--known as SIADD. Spoon-induced attention-deficit disorder. Don't laugh. It's very real, and I suffer from it.
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| Pi: also distracting--she's pretty! |
Psh. I shall live in the moment! And write to you about food!
Thank goodness for vegetables, and butter, and maple syrup, cinnamon, chocolate, basil, and yogurt, and all other wonderful things that are fabulous to eat and cook with...yummmm. Err...random list? Ah, yes, but all good things, you must admit. My supper tonight was kind of a random mixture of things as well, but it totally worked out, which is why I thought I should write down what I did asap, so I wouldn't forget it. I do that, you see. It's kind of a bad habit. I throw a bunch of stuff together with some kind of idea in mind, end up really liking it, and then have no idea what I did when I think I'd like to make it again. SO, while I still remember what I put in the pan, I'm going to share it with you. It was fabulous, by the way. I think it would be classified as a kind of hash...a hash with sweet potatoes. It's random, but it's good--and you could do so many different things with the idea--I'm already looking forward to the leftovers....yessssss.
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| I approved |
Swash...or yash--errr skwaash? Oh whatever.
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp chipotle pepper
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 onion, chopped
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
boneless, skinless chicken breast, also diced
big pinch of salt, or to taste
handful of cilantro, chopped
sour cream
refried beans (optional)
pepperjack cheese
a fried egg? (just an idea)
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add cumin, cayenne, chipotle, and cinnamon, and stir around, cooking for about a minute, to intensify the flavors. Add the onion and sweet potato, toss/stir around to coat with the butter and spices, and allow to settle in one layer. Cook for a few minutes without stirring (this allows everything to caramelize and get all complex and delicious-tasting), and then stir to make sure all sides cook evenly. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potatoes are starting to get tender (but not mushy!), about 5-7 minutes. You might have to add a little water, or turn the heat down. Shove the vegetables off to the side and add the chicken. Season with salt. Stir the chicken in, and cook until it looks done (not pink anymore), which shouldn't take long. Stir in the cilantro and remove from the heat. Check to make sure it doesn't need any more salt, and go get a bowl--it's time to eat. Fast, huh?
I had some pepperjack cheese that I grated over my bowl of Swash, and I also happen to adore sour cream, so I put some of that on top as well. Finally, I thought you could eat refried beans or a fried egg with this, perhaps...I think that's the way people eat hash? With a fried egg? Meh, I don't know. Do whatever you want. I need to go try and write another sentence on my proposal. Wish me luck, people.
--ginger
Oh, one more thing.
If you've never heard of StoryPeople, you should look it up. Cool stuff. The guy has some insight. This is one of the quotes that we love. For you.
"There are things you do
because they feel right
& they may make no sense
& they may make no money
& it may be the real reason
we are here: to love each
other & eat each other's
cooking & say it was good."
Love it. That's all.
Good thing you took a break from the work to make something yummy, that always helps :)!Sweet potatoes are good any way they are prepared, but in a hash sounds delicious! Love the name idea haha :)!
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