Yum! Wings!

This marinade is so delicious! We adapted a recipe from bon appetit to make some tasty wings. The sesame-cilantro rice recipe was right on and complemented the wings.

Our adaptations:

• Used chicken wings, thighs andlegs instead of spare ribs and sherry vinegar instead of dry sherry.
• Marinated the chicken for the afternoon (3 or 4 hours) instead of overnight.
• Didn't oven-braise the chicken...just marinated and baked in the oven at 400 F until done about 30 or 40 minutes.

Musical selection:

Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers

Greens

I can't get enough cooked greens. I like to add swiss chard, kale or collards to any soup or chili. But my new favorite are mustard greens. They have their own zing and pizzazz, so they can add something special to any bland meal and are delicious by themselves over some rice. I like to saute them with a little olive oil and sea salt. Yum! Of course, a little garlic never hurt anyone.

A warm, spinach salad could easily tie with the mustards except that I made this a little too often at work last week and am burnt out on it. But it's still worth mentioning...

Steam spinach, toss with dressing and top with a sliced hard boiled egg. Dressing: equal parts rice vinegar and olive oil, some sea salt, a minced garlic clove, & juice of half of a lemon.

OK so how about the music...right?

It is all too easy to get wrapped up in our flexitarian meals. But let's face it, our kitchen would go unused were it not for the turntable in the next room.

A little bit of Upstate New York nostalgia got the better of me this weekend. Molly and I have been doing quite a bit of snowshoeing around Woodstock as of late and I was thinking about how so many monumental album were the outcome of where they were made. That feeling of home and comfort...like a beat up oriental rug on a farmhouse hardwood floor...so many of our greatest creations, be them for the mouth or the ears, come from that feeling of be grounded at home.

So my non-vinyl loved playlist for home. My mountain home (that is a creation of my mind at this time) or the orange kitchen. Hope you enjoy reading it. Post a response to this link or shoot me an email and I will send you a good old mix CD...promise.

Wings by Josh Ritter
You Still Believe in Me (Beach Boys cover) by M. Ward
New Speedway Boogie by the Grateful Dead (spent a litte time on the mountain)
Charlie Darwin by The Low Anthem (haunting tune that I can just play over and over)
Light Year by Gregory Alan Isakov (I keep waiting for this guy to blow up!)
Have You Ever Seen the Rain by CCR
I Shall Be Released the Dylan version
My Back Pages also by Dylan
I Will Never See the Sun by the Great Lake Swimmers
Mansion on the Hill by Bruce Springsteen
Jesus Made Up My Dying Bed by Kelly Joe Phelps
Everything is Free by Gillan Welch
Swannanoa Tunnel by Martin Simpson
Mr. Soul by Neil Young (unplugged version) or anything from Harvest Moon
Re: Stacks by Bon Iver
You Ain't Going Nowhere by Glen Hansard (because he can make it his own)
Hold On II by Chris Smither
Tear My Stillhouse Down by Gillian Welch
I Just Wanna See His Face by The Rolling Stones

Hope y'all make it home for some of that quality creative time real soon!

One of the best road meals

...one one of the best drives in the world.

Little Switzerland in a memorable secret located off milepost 334 of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. With it's own smokehouse and classic southern fare like pimento cheese this place is worth the drive!

Switzerland Cafe is a must on the USA foodie bucket list.

http://www.switzerlandcafe.com/

Thai Green Curry Stew
Basic Ingredients: Tofu, Ginger, Mint, Sesame Oil, Green and Yellow Squash, Yellow and Red Sweet Peppers, Green Curry Paste, Coconut Milk, Salt and Pepper. Yummy and warm for cold winter nights!

Roasted Skinless Chicken Breasts version 40,038
quick weeknight wingin' it recipe

Recipe:
2 Chicken Breasts
Quartered Baby Bella Mushrooms (enough to fill ya')
Mayer Lemon slices (sliced really thin and enough to cover all the poultry)
A.A. Borsari 'World's Best' Seasoned Salt (Original)
Jar of Marinated Artichoke Hearts (dump it all on there)
Shredded Asiago Cheese (to top it all off)
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees and cook til done (depends on the thickness of your cuts)
Serve with rice or your favorite grain

Pancake mix should never come out of a box!

Buttermilk Pancakes is listed as a family favorite in the Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook. I like to imagine that someday I will have children that will beg for these come the weekend morning...nothing could be better. Let it be known that not only does it only take four minutes to mix the batter, but OMG are these little hotcakes superior to all others. We think the secret is adding chopped nuts with a strong preference for pecans.










Buttermilk Pancakes
2 cups all purpose flour (you can substitute a 1/4 cup with almond flour)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar (we leave this out and usually add some berries too...or the classic banana and walnuts)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten (Certified Humane Eggs simply taste better)
2 cups buttermilk (clutch ingredient)
1/4 vegetable oil

Add some killer Vermont or New York State (blatant plug for the agriculture of cash poor states) syrup and enjoy!