Poco-Cocoa

Believe it or not, I cooked meat this week. Thankfully, it was already cut up (such a nice butcher), and trimmed and ready to use. I was surprised that I wasn’t bothered more by the rawness of it. It’s been so long since I’ve cooked meat, I was afraid I might chicken out.

Anyway, I was flipping through one of my Cooking Light annuals and found this recipe for coconut-crusted chicken…and I decided it was worth a shot. We made mashed potatoes and Tom Green to go with it…ultimate comfort food. When I first started cooking, I figured out that green beans and tomatoes went well together. So I created this incredibly complex recipe: dump one can of diced tomatoes and one can of green beans in a pot. Heat it up. That’s Tom Green.

The chicken was delicious…though I did think the panko crumbs were soggy in places. I wonder how to fix that problem…I suppose deep-frying would create an all-around crisp crust, but who wants to deep-fry? Not me.

I used this recipe, and substituted half a pound of chicken tenders for the thighs and legs. I just couldn’t deal with bones yet. 🙂

Random fun website: The Daily Card. Inspiring…I wish I could stick to a daily project…maybe it’s time to try Project 365 again.

Oh, the joys of simple foods! This has to be one of my favorite recipes in a long time, and it’s so gosh-darn simple (you can find the recipe here). Sweet tomatoes, spicy arugula, and pungent feta…everything just barely cooked and super flavorful. I forget how much I love warm cherry tomatoes…and salad in my pasta.

A long time ago, my friend Shara made spaghetti for a group of us girls at her apartment, and we had mixed salad greens on the side. I think I was a bit nervous (I was meeting lots of new gals that night), and in a hurry to eat, so I forked up a leaf of lettuce with a twirl of pasta. It was a match made in heaven! I loved the crunchy freshness of the greens with the toothsome pasta, so any pasta dish that includes slightly wilted greens is a winner in my book.

In other news, I’m turning 29 this Friday. 29! Yikes! I’m having some issues with feeling old…will I reach 30 without traveling the world? Without writing the great American novel or a cookbook? Without finding my one true talent? It’s possible, maybe even probable. I bet when I’m 40 I still won’t know what I want to be when I grow up. I’m also feeling a bit like I missed out on some things. I was always a mature kid. I was always good, never irresponsible. Married with a degree by 21, with no debt or late payments or drunken debauchery. I feel like I’ve been acting 30 all my life…now it’s almost here and I wish I had been a little more reckless. Carefree. Irresponsible.

Is it okay to act 19, just for one year? Instead of 29, can I be a sassy, silly 19 year old, ready to take on the world? I think I might just have to try.