What's Going on in November...... Reading, watching, eating, planning

Happy end of November!  This was a month that I'd like to see the end of yet we have some fun things planned coming up. 

Books and Movies / Recently I had an email from Thriftbooks, a site I like for purchasing gently used books and movies.  The theme in one email was about books which were made into movies or television series.  Nick Hornby had been on my to-read list for a while and I haven't gotten around to him. Yet.

I hadn't heard of High Fidelity but the description about the movie plot had me intrigued.  The library had a copy and I can say we throughly enjoyed it. Haven't read the book and probably won't now. 

The movie was set mostly in a record shop - remember those?  Anyone? What a blast from the past.  John Cusack was great as the narrator and there was so much music. It's 20 years old so some things were dated but certainly the music was not. We listen to quite a bit of music here, especially older blues recordings.

This month I have enjoyed the following books:

The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

The Weekend Away by Sarah Alderson

I am planning on starting the Tana French book The Searcher over the Thanksgiving holiday.  Hoping for some quiet time with the book and nature. 

In  & out of the kitchen / Chicken, Mushrooms, Spinach and Orzo is a creamy dishy that's easy to prepare

Pad Thai is a treat for us. This is one of the times we decided to venture out and get a favorite from Thai Kitchen.  The wonton soup is very good but you can get a ginger laced salad instead if you'd like. This is the best Pad Thai we have found locally.

More than ample portions and some came home for a lunch serving.

Planning / I am putting this in writing as I hope we will follow through.  We went to the nursery recently and saw an impressive concrete dragon.  It inspired us to look around for an area to place it at home and surround it with flowers.  Step one will be getting some very large trees taken out which are near the house. 

After Hurricane Michael, which caused us to evacuate, we realized the big pine trees within striking distance of the house need to go. Adios. We were fortunate that any damage was away from our house. So, once they can be removed it will change the amount of sunlight hitting in areas where we want it. Then....the dragon garden!

Goal for that is January.

We are still missing Aja but as time passes it gets a bit easier.  Hoping for a calm and safe Thanksgiving week. This post is scheduled as I'm not sure if we will have internet connection later in the week.   If I don't get back to you right away, that's why.

Tequila Lime Chicken {From Simply Nigella}

 After a two month hiatus from food related posts I thought I would jump back in with one of my favorite cooks and food writer - Nigella Lawson.  Recently I picked up a copy of her 2017 cookbook, Simply Nigella.  There are quite a few recipes I want to sample from this cookbook and have started with the Tequila Lime Chicken.  

The recipe is simple with few ingredients and reminded me of another dinner we had quite a while ago.  That was a delicious grilled meal -  Tequila Honey Pineapple chicken, photo below.  See that post and recipe here; I highly recommend it.

We planned to have this again but the little containers of pineapple juice had apparently expired.  Didn't know we kept them around so long.  It's been ages since a cocktail was made around here and those were from those days. 

Anyway, Nigella's recipe turned out very nicely and we plan to have it again one day.  As it was baking we took a short walk and wow, when we walked back inside the aroma wafting through the house was amazing.  Instant hunger.

I'd like to note that marinating for 6 hours was perfect. I do think 2 days, as mentioned in the recipe as the longest time to marinate, would be way too much time.  Citrus can dry out meats if left too long.  Also, when I stored the leftovers I drained the remaining juices/marinade.

Recipe is below as I copied from Nigella's site and the book Simply Nigella. We would have this again sometime but I think in side-by-side comparision that Tequila Honey Pineapple recipe would win out.

Tequlia Lime Chicken

• 1 preferably organic chicken (approx. 1.4 kg/3-lb, jointed into 8 pieces)
• 5 tablespoons tequila blanco
• 2 limes (preferably unwaxed)
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (plus more to sprinkle on at the end)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons regular olive oil

Method

1. First, put the jointed chicken pieces into a freezer bag.
2. Mix together the tequila, zest and juice of the limes, the chilli flakes, salt and olive oil, and then tip this into the freezer bag with the chicken. Seal or tie tightly (letting out the air first) and place it (on a tray or in a dish) in the fridge to marinate for 6 hours or overnight, or up to 2 days, or leave outside the fridge, but in a cool place, for 40 minutes if you’re short of time.
3. Preheat the oven to 425ºF. If the chicken is in the fridge, take it out and remove the chicken pieces from the bag, reserving the marinade. Sit the chicken pieces on a smallish, shallow baking tray for about 30 minutes to allow them to come to room temperature. It’s important that the chicken pieces sit on the tray without a lot of room to spare, or else the marinade will immediately evaporate in the hot oven. When you are ready to put it into the oven, pour half of the marinade over the chicken pieces and transfer to the hot oven for 25 minutes.
4. Take the chicken out of the oven, pour the other half of the reserved marinade over it, then put the chicken back in for another 25–30 minutes. Check it is cooked through before removing from the oven. Put the chicken pieces on a serving plate. 

Served with smashed avocado and tomato, boiled potatoes and a baguette.

Sharing with:

The Intrepid Reader for Weekend Cooking

I Heart Cooking Club

2020 can just go away now

 This is a surprise to me - posting.  I thought I was done with it all and some part of me missed it while another thought, who cares...can't get motivated.

What a year.  While I was delighted to retire at the end of 2019 there were plans we made that didn't transpire due to Covid.  Traveling was on the agenda.  It would be lovely to see our son as last time I hugged him was in April of 2018. We wanted to head west and see the big clear skies of Arizona and Utah.  But 2020 threw a hitch in life for many people.

One of our biggest heart breaks was losing Aja, our beloved shiba inu on the 4th of November.  It's amazing grief can be such a powerful physical force on the body.  Our chests literally hurt with grief.  She was 17 and led a comfortable life with us.  Pampered and loved. It left a huge hole in our lives. 

The same day we were about to say goodbye to our sweet girl, Doug developed new floaters in his right eye and they were getting worse as the day went on. By the end of the day he could see what appeared to be drifting film over the eye.  Next day he goes in for the appointment and they do laser surgery immediately as he had 3 tears/rips in his retina.  Thankfully he didn't lose vision.

Please Note - if you ever have anything like that develop with your eyes/vision see an opthamologist immediately. 

Social Media status / I am probably one of the few souls not on Facebook and don't intend to jump back into it (been there years and years ago).  I did enjoy Twitter and had an Instagram account as well.  Months back I needed to take a break and deactivated my Instagram account and it still hasn't called me back.  So, if you were one of the few who followed me there, you were not dumped.  Instagram was dumped.  

What I missed /  I think it was the social connection via blogging with like minded people who like food and books. It was time to evaluate how I may want to continue with blogging/journaling.  Getting involved with so many "events" stretched things thin, for me anyway.  Looking back to how I started  in 2008 makes me realize I enjoyed the journaling very much.  Perhaps I will baby step back in that way.

Just so I am not ending my post in a most depressing over share of information, I want to wish any who read this a happy and healthy upcoming holiday.  

Be careful out there!  Maybe I'll see you soon.

This was Thanksgiving at Manatee Springs State Park 2019 

                                                Seminole State Park Georgia