Back to regular life... and regular food.

It has been a little while since my last post and it's not because there's been nothing to talk about.  The last week has been a difficult one.

First of all, I'm home sick today.  I am not sure if it's the flu or what, but I don't really feel I have a day of work to spare at this point which is always a frustrating time to get sick.  I mean it though, after I get over this bug I WILL get a flu shot (I have been saying this for awhile...).

I did finally finish my cleanse on Tuesday night.  It was better than I expected it to be and I felt great by the end.  So great, actually, that I did something I wouldn't normally do... I always look at people who weigh themselves on those giant scales at Publix and think it's something I would never do - either you humiliate yourself or you're showing off...  I see no middle ground - unless, of course, I was a man.  I don't own a scale (for good reason) and I don't belong to a gym (not as defensible) and I was feeling light and fit after my cleanse, so I took off my shoes in the middle of the store and hopped right on.  Unfortunately, the results weren't quite what I'd hoped and I heard a big "WAH-WAH-WAAAH" reverberating in my head.  Nonetheless, I felt great and I'm pretty sure my body liked it because I fell ill the moment I started eating real food again.  Then again... I love eating real food again.

Part of the purpose of the cleanse is to eradicate cravings for foods you shouldn't be eating - which, in large part, actually worked.  But there was one thing I just couldn't get out of my mind... Over Christmas break, my mom and I were watching Rachel Ray and she made this chicken dish I have been wanting to try since then.  So, I decided to make it the first meal I cooked after my cleanse.  Part of my culinary goal this year is to try finding more dishes I can make without having to look at a recipe, so that I have more things in my kitchen repertoire.  This dish was delicious and is perfect for that list.

First, I learned to roast garlic.  I guess it isn't that complicated but I always skip over that step in any recipe.  It just seemed complicated and adds an hour to any recipe.  When I realized A- how easy it is and B - that you can do it days in advance and it will keep, I decided it is my new favorite thing.

(cooking talk to follow - skip if this bores you)
                I preheated the oven to 400 and cut the tops of the garlic heads off, drizzled them with olive oil and salt and then wrapped them in their own individual foil pockets and roasted them for 45 minutes.  When they came out they were still pretty hot so I just took them out of the foil, wrapped paper towel around them and then squeezed them into a bowl.  The paste comes out pretty easily.  This makes your house smell delicious and you could probably just do this and then cater the rest if that's more your style.  It still looks impressive.
                Ben is always hungry way before dinner time so I am starting to try to make appetizers a little bit before (if I don't, he will go downstairs to the 7-11 under my building and buy chips and dip, which always annoys me while I'm making a big dinner!).  So, I toasted some Italian bread I bought for dinner and drizzled with a little olive oil and spread some of the garlic paste on there.  He LOVED that.
             Anyway, then I took some chicken (I used chicken breast - you were supposed to use a half chicken which, in retrospect, would have been more delicious, but the breast was obviously healthier and was good anyway), drizzled with more olive oil, salt, and pepper, and put it in the oven at 375 for 15 minutes.  When the timer was down to 5 minutes, I started making the sauce.  The sauce was 1 1/2 c. chicken stock, 1/2 c. white wine, rosemary/thyme, the garlic paste (from four heads), and 2 tbsp. butter.  Whisk that altogether and then pour over chicken in the roasting pan and roast another 20 minutes.  That's it!  Then, I served it over the bread (I toasted it a little because mine was too fresh and not crusty enough) with arugula underneath.  Of course, we poured the sauce over and I had extra bread for dipping (that's our favorite).  This was a favorite and is something I just type from memory which means it is perfect for my easy-cooking resolution.

Recipe over.

So, it's Friday already and the weekend is upon us.  We don't have many plans, which is good, considering my sickly state.  We may go to dinner tonight if I feel up to it, but just to the restaurant under my building.  Ben's sister is in town this weekend which is exciting, so we have family dinner.  Other than that, I'm trying to crack down on my to-do list.  I know I haven't shared much about what excitement this year holds, but I have some plans and I am working on some things that cannot yet be revealed... all in due time, my friends.  I am trying to break myself out of my procrastination habit -- I'll let you know how that goes.

Until then, happy weekend :)