Oh, I have a new and most excellent chicken burrito recipe that I created and need to share with the world. Also, there are two other recipes (one from a book, the other, a blog which I will link) which have gained some popularity amongst the inner circle . . . of roomy and associated girlfriends . . . that I want to post as well. Stay tuned, maybe they’ll be up by April!
Also, congratulations to Andrew on his new job. Official Huzzah: over.
Today, lets talk about etiquette. I’ve a pet-peeve about social etiquette and people behaving like they should when interacting with others; but, above all things, and since it’s such a common occurrence, the thing that gets my goat almost every time is checkout etiquette. It irritates me to no end when I’m checking out at the grocery store (or where ever) and the clerks are either non-responsive, rude, silent, or make you feel like you’re interrupting some unimaginably important conversation that they’re having with the box help or whoever.
So today, at my local Stater Brother’s, I’m queue for checking out when it comes to my turn. The entirety of the verbal interaction that I participated in was the initial “Is plastic okay?” from Checker B (who, for some reason, was doing the bagging), and a closing “Cash back?” from Checker A who didn’t even acknowledge my existence until then, the very end of the process. The rest of the time was occupied by Checker B telling Checker A about how her “baby’s daddy signed up their daughter for baseball on Sunday which is her day and he would be all pissed off if she signed her up for dancing or ballet or something on Saturday which is his day” blah blah blah. And these are grown ass women. I swear to God, I don’t need to hear about your white-trash, ghetto fabulous, redneck, beanerific gossip; not while I’m checking out, not ever.
Another one of my favorite, and more common scenarios is when it’s later at night and there are about 3-5 girls bagging up my food only to serves as an excuse for them not to have to end the conversation and grabassery they were all enjoying so well before I came along. I’m sorry for interrupting your conversation. Please continue to fuck off while I stand here feeling awkward. It’s one thing for a gaggle of high school girls to be empty-headed on their own time, but isn’t this supposed to be work?
I, at one time, worked in a grocery and we never had time for that sort of nonsense. It was always “hello, how are you” and “nice to see you again” to regulars. Hell, while I’m at it, waiters suck too. People don’t have any damn work ethic anymore.
I really should start to complain to the management . . . don’t they have those anymore?
On a lighter note, I had a fun elevator ride today! I got in on the ground floor. A middle-aged woman and man get in first and are riding in the back. After a group of mandarin-shouting girls get out on the second floor, these two resume the conversation that they were having before it became too loud to think.
Woman: “Ya, before you know it, one leg goes this way,” she gestures to the right, “and the other leg goes that way,” and she gestures to the left, aping the spread-eagle position with her arms.
Man: “Ya, that’s why I liked to stay lubed up,” . . . WHAT THE FUCK? “. . . being plenty drunk never hurts.”
Needless to say, those doors have never opened so slow and I was bitting my lip the whole way. It took me and Andrew about 5 minutes to regain our composure before we could go into class. Otherwise, we would have been giggling like a bunch of school girls in calc….and that just wouldn’t be appropriate.
Oh, also I noticed that I had some comments sitting in the moderation holding pattern for quite some time. Sorry about that, they’re very much welcomed and approved (now).
So here’s a chicken dish that’s been turning out well with some consistency in both preparation and review.
Ingredients:
- 2 Chicken breasts (or enough for 4 people)
- 2 Tomatoes (cubed)
- 2 Onions (cubed)
- 2 cups (or 4 servings) white rice (jasmine is always nice) (prepared as directed on package)
- Fontina (shredded)
- Olive oil
- Red vinegar
- Lemon juice
- White cooking wine (optional)
- Green Tabasco (optional)
- Basil
- Fresh ground pepper (buy a mill, dammit)
- Garlic powder
- Cilantro (fresh)
Preparation
Before you begin:
Ready? Go!
Prepare the rice as directed on the package. The time here will depend on the type of rice and the method in which you prepare it. Lacking a rice cooker, I choose to cook on the stove top which, taking about 20 minutes, is a perfect time for this dish as the whole thing should take about that long. While the rice is cooking, begin cooking the vegetables and chicken as follows.
In a small frying pan (I use an 8 in.), begin caramelizing the onions in olive oil and about 2 tablespoons of red vinegar over a medium heat, breaking up the onions into smaller pieces while cooking. Add a generous amount of pepper and basil to taste (about 1 tablespoon) and cover. Let cook for about 10 minutes, turning the onions occasionally so as not to burn. Reduce the heat to low and add the tomatoes to the onions, stirring carefully to distribute the tomatoes without smashing them. Cover and let sit on a low heat until the rest of the dish is ready.
Meanwhile, in a separate pan large enough to hold all of the chicken without overlapping, add olive oil and about 2 tablespoons of red vinegar, and set the heat to medium. Once the red vinegar begins to bubble a little bit, add the chicken to the pan. After about 5 minutes, add about 4-6 tablespoons of lemon juice, a dash of the white cooking wine (optional), coat the chicken with garlic powder, dash with Tabasco (optional), cover, and reduce heat. Allow the chicken to cook undisturbed for about 5 minutes, turn, and recover. Since we will be cooking the chicken for about 15-20 minutes, be sure to use a low heat so as not to over-cook and dry the chicken out. When the chicken is almost ready, uncover, raise the heat to hi, and turn the chicken again. Allow the chicken to cook briefly just long enough to slightly sear the presentation side (1 to 2 minutes).
A dish best served funky…
Serve the chicken, presentation side up on a bed of rice and top with the onions and tomatoes (don’t forget the juice!). Garnish with the shredded fontina and cilantro. Also, the green Tabasco goes well with or without the cilantro. Some bread would also be nice—you should figure that out.
Serves 3 to 4 people.
I came up with a pretty descent barbecue sauce/marinade this last time I lit up the barbe. This was used on pork chops (micro-chops!), but would also work well on other meats, especially chicken. Just don’t burn the shit like I did. I hate coals.
Bastard Sauce:
Barbecue sauce, Worcestershire, ketchup, garlic powder, red vinegar, black pepper, green Tabasco, oregano, dash of salt.
Listed in order of most to least used. You figure it out.
The more I experience and the more I see, the more I watch Zeitgeist, the more I am alert, the more I simply just open my mind . . . the more I realize that college is the inverse think-tank. They train you to jump through the hoops of bureaucracy, pointless and staggering amounts of self-confused red tape to prepare you for the rest of your life in a politics-based, greed-powered world. Conformity and non-confrontation is what’s taught, complacency exemplified, belly-up and mind-numbed preferred. Conspiracy! Conspiracy!
I was raised by my parents to do the right thing, to not quit, to love, to dream. I raised myself to love, to dream, to fight back, to protect. I will fulfill my name and what I understand as my meaning.
The good hands must take hold of the bad souls—careful not to let the demon touch them.
Commitment is not so much the allotting of time or resources, but the making room for, welcoming, and pursuit of love–from the first long stem to the room of standing wreaths.