Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Heavenly Chicken

Currently, I'm sitting at the nurses station writing this future blog entry because I'm afraid it might be the only quiet time of my life this week to reflect on what I've learned.
2:30 am, someone's monitor is blaring because their heartbeat is irregular and I'm thinking about roasted chicken. Heh.

My thoughts the past couple weeks have ranged from total pessimism and frustration to complete and utter happiness. My schedule has been grueling to say the least and I've felt a strong urge to complain, but honestly, I'm quite blessed. I wouldn't have it any other way. It is because of my current job that I am able to support myself and finance my education without help from anyone. And no, it's not easy, but nothing that's worth anything in life is.
So I find myself fried by Monday mornings, dragging my haggard, frizzy-haired self out to my car that just so happens to be in the furthest corner of the parking lot. I drive myself home with about as much focus as an intoxicated driver with blood alcohol level of .4, somehow turn the corner and park in a space in front of my building(within the yellow lines!). I trapse up 3 flights of stairs to my cozy one bedroom,stumble out of my shoes and socks, collapse into my bed still clothed in scrubs and I sleep. I sleep until noon at which I spring out of bed, complete the hygiene routine, and cheerfully head out the door to my first class of the week.
I have never been this busy before in my life, and yet I realize I've never been happier.

I stumbled across a quote this week that put me into check.
"The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours-it is an amazing journey- and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins."


That gave me the strength to suck it up. And it also gives me hope that if I can handle this, I'm that much better off than the next guy.

All of that aside, I did manage to roast a chicken this Thursday. And after doing so, I've reached the conclusion that I will never buy boneless, skinless chicken breast again. I spent 8 bucks on this little bird, and he managed to feed me for the past 4 days.
He and I kind of bonded. It was a nice change to the usual hectic atmosphere I'm surrounded by.

In a quiet meditational silence, I rubbed him down with salt and pepper, a little lemon juice. I stuffed him with fragrant rosemary,thyme, parsley, garlic and some more lemon and gently laid him on a bed of mirepoix.

He roasted at 375 degrees for an hour and a half, in which he debuted with a crispy golden brown skin. I carved off a piece of the breast . The flesh was perfumed with the herbs and transported me back to early days in Tennessee, particularily Christmas.

After spending a while first carving off the most presentable meat for serving, then the other for chicken salad and soup, I surrendered the carcass to a pot and covered it with water, 2 sprigs of parsley, a bay leaf, an onion, salt and pepper, and left it to work its magic for 6 hours.

In the meantime, I felt inspired and began the process of my aunt's homemade noodles. I actually had no idea what her recipe called for but figured it couldn't be more complex than flour, eggs, oil, and water. I must've been right because they turned out great.

Towards the end of the day, I strained the stock and added oblique cuts of carrots and celery, then noodles and chicken. By the end of it all, I had a masterpiece.

I cannot express enough the appreciation I have learned for mother nature. She, no doubt, is the true artist.

1 comment:


  1. Thank you Dr. Lawrence for the Retrieve A Lover Spell you cast for me And I'd like to thank you for it. My ex and I have been back together for a month now. And it's been even better than before. I think this time it's forever. We've been talking of moving in together, and maybe getting married in the future. Things between us are great. I thank you for helping to bring him back to me. After our time apart, we've learned to appreciate each other more, and not take anything for granted. Thank you. drlawrencespelltemple@hotmail.com after trying and falling through other spell casters and witch doctors i had lost hope , but i thank God for giving me the ability to find you to solve my problems i now can't imagine that my business is doing better than i thought and i will always live to praise you

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