This recipe is so easy but it is also equally delicious. Once you have everything prepped it takes a mere 5 minutes to cook. While I used chicken, the recipe is equally good with nearly any other meat, poultry, or seafood; it can also be made vegetarian–sans meat–by substituting the meat with tofu, tempeh, seitan, or using just vegetables (and replacing the chicken broth with vegetable broth). It’s also a great way to use up leftover meat or poultry.
Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry
Makes about 4 servings
3/4 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 thin slices ginger
1 clove garlic, sliced thin
1 pound mixed vegetables
8 ounces cooked chicken
In a small bowl, combine the broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar and salt, then set aside. Heat the oil over high heat in a large skillet. Add the ginger and garlic, cook for a couple of minutes, then add the vegetables and chicken; stir-fry for a few minutes. Stir the broth mixture and add it to the stir-fry. Cook for a couple of minutes, until the sauce is thickened and the vegetables are cooked to your liking.
I was running a few errands this evening and took a shortcut through Delaware Park. It looked so beautiful in the cold blue light of winter (and yes, I was cold taking the photos). Anyhow, as usual I had a camera with me–and my partially functioning tripod–so I snapped a few photos.
It was only a matter of time, I suppose. If you do certain activities in certain ways you increase your risk of an incident. What I am talking about is getting doored. I ride a bike everyday no matter what the weather and on sometimes narrow busy streets, and sometimes with a fully loaded cargo bike (thankfully it wasn’t loaded tonight). People get doored everyday around the world; tonight was my turn. Some get seriously injured or killed; I was lucky that I’m only a little scraped/bruised. Here’s a brief story of how it happened; I didn’t actually hit the door head on, but nonetheless it was just as life threatening. I was riding down Elmwood Avenue, which is a narrow and often busy street. It is so narrow that I have to ride directly next to the cars to stay out of traffic. I usually look a few cars ahead to see if I see any movement in them (as if someone is about to get out). But it was at night, I has cold, and I was tired; in short I was in a sort of daze and just wanting to get home. Anyhow, as I pass a car I hear the familiar “click” sound of the door being disengaged. This next part happened so quickly it was as if I was seeing it in slow motion, like I was viewing a film frame-by-frame. Surreal. The door didn’t fully open until I was next to the car and I swerved (into traffic) to avoid it. I yelled something, I’m not sure what, probably more of a sound than a word…whaaa! And as I passed I didn’t hit the door but caught it. One of the support bars or part of the rear undercarriage of the Mundo caught and hooked on the door as it opened. The word “hooked” is very pertinent. Because when the bike hooked onto the door it came to an immediate, abrupt, and complete stop…but I did not. Thankfully I was cold and tired and not going very fast, maybe 10mph, but it was fast enough. I’m not sure if I went straight over the handlebars or left the bike from the side, but I do know that I became separated from the bike and for a split second or two was air-born. When I hit I landed on my side and nearly in the middle of the street, rolling like an actor in a b-rate movie. But this is the part that is truly scary/upsetting to me. When I flew into the street I knew that there were other cars behind me. And as I landed and rolled a car’s tire passed me by mere inches. A man and woman who were walking by came to my aid, but surprisingly I was not really hurt. Meanwhile the bike was laying next to the car about 5 paces behind me. The woman got out and initially apologized and said that she didn’t see me (I have front and rear lights, by the way). But the people who helped me seemed more concerned than her. I told them and the driver not to worry and that I was okay (but I was and still am shaken), and I mentioned to her that this street is a thoroughfare for bikes and she should look before she opens her door. She again told me she did, and then pointed to a long strip of metal from her door laying on the ground (likely what the bike caught on) and said “Now look, you broke my door.” But I could have been killed, I told her, and I nearly was. “But you broke my door,” she said again. And those were our parting words. I thanked the man for helping me, and again assured him that I was all right. I straightened the front rack and handlebars a bit, hopped on the bike and pedaled home. Thanking God the entire way that I was not just killed or seriously injured. But this is how it happens I suppose…you don’t know it’s coming. Just going about your business and a freak accident can change your life forever, or end it. On my way home I thought of the series of events that had to happen today in both my and the driver’s lives (and in the person in the car who’s tires passed me) in order for us all to be in that same exact spot at that same exact time. But then I had to stop thinking about it because it started to freak me out…one second in time or a few inches in either direction and the outcome may have been entirely different.
Today is the winter solstice, which of course is also the longest night of the year. But it doesn’t have to be the darkest. From this night on, until the summer solstice, the days grow longer and the nights shorter. And I’ve used this example very recently (about light overcoming darkness) but I will again…when light is brought into a darkened room the room becomes light–overcoming the darkness–but darkness cannot be brought in to make the room dark. I suppose the same can be said of a person’s heart…
“The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” John 1:5
Rear Carrier…a large plastic transport container containing a pint of homemade strawberry jam, an extra camera, a dough rising bucket, 20 chicken “fingers,” two bottles of red wine, two loaves of freshly baked whole wheat bread, a large 2013 calendar, a canvas bag, two books, and a small Bible.
Front Carrier…a cardboard box containing four small gingerbread houses that are gently packed with tissue paper.
I post this recipe relatively frequently, but it is so easy to make and so delicious I likely do not post it enough. While Ezekiel Bread may be my favorite bread, this is my “everyday bread” because it is so easy to make, delicious, and nutritious. It’s made with 100% whole wheat flour and a handful of other simple ingredients that you likely have in your pantry. I’ve long been a proponent that bread nearly makes itself…you merely mix the ingredients, provide the right conditions, and guide it along.
100% Whole Wheat Bread
Makes 2 loaves
2 cups whole wheat flour 1 cup water 2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup olive oil 3 teaspoons instant yeast 3 teaspoons kosher salt
In one bowl make a preferment by combining 2 cups of whole wheat flour with 2/3 cups water and 2 teaspoons of instant yeast. Begin the autolyse in another bowl by combining 4 cups of whole wheat flour, the gluten, and 1 ½ cups water. Stir each bowl just enough to combine the ingredients, taking care not to get yeast into the bowl with the autolyse. If the contents in either of the bowls need more water, add a small amount. Cover both bowls and allow to rest and ferment for 30-90 minutes, during which time the preferment will begin it’s job multiplying yeast and fermenting flour, and the autolyse will soak the grain, swelling the gluten. After an hour or so, combine the ingredients from both bowls into the bowl of an upright mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the honey, olive oil, salt, and 3 teaspoons of yeast (add the yeast and salt on opposite sides of the bowl). Knead the dough on medium speed for about 8 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly oiled container, cover it loosely, and allow to ferment for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in bulk. Deflate the dough and allow it to ferment an additional 30 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and cut it into 2 or 3 pieces. Shape into loaves and place into lightly oiled pans. Loosely cover the loaves with plastic wrap and allow to ferment for 30-60 minutes, or until double in size and when gently touched with a fingertip an indentation remains. Bake the breads for about 30-40 minutes, adding steam to the oven a few times (either with ice cubes or a spray bottle) and rotating the breads every ten minutes. The breads are done when they are dark brown and sound hollow when tapped upon. Remove the breads from their pans and allow them to cook on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
“And so now I’d like to say – people can change anything they want to. And that means everything in the world. People are running about following their little tracks – I am one of them. But we’ve all got to stop just following our own little mouse trail. People can do anything – this is something that I’m beginning to learn. People are out there doing bad things to each other. That’s because they’ve been dehumanised. It’s time to take the humanity back into the center of the ring and follow that for a time. Greed, it ain’t going anywhere. They should have that in a big billboard across Times Square. Without people you’re nothing. That’s my spiel.”
“Authority is supposedly grounded in wisdom, but I could see from a very early age that authority was only a system of control and it didn’t have any inherent wisdom. I quickly realised that you either became a power or you were crushed”
“The future is unwritten.”
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. There is nothing more common then unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not. The world if full of educated derelicts. Persistence and Determination alone are Omnipotent.”
OK, so before I comment on the bottom photo…I took the above image on my way to the health club tonight. It was about 5pm and 42F/6C…a lovely fall evening on a bike. Normally this time of year we would have at least a foot of snow on the ground and it’d be much colder that it is/was (but maybe this is the new norm). Anyhow, it felt really good to be out a bike on such a nice evening.
The photo below I took this past weekend on my way home from work after a particularly stressful evening. On my way home I pass a few bars, and as I pedaled past one I saw these guys outside. All of them in Santa suits and all of them are smoking cigarettes. The first thing that came to me was a new line for the song the Twelve Days of Christmas, “Five Santas Smoking.” I have no idea who they are but they brought a smile to my face when I saw them. And uncharacteristically of myself, I pulled my bike to the side of the road and asked if I could take their photo. Without questioning why, they quickly huddled together and smiled. I asked them what they were up to–if they were part of a Christmas party or something–and a couple of them replied, “Na, just drinking, smoking, and looking for girls.” Naughty Santa…
Firstly, I have to apologize for so many Beatles-centric videos…three in a row. I do really like them, but that’s not the reason; I posted the one yesterday and happened to come across the above one today (and then had to post the below one as well). Anyhow, this is awesome. If you only watch one of these watch the one above (but I do hope you view both). The above video was filmed in Times Square just yesterday by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. It begins by showing Terry Jones spewing his hatred in Times Square. For those who have not heard of him, Terry Jones is the so-called pastor who threatened to burn the Holy Koran at his Florida church last year. Anyhow, the camera pans the stunned crowd and then one guy–who it looks like he Googled the lyrics on his phone–begins to sing. Within a short time the crowd is singing All You Need is Love loud enough that the pretend pastor is no longer heard. This is such an excellent short film.
This blog began as a sort of online diary (which it never really became) and sometimes I still treat it as such…hoping, I suppose, that someone reads it and it somehow effects them in a positive way. Even in the smallest way. Or that they respond and it inversely effects me (which it/you have…thank you).
This said, I have to mention that things are weighing heavy on my heart these days. I feel like we are in dark days; as a society, country, and planet as a whole. Maybe it’s the long darkness of this time of year that’s effecting me–dark early and light late–but it’s really the recent events. I just cannot stop thinking about the shooting this past week. Those innocent children and adults…
I have been a person of deep faith my entire life, but I’d not be telling the truth if I said this didn’t shake my faith at its very core. It brings tears to my eyes for so many reasons. For the obvious reasons of course, but also less overt. We, as a nation–as a world–have to change. We need a new paradigm. I worry for us. I worry for my son’s generation.
Violence and greed are not only the norm today, they are glorified. We as a people have become desensitized. Rather than trusting and befriending each other we fear each other. And in turn keep guns as an illusion of safety. But what we need, I think, is to look at each other and realize that we are not so different from one another.
What I can do on a personal level–what I have to do–is to stand up for what is right…for what I know is right from my deepest most inner being. To do what was written on my heart–on all of our hearts–before we were born. Treat people and our planet with respect. To help my neighbor and sow peace wherever I can.
We (America) as a nation are really good at waging war and inflicting violence. What we need now is to wage peace and show compassion.
It is a known fact that light overcomes darkness. If you bring light into a darkened room it becomes light, but a lighted room cannot be made dark by bringing in darkness. Love overcomes evil. In the end it always does. And this being true, then peace will overcome violence. It has to.
In this sacred time of year, and as we approach the winter solstice (which of course is the darkest day of the year), I pray. I pray for peace. I pray for those little innocent angels whose lives were cut so incredibly short. I pray for their families and for their unfathomable loss. But mostly I pray for peace. And that each of our hearts and minds is open to healing and forgiveness.
“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one…” –John Lennon
Imagine there’s no heaven It’s easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people living for today
Imagine there’s no countries It isn’t hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people living life in peace
You, you may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one I hope some day you’ll join us And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man Imagine all the people sharing all the world
You, you may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one I hope some day you’ll join us And the world will live as one
I was going to write something today about the mass shooting in Connecticut yesterday. But I can’t. It would seem trite. No words will do. Last night I had work to do at home (some reading and writing) but I couldn’t. I couldn’t think. I had to get out of the house. So I grabbed a couple cameras and a rickety half-broken tripod and went for a long solitary walk on a crisp and starless night. It soothed me a little to view my neighborhood through a lens…sort of disconnecting myself from reality. Somewhat how I still feel today. My heart, thoughts, and prayers go out to those families in Connecticut.
If you are a Western New Yorker (or an ex-pat) you’ll likely recognize these images, but if you are not from the area the pictures are from top to bottom:
On the bike…an acoustic guitar and two bottles of red wine.
The below image was taken just about 5pm this evening. I was on my way to meet my son at his music lesson when I passed an intersection and saw the below sunset…it is looking west over Buffalo’s Lower West side. And this, I thought to myself, is December in Buffalo? I stopped my bike in the middle of the street to snap a few pictures…and this is one of them.
Pasta with seafood…yum! It is one of my favorites. And Fra Diavolo is likely my all-time version of seafood pasta. It’s name–Fra Diavolo–translates from Italian to “Brother Devil,” and the dish has a somewhat interesting history (to read about it go to this post). This recipe can be made with nearly any seafood and any shape pasta, so long as the other ingredients are involved…tomato sauce (I still had a pint of sauce in my freezer from last summer’s tomatoes), hot peppers, anchovies (yes anchovies!), and red wine. The recipe listed below includes penne and halibut, but the one pictured–the one I ate for dinner tonight–was made with tilapia and ziti. This is delicious, healthy, and really easy to make. Anyhow, if you’d like to see additional pictures of (variations) of this being made, click here or here.
PenneFraDiavolo with Halibut
Yield: 4 portions
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 anchovy fillets
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons minced parsley
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2/3 cup red wine
2 cups tomato purée
1 pound diced halibut
1/2 pound penne rigate
Combine the olive oil, onion, garlic, anchovies, red pepper, basil, parsley, and salt in a skillet over medium heat. Stir and mash the ingredients with the back of a wooden spoon until the onion and garlic is translucent but not browned. Stir in the wine and simmer it for a minute or two, then add the tomato puree. Bring sauce to a simmer and cook it for 5 or 10 minutes. If the sauce becomes too thick thin it with a little water. While the sauce is simmering boil the pasta until aldente. Stir the fish into the sauce, bring it back to a simmer and poach it for about 5 minutes. When the fish is cooked gently fold in the pasta. Remove the pot from the heat and let it rest for about 5 minutes, allowing the flavors of the sauce and fish permeate the pasta.
Recently I was in a doctor’s office waiting room with my teenage son. I was exhausted after working all day and about to doze off when a little girl brightened my day. She was there with who I’m assuming were her parents; the parents looked as exhausted as I felt. Anyhow, when the father spoke her she would respond with her hand, holding it up like a puppet. And she kept saying, “Daddy, talk to my hand, why won’t you talk to my hand, that’s who’s talking to you,” moving it as if it were actually talking to her father. She was as bored as we were and she used her imagination to entertain herself. Anyhow, it got me thinking (it doesn’t take much)…when do we adults lose that imagination…that freedom? Is it the bills? The responsibility? The facade we feel we have to portray? Maybe imagination can rule the world…if we let it. Maybe it’s right in front of us…
“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3
To read more fortune cookie philosophies series, click here.
This image was taken at around 5pm this evening while on my way to the health club. It is at the intersection of Allen and Elmwood in Buffalo, just around the corner from where I live and my favorite section of the city. It was/is a crisp cold evening with nary a breeze in the air; after working all day rushing around a busy kitchen it felt good–really good-to be out in the open air…it felt good to be on a bike. As I straddled my bike waiting for the traffic light to change, I was taking in the sounds and sensations of the evening…the air on my face, the sounds and smells of the traffic. And I took out my pocket point-and-shoot to snap a couple pictures…to capture it. And I thought I’d share.
I haven’t posted this recipe in a while (actually I haven’t made this bread in a while), and I forgot how delicious it is. Really easy to make; a few simple ingredients (100% whole wheat); and so delicious you’ll eat it for breakfast (makes great toast), lunch (do I even have to mention sandwiches), and dinner. Anyhow, the recipe is below.
Whole Wheat Maple-Oatmeal Bread
Makes 2 or 3 loaves
6 cups whole wheat flour, divided
2 cups oatmeal, plus additional for coating
2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
3 ½ cups water, divided
2 tablespoons instant yeast, divided
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Separate the ingredients into two bowls using this ratio: In one bowl combine 4 cups of flour, two cups of oatmeal, the wheat gluten, and 2 ½ cups of water; stir until just combined. In the second bowl combine the remaining 2 cups of flour, 1 tablespoon of yeast, and 1 cup of water; stir until just combined. Cover the bowls and allow the ingredients to rest and begin fermenting for at least an hour, but up to 12. Then combine the contents of bowl bowls into the bowl of an upright mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the remaining tablespoon of yeast, along with the olive oil, maple syrup, and salt. Knead the dough on medium speed for about 8 minutes, then cover and allow to rise for one hour. Transfer the dough to a work surface, cut it into two or pieces, gently shape it into loaves. Dust the counter with extra oatmeal and roll the loaves in it, gently pressing oatmeal into the surface of the raw dough. Place the loaves into oiled loaf pans, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 45 minutes. Preheat an oven to 425F. Bake the bread for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on. Remove the bread from their pans and allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
It’s interesting what a few hours can make. Both these photos were taken from my front porch using the same camera pointed pretty much in the same direction. The above photo was taken about 4pm and the below about 10:30pm. Day/Night/Sun/Snow…
Urban Simplicty 