Tropical Chicken and Rice

Sunday I decided to make up a new recipe as I'm prone to do. I just kind of throw things together that look like they should taste good and they usually end up amazing. It didn't turn out perfect the first try, but it turned out pretty well.

The night before I prepped the marinade for the chicken. I mixed mango juice, pineapple juice, a whole fresh squeezed lemon, a splash of white cooking wine, and a variety of spices. It tasted great just by itself. Then I cleaned all the fat and tendons off the chicken and put it in the pot with the marinade. I let it sit there overnight to absorb the flavor.

The next day I started cooking some rice and spiced up the water before I started it. I cooked the chicken in the marinade while the rice was cooking. When the chicken was done, I pulled it out and cut it into small pieces. Then I poured out the rice water and replaced it with the marinade juice so it would absorb into the rice. Then I put in some sliced pineapple, coconut shavings, cheese, and the chicken. After adding a lot of spices to offset the sweetness of the other ingredients it was done.

It tastes delicious, but isn't quite as zesty as I'd like. I think next time I'll raise the concentration of the lemon juice and let it marinade for a couple days so it really gets a kick to that chicken.

Tasting the Texture

This is a very random and probably useless observation, but I reserve the right to make such points in my blog. After all, it's tiring when you have to be serious and profound all the time. Besides, this blog is all about the randomness of life and thoughts.

So today I was eating some celery with peanut butter on it, which is delicious. I also grabbed a banana with peanut butter on it, which is also delicious. So naturally all three should taste good together right?

IT WAS REALLY WEIRD

The flavors were great and actually tasted good, but I couldn't get over the texture. The banana was soft and mushy. The peanut butter was sticky and pasty. The celery was tough and crunchy. In the end, I felt like I was eating a hard, fibrous banana. Somehow my subconscious just couldn't justify what I was eating and I still don't know what to make of it.

The Vicious Coffee Cycle

I was extra tired today so I broke down and drank coffee... for about the third day in a row. I did it because I couldn't sleep last night until really late... way past my bedtime... way past any time I could function well at work with. But I just couldn't sleep. When I really thought about why I would be so wired, I realized it was probably because I drank coffee earlier that day. Coffee really affects me and keeps me up sometimes most of the night after I drink just one cup. More like one fifth of a cup.

So when I was exhausted from not sleeping from the coffee, what did I do to wake me up? Drink more coffee. Tonight if I can't sleep I will know I'm caught up in the vicious cycle of coffee. I wonder if others get into this and just don't realize it. I can't imagine our bodies are built to handle so much adrenaline and so much caffeine. Yet we still subject ourselves to it because we need it to function. What ever would our world do without coffee?

Frozen Burritos

It's strange to have to watch my diet now. I used to live on nothing but bagels and ramen noodles and I did just fine in college. A fast metabolism, lots of exercise, and sleep deprivation kept me fit and skinny throughout the years on campus. Now I'm working a sedentary office job and needing to be more careful what goes into my body. I'm trying to eat right and get the right balance of enough healthy nutrients and not too much food. I've been trying to eat out during my lunch breaks since I can't really cook during the day. But there are days when I just don't feel like making the trek across town. On days like this, it's time for frozen burritos.

Eating Somewhere New

So today I went to lunch and decided to try something new for food. I habitually eat at the same restaurant and at a certain point your body just gets tired of the same thing over and over. It took me about 3-4 months, but it's starting to hit me. So I decided to walk across the parking lot to Firehouse Subs.

They were PACKED. College kids lined up in a line out the door, all over the inside. The walls were all glass and it somehow made me think of a fish tank filled to the brim with people. There was something so inhuman about the look of it.

Naturally since I didn't want to spend my whole lunch break in line, I went back to the restaurant I always eat at. Maybe next time...

Chai Tea

I just had some chai tea. The stuff is really good when made right and it's so soothing. It really helps me relax and enjoy just sitting here peacefully blogging. My favorite is this stuff called Tazo (spanish for tea). It comes in a concentrate form. You just add milk and microwave it. You don't have to take a long time boiling water and letting it steep. You just pour and go.