Sunday, February 22, 2009

Weekend in

I spent most of this weekend at home. I mean, I did go out--I saw The Reader with a friend; I went for a run; I grocery shopped; I went to church--but mostly I've been indulging my inner homebody and hanging out with the cat. (Don't worry: Glenna visited last weekend to make me get out. Proof here and here!) Let's just say there's something to be said for the joys of a little at-home time, as follows:



This is not a cooking blog. I'm an avid consumer of other people's writing about food (Orangette and Smitten Kitchen keep me in recipes), but...trust me. From a girl who eats either sausage/onion/apple stir-fry or boiled kale as weekly standbys, you don't really need to know what I'm eating all the time.

But then there's this recipe, one I've been using forever, one which never lets me down. This is the kind of recipe you could make when, say, the entire population of a small country is coming to your home, or when you simply own more Tupperware than any normal human should. It's a little time-consuming--brown rice! From scratch!--but it's worth it, especially if you want to have lunch taken care of for the next two weeks, at least.

Curried Brown Rice with Chicken and Apples

1 TBS oil
2 lb. chicken, chopped
3 medium granny smith apples, chopped
2 onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBS curry powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 c raisins
5 c chicken broth
2 c brown rice
salt and pepper

In a large (no, really, LARGE) pan, heat oil. Salt and pepper chicken, and brown in oil. Remove from pan. Add apples, onions, garlic, curry, and cumin; saute five minutes. Add broth and raisins. Bring to a boil; add rice and chicken. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until rice is tender, about 60 minutes.

Eat. FOREVER.




I started a new sweater, the February Lady Sweater, a couple of weeks ago, but I've been cruising through it this weekend with the help of Friday Night Lights, Dollhouse, season four of Doctor Who, and (and now for something completely different) Harvey. It turns out that this kind of bulky lace is really fun to knit, and zooms past--all those holes! I despair of the time when it will actually be warm enough to wear this, but others have assured me that the day will, in fact, come.

The victory here is that the in-progress version actually fits; this whole "trying things on" concept is the joy of the top-down sweater. I am not sure that my spatial brain really gets how top-down raglan sweaters work (starting with a single row and ending up with the three-dimensional shoulders of a sweater is clearly magic and has no basis in rational geometry), but I am all for it.

So...there's that. Health food and handknits.

And, in conclusion, a gratuitous shot of the cat:



He has no shame. Ah, well.

12 comments:

Xerxes said...

Liz,

That recipe looks great! Unfortunately my wife hates curry. She is going out of town for a week in July, maybe I will make it then so I have something to eat all week!

It looks like you went out to buy yarn and then hang with fellow knitters. I am not sure that really qualifies as going out.

Good Sherlock picture, I see that being a male he has take over the remote.

Anonymous said...

How did you like Harvey? Did you cry at his monologue in the end like me?

Anonymous said...

You have inspired me to make Curry Chicken and Apples once again. It really isn't the same without the raisens. Totally yummy. Pet Sherlock for me.

Anonymous said...

That curry recipe looks great! Must make a note of it. Also, good job with the sweater, it looks like its going awesome.

Also, hanging out with knitters totally counts as going out. Didn't we touch, like, 3 states? And stuff ourselves at a premiere tapas joint? And see approximately every monument and museum within a 10 mile radius of Lincoln? ;)

Anonymous said...

Hanging with Knitters definitely counts. Zaytinya is a happening restaurant! Thanks for the recipe and looking forward to meeting Sherlock one of these days!

Xerxes said...

Liz's friends,

Okay, Okay I acquiesce hanging out with knitters counts!

It's probably safet hanging out with knitters. Who is going to attack a group of people holding long steel shanks with points on the end of them!

Anonymous said...

See Xerxes, the thing about knitters is that we walk softly, come in packs, and carry sharp sticks ;)

(But we also gift people with soft snuggly things, which I think proves we are not entirely mischievous) ;) ;)

Liz said...

Well, X, I was going to warn you about the (non-)wisdom of messing with the knitters, but it seems like you figured THAT out yourself! Heh.

Sherlock has indeed taken over many things in my apartment (new favorite trick: falling asleep on top of my hand/arm). It's a good thing he's so cute.

Liz said...

Sarah,

I *did* get a little teary at the end of Harvey. I am particularly enamored of the way he offers to take the dose even though he doesn't want to, because it'll make his sister happy. CRY CRY CRY. I heart him. Oh, Jimmy Stewart!

Liz said...

Mom,

You're right about the raisins, but I always forget that when it's time to actually make the recipe. Oh, well. It's still good, as long as there are plenty of apples. YUM.

Liz said...

G,

It *is* going awesome, and I'm totally enamored of it. (Also, I checked out your Blooming Cardigan today, and it looks great! Such pretty yarn!)

I think that we were totally active. I am especially proud of attending restaurant week, because attending Anything Week is, I think, kind of trendy and cool. Go, us!

Liz said...

Hi Jessie!

I totally agree with you--I loved Zaytinya and its crazy deliciousness.

Hey, I was thinking--we (you and me, or you and me and Elspeth) should hang out sometime soon. Knitting, or not.