Monday, January 22, 2007

Parts is parts

Last night I boiled chicken carcasses. No big deal. I'm one of those cooks who buys whole chickens and slices and dices them up into pieces. I might be on the verge of holding off but only because a book I read suggested that dark meat adds more weight to my carcass than white meat. There is one thing worse than an overstuffed bird- an overstuffed OLD bird.

So in the past I toss chicken parts and bones into the freezer. After enough collect I toss them into aq pot with water and make my own stock. There was a time a year ago when there was more reward. Our Dalmatian uesed to appreciate my effort. She got innards that I didn't use. Maybe the new dog next door will enjoy. I do it so that I can get rid of the waste on Tuesdays. If I had a place on the river I'd toss them into the water and let the crabs have at them.

So now I have a pot of chicken stock with some chicken meat. I'll cook it down a bit more and then decide what will swim in it.

During the last week I've been watching what I eat. It's not a diet you find in a book. Hell, it's probably bad for me. A few cans of tuna fish. And when I'm not eating that I cooked a big pot of lentils. Supposedly lentils have almost as much protein as soy beans. High in protein and fiber. For a treat I eat some unsweetened oatmeal. Yum. Right now coffee is the high point of my day.

Working on the railroad, reading, watching some mediocre television, writing and doing little things. At least I'm streaming music to make life a bit interesting. I'm trying to decide: do I really want to know the state of the Union? I think I know the state of the Union. I'm not sure our President is going to share my vision. And then the talking heads will pounce. I'm hoping that Jim Webb will be realistic and not a politician. After the big speech I'm going to find my old recording of Night Ranger doing "Lunatic Fringe."

G