Cheffin' It

Three brand spankin' new cooking things I recently tried:

A whole chicken meal.





Believe it or not, I never-ever-ever attempted before to cook a whole chicken. It is hard for me to hold that little body in my hand, see its form and throw it in the pot to cook. Tonight was the first attempt for me. I am such a sap. Before I put the bird in, I washed it gently, took out its stuffed giblets, patted its little butt, thanked God for blessing us with this cheap (30% off already reduced price - 5.00) chicken. I pouted my little lower lip, smothered it up in spices and salt and dumped it in the crock pot over some onions. It was really tasty. Eating meat is fine for me unless I see it in its carcass. Then, I am overwhelmed with guilt. Thankfully, Jesse took the chicken apart before I came home to eat with the family. I don't know if I could do it.


African cuisine.






For my pick in my book club, I chose the first in the series of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency By Alexander McCall Smith. Since the setting was Africa, I thought why not to cooking African food. I used recipes from The Congo Cookbook (online). It was fun. I was a mess that morning trying to get everything in order but the food came out tasty. I made a peanuty soup with chicken in it, spicy ribs, fancy fish and sweet potatoes. We drank ginger ale and it was so much fun.


My own homemade stew.






Never before had I attempted a Beef and Barley Stew. It was thick. It was a bit too salty ( I need to simmer down on the salt adding). But we ate it and it warmed our bellies.