Technology Doesn't Love Me

As of today, The Chickenless Kitchen has 50 followers, which I am super psyched about!! I feel lucky to have so many readers who share my weird sense of humor and yet-weirder taste. Thank you all for visiting, and I look forward to sharing much more with you in the future.

While I'm on the subject of followers and such...

Technology doesn't love me as much as you guys apparently do (look at my blog template- just LOOK at it), but despite my dinosauristic tendencies, I have gotten around to some social networking recently:

1) You may now become a fan of The Chickenless Kitchen on Facebook

2) You may now follow @Chickenless on Twitter

3) You may now bookmark my recipes on Delicious by clicking the nifty icon that appears at the end

Last but ABSOLUTELY not least, thanks again to Cajun Chef Ryan, who recently granted me the privilege of a guest post on his tasty-tastic blog!

Now if I could pick all your brains for just a moment... What do you like about The Chickenless Kitchen so far? What could I improve? Please feel free to leave a comment or write dontbeawuss@gmail.com. Again, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to visit my little blog!

Beat the eggs. Whip the cream. Show no mercy.

Is It Wine? Apple Juice? No, It's...

... the last sip of this morning's coffee dumped into this afternoon's club soda with lime. If you've never tried it, do! And let me know about any variations you do as well. I'm thinking maybe just a couple drops of chocolate syrup... or maple... or agave nectar... all those extras I can't afford... the list goes on.

While we're yacking about not being able to afford extras, check out this article about SOLE food (Slow, Organic, Local, Ethical) by Michelle Gienow of Baltimore's Citypaper. Apparently she kept three bellies full of SOLE for a month on a food stamp budget. Major kudos!

Just updated my permanent links to include all my nominees for the Kreativ Blogger Award. Thanks again for your chickenless blogging, ladies.

Will post the results of my wheat germ project later in the day. Stay tuned!

Beat the eggs. Whip the cream. Show no mercy.

End-of-the-Week Recap: A Glitch in the Culinary Matrix, Virtual-Saturday Crepes, Oatmeal Clafouti, and Two Kreativ Blogger Awards(!!!!)

The rest of my compulsory vegetarian week was a disaster. Broccoli rabe is really, really freaking bitter if you don't treat it right. So bitter that I'm afraid I might have given my husband and myself irreversible tannic poisoning.

And check out this spoon! My New Orlasian Red Beans and Rice came out so thick that I pulled a Neo.

The only as-yet-unmentioned meal I cooked last week that I'm proud of was the Nutella Crepes With Honey and Sliced Nanners pictured below, and it wasn't my recipe. I followed Jane Brody's for Basic Crepes near-verbatim. You can find it on page 502 of Jane Brody's Good Food Book. Or not, since I've taken the liberty of reprinting it for you here.

Basic Crepes

from Jane Brody's Good Food Book

Ingredients

1 egg

Pinch salt (she says to omit it if you're making sweet crepes; of course I was like, "Whatevs!")

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

5/8 c. milk

1 tsp. sugar (omit for savory crepes)

1/4 tsp. vanilla (ditto)

2 Tbsp. melted butter, divided

Directions

Beat everything except 1 Tbsp. of butter together in a mixing bowl. Heat a small pan with sloping sides over medium-low to medium heat (not quite high enough to burn your butter). Dab some of the reserved butter on the pan and spread it around. Pour enough crepe batter in to barely cover the bottom of the pan and tilt the pan around to even it out. When you start to see bubbles in the batter, lift the edge with a spatula every ten seconds or so to see if the bottom is sufficiently browned. When it is, flip the crepe and cook about 15 seconds on the other side. Remove it from the pan and plate it (or set it on wax paper if storing). Lather, rinse, repeat. Makes 8-9 small crepes. I spread Nutella on mine, folded them in quarters, and served with sliced nanners and a drizzle of holly honey.

Do you have a favorite crepe filling or topping? Feel free to share!

Thursday was Virtual Saturday for my husband, since he took a four-day weekend. You may have noticed that I skipped Chickenless Cook yet again this week due to some out-of-townage. We were at my mom's place eating this:

Oatmeal clafouti. I am not a huge clafouti fan; most traditional recipes are too bland for my taste. These however were excellent topped with plain yogurt, applesauce, and maple syrup. My mom and I will tweak this recipe and probably share it with you later. Thanks for hosting, Chickenless Chick's Mom!

Last and certainly not least, Janis at Bite Me New England and Robin at Vegetable Matter have each bestowed upon me the unspeakable honor of a Kreativ Blogger Award! These are The Chickenless Kitchen's first awards ever. I am mega-excited and flattered to no end. Thanks, Janis and Robin!

Now, lest the Award Police come in the night and take them away from me, I have to tell you seven interesting things about myself and nominate seven other blogs for the award. Here goes.

Seven Interesting Things About The Chickenless Chick

1) The cookbook that originally hooked me was Almost Vegetarian by Diana Shaw... even though I eat red meat.

2) My favorite restaurant growing up was Chili's.

3) My favorite restaurants now are locally owned and operated. Both happen to be Mexican, though El Coqui also serves Puerto Rican food and Da Kine Diego's can more accurately be described as Cal-Mex.

4) When I was three or so, all I ate without complaint were Kraft Singles and tomatoes. If I had to pick only two foods to eat for the rest of my life, they would still be cheese and tomatoes... though I think a Kraft Single would turn me green at this point.

5) My favorite drink is gin and club soda with lime and Angostura bitters... yes, I know, I am a ninety-year-old man.

6) You know how most people either have rhythm or don't? I have it sometimes.

7) I hardly ever open my mouth in group social settings. One through five are probably all news to my closest friends.

My Nominees (in Alphabetical Order)

1) Color Hungry

2) Furey and the Feast

3) Sweet Water

4) Tasty Eats at Home

5) Tasty Trix

6) The Gourmet Goddess

7) The Ungourmet

I am a writer, so chickenless writing was my foremost consideration in choosing my nominees. Anyone can post a recipe, but these ladies (the fact that they are all ladies is sheer coincidence btw) make us feel like we're right there in the kitchen with them. Each is honest and bold, but each has her own special voice. I am delighted to follow all their blogs. Thanks to them for brightening my days!

Beat the eggs. Whip the cream. Show no mercy.

Overdue Links Announcement

So many awesome bloggers out there, so little time.

If you're here to scout for new twists on classic recipes, visit Alchemist Chef, Elinluv's Tidbits Corner, The Daily Spud, and The Ungourmet. These folks will whip you up a cinema-worthy breakfast in bed when you could have sworn all that was in the fridge was leftover pizza and baking soda.

If you're here to expand your knowledge of international cuisine, visit Give Recipe. Author Zerrin has a heart matched only by her chickenlessness. She embraces a spirit of universal food sharing and discussion.

If you're here because you're a locavore, visit Eating Local in the Tropics and Brooklyn Farmhouse. I josh you not when I say that they sparked my recent resolution to pay more attention to what I eat.

If you're here because you're interested in the art potential of food, visit Krajee Bento Mom. Yes, I know there are numerous bento sites out there. But this one is so cute it makes me want to throw up whatever trash I just ate so I can have room for the adorable little piggy made of rice.

If you're here because you're interested in the history and politics of food, visit Oyster Food and Culture. Actually, no matter what you're here for, visit Oyster Food and Culture. This site has something for anybody who would ever possibly sit through one of my blog posts.

As previously mentioned, I'm coming across awesome links more quickly than I can put them up; however, I am new to this game, and am always eager to make new friends/idols. Please email me or comment on this post if I am leaving someone out of the mix!

Beat the eggs. Whip the cream. Show no mercy.

Updated Links

Got some new links up. I'm discovering them faster than I can post them.

Chocolate and Zucchini chronicles recipes and related stories by Clotilde Dusoulier. And yes, she has managed to successfully combine chocolate and zucchini in the same dish on a couple of occasions. I don't know about you, but I'd say that's pretty freaking chickenless. If you enjoy the blog, she also has several books out. Makes me wish I had the money to spend on cookbooks right now. To the sweet souls who are always asking around Christmas time when I tend to draw a great big blank... here's something I want!

Fat of the Land is a refreshing read for those of us who obtain our food from such ordinary places as grocery stores or farmers' markets. Blogger Langdon Cook has dubbed himself "a 21st century forager." He chickenlessly scours the wilderness for ingredients. He, too, has written a book. This book, too, I want for Christmas.

Gastroanthropology is the job I want for Christmas. It's also a blog by Adrienne Mitchell, whose treatment of food policy/philosophy makes for a thought-provoking read.

Tangled Noodle is not something I want for Christmas, but it is an informative and entertaining blog. The author has deep knowledge of multiple subjects. It's like getting a free history lesson with your free cooking class. I've included both this link and Gastroanthropology in the Chickenless Kitchen because courage is useless without wisdom to back it up, and I'm glad at least some people know what they're saying before they open their blogholes ('cause I sure as hell don't).

Last (but not least) for the day, we come to Tea and Cookies. In author Tea's own words, "food connects to every piece of our life and feeds us in ways that extend far beyond the belly." This philosophy is exemplified in her collection of photos, essays, recipes, and stories. The instant this site loaded and I saw the words "Clean Out the Fridge Fritatta," I knew I had to include the link. Oh, and the obligatory Christmas reference... hmm... "Maybe I'll leave tea and cookies for Santa this year..." No? Then I got nothin'.

I am so, so excited to have joined this amazing community of talented folks! More to come in the near future.

Beat the eggs. Whip the Cream. Show no mercy.

And Now, to Prove That It's Not all About Me...

I mentioned in the previous post that I value community. That was an understatement. The way we cook and eat is what makes a community. And I promised I would use this blog to honor the culinary professionals who inspire those around them. So I'd like to direct your attention to the links at the right of the page.

Cynthia Furey, a California food journalist, has an excellent blog called Furey and the Feast. I listed her here in The Chickenless Kitchen because she is a chickenless writer. So many bloggers of her caliber gloss over their culinary mishaps, or try to cultivate a personality that isn't theirs for the sake of maintaining readers. Ms. Furey's blog, on the other hand, has a great big beating heart.

Local Harvest is a resource no cook should be without. You don't know how amazing the simplest foods can taste until you've obtained them from local farms. You may wonder how they qualify as chickenless; being that they are based on the idea of offering some of the most pure, traditional, and yes, boring foods around. I say it takes courage not to pump every last lick of your product full of corn syrup and preservatives to sell on the mass market, and that we as consumers should encourage the practice of selling nutritious foods on the local level.

Serious Eats is not entirely chickenless, but you can depend on it for at least one basic recipe a day that you can't wait to expand on.

The Daring Kitchen is great fun. I tried being a Daring Cook, but realized after a couple challenges that I'm too concerned with where my food comes from to participate (regrettably, I do not have a consistent trustworthy source for skate). Any Chickenless Cook short of neurotic on that front will get a kick out of this concept.

And finally we come to This is Why You're Fat. A colleague sent me this link almost a year ago and I haven't stopped cracking up about it since. It's chickenless because you'd never be able to find any chicken under all that bacon grease.

So now that you've heard enough out of my chickenless potpiehole for one day, be sure to check them out!

Beat the eggs. Whip the cream. Show no mercy.