Sweet and Spicy Chicken and pre-election antics

I just wish, just wish, just wish, I didn't have to think about supporting a candidate for 2008 right this moment. Are we so starved for news that we must eliminate and critique candidates out of the race before they should have even declared candidacy? Is the need to raise funds so great that now, people should start running eight years in advance just to make sure they can get enough money to support their eight year campain?

And today, is the media building up an agism case to support or tear down John McCain. I don't think I even realized he was that old. But 70 is the new 50, isn't it?

Cid

Sweet and Spicy Chicken

2 T vegetable oil
1 lb. chicken breast cut into strips
5 scallions sliced on the bias
3 cloves garlic sliced
1/2 oz fresh ginger, grated[or 1/2 t. ginger powder ]
1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 t. Chinese Five spice
1 T flour
1 cup crush pineapple
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup water
8 oz. crushed tomatoes
3 T. Asian style chili sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste


Heat oil in pan to Medium high. Season chicken with salt and pepper and sautee in pan until cooked through.
Add scallions, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes. Cook until garlic is soft, but not brown.

Add flour cook for 1 minute then add pineapple, OJ, water, and tomatoes.

Add chili sauce and serve over steamed white or brown rice.

More rant than recipe: Salsa Fresca

OK, so this morning I ended up looking at an article someone had posted on alternet about the portrayal of Asian/ Asian-American sisters and African American men on prime time televsion.

I guess my issue is really what this article implies about the medias beliefs about the other two groups, Asian men and Black women. As a member of one of those two groups, I could feel slighted, unbeautiful, and undesirable in the eyes of prime time television.

I’ve grown up in an era with adequate access to images about underrepresented people. And yes, I have heard every single word of it.

Because:
>I am not White enough, or light enough
> My hair is the wrong texture
> My eyes are the wrong shape
> My nose is a little too wide and flat
> I don’t have the right accent
> I don’t listen to the music you expect me to
> I don’t have the politics you think I should have
> I don’t have the illegitimate children, dependence on welfare, drug and alcohol addiction, sex addiction, boyfriend/baby’s daddy in jail
> I don’t suffer from insecurities that stem from not having a father at home and consequently jump from one man’s bed to the next
> I won’t coon out my uniqueness for a deep belly laugh from you
> I won’t be your sympathetic shoulder to cry on and feel better about yourself
> I am happy with who I am and not angry at the world

I don’t deserve to be portrayed at all.

I suppose I could take this moment to be everything you expect me to be, but instead, I will just say thank you. Given that you refuse to put me on the TV, in a movie, in the newspaper, or on a magazine cover, you leave me only one option.

I must portray myself. If I don’t see me anywhere the only thing to do is to write myself in. How about creating some real reality television? Where real people and their real lives, and real stories can emerge. One might be amazed if you just asked people what their lives were like on a day-to-day basis. I personally have stockpiles of stories. My life and times have been a mouthful. I can only imagine what other people have to say and show the world.

Now for my easy salsa fresca recipe:

4 medium tomatoes (seeded and medium diced)
1/2 cup onions (fine diced)
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
3 green onions (sliced thin)
1 bunsh cilantro (stem removed, torn into pieces)
1/2 jalapeno pepper (seeded, membrane removed and fine diced)
Juice of 1/2 Lime
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients. Serve with tortilla chips


And for the truly interested, here's the actual website for the article: http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/41857/

Seafood and Corn Chowder

I've been told this is a bad way to try to journalize or keep track of my thoughts, but I disagree. While I realize that it is highly unlikely that anyone will actually read this, in the event that even one person does, I will feel obliged to continue writing. And I desperately want to be a writer, but I am usually so critical of my own writing that I can't share it. The informal nature of this medium, however, puts me at ease. Plus, the idea of sharing recipes is an extremely easy task for me and perhaps, just perhaps, someone might see a recipe they like. I'm not going to post any family secret recipes, just stuff I like that works for me and that I like.

So , here's a favorite of mine from my days living in Culinary School. It's a modification of something I had to make for class. It was a big hit with my classmates, instructor, the customers, and my boyfriend so here goes:

Seafood and Corn Chowder

1 T corn oil
5 C shucked and scraped corn kernels
1 C diced white onions
1/2 C Green onions, sliced on the bias
1/2 C Shallots
1 C Leek Whites
4 T Garlic, minced
1 C White Wine
3 C Chicken broth
1 T Smoked Chile Powder
1 t cayenne pepper
1.5 C evaporated skim milk
1.5 C heavy cream
1 C Raw Shrimp, cleaned and diced
1/2 C Raw scallops, cleaned and diced
1/2 C Raw Squid, cleaned and chopped into rings and tentacles
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
1/4 C Queso Fresco
1/4 C Green Onions, sliced on the bias

1) Heat corn oil over medium high heat and sautee onions, green onions, shallots, leeks, and garlic until just tender.
2) Add White wine to deglaze, then add chicken broth, chile powder, and cayeene. Bring to a boil and reduce by 1/2.
3) Bring down to a simmer, then add evaporate milk, cream, corn, and seafood.
4) Let simmer for 20 minutes then season with salt and pepper.
5) Put in bowls, sprinkle with queso fresco, and broil until cheese begins to melt.
6) Sprinkle with remaining green onions.


I hope you enjoy.