"Vexed sailors cursed the RAIN, for which poor shepherds prayed in vain."

Okay, I know rhyming is a little outdated, but on a dreary day like today I cannot refrain (haha) from recording the line! The above quote is from Edmund Waller, a British poet, whom I have no connection to, beyond the borrowing of his words, but like a true English major I must cite it before moving on here--screw the foot notes and being smooth! I have been done with smooth transitions for about 2 years now, yo, and even my profs might argue that they never were smooth in the first place...

So I plainly write this quote down because tonight I am off to a cabin with some friends, and of course all I was hoping for was good weather. But as the quote references--there are always two sides, and while I don't want it to rain, I recognize we do need the rain, so I can't really complain about it!

But I can tell you how it affected my day so far. I woke early this morning to be very productive--take care of the dishes from last night's dinner, organize my closet and clear the dirty clothes off the bedroom floor, as well as enter all my purchases from the month of july into my budget spreadsheet, and not to mention take a 6 mile run outside! But the rain washed out my ambitious spirits and now limits me to the dark corner of my apt., under a bright light, where I sit and type these thoughts. And at first it kind of ticked me off...because most of my tasks can be done indoors, so it shouldn't matter that it is raining...but its like because I see its rainy out and its dark in my apartment, I can't get myself to move onto my chores. On the bright side, I feel like it drew me to my blog, and it is always good to take some time to write down some thoughts even if you have no idea what direction they may be headed. Also, it got me to set up my printer (the first time its been plugged in since college), and I printed off some coupons, so when I run some errands today I can use them! Plus, at least once I am done with this post, I can feel like I accomplished something and perhaps move on to the next item on my list!

While I'm here, I might as well apologize for not having any mentionable ideas/projects to share with you lately. I have been more contemplative than normal these days, and it seems the nature of my blog is turning more diary-esque than sharing ideas of interest to the greater good, so again I apologize, but let me do something about that right now.

Below is a tune that I really like. Its by the Eels. It is playing right now at my apt. and it has been playing a lot around here lately. I just like how you can really feel the emotions. Not to mention it also reminds me of an old friend who used to be a big part of my life. So cheers to you, old chingoo.

Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wREjT7DlI7M
Sorry insert link function isn't working right now, so you'll just have to go old school and cut and paste.

Beyond that sorta melancholy but beautiful melody, I'd also like to share my latest cooking endeavor that occurred last night:





Jay bought me an awesome potato book, which you can see here- http://www.amazon.com/Potatoes-pancakes-pommes-frites-Nichols/dp/0847820777/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1249655562&sr=8-1 and so I decided to surprise him with a recipe from the book last night. The above pics do not capture how lovely it tasted! Below is the recipe and instructions. Enjoy!

Kaeng Kai - Thai Chicken Curry w/ potatoes and coconut milk
* 2 TBsp Veggie Oil
* 1.25 boneless chicken (breasts or thighs), cut into large chunks
* 2 to 3 tablespoons red or green thai curry paste (I did 3 of the red, because Jay
and I enjoy spicy, but if you are not that into it I would suggest getting the
green kind or going less on the red)
* 2.75 cups of canned coconut milk
* 2.5 TBsp Thai fish sauce
* 1 lb of new potatoes, unpeeled, scrubbed and cut in half (I did more like 1.25
yukon potatoes, and I cut them into quarters or less so that they would cook
faster)
* 2 TBsp brown sugar
* 2 TBsp lime juice
To serve:
* 1/3 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
* 3 scallions, finely shredded
* Thai basil or cilantro (I did cilantro), coarsely chopped
* 2 Kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced (didn't have this laying around so I ommited)

1) Heat veggie oil in large wok or skillet, add chicken pieces, in batches if necessary. Saute them briefly on all sides to seal. Remove the chicken pieces to a bowl.

2) Add the curry paste to pan and stir-fry for about 30 seconds to release the aromas of the chiles and spices.

3) Add the coconut milk, fish sauce and sugar to the pan and stir well to combine. Return the sauteed chicken pieces to the pan, together with any juices accumlated in bowl.

4) Bring the mixture to a boil, then add the potato halves, reduce the heat. Cover the pan and simmer for about 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked and the potatoes are tender.

5) Stir in the lime juice. Serve with sprinkled peanuts, scallion strips, basil or cilantro, and the kaffir lime strips, if using. Steamed jasmine rice is a suitable accompaniment, although I used long grain, organic brown rice in the pic.

Tips: Make sure you chop the potatoes small enough that they can cook fast and evenly. A good dessert for this is lime fruit bars! After all the spice, a limey popsicle is just enough!

If you have any other questions about this recipe, let me know. Thank you for your patience. I am off now for a run upstairs, the day is rollin'...

Enjoy the rain everybody!

Love, me