Slow Cooking with Boo

July 9-10th My culinary adventure on Thursday was part big success, part "OK, now its a soup." I wanted to make Indonesian Chicken, Orange glazed carrots, black eyed peas and Cole slaw. Four great things that go great together. I started with the carrots, taking a pound of baby carrots and throwing them in the slow cooker. Then I added 3/4 cup of orange juice, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, a tbs of margarine, a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, and a 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg. Slap the lid on, put it on high and let it cook for 2.5 hours. Once the carrots were soft on the outside, with still a bit of crunch, I added a mixture of 1 tbs cornstarch and 2 tbs of water mixed together. Let that boil for a bit and watch it thicken, it makes a pretty tasty glaze. Once done, I have one veggie side dish done for the week. I can pair it with just about anything. At the same time, I put together the Indonesian Chicken, also a slow cook adventure. I took three good sized chicken breasts, a can of lite coconut milk, (although I think you could use the heavy stuff for a thicker sauce), 1/4 cup water and lemon juice, 1 onion chopped, 2 tsp ground ginger, 2 tsp of coriander, 1 tsp of cumin. Put all those goodies in the slow cooker (Pam the bottom, you don't want to scrub coconut milk off your slow cooker, it actually starts to hurt), close the lid and cook on low for 3-3.5 hours. While that's going I took two large zucchini and de-seeded them, and cut them into chunks. I did the cornstarch and water mixture I mentioned earlier and chopped about a 1/2 cup of cilantro. Once the chicken was done, added the zucchini, cilantro, salt and pepper and cooked for 30 more minutes. Once that was done I took out the chicken, and thickened the sauce with the cornstarch mixture. Make some rice to pour over the top, and you just walked into Indonesia . . .or ran, if you didn't cook the chicken enough. Good idea to check that before serving to people you love. The black eyed peas were a perfect example of following directions to the T. I got this recipe off the Internet and it clearly says to use a 8 quart pot. It said to put the beans in there and fill said pot about 3/4 full. I cooked the peas with a can of pureed whole tomatoes, 2 chopped medium onions, 2 cups of cooked ham chunks, garlic salt, and white pepper. This monstrosity stayed on the oven simmering for about three hours and every time I checked, there was still plenty of liquid. I looked at the picture, I looked at my concoction, then decided it was soup time. It tastes pretty good, but not what I was trying to make. Oh well, live and learn and measure. Cole Slaw - another time. I am currently roasting some chicken thighs in the oven with a Moho sauce. No, I didn't make my own, I do have a job. But Publix actually has a decent Moho and it costs less than the name brand. It's cooking right now. I will share later - it's called a teaser. Same bat time, same bat channel. Now you are probably wondering what Boo has to do with all of this. Actually, other than begging for what I am cooking, nothing. Not to say Boo is an Indonesian chicken connoisseur, but every time I cut or chop anything, he thinks its treat time. Since I am generally pretty messy, it sometimes is, so Boo has had his share of zucchini bits and raw chicken - just kidding. Would you give a dog zucchini? Anyway, part of this blog is nonsense and I decided that Boo is a perfect portion of this part. I love this animal a bunch, not to be cliche, but there is something about having a dog greet you at the door, even if you left only 15 minutes ago. Here is my Boo story for this post. . . I taught him a trick that I thought was pretty neat at the time, yet essentially it seems pretty annoying to most house guests. I think that it's just a dog being a dog, however, my wife thinks I had everything to do with it. It's called London Bridge and essentially he likes to run circles through and around my legs. Now, if you are a little bit shorter than I am, this turns into "look at my dog head butt your crotch," and if he doesn't stop, you could take a pretty good beating to the crotchular region (see picture above, that's a pretty big head). He doesn't really understand that (maybe he does), so he keeps going until you pet him, or you sound like Cyndi Lauper, either way its annoying. I do understand that George Carlin (rest in peace) would totally disagree, and that Boo completely knows what he is doing. He is "checking you out," and wants to "get around to the back." I think he is just being cute and that is his way of saying hello, albeit a little forward. Anyway, he still does it - so if you ever come over, wear a cup or bring over some raw chicken as a deterent. Will post soon, take care.