Southern Style Breadcrumbed Chicken

Wednesday 9/1/2013

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Diary and Notes

All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts.
If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the carriage.

All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts.
If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.

He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me,'
in those who harbour such thoughts hatred will never cease.

He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me,'
in those who do not harbour such thoughts hatred will cease.

For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by love, this is an old rule.

(From The Twin Verses – Dhammapadda 1-5)

So according to the Bhudda, all that fuss yesterday was basically down to me – and I have to agree.

It also transpired that Isis hadn’t been feeling too well and that much of her reaction yesterday was down to this. Me sticking a big bowl of giant prawns in front of her, probably wasn’t being too helpful. As I said yesterday – my ego and hubris were my downfall. In the morning Isis went to school ok, but we asked them to keep an eye on her and phone if she was sick.

Once again today’s dinner was going to be a hurried affair as I had some awful meeting to attend – of which I may write more at a later date when the subject of corporate ethics comes to mind. Before I came home I phoned to see if Isis was ok and apparently she was a bit lethargic but nothing serious.

In order to cheer her up I thought I would take another leaf out of the teachings of our old chum Siddhartha who taught that the first step on the path to enlightenment is the practice of generosity (Dana). So I made an extra special effort to be generous to my little Isis today and give her something really tasty (from the perspective of a 4 year old) and quick to cook. Burger and chips. I stopped on my way home at the little Tesco Express to buy some potatoes and minced steak, but for the first time ever there was no minced steak, only packs and packs of value mince. No good for burgers, no good at all.

Luckily I had a backup plan as there was a chicken in the fridge. I’d cut off the breasts and make southern fried breadcrumbed chicken instead. Easy.

And there I was, once again, Jonny Speedcook. I peeled the spuds and chipped them (Toni bought me a gadget for this for my birthday a few years back). I got them frying and made some batter and crumbed my chicken. All was going well. Isis was sitting on a stool chatting about her day, then said she was still feeling a little ill and left.

I put the chicken on and all was going swimmingly when there was the sound of retching in the front room. I turned and Isis walked into the hall, bent over and projectile vomited all over the floor. She stepped backwards and did it again. Then slowly walking backwards continued to be sick again and again. I was there and just in time to stop her walking backwards through her first retchings.

The floor was absolutely covered. The splash zone was over a metre in diameter and seeping through the cracks in the flooring. I was going to take a photo of it for the blog but thought that would be a bit cruel.

Isis seemed fairly chipper after this and sat on the sofa chatting again while I cleaned up the mess. Toni came down to watch the chips and chicken.

The clean up took a little while, but the dinner wasn’t ruined and Isis, having gotten every last ounce of the offending material from her body, was as happy as can be.

She even came to dinner and ate a few chips.

Apart from that, quite uneventful.

Metta.

Menu

Chips

Salad

Simple Salad Dressing

We also had Heinz Ketchup, Hellman's Mayonaise and French's American Mustard. Only the best for me.

Ingredients*

Southern Style Breadcrumbed Chicken
2 Chicken Breasts
2 TBsp Plain Flour
1 Egg
Splash Milk
Breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp Ground Celery Seed
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

Simple Salad Dressing
1 TBsp Olive Oil
1/2 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Whole Grain Dijon Mustard
1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Preparation

Chips: I always think it's good to rinse the chips before you cook them but other disagree. People also say to put them in very hot fat. My method is simple but always works a treat. Rinse the chips and place them in the chip pan. This allows you to ensure you haven't overfilled it or need more oil. Turn the heat on high, as the oil warms up it will soften the potato inside and when the oil gets hot they get crisped up. When you think they are done leave them a little longer as I've noticed they always look browner in the bubbling oil than they actually are. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle over a little salt. Simple and works a treat. I used Maris Piper potatoes as they make excellent chips and don't have too many eyes or bugs in them.

Chicken: Slice the chicken breast into strips. Make a batter with the flour, spices,, egg and a little milk. Put the chicken in the batter then into a dish full of breadcrumbs. Press down and turn over to make sure they are well coated. Shallow fry in hot oil for a few minutes, turning once, until golden brown on both sides.

Dressing: Stick it all in a jar and give it a good shake. Have a taste. If it's too sour add more oil,

Today’s Ratings:

Isis: Chips - yum.
Eve: Chips - yum. Chicken (she said "I don't like this fish finger.") - Yuk
Olias: He just loves to eat - yum.

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*All quantities are very approximate and for a family of 5 (2 adults, 3 kids aged 4 years, 3 years & 6 months)

JCBorresen@GMail.com