Hump Day

It was damn cold and windy again on Wednesday. I know because I left early so I could stop at Home Depot and buy yet another 1x8 pine board. Why? Because, after posting that picture and enlarging it, I realized there was a knot right on a cut line. I played around with all the other boards I have Tuesday night (although I didn’t mention that in the Blog) but none of them lined up error-free.

So, I picked out a news board that I thought would work and then headed to my work.

[Sidebar: The car died twice at lights on the way to work, dammit!]

It was way too brutal outside to walk, so I did the indoor thing.

At lunch today, it was only snowing lightly (albeit blown sideways by the wind) so I went home. Well, after a stop at Meijer’s for some much needed supplies. I parked in the closest handicapped spot near the door and still damn near froze my ass off just  walking in (and that was with my hat, gloves and scarf on!!)

I was slowed down at the deli counter as they didn’t have any regular coleslaw left, just “sweet and spicy” coleslaw, whatever the hell that is. I bought a pound of it anyway, as I will need some tomorrow night.

But, I eventually got home, unloaded my board and the groceries, treated the cats, choked down a sandwich and headed back to work.

The afternoon was long and still cold. So the afternoon walk was taken inside as well.

Finally, I headed home and got there okay (the car didn’t act up this time).

I tried the new board in several renditions and think I finally got my layout. To celebrate, I started the Wednesday night wash and the now full dishwasher. Hey, to each in his own way, right?

I finished the nightly news and then made my dramatic entrée into a new world of cooking (at least according to Michelle). The last order of Tupperware included their “Smart Steamer”. So, I washed it last weekend and decided to give it a try. Now, you know me and the fact that steamed food might be more “healthy” had nothing to do with my purchase. I was just intrigued at making a dinner in 10-20 minutes.

So, I was making the “Steamed Chicken and Vegetables”

Sidebar: Recipes for this thing are pretty scarce, with most people complaining that there are no conversion charts (i.e. if you normally steam something on the stove for x number of minutes, how long do you do it in the “Smart Steamer”?) and bemoaning the lack of recipes. But I think I can experiment with it…

Anyway, I seasoned two boneless, skinless chicken breasts with sea salt, black pepper and poultry seasoning (on both sides). Note: The “recipe” just said to season the chicken. It didn’t say with what.

I added water to the fill line in the water bowl. I placed the two chicken breasts in the bottom colander with three small redskin potatoes, quartered and seasoned with salt and pepper. Then I took out a box of frozen broccoli and unwrapped it. The frozen chuck went into the top colander (the instruction tell you not to worry if the lid you then put on is being  held up by the frozen veggies, as it will fall down as they melt).

Then I turned the microwave on high for 14 minutes.

The result?

Then chicken was perfectly done and excellent tasting, as were the potatoes. Delicious! The broccoli, however, was stringy and tasteless. Hmmm… I dug the box out of the trash and looked at it as I knew it had been in the fridge a long time. The expiration date was sometime in 2009! So, there’s a tip. Don’t use really old frozen veggies.

Anyway, it was a huge success in my eyes and I can’t wait to try it on something else (maybe salmon steaks?) again. It’s perfect for weeknight meals for one!

I watched a couple taped shows, then two more episodes of Luther and went to bed at midnight.