Chicken Afritada

What can we say? We love good food.  If we can't find a restaurant that cooks it the way we like it, we will find a way to make it ourselves.  F, our resident foodie shares a favorite recipe that has been slightly modified to make it heart-friendly.  We have it on good authority that this recipe has (comfort and healing) powers that only good food can give.  

Take it away, F!
---Lease

~~~

I recently had a craving for Chicken Afritada – a Filipino dish of meat and veggies stewed in tomato sauce.  Maybe it was the rainy weather that brought about this yearning for comfort food from my childhood.  One of two Filipino dishes I can make well (enough), my modified version of this recipe is an attempt to make it “blood pressure friendly”, which means less sodium and fat.

Ingredients:

2  tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 onion, cut into 1-inch pieces

pinch of salt

1 lb (plus/minus) skinless chicken thighs, may also combine with skinless chicken breasts

2 red bell peppers

2 medium red potatoes, peeled

2 carrots, peeled

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup frozen baby peas

freshly ground black pepper

 

Directions:

1. Cut red bell peppers, potatoes and carrots into 1-inch pieces and set aside.
   
2. Heat oil in a  pot over medium-high heat. Saute garlic until fragrant then add onions and season with pinch of salt.  Saute until onions are soft and translucent, about 3 minutes.  Add chicken in the pot and cook just until both sides are browned.
   
3. Add peppers, potatoes and carrots to the pot.  Then add tomato sauce, soy sauce and bay leaf.  Stir so that all ingredients are evenly distributed and most of the chicken is submerged in sauce.
   
4. Bring to a boil, then cover and lower heat to simmer for 30-40 minutes and chicken is cooked through.
   

5. Add peas and season with black pepper to taste then let simmer for another 5 minutes.  You can adjust saltiness to your liking at this point by either adding more soy sauce or a bit of salt.
   
6. Serve on top of hot steaming rice.
   

Enjoy!
F

More on F

http://www.beinglease.com/

The red bridge

Week #5

Red. Red. Red.

In honor of the month of love, our February photography projects will feature splashes of color.

What better way to start it off than with the red landmark of the San Francisco Bay Area? 

The Golden Gate Bridge 

 

The name of the bridge makes reference to California's historical gold rush 
rather than the color of the bridge.

 

This was taken on a stormy winter day!

 

I was only able to snap a few during a brief lull in the rains.

And, the wind. 

Believe me when I say it is the wind chill that gets to you.

Always.

 

But, the standing in the rain, and bracing for the wind chill was worth it when I saw these pictures.

 

There's nothing quite like it anywhere else.

Happy weekend folks!

Luv,
Lease

more on Project 52

http://www.beinglease.com/

Mr. Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang (Snoopy, too)

I don't know about you, but let me say that there are days (weeks) when the emotions portrayed in this work of art have been front and center in my life. 

A visit to the Charles "Sparky" Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa evokes all these emotions and more. 

 

I found myself laughing at Linus' witty remarks, and getting nostalgic as I went through through past comic strips (trying to remember where I was in my life when those came out in print).  This is why I love Charlie Brown, Linus, and Snoopy.

Schulz's work spans generations, so there is something for everyone in the family.  He has also made his strips reflect what was going on at the time of publication.  For example, he had Snoopy doing the "Saturday Night Live" dance moves, etc. 

Hunky Hunk and I compared notes on the merchandising displays and realized that we had similar "peanuts-themed" lunchboxes growing up.  Shhhh, please don't tell anyone.  You can keep a secret, right?

And, there was this wall...Made from thousands of syndicated comic strips (on tile).

 

Cool, Mom!  Look! Oooooohhhhh!

Kids, please don't... touch...the tile...(too late)

 

This was just one small portion of the exhibit.  There were displays of past merchandise campaigns and even Schulz's drafts (pencil scribbles on yellow ruled paper!).

They also recreated the room where Sparky worked, complete with his drafting table and bulletin boards riddled with pictures of his family. 

I would have loved to snap pictures, but photography was not allowed.  It was a long way from home, and I didn't have bail money. (Because I spent it all on jewelry)

 

Outside was a small garden area where this fella was hanging out...

 

It was a nice winter morning spent showing the kiddos Charlie Brown, Snoopy and other beloved characters that the Hunky Hunk of Burning Love and I grew up with.  Nostalgic.

Here is the website:

Charles M. Schulz Museum

Luv,
Lease

http://www.beinglease.com/