You know, the one advantage to being sick for seven weeks (I counted) is that I tend to get a lot of work done on my websites. Yesterday I spent the day working on my big Gymboree News (GNGC) site conversion that I’ve been putting off since…. February. Today I spent the day working on my Fainting Couch (TFC) upgrade I’ve been putting off since…. July.

The TFC one I think I got all done. Even better, I got the automation done so I don’t really have to do much with it for a couple months when the autoresponder messages run out. Then I’ll have to add some new ones, but my friend Jenni is putting them together so I don’t have to actually do the hard work on it. Hehe.

This morning I woke up wanting fruit for breakfast, which is odd because I’ve been eating things like bacon, eggs, and toast; sausage biscuit with egg; and chicken fried steak with biscuits for breakfast every day for weeks. See a pattern there? So I made a Tanya-style bianco, which is basically a bunch of different kinds of fruit chopped up and thrown all together in a bowl with maybe some whipped cream or granola on top. Usually quite delicious!

Today I ate mine and then got ambitious and went upstairs to go beat the garbage out of Anika’s bedroom. When I have morning sickness and the radioactive house starts bothering me, usually that means I’m feeling better. I don’t care what it looks like when I’m sick. So anyway, I went upstairs to clean and about halfway through realized that I was pooped and not feeling so hot.

Of course, leaving a child’s bedroom half clean is not a good idea because they will smell it within five seconds and immediate redistribute whatever you’ve cleaned away into a more or less uniform layer of junk reaching the far corners of the carpet. So I held myself together and finished the room. Then I went and threw up my breakfast. Hurray! After that I took a shower, made second breakfast (I’m practicing to be a hobbit) of bacon, eggs, and toast (which did not get bounced), and called my Mother for some sympathy. It worked well.

And now, just because I’m in a food mood (probably because all my favorite things currently are making me sick due to morning sickness), here is one of my very favorite recipes. The flavor from the chicken and sausage all seeps into the rice and yuuuuuummmmy. This makes a great meal for groups and family gatherings. When we went camping this summer, I made a double batch and fed 18 people (who all wanted the recipe). With the meat and a starch, it’s basically Portuguese comfort food, perfect for fall and winter.

PORTUGESE CHICKEN AND RICE WITH CHOURICO

¼ c. Olive oil
3 lbs. chicken seasoned with salt and pepper to taste (seasoning salt works nicely)
1 lb. Portuguese chorico or Polish kielbasa cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large yellow onion sliced
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
3 cloves minced garlic
2 c. California long grain rice
1 T. paprika
2 t. kosher salt (substitute with a bit less regular salt)
1 t. black pepper
½ c. white wine
1 16 oz. can whole plum tomatoes with juice (can use whole regular tomatoes, just slice them up a bit)
3 c. chicken stock (preferably home made, but the canned liquid kind will work)
6 bay leaves
¼ c. Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, chopped (regular parsley seems to work fine too)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed, oven-proof pot over medium high heat and brown seasoned chicken pieces on all sides, about 6-8 minutes. Set chicken aside. Add sausage, onion, peppers, and garlic to pot and cook for 5 minutes. Add uncooked rice and stir, making sure to incorporate rice with sausage and veggies, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Return chicken to pot, stir in paprika, salt, pepper, and wine, and reduce for 2-3 more minutes.

3. Add tomatoes, chicken stock and bay leaves and bring mixture to a gentle simmer. Cover with a lid or foil and place in oven for 30 minutes. To serve, garnish with chopped parsley. Serves 6.

This makes enough rice for much more than six, so if you throw in a few extra chicken pieces you’ll have at least enough for eight.

Rachel

Written by Rachel Shubin ~ Fiendish friend for effusive fun!