Sitzpinkler: noun; German
1. Literal translation: someone who sits to pee
2. Wimp
I recently finished rereading one of my favorite books: An Abundance of Katherines. It’s about a washed-up child prodigy (Colin) who has just gotten dumped by his 19th straight Katherine. To cope, he goes on a road-trip with his overweight slacker best friend; they spend the whole summer in Gutshot, Tennessee while Colin tries to get over his heartbreak and prove his mathematical formula of Underlying Katherine Predictability. The book is a fun and silly YA fiction and the author (John Green) is fantastic; the third-person perspective is very witty and readers learn fun facts that Colin knows (like the definition of sitzpinkler and what a pupillary sphincter is). I first read it several years ago; I loved it and loaned my copy out and never saw it again, until I ran across one for $1 at a book sale last week.
Ok, now for the food.
You have seen pictures of my “kitchen” at our hotel so you know what I am cooking and prepping on but I wanted you to know what I have to cook with: one pot, one pan, spatula, slotted spoon, ladle, and 2 each sharp knives, large plates, small plates, and bowls. Everything that I make in this hotel will be made within the confines of the kitchen space and equipment (or lack therof).
Alrighty. Since I am dealing with these restrictions, for our first meal in our new home at the hotel I decided make something that I am familiar with. Dorm-dwellers and those with small kitchens rejoice in the chicken souvlaki gyro.
Chicken souvlaki gyros and tzaziki
Adapted from a recipe at The Novice Chef Blog
Ingredients:
- 1 lb boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, in bite size pieces (or, to minimize work, 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken strips)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons Greek Seasoning (or garlic/herb seasoning)
- Paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper
- juice of 1 lemon
- Whole-wheat pita bread
- Optional: Lettuce, tomato, red onion, feta cheese
Directions:
1) Combine all ingredients except chicken, and mix well; place in a Ziploc bag, and add chicken. Shake to ensure the marinade is covering chicken and massage into chicken. Allow to marinate in refrigerator 1 hour to overnight.
2) Remove chicken from marinade and toss leftover marinade.
3) Add 2 tbsp olive oil to skillet over medium high heat; cook chicken 7-8 minutes or until cooked through.
4) To assemble the gyro: heat up one whole-wheat pita bread in either a skillet or the microwave. Add chicken, lettuce, tomato, sliced red onion and feta cheese and top with Tzatziki. To serve as a salad, omit pita bread and serve chicken over vegetables with feta and Tzatziki on top.
***To make this meal vegetarian friendly, use seitan, tofu, or other source of protein in place of chicken.***
Tzatziki
Ingredients:
- 6 oz Greek yogurt
- juice of ½ of a lemon
- 1 medium cucumber, peeled
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced
- Garlic salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
My cutting board: a small, plastic lid.
Directions:
1) Slice cucumber in half, length wise. Using a spoon, scrape out seeds.
Or ignore the directions and spend twice as long cutting the seeds out. Doh!
2) Finely chop cucumber and place in paper towels and squeeze out extra moisture.
3) Combine Greek yogurt, lemon juice, shredded cucumber, garlic, garlic salt, and pepper; refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
This is meal is easy to make while still being fairly healthy; I didn’t have any real problems even working with limited tools and counter space. The chicken reheats well and the leftovers don’t take up much space in our little fridge. The whole-wheat pita bread has more fiber and less sugar than white pita bread so it keeps you full for longer. The chicken is lean and all of the vegetables add nutrients without adding many calories; and don’t feel bad about piling on the tzaziki: real Greek yogurt is naturally fat-free and chock full of heart-healthy garlic!
Speaking of healthy, have you ever seen the MTV show I Used to Be Fat? It’s a reality show with real high school graduates who are overweight and want to go into college being a different person. MTV sends them a personal trainer/nutritionist and a camera crew captures the entire summer while these teens learn how to be healthier individuals (think MADE without the lame drama). At the end of the show, there’s a “reveal” with before and after pictures and clips from the summer. I’ve seen a few episodes here and there and didn’t think much of it until a marathon came on this weekend. I watched one episode where a girl lost 45 pounds in 80 days which was pretty impressive; even more impressive was that MTV had a follow-up with her a year later and she was keeping up her healthy lifestyle. I think MTV might have actually done something kind of good with this show; college is a pretty pivotal time in your life especially because it is the first time that most people live on their own. You become an adult as you do your own laundry, clean your own house or dorm, and cook your own meals. I think it is really kind of cool that MTV is stepping in and teaching these soon-to-be adults about nutrition and fitness; yeah, it would be better if their parents were the ones teaching them but I do think it’s cool that MTV has made a show about transformation and health and it is relatable to teens. There was one particular episode that got me thinking about it, a boy who lost 117 pounds in 110 days; he went from 315 lbs down to 198. And he did it by working out and eating better, in a way that is sustainable for him (surfing as a form of exercise, swapping chicken sandwiches for chicken salad, etc). If you’re looking to make a transformation in your life (and you’re tired of seeing those “I lost 30 lbs without sweating!” ads) then check out I Used to Be Fat: their journey is tough and pretty inspiring.
And now that I’m talking about TV shows, it’s about that time for all those fall premiers! Are you excited for the premier of new TV shows and return of old ones? Or are you not really a TV person? I’m looking forward to the start of Grimms and Once Upon a Time next week; both of them look a little dark and fantastical. Some of my old favorites have just started up again too and having cable in the hotel means I can actually watch them when they come on rather than having to wait 24-hours and catch them on the internet. I just got my mom hooked on Pretty Little Liars—she watched all 22 episodes in the first season this weekend as she was recovering from her surgery. Oh, right! My mom got her port put in on Friday. The surgery went well and she’s fine, just sore. After we get the chemo-sensitivity test back sometime in the next few weeks, we should be ready to start IPT. The chemo-sensitivity test is a test that they can do in Europe; basically they see what type of chemo (because there are a lot of them) is most effective on my mom’s type of cancer. That way, when we start IPT we know that the chemo is going to be as effective as possible.
One more recipe and then we’re done for the day. There is a fantastic Thai restaurant across the street from my mom’s clinic; I’ve eaten lunch there a few times and I’m especially gaga for their coconut curry soup. Since I can’t justify paying $3.50 for a bowl every day, I decided to whip up a batch of my own.
Thai Coconut Curry Soup
Adapted from a recipe at Pink Bites
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp Thai red curry paste
- 3 cups of chicken stock
- 2 14 oz can coconut milk
- 1 piece of ginger, peeled, about 2 inches
- 8 oz boneless, skinless chicken
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- Juice of one lime
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 ½ tbsp fish sauce
- 8 oz mushrooms
- 3-4 green onions
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
- Salt and pepper
Directions:
1) Prep all of the ingredients: cut the chicken meat into bite-sized pieces; finely chop ginger, slice mushrooms and chop green onions.
2) Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat; add curry paste and cook for about 30 seconds stirring constantly.
3) Add the stock, coconut milk (1 full can + the cream portion from the second can) and ginger and bring it to a boil.
4) Add the sugar, lime juice, lemon juice, and fish sauce; reduce by 1/4 to 1/3, about 30 minutes,
5) Add the chicken, cover and reduce heat to medium-low; cook until chicken is almost cooked through, 8-10 minutes.
6) Add vegetables; turn heat up to medium-high and cook until vegetables are just cooked, about 5 minutes.
7) Ladle into bowls over rice (optional); top each soup bowl with cilantro.
I wish my camera was cool enough to catch the steam rising from the surface. Mmm…
***For the non-meat eaters, this one is practically vegetarian as is! Swap vegetable stock for the chicken stock, omit the fish sauce and use salt or soy sauce (or vegetarian fish sauce, if you can find it), and add your choice of vegetables or tofu to the broth.***
Ok, that’s it for today. Tune in again in a few days for:
- Pictures and stories from Alchemy, the GA burn
- Cool things to do in Atlanta (Korean tacos, pretentious hot dogs, and Rocky Horror). Will you be shivering in antici…pation tonight?
- Bangin’ BBQ chicken wraps and crab-stuffed salmon!
Until next time…