Hello, everyone!! I hope your weekends were as enjoyable as mine, if not a little less hectic.
It is definitely wedding season, and this weekend was no exception. My lifetime friend, Kari, got hitched, and I was an usher. Woop woop! Unfortunately, I was in a hurry when I picked up my tux on Friday. Why does that matter, you ask? WELL, I didn't try on my tux in the shop (which is something that I recommend, nowadays), and just walked out the door assuming it would fit perfectly, as most tuxes usually do.
Unfortunately, when I got home Friday afternoon, I put on the tux, and the vest...well, we had issues with the vest. When I say we had issues, I mean that I am a Medium and this vest...this vest was not. This vest was an Extra-Small. Breathing was difficult; sitting down, nearly impossible. But hey, I looked good, so that's all that matters, right? :)
Anyway, this weekend was really busy, beyond the wedding, itself. There was the trip to Topeka on Friday that resulted in me spending WAY too much money, the rehearsal Friday evening, the reception last night, and then going BACK to Topeka this afternoon to return the tux. Lots of road time, for sure.
Aaaaanyway, back to the original topic of this blog. Well, one of them: lifespeak. I had lots of lifespeak on Friday. Most of it very thought-provoking, actually. And all of it was super neat. That reminds me, shout out to Christine and Amy! Hey hey!
Speaking of Christine and Amy, those two awesome ladies are pretty much the spark for most of the lifespeak and lifethought that occurred this weekend. Let's break this down, shall we?
Lifespeak topic number one: Emporia State University. I would really love to elaborate, but unfortunately, this topic needs its own blog post. Stay tuned.
Lifespeak topic number two: Running. I know that any of you who have read my past blogs know that I used to be a runner. Emphasis on that past tense. However, after talking to Amy on Friday morning about her (semi-recently discovered) love of running, I had some rockin' lifethought going on the rest of the day. I think it's time that one of the things I start and finish (see my last blog post here) is going to be running. I want to start running again. After hearing Amy talk about and describe how running makes her feel, it really made me miss the way running made ME feel, back in the day. So...starting on May 1, I'm going to start running again. And, just in case you're reading, Amy, I mayyyy or may not be considering your offer. More details to come on that in a later post.
(I'm sorry I say that so often. I just do what I can to keep these blog posts from being 17 pages long and containing 84 different topics.)
Um..I know you were probably expecting more lifespeak talk, but like I said, the ESU lifespeak will have its own blog post, and I've got some foodie-dom to get to! So, let's get to it!!
The last recipes I previewed, steak fajitas and cilantro margaritas, was ALL ABOUT DA BEEF, MAN! And lordy, do I love beef. I even bought a shirt that says "I <3 Beef" to prove it. Thanks, K-State Collegiate Cattlewomen. Your shirt rocks, even if it does provoke some interesting and sexually-oriented discussion. I just look at it as an educational opportunity. Ha.
But seriously, enough with the beef jokes. I'm trying to TEACH you guys something, here!
Okay, so enough about DA BEEF. Tonight's main dish recipe is about DA CHICKEN. I know that some of my friends are die-hard beefeaters, and I'm sorry if this offends you, but I'm an equal-opportunity carnivore, and tonight's recipe is makin' my mouth water like Niagra Falls.
I'll admit that I haven't had the opportunity to make tonight's main dish, but I plan on making it soon, and I hope you do, too!
Now, with drool bucket and bib in place, I present to you...
CHICKEN-GRAPEFRUIT STIR-FRY *pauses for everyone to say "Um..what?!"*
Yes, that's right! Chicken-grapefruit stir-fry! I know that this is quite the unique recipe, but tonight's selection for main dish recipe was influenced by tonight's cocktail recipe, that I'll get to later.
Oh, what's that? You forgot that I'll ALWAYS include a cocktail recipe in my foodie posts? Well then, SURPRISE! When you love food and alcohol as much as I do, it's really hard to talk about one without talking about the other, and how wonderful the two marry together.
Anywho, let's get on to this recipe. By the way, since this is a stir-fry, you KNOW it's going to be fast and easy. Isn't that awesome? Also, I got tonight's recipe from this here website. Enjoy!!
Ingredients:
2 whole chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, cut in 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons cooking oil, divided use
1 cup green pepper strips (I take this to mean green bell pepper, since the word "chili" was not used) 1/4 cup chopped green onions, white and green parts included
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup fresh pink grapefruit sections
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons cooking oil, divided use
1 cup green pepper strips (I take this to mean green bell pepper, since the word "chili" was not used) 1/4 cup chopped green onions, white and green parts included
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup fresh pink grapefruit sections
Directions:
- In medium bowl, mix together cornstarch, salt, cayenne pepper, soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil. Add chicken to cornstarch mixture, turning to coat all sides; let stand 10 minutes.
- Add green pepper strips, green onion, garlic, and chicken broth; stir to mix. Cover and cook on low heat about 4 minutes.
- Add grapefruit, cover and cook about 2 minutes or until grapefruit it heated.
That's it! That's the whole recipe! Isn't that nifty?? I love me some quick and easy recipes. And since this is a stir-fry, it would be perfectly home over a bed of steamed rice, garnished with some chopped chives. I'm not sure how you all feel about grapefruit, but I adore it, and I think that you could even use a little bit of grapefruit juice in the pan to pick up all the delicious little brown bits, and also to make a little bit of a pan sauce to pour over the top of everything and flavor the rice a little bit. I'm drooling just thinking about eating this meal. Also, if you have a grill-safe frying pan or wok, I would TOTALLY encourage you to take your stir-fry outside! It's coming on summer, and even though this recipe is fast, it's still hot, and who wants a roasty-toasty kitchen in the middle of the summer? Not this guy...
Now, on to the cocktail du jour! Ladies and gentleman, I would love to introduce you to La Paloma! For those of you who don't know what a La Paloma is, let me explain. Firstly, "La Paloma" is Spanish for "the dove", and it is a delicious and really refreshing summer cocktail. Actually, it's a delicious and really refreshing cocktail for any time of the year, but it is particularly delectable in the summer time. It's light and fruity and tart and not super sweet, so it's perfect for drinking on a hot day. It doesn't have a ton of sugar to make you feel all icky in the heat of the afternoon. Unlike the stir-fry, I HAVE tried a La Paloma, and oh em gee it is fantastic. Let's get to the recipe, because I can't wait for you guys to make this one for yourselves. This version of La Paloma came from this website, here. I love Esquire, by the way. Just throwing that out there.
Ingredients:
- 2 ounces tequila (preferably reposado or silver) --SIDENOTE: I KNOW this makes two tequila-based cocktails in a row, and I'm sorry that I haven't branched out yet, but this drink is so tasty, I had to share it with you. What's funny is that I'm not even a huge tequila fan...--
- 1/2 ounce lime juice
- pinch of salt
- grapefruit soda (like Fresca) to fill
Directions:
- Combine the tequila (reposado, preferably), lime juice, and salt in a tall glass. Add ice, top off with grapefruit soda, and stir. Some prefer the salt on the rim of the glass, but we say just throw it in. Others omit it entirely. Don't.
No really, don't omit the salt. It totally wakes up the flavor of the grapefruit soda. Also, if you're averse to the word "soda", you can totally use something like Izze sparkling grapefruit juice. I'm sure it would be just as delicious, but maybe a little less fizzy. And I love me some fizzy, so I just use the Fresca, and it is muy delicioso! :) Also, when the directions say "tall glass", they mean something like a Collins glass. If you don't know what a Collins glass is, it's a straight-sided glass that's..well..tall. Ha.
Anyway, like I said, I REALLY recommend this cocktail, and I can't wait to try this recipe. And, because I'm slightly A/R like that, I love that both of these recipes have grapefruit, for two reasons. 1) I love grapefruit. It's just...so amazingly tasty. 2) I really love it when I am served a meal that has some cohesiveness to it, and every little bit has one or two of the same ingredients. It just makes everything seem much more special, and planned, and put-together, and I like it when things have themes. Like I said, A/R tendencies...
Well, I think, maybe, that might be all of my rambling for tonight. I really hope that you get the opportunity to try these recipes, and if you do, let me know what you think of them! Also, if any of you have any suggestions for foodie posts, just throw them at me! I love feedback from my readers, and I get it at far too seldom intervals, so let's fix that, shall we??
