little things

The past two days have been August-like, meaning that I lost all my stuffing and kept sitting down to read in between doing things which had to be done. The dew point was 70 yesterday; it really was uncomfortable. Then there was a thunderstorm, the wind came up and the temperature dropped. The air eventually got drier, and today was downright cool in comparison - really too cool but I dare not sound like I'm complaining. At this moment, the dew point is 45 degrees.

Meanwhile, I'm focusing once again on food that's nice to eat in warm weather, and more importantly, doesn't take long to cook. I'm always pleased when I find discover a reliable method for cooking a certain cut of meat, and I happened upon a good way for cooking skinless, boneless chicken thighs. It comes with a recipe containing bacon, mushrooms and a bit of cream sauce, but in the heat none of that interested me, just the method.

So, you put your chicken thighs in a bowl, and mix them up with a teaspoon of paprika and as much salt and pepper as you like, and maybe even some more paprika. Heat up oil or another fat in a skillet on medium and cook the meat for four minutes. Then, flip the pieces over and into a roasting pan and bake them at 400 F for twenty five minutes. Comes out perfect - I've done it twice.

I cut them up here with some cuke and tomato, then made a minty dressing for it - a cool dinner. I am relieved to know exactly how to cook this meat so it's perfectly done - don't have to think about it. It's the little things.

Last week I made scones, and some were still in the freezer. They were kind of like shortcake, so today I defrosted some frozen strawberries and blueberries, added sugar, whipped up a cup of heavy cream and that was dessert.