Yeah, so although they sound really good, roasted green beans suck. The most basic recipe that I had said to preheat the oven to 425, drizzle the beans with a tiny amount of olive oil and salt & pepper them. Roast on a sheet for 10 minutes, pull ’em out, toss ’em over, and cook for an additional 10 to 12 minutes. Comments said that they would have brown spots from the oil, no problem. What it did not say is that green beans are primarily water so, when roasted at a high heat, they deflate. You are left with a wrinkly little chewy pod to eat. The flavor is not bad, but chewing is not fun! I don’t think that I’ll bother trying the other recipes which basically repeat what this one does, but has you toss the roasted beans in various sauces afterwards.
Tonight we had oven-fried chicken with sweet potatoes, cauliflower and cranberry sauce. So good! And one of the few ways that Chris will eat a healthy cut of real (not processed) chicken. I take the breast and roll it around in a little bit of flour (to help seal in the moisture as it bakes), then give it a dip in egg (I use a fat-free product made primarily of whites), then toss it in a pile of bread crumbs. Throw the breasts on a baking sheet, spray with olive oil so that there’s a thin mist of fat on top for browning, and bake for 20 minutes. Flip ’em over, spray them again lightly, and bake for another 10 to 20 minutes (depending on thickness). Crispy and flavorful, and yet curiously low fat. I love food so much. And I love taking foods that have historically been completely unhealthy and finding a body-conscious way of preparing them (while still maintaining the flavor).
On Saturday Chris and I both have salon appointments. Mine is first thing in the morning, before I leave for NY. Time for a trim of the hair and waxing of the face in various, hairy places. Chris is going in the afternoon and he’s having a massage with a cute Polish chick, followed by a haircut by the sassy little Italian who loves to give him shit. By the time I get home from the baby shower, he’ll be a whole new man.
The truck went to the doctor’s today. The brakes were pulsing and I didn’t like it. Had the rotors resurfaced. A fairly inexpensive visit. Usually I don’t get away from the shop for under $300, even with Chris’ discount on parts. This time it was under $100 and I love that!
Tomorrow I get to drive out to Waltham, have a couple of meetings, then drive over to Marlborough to have lunch with my boss (who I have only met in person once for a few minutes), and drive back to Waltham to finish out my day. There’s a crew of corporate peeps out from Rochester, NY and my boss is one of them. She’s taking the Masshole Project Managers out to celebrate the holidays. For Christmas we chipped in and got her a gift certificate to a place in NY where you can take classes on how to pair wines with foods, or learn how to cook.
Ooh, and Christmas still hasn’t ended for me yet. This morning Ger brought in a silky chocolate brown sack and in it was a pair of Heather-made earrings. They’re so pretty. I’ve been wearing them all day 🙂
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