Jenn Dolari @dolari@driveinsaturday.org

[Thoughts Before Bed]

Enjoying a cup of tea at the cafe.

This may look like a shot from Second Life, but the difference is, I'm the person drinking the tea. In Resonite, I'm in that skull, looking at the tea and holding it in first person. Not looking at a screen trying to take the best picture in third person like I would be in Second Life.

Second Life: Pushing an action figure of me around.
Resonite: I am the action figure.

It's been wonderful to be something closer to the me I wanted to be, than the me I was given.

The Week's Fancy Pants Meal: Chicken Marengo

Was going through my list of YouTube Cooking Channels looking for recipes, and came across this one for Chicken Marengo from Tasting History. I had to adapt it a bit for my diet, but didn't think too much of it. I might have been wrong.

Instead of using two drumsticks and two bone-in thighs, I used boneless thigh, mainly for nutritional measuring reasons (I don't eat the bones, so I have to weigh tthe chicken without the bones and that gets messy).

Following his instructions, things went a little wierd. Maybe because I was using boneless chicken (or Max's stove is a little weak), the chicken overcooked a bit. Not burned, but certainly harder on the outside than I'd like.

On top of that, my sauce was FAR darker than expected, and with everything I threw into it...it was fairly flavorless. And straining that sauce was a pain.

Maybe it's me using a different cut of chicken, but I'm not a fan of this. Sad, really, cause this is likely also my last Fancy Pants meal for a while. I'm likely losing my apartment at the end of the year (I've got a place to stay after that, so don't you worry about Ol' Jenn), and I need to start burning up all my frozen food without buying new ingredients.

If I make something good, though, I'll let you know.

# Chicken Marengo

Tasting History with Max Miller
5.0 servings

1.0 pound chicken thigh
3.5 oz olive oil
0.5 tsp salt
0.25 tsp pepper
2.0 whole shallots (peeled)
1.0 clove garlic
1.0 whole bay leaf
1.0 sprig thyme
55.0 grams fresh parsley
0.3333333333333333 cup flour
2.0 cups beef broth
8.0 oz button mushrooms (sliced)

1 - Heat the oil in a large pan over medium high heat.
2 - Add the chicken, making sure that the pieces don’t overlap, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3 - Add the shallots, garlic, bay leaf, parsley, and thyme, then set the lid on the pan and let it fry for 10 minutes.
4 - After 10 minutes, turn the chicken over, then cover again and cook for another 10 minutes.
5 - Turn the chicken one last time, cover, and cook for 5 more minutes.
6 - When the chicken is cooked, remove it to a plate and cover it so it stays warm.
7 - Remove the shallots and larger pieces of herbs. Keep them nearby because we’ll be adding them back in just a second.
8 - Stir the flour into the hot oil to make a roux.
9 - Continue to cook and stir for a couple of minutes, then add the herbs and shallots back in.
10 - Cook for another couple of minutes or until the roux is golden brown.
11 - Add the beef broth and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits that stay stuck to the bottom of the pan.
12 - Bring it to a simmer, then stir constantly for 10 minutes.
13 - Strain the sauce through a conical strainer (or a plain mesh strainer if that’s what you have). If the sauce splits, add a couple tablespoons of water, set it over low heat, and stir until you have a nice smooth sauce again.
14 - If you’re using the mushrooms, sauté them in a bit of oil until they’re cooked.
15 - Arrange the chicken in a dish, pour the sauce over it, garnish with the mushrooms, and serve it forth.

Makes 5 servings at ~400 calories per serving.

Calories 427
Total Fat 32g
Total Carbohydrates 10g
Protein 19g

#cooking #thisweeksmeals

I dunno what world I visited in my dreams last night, but I woke up with a sprained wrist, aching back muscles and a wierd cut-pain-where-there-is-no-cut feeling on my hips.

Not going back to Fight Club World again, let me tell you.

Kris Kristofferson
1936-2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-aDHbBWfMQ&t=2m41s

Does this happen to anyone else?

"Good morning, Jenn. This is your body's pain alert system. You have a scratch on your leg you should address."

"I just went to where yuo said the pain was...there's nothing there. In fact, when I went to check on it, that scratch pain dissapeared."

"It's there. I promise. I wouldn't alert you if it wasn't there."

"There's nothing there, and again, the pain dissapeared when I reached for it."

"Good morning, Jenn. This is your body's pain alert system. You have a scratch on your leg you should address."

I'm seeing rainbow pics from all over the Seattle area today about how strong and large it was. Must have been a heckuva show.

Wow, an episode of Technology Connections that made me feel my age.

My parents had this type of record player, part of one of those massive console TVs that also had a radio, 8-track and booming bass. I also had several "record albums" he shows off.

My parents still have the player and theoretically it still works. But it needed a special needle of some sort to play, and they simply never used it enough to replace it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuoFW2yAD7g

This Week's Carbs: Garlic Butter Rice

So, I'm taking a very long break from the breads, but I still do want my first meal of the day to be my biggest carb load (I can burn it off all day). There was a meme running around with several rice recipes and so I decided to try them out (after first making sure it wouldn't, you know, poison me for the lulz).

I like rice, I like butter, and I like garlic. I can have as much of two of these ingredients as I want, and since it was quick, and I had some time, I did the food prep for this. It's really good, if you like a chicken with garlic flavored rice. I could see this being a side-dish for something Indian or Mediterranean.

# Garlic Butter Rice

Recipe Journal
6.0 servings

8.0 cloves garlic (chopped)
3.0 tbsp olive oil
2.5 tsp garlic (minced)
4.0 tbsp unsalted butter (divided)
1.5 cups white rice
2.5 cups chicken broth
1.0 tbsp scallions (finely sliced)
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)

1 - Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
2 - Add the chopped garlic and sauté, moving constantly, until golden and crisp.
3 - Transfer to paper towels to drain.
4 - Pour out excess oil then return the saucepan to the stove.
5 - Add half the butter.
6 - Once melted, add the minced garlic.
7 - Cook for 1 ½ minutes or until the garlic starts to turn light golden and the butter is well infused with garlic flavour.
8 - Add the rice and stir to coat it in garlic butter.
9 - Add the broth and place a lid on saucepan.
10 - Set your stove to high, and allow the broth to come to a boil.
11 - Set your stove to medium, and wait five minutes. Do not uncover.
12 - Set your stove to low, and wait five minutes. Do not uncover.
13 - Remove the saucepan from the head, and wait five minutes. Do not uncover.
14 - Fluff with a fork, then transfer it into serving bowl.
13 - Stir through the remaining butter and scallions.
14 - Sprinkle with crispy garlic, salt, and pepper. Serve.

Makes 6 servings at ~37.5g carbs per serving.

Calories 306
Total Fat 14g
Total Carbohydrate 39g
Protein 4g

#cooking #thisweeksmealsThis Week's Carbs: Garlic Butter Rice

So, I'm taking a very long break from the breads, but I still do want my first meal of the day to be my biggest carb load (I can burn it off all day). There was a meme running around with several rice recipes and so I decided to try them out (after first making sure it wouldn't, you know, poison me for the lulz).

I like rice, I like butter, and I like garlic. I can have as much of two of these ingredients as I want, and since it was quick, and I had some time, I did the food prep for this. It's really good, if you like a chicken with garlic flavored rice. I could see this being a side-dish for something Indian or Mediterranean.

# Garlic Butter Rice

Recipe Journal
6.0 servings

8.0 cloves garlic (chopped)
3.0 tbsp olive oil
2.5 tsp garlic (minced)
4.0 tbsp unsalted butter (divided)
1.5 cups white rice
2.5 cups chicken broth
1.0 tbsp scallions (finely sliced)
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)

1 - Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
2 - Add the chopped garlic and sauté, moving constantly, until golden and crisp.
3 - Transfer to paper towels to drain.
4 - Pour out excess oil then return the saucepan to the stove.
5 - Add half the butter.
6 - Once melted, add the minced garlic.
7 - Cook for 1 ½ minutes or until the garlic starts to turn light golden and the butter is well infused with garlic flavour.
8 - Add the rice and stir to coat it in garlic butter.
9 - Add the broth and place a lid on saucepan.
10 - Set your stove to high, and allow the broth to come to a boil.
11 - Set your stove to medium, and wait five minutes. Do not uncover.
12 - Set your stove to low, and wait five minutes. Do not uncover.
13 - Remove the saucepan from the head, and wait five minutes. Do not uncover.
14 - Fluff with a fork, then transfer it into serving bowl.
13 - Stir through the remaining butter and scallions.
14 - Sprinkle with crispy garlic, salt, and pepper. Serve.

Makes 6 servings at ~37.5g carbs per serving.

Calories 306
Total Fat 14g
Total Carbohydrate 39g
Protein 4g

#cooking #thisweeksmeals

That a big peach....

[Thoughts Before Bed]

As much as losing the apartment is going to hurt, there are worse outcomes than moving back in with chosen family.

I might have a small problem.

Why yes, I love the Gerudo. 'Cause the Gerudo apparently love me.

#echoesofwisdom

Why yes, I love the Gerudo. 'Cause the Gerudo apparently love me.

#echoesofwisdom

Today's Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom achievements.

Gonna try to keep this Echoes of Wisdom complaint spoiler free, but there may be some small technique based spoilers:

Okay, I'm not liking this trend in Zelda games. I first noticed it in Tears of the Kingdom and it's now VERY obvious in Echoes of Wisdom: Withholding gameplay information.

I do try to play these games without any walkthroughs the first time. But in TOTK and now here, I'm having a heck of a time trying to beat bosses and when I fail repeatedly, I'll look at a walkthrough.

Both times now, I'm finding that the solution is to use a technique I've been taught (like the spin for cutting grass), but that the technique has a hidden quality: defense. No one says this. No one tells you this. It's not even in the description. But it's the only way I was able to get through one sub-boss so far.

Same with a later boss, where I couldn't beat him despite landing multiple hits for, like, thirty minutes. Turns out, I finally gave up and looked through a walk through, and saw that, again, there was an object that literally has no description, that you have to use to stun the boss, THEN attack him.

I was hoping the TOTK was just the one-time they'd try ramping up the difficulty by simply not telling you information, but it looks like it's happening here, too. While it's not a deal-breaker (I mean, the walkthroughs have the information), it certainly makes beating the bosses a lot less rewarding, and will really hurt future gameplay if they keep this up.