Life of Val

101 Posts!

Guess what! I just noticed the last post was my 100th. Congratulations for reading.

So, I joined Twitter. I mostly did so to follow Tina Fey and Ellen Degeneres. So funny. Then I started thinking it might be funny to create a Twitter for Carver. I mean, do I really have enough material for a blog and a Twitter myself?

In other news, we drove to the Latin Market because yesterday was a rainy one. I didn’t find the low prices I was hoping for, but it was a fun challenge to hunt for my ingredients among the Spanish labels. And the Paella was a success!

Paella Recipe (from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food Magazine):
4 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs, plus 4 bone-in skinless chicken drumsticks
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2T olive oil
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 link precooked Spanish chorizo, chopped (2 oz.)
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes in juice
1C Arborio rice
1 can (14.5 oz.) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 box (10 oz.) frozen peas
1/2 lb. peeled and deveined frozen medium shrimp, thawed

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot (I used a not-so-heavy-bottom-pot and the bottom burned. Listen to Martha, you heard), heat oil over med-high. Working in batches, cook chicken (do not crowd pot) until browned, 7 to 8 minutes, turning once. Transfer to a plate (reserve pot); set aside.

2. Place bell pepper, chorizo, onion, garlic, and tomatoes (and juice) in pot; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated, 4 to 6 minutes (I found liquid didn’t really evaporate, even after 10 minutes, so I just left it in there).

3. Add rice; cook, stirring, until translucent around edges, 1 to 2 minutes. Add broth and chicken; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cover, and cook until rice begins to soften, about 10 minutes. Add peas and shrimp, submerging them in liquid. Cover and cook until shrimp are opaque throughout, 4 to 6 minutes.

I doubled the amount of sausage, onion, garlic, tomatoes, rice and peas- basically all of the cheap ingredients- to make it go farther. I also bought 2 whole chickens for what I would have payed for the parts (and have 4 breasts, 4 wings and parts for making chicken stock sitting pretty in the freezer). Playing butcher is a little time consuming, so you’ll have to do your own cost/benefit analysis on that one.

Happy cooking and see you on Twitter.