Great Stuff Saturday

 

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  You already know about my pesto revelation--we talked about it last week, how I learned that I could control the quantities in a recipe, and I could make much less than it called for.

 Well, yeah, you say. Duh. But hey, we learn when we need to.

And this idiotic pandemic, for all its horrors, has taught me a few other things, too. Philosophical things? Yes, but we won't go into that today.

Today: practical things.

1. Bread crumbs. Bread crumbs are great. In the before times, I never understood why people would take perfectly good food and sprinkle deadly carbs on it. In the pandemic, it was no holds barred, so I tried it one day when I decided to make chicken paillard. It was so yummy.

 The next time, I thought--huh. What if I put the green beans in the SAME pan? And put the leftover bread crumbs on them, too?

WHOA.

Now I have gone crazy putting bread crumbs on everything.

Corollary: Searing. I learned how to sear! Oh, it is SO much fun, and so easy, and it makes everything delicious. Thin chicken cutlets. Or shrimp. Or scallops. Or vegetables. Put oil in a very heavy pan. Turn up the heat. Heat til the oil shimmers. Throw on the food, in one layer. GO AWAY for five minutes or so.

DO NOT move the food! When it's properly seared, the "sear" will not let it stick to the pan. DO not nudge it!  But when it's easy to flip--flip, and do the other side the same way. PERFECTION. I have also learned to fold  the laundry during the time it's searing, so how efficient is that??

2. Cold Brew coffee. Well, another revelation. All the baby children (all fully vaccinated) came to stay for the fourth of July--in that tiny window when we all thought it was safe. Paul and Krista raved about cold brew coffee--so sure, we thought, we'll try it. Take a Mason jar, mid-size. put in 2/3 cup of coffee grounds. Fill to top of jar with cold water. Let stand on the counter for 24 hours. Filter into another jar. 

WHOA.

Now I have gone crazy drinking cold brew. We use --and this is so funny--Act of Valor coffee. My writer pal Brian Andrews and his co-author write military thrillers, and to raise money for veterans, they're working with a coffee company called BoneFrog Coffee. It is SO good (And now we have a subscription to it!) I think fine grind works best, but apparently this is the stuff of endless debate. YEMV.

3.  Reading on the treadmill.

How did I not know this? You can prop a Fire or an iPad on the treadmill stand, and read read read while you walk! It is SO great, and I am riding longer because when I am in the midst of a good book, I don't want to stop, and I don't allow myself to read it unless I am walking. How great is that?

And: ta dah!  THAT burns off the carbs from the breadcrumbs!

Reds and readers, what pandemic revelations have you experienced?

AND THE WINNER of THE LAST COMMANDMENT is: Jay Roberts!

AND THE WINNER OF  WAIT FOR IT is: Emily Dame!

Email me at hank@hankphillippiryan.com