“Writing is fun”: the most patently unbelievable words to come out of anybody’s mouth.
Writing is more like taking up running or peeling a LOT of lumpy root vegetables. It seems impossible to get going and feel like you’re going anywhere. It hurts physically, sometimes mentally and spiritually, too! And it only feels good when you’re done! What a scam!
I get stuck a lot. Probably enough to feel embarrassed about. I have to write myself out of stuck. The sickness is the cure, so on and so forth. So here we are: Lucky Week 7. A week of birthdays and Mother’s Day and the anniversary of me & Adrian & getting engaged. That’s a lot of milestones in one swoop, worth capturing in an effort to un-stick the stuck.
OTHER FOLKS’ THOUGHTS TO CHEW ON
“Experts can make things grow that you can’t, because they are experts. What you need is a terrible gardener to tell you what anybody can grow.”
Fine dining in These Times: 4-course dinners inside individual greenhouses; a one-table restaurant in a Swedish meadow.
Paste parties: the ephemeral, random joy of random clipboards.
MyNoise.net is an incredible collection of dynamic soundscapes. “Nature Sounds from a Primeval Europe Forest” is really scratching the itch for me, but you should curate and discover your own.
LET OVEN-BAKED CHICKEN TENDERS BE YOUR EMOTIONAL FORTRESS
My junior year of high school, my mom and I went on a great college visit trip, winding through western Massachusetts and upstate New York.
Notable about this trip, for the purpose of this newsletter: I spent the entire trip effectively eating nothing but chicken tenders. I don’t know, I was 16 and rolling fast and loose. This is all to say … I know my way around a chicken tender. This is a pretty good variation on one.
Prep time: 30ish minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
INGREDIENTS
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and pounded flat with a rolling pin or wine bottle or sledgehammer so they’re all of equal thickness
Salt & pepper
1 cup flour (as all-purpose is an unavailable luxury, self-rising is just fine)
2 tsp. paprika
2 eggs, whisked
1 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
¼ cup grated Parmesan
Olive oil for drizzling
WHAT TO DO
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cut chicken breasts lengthwise into about 1 1/4-inch-wide strips. Don’t pat dry! Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
Prep your 3 dredging mixes: a dry mix of flour, paprika, and salt and pepper in a medium bowl. A wet mix of eggs, mustard, and water, whisked to incorporated in another bowl. A crunchy? mix of Panko and Parmesan in a larger bowl, or a flat casserole dish.
Working with a few pieces at a time, toss the chicken in the flour mixture, making sure it’s evenly coated. Shake off excess flour, and dip into egg bowl. Shake off the egg-cess. Do the same for the Panko/Parm bowl mixture, pressing to adhere as well as possible. Shake off any excess, and set chicken onto your cookie sheet (below).
2 options here: set a cooling rack above a cookie sheet, spray or wipe with some olive oil, and set tenders on top. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes.
OR, if you don’t have a rack-like object, place strips on a foil-lined sheet, drizzle with oil, and bake until brown (8-10 minutes). Using tongs, flip chicken carefully and cook the other size until crisp, about 8-10 more minutes.
Good with ketchup and grainy mustard, depending on if you are Forever 16 (it’s me, I’m ketchup) or a Real Adult (mustard, for more discerning palates like Adrian’s).