Chicken and Rice

this one is a personal favorite of mine as my mom and my dad both make drastically diffrent versions of this and love both equally(the recipes and my parents). It’s a simple dish that can be made for about 7-10 bucks and can yeild 5-6 servings. I’ve mixed both their recipes to make my own version which isnt half bad, but like all cooking you do will never be as good as when your mom makes it.

What you’ll need:

1-2lbs of chicken (preferably drumsticks)

stalk of celery

2 carrots

1 white onion

2 Bullion Cube

2 packs of saffron rice

5 cups of water

Heres what you do:

1. I start by cutting my veggies. your gonna want to dice your onions,celery and peel and dice your carrots. I go with a smaller cut on the onions so that it can melt a little in the pot.

2. Get that water boiling! i do 5 cups to compensate for the evaporation. your water is gonna be used for both the chicken and the rice as you’ll see so i put a little bit more water in there for that reason.

3.Once the water is boiling dump your chicken in the pot and let it cook for 12-18 minutes. check the chicken by poking it with a fork. i take the fattest piece out and poke ti with a fork if i see blood its not ready yet.

4.once the bird pieces cook take them out and strip them with a fork. i suggested drumsticks being they are the esiest to strip from the bone. grab the leg and using a fork shred the meat off the bone. you can leave a little in there cause those bones are getting thrown back in the pot for flavoring. cover your stripped chicken (Oo la lal) and toss in the veggies and the bouillon cube.

5. Give the veggies and the cube about 3-4 minutes to themselves with the bones in the pot and grab your rice.

6. Saffron rice can be found in any grocery store. its usually for under a dollar a pack and each pack is about 1 cup of rice. I go with 2 cause of the amount of chicken and im usually feeding 2-3 people. dump the rice in and place a lid or large dish on top of the pot and cook on a low heat.

7.DO NOT LIFT THE LID EVERY 2-3 MINUTES. rice is a private grain. it needs time and paitence to cook. i check at about the 10 minute mark and give it a stir and a taste check. i like my rice a little firm but if you like mushy go for it.

8. once the rice and such is cooked. yank out the bones and place in your chicken shreds. stir and serve.

You can add other veggies to this as well sometimes i use peas and brocoli but find my little one isnt a fan of the green thigns (kids right). Well enjoy and as always happy travels and happy eats

What did we learn?

This whole traveling and blogging thign is super new to me. i mean i travel plenty but updating it and reporting on it…it’s a new task that im wrapping my head around. anyway traveling as with most thigns in life is a trial and error process. the more you travel the more stuff you learn and even after you travel alot you still never quite get it. anyway heres some stuff i’d like to pass on to you guys out there trying to do some traveling that ive picked up over the years. If you have anythign you’d like to add feel free to comment and put your two cents in.

1. If driving by car always make sure your car is travel ready: this means getting the car a lil tune up, checking the tires, making sure you have a jack in the trunk. you wanna be spontaneous go ahead! but if your plannign a big trip somewhere you’ve never been before id suggest making sure your car is up to the task.

2.Water: this came in handy on the louisville trip as we spent a good amount of time on foot and it was hot as balls. water is cheap and easy to carry so you really dont have any excuse for not carrying it. your made of water so it cant hurt to carry an extra 16 oz. of the clear stuff.

3.Cash: I’m not saying run to the atm and yank out 500 bucks and stuff it i your sock, but it helps to carry some looose cash. I generally go with 5 ones, a five and a 10 dollar bill. change is a pain in the ass and i generally dont like to carry it but if you must id go with 2 dollars in quarters. this comes in handy for parking, street vendors and im a fan of giving the homeless and street musicians a dollar or two.

4.GPS is not to be trusted: i always look at the gps as a gas station attendant. in that if you ask it for direction it has a general idea where your going but not exactly. people tend to get dumber when they turn it on so always keep that in the back of your mind that its a machine program by people to help people…not some all knowing device that can answer life’s greatest questions

5.Things will never go according to plan: I cant tell you how many times ive planned out a vacatio or small trip to see friends and had all the plans fall through. the key is to just go with the flow. if you didnt make ti to where u wanted to go dont stress. you cna always go another time and you shouldn’t let a scheldue dictate your travels (unless its business)

6. Network: I’ve been alot of places and you’d be surprised what networkign can do for ya. thanks to social networking and them internets its easy to make a contact in a new city. Alot of my traveling is based on contacts. it gives you a permanet scout in the city keeping you updated on cool thigns happening and when u visit it gives you a sort of sherpa to help you find your way. i generally couch surf as it saves me cash on hotels. most of my contacts ive emt through mutual friends or drinks at a bar. i cigarette and a brew will get you alot in traveling so always keep a little extra aside to buy someone a drink. not only is it good karma but it could pay off in the long run.

*by NO MEANS am i tellign you to go home with them! simply grab a facebook invite and catch up from time to time till you feel comfortable with the person. even if you dont crash on their couch you still gain valuable intel that websites and books wont give ya

well its late and i just wanted to get something written down. also i apologize for the sloppy writing. chances are it wont improve and spellign errors will be a plenty. happy travels and happy eats peoople

Louisville what a city

Up until today i was never super fond of living and being in Kentucky i didn’t see what the city had to offered and today it didn’t disappoint. What started as a trip to an art gallery and a hookah lounge evolved into a full on adventure. On our way to the 21c art gallery at the museum hotel we notice that the city was in an uproar. There was a gentleman handing out flyer’s for the Louisville World Festival. We couldn’t pass up something that sounded that awesome and was also free.

The Louisville World festival or Worldfest is a festival celebrating the many cultures and food available in the city. as a travel/food blogger i couldn’t pass this up. We were treated to a bazaar of trinkets and food from cultures ranging from African culture to the Jewish community. I enjoyed the gyrations of belly dancers and the was amazed (and slightly turned on) by the amazing skill and beauty of the fire dancers. i had my first pineapple drink in a real fucking pineapple and had taco carnitas so moist and tender that you’d mistake it for chicken. WE talked with an array of colorful and intresting people from all walks of life and different cultures and can say that it was an enlightening experience.

But it wasnt all food and dancing..we of course had some international booze. I enjoyed a kirin ichi (may have spelled that wrong) a japanese beer that reminded me a bit of a corona and Shonda (my lovely camera-lady) had a St. Paul’s a beer out of the northwest which had a very nutty taste.

We attempted to fullfill our promise to ourselves to visit the 21c art gallery only to learn we may have come underdressed lol. covered in sweat and making our way to the museum we are greeted by a well dressed gentleman who looked confused as to why two sweaty beer smelling adults were wandering into a place that litterally pissed excellence. We got our share of stares and took the hint. traveling isnt about being looked down upon its about looking out and foward tot he horizion. we made our leave and headed to Cafe 360.

Cafe 360 located on Bardstown Rd. is where the common man goes to drink. where hipsters and hobos line the street each holding their respect drinks of choice in hand while enjoying the many sounds and flavors the road has to offer. The cafe itself is amazing to look upon. local artists have canvas the walls with a plethora of art maing the place feel hip and welcoming. upon entering why find a seat and sit enjoy the sounds of a kitchen hard at work pushing out amazing food and bartenders and hookah tenders dashing back in forth between tables entertaing guest and regulars alike. We had the 360 club and the apple hookah. the 360 club was delicious. aside from the sourdough ripping the out of my mouth i couldnt stop myself from enjoying it. the 360 club is your standard club made with fresh cut ham turkey and delightfully crispy bacon served on a sourdough with a side of seasons fries. The hookah wouldnt coroperate with us and was sub bar but i hardly hold the place at fault for the hookah’s malfunctions. Overall i give the place an A-. amazzing atmosphere, great location, awesome food and awesome service….only dowbfall being the hookah and soem rowdy gentleman at the next table over.

We finished the night listenign and smoking with some bluegrass bands playing on the street. they took requests and played everythign from nirvana to soggy bottom boys. I learned that the street bands were from the music stores that litter bardstown road and was even more impressed and jealous that these guys worked in amazing locations and played music right on the street after closing up shop.

Overall i suggest Louisville to anyone traveling. The city will welcome you with open arms and hand you a beer. which is what i want and expect now every time i visit “the Ville”. 11 days from now i will be heading to the Kentucky bourbon festival to drink my heart away and enjoy even more of what the bluegrass state has to offer. Til next time happy travels and good eats.

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