Recipes and other things....

So, Dad was over for dinner again last night, and I tried a new recipe for roast chicken. It was OOOOOOooooooh so yummy!

Honey Glazed Chicken (from _Celtic Folklore Cooking_ by Joanne Asala)

1 (4 pound) roasting chicken
salt & pepper to taste
1 large apple, peeled, cored & quartered (I didn't bother peeling it.)
1 large onion, sliced (I cut this into large 8ths or so, actually.)
pinch of ground cloves, ground cinnamon, fresh-ground nutmeg (nutmeg was my addition)
4 Tbsp butter, melted
4 Tbsp honey, divided

Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper to taste. Toss the apple and onion with the cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg, fill cavity of chicken and sew or tie shut. (My chicken was odd in that there wasn't a cavity for stuffing. Evidently it wasn't sompletely "gutted" in the cleaning process. But no nasty stuff was left in. So, I arranged the apple and onion around the base of the chicken instead.) Brush the chicken with melted butter and place in roasting pan. Brush 2 Tbsp of honey on top. (I melted the 2 Tbsp honey and butter together and brushed it all on at once.) Cook for about 1-1/2 hours at 325 deg. Fahrenheit, basting frequently. Halfway through the cooking, brush on remaining honey. Serve hot.

(Be careful of the chicken because the honey prompts it to get really browned really quick. You'll definitely want to cover the chicken for a good majority of the baking time to prevent over-browning. You may also want to increase the onion and apple to 2 each, because this makes for some VERY yummy eating along with the chicken. Especially if your chicken has the cavity for stuffing an apple and onion inside, make at least 1 more apple and onion each for arranging around the OUTSIDE of the chicken as well. The flavor of this chicken was absolutely delish!!! And the meat was very tender and not overdone at all. Then again, maybe that's because my oven's no longer heating nearly to capacity and even with the temp turned up to 350, the chicken took a lot longer to cook. More like 2-1/2 hours than 1-1/2.)

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Tonight's dinner will be Scotch Broth. This is an old favorite of myself and Scott from a Taste of Home Mag, over 10 years ago.

Scotch Broth

2 pounds meaty beef soup bones (I usually use a pound of ground beef, cooked & drained, but tonight I'm using a pound of stew meat.)
2 qts water
6 whole peppercorns (I also generally add a bay leaf.)
1-1/2 tsp salt
1 c chopped carrots
1 c chopped turnips
1 c chopped celery
1/2 c chopped onion
1/4 c medium pearl barley

In a large kettle, combine soup bones, water, peppercorns and salt. Cover and simmer for 2-1/2 hours or until meat comes easily off the bone. Remove bones. Strain broth; cool and chill. Skim off fat. Remove meat from bones; dice and return to broth along with remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for about 1 hour or until vegetables and barley are tender.

(I have also added such things as frozen chopped spinach, canned corn, and canned tomatoes to this. It's very yummy and very warming. And yet it's also not a thick, chowdery soup. More like a brothy warming, but not too hearty meal. Very good with some bread. Makes a great fall or spring soup because it ISN'T too heavy & hearty.)

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Last but not least is another recipe from my Depression cookbook. I haven't tried this one yet, but it's on the menu for Tuesday night.

Connie's Lithuanian Chop Suey

Saute 1 onion and 1 to 1-1/2 lbs of hamburger until burger is browned. Drain off fat. Slice a large head of cabbage into very thin strips, adding to hamburger mixture a little at a time. (Ok, you may want to replace some of the fat you drained off with some olive oil or veggie oil.) You may need to add a little water during cooking. Add salt & pepper to taste. Serve with boiled potatoes (in skin), a tossed salad and dark brown or rye bread.

(I imagine that chopped onion would be an easy & good addition to this as well. With only burger, cabbage and potatoes being the primary ingredients, this is also a rather economical meal, even while including meat.)

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I did a little online research of ovarian cysts, and it sounds like the kind of cysts I keep developing are actually pretty normal. According to my minimal research, most women develope these cysts during their years of menstruation. What is ABNORMAL, it seems, is that I'm developing a lot of them. What may be worrisome is that several have developed where there is no ovary. Apparently the radiologist can see, via ultrasound, something of the density of said cysts, and therefore can often guage the likelyhood of them being cancerous. The Dr. and radiologist deemed my cysts to be unlikely to be cancerous, which is a big plus.

On the negative side, if I keep developing these cysts at such large numbers at my current age, it increases the likelyhood that in another 10 or so years the cysts I develope are more likely to be cancerous. There is also the possibility that developement of large amounts of cysts may point toward my being a PCOS "sufferer". Normally that may be a worry for women who are trying to conceive. I'm not in that group, so I'm not worried about PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrom) diminishing my likelihood of conception. But, PCOS would bring with it other health concerns as well, including weight gain & larger waist-measurements, insulin resistance, and increased facial & body hair, among other things. *wry smile* The facial hair, of course, would be a nuisance, but managable. (Hopefully without a razor. I'd be willing to have monthly waxings to prevent mustach hair. *wink*)

Any way..... I guess for now I need to read what I can about ovarian cysts, but try not to let it worry me so much. What will be, will be. All I can do is take the best care of my body that I'm capable of. And that DEFINITELY means getting back on my exercise schedual. I DID exercise yesterday morning, but not this morning. I'm going to try to get in my 20 minutes again tomorrow morning.

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Yesterday was absolutely beautiful. It got up to 70 deg. here at my place. The sun was out. It was kinda cloudy, but not so much that it decreased the warmth we got. We had the windows open all day, till midnight last night. Then only turned on the furnace to 65 deg. in case the rain we started getting after 10 brought with it some cooler temps. (Or, heaven forbid, snow.) I don't think the furnace ever actually kicked on, though. This morning it's similar to yesterday. A little cloudier, but still warm enough that the windows are now open and the furnace is off.

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Ok. I've gotta get heading to work. This is one of the last 2 Sundays I'm going to be working until next fall. We have 3 more Sundays before our Summer hours kick in, but I'm taking next Sunday off for Mother's Day. (And thus preventing my getting chewed out by the MIL for having to work that day.)

Have a Blessed Day!