Roasted Lemon Rosemary Chicken

I caught a segment of the P Allen Smith's Garden Home show on PBS this afternoon. It was love at first sight. From tips on growing orchids to how to plant elephant ears. He had me from the "Just add ice!"

I have been sulking the last few weeks because I broke the oven and Dad is not replacing it anytime soon. We took it outside during the tiling. I thoroughly washed the damn thing for two hours. When we dragged it back in, only the burners are in order. So that means no baking or roasting. No pies, no cakes, no chocolate chips cookies. With my favorite holiday coming up. Yup, no turkey!

Fortunately, we still have the portable glass convection oven. The stars were aligning this afternoon because P Allen Smith was roasting a lemon rosemary chicken with white rose potatoes. The recipe was so simple; I thought I would test it out for dinner. For the time being, we are going to have roasted chickens for Thanksgiving! It was so moist and flavorful!

Here's the recipes. Smith used a roasting pan and baked in traditional oven at 350 degree F. I used a convection oven.

1 whole chicken 5-6 lbs, empty inner parts (Save it for stock).
1 lemon, quartered
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 tablespoon of salt
1/2 tablespoon of garlic powder (This is my modification.)
6 stems of rosemary (mince 2 stems and set aside)
1/2 Gala apple (This is my modification.)

1) Wash chicken and pat dry.
2) Squeeze juice of 2 quarters lemon onto chicken. Squeeze 1 quarter inside the bird.
3) Rub chicken with olive oil, salt, garlic powder, and minced rosemary.
4) Stuff chicken with whole rosemary stems, apple, and left-over quarter of lemon.

Roast at 350 degrees F in a convection oven for about 1 hour or until chicken juice runs clear. Turn chicken at 1/2 hour to achieve even color.

Enjoy!

Bướm Đêm

bướm đêm thương nhớ hoa xưa

hoa bay xa khuất bướm đêm đợi chờ

dù ai hất hủi bơ vơ

bướm đêm xếp cánh mong ai từng giờ.

Mai Tiến Dũng: Ta Chưa Quên Được Nhau

Ah! Welcome the return of MTV promotion! Perhaps, one of the most successful MTV was Tim Vở by with Don Hồ and Như Quỳnh eons ago. Thúy Nga is finally catching on to the use of MTV to sell albums. Often the lights and staging on the Paris by Nights are unable to present the imageries in the videos. Here is a refreshing MTV of Ta Chưa Quên Được Nhau by Mai Tiến Dũng. While it is decades behind American standards, the style and cinematography is not too shabby. Is that a Tăng Thanh Hà look-a-like I see?

Soul Center

The trees in Dad's garden are heavy with fruits this time of year. The guavas, longans and persimmons are all ready for the autumn picking. Collecting the persimmons from the branches this morning was a major task. Not because they were farfetched or ungiving but the heavy nostalgia that came with autumn and the persimmon tree encumbered my mind. The tree is fruiting once again but I am still here, stagnant.

The last two months flew by quickly. Where to begin? Dad was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma. I followed the case from the incidental discovery on chest x-ray to the point of discharge after lung resection. He no longer have the right upper lobe but he quit smoking and have a different outlook on life. Fortunately, he is considered cure because staging showed T1N0Mx.

I extinguished my desire to pursue culinary education partly due to the bad timing and to the fact that it just didn't feel right. After the surgery we decided to renovate the house. I bought a copy of Tauton's Complete Tiling. Through the month of September I laid down more than a thousand square feet of cherry blossom marble tiles on the ground floor. By then exhaustion kicked in and the do-it-yourself bravado was buried with the thin set and grout. So when Mom wanted new carpet, I scheduled an appointment with Empire Today.

Dad returned to work last week. The plan to visit Buffalo this week was cancelled. I have more time than ever before. I decided to begin studying for Step 3 once more. And again, I am overwhelmed by disappointment and hopelessness. Even yoga and swimming couldn't eliminate the fear of failure. Setting the notes on endocrinology aside, I began looking at the concept of samsara in buddhism. My search led me to Đại Tạng Kinh Viêt Nam, an online library of Buddhist scriptures and Buddhism analysis.

I am fascinated by the scriptures and teachings. The featured essay, Khai Niệm Tâm và Phép Điều Tâm, helped calm some the my mind storms. I placed some sandalwood incense on the altar this evening. This time not asking for passing scores or better health. Just an appreciation offering.

㣺 : heart, soul, mind, intelligence.

Innocent Bystander

It's so easy for innocent bystander to get injured in the heat of domestic bickering. In this case, my one year old rat terrier. The conflict started about two months ago when I came to visit I. in Buffalo, NY. The trip felt like a scene from a Guy Ritchie's film. Plane departed and landed. I am picked up and unloaded at I.'s apartment. Cooking, sexing, lounging, sight-seeing and ultimately fighting. Just as I had hastily arrived, I was dropped off at the airport. We made up over the phone weeks later after of the usual cold war tactics from the other side. The whole time I thought the war had passed, he continued to brew the reoccurring moody indifference.

Today, I expressed my frustration and in the heat of the argument I exclaimed that I will give Tuppy away. The moment I said it, I knew I was wrong. Perhaps that statement was meant to hurt I. It was I. who gave this adorable rat terrier to me. We raised the dog together when it was still an eight week mischievous, devilish fur ball. I have fought and penetrated the barricade of angry parents when I announced our return from Big Bear Lake. Tuppy has successfully won over the hearts of all members of my family. This precious dog has been there for me through thick and thin. He had seen every tears that have fallen in the the darkest times as well as the joy of after-fight-makeup. He had seen his jump-for-joy-asian owner when he was hired as enumerator for the U.S. Census or accepted into Culinary Arts program in Buffalo.

I realized the love for I. has been slowly diverted to Tuppy this past year. So tonight when I let it slip that I would give him away, a stinging pain struck my heart. And at that point I didn't care about the fate of this exhausting human relationship. I just care about my dog. He has become an innocent victim in the midst of human follies.

As long as I am still alive, he will be the luckiest dog in the world.