May 25, 2010

Exercise is a dangerous past-time

It was such a nice day out today, that I decided to go for a ride on my bicycle after work. I rode down into the valley north of Lyman, and then headed west on the county road, past the reservoir. The scenery was beautiful, the temperature was pleasant, there was hardly any breeze; in short, it was a great day for a ride.

On the west side of the valley, as you head toward Urie, there's a large hill. I looked at the hill, and said to myself, "I can get up that hill easy." About three-quarters of the way up, I was exhausted, and got off my bike. I walked up the rest of the way, thinking to myself, "That hill was bigger than I thought. Once I get to the top, though, I'll be OK."

After I got to the top, I was feeling a little queasy, and thought, "I better stop and rest for a minute." So, I rested the bike next to a reflector pole, and was walking around to get my wind.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up. There was a gash under my eye, another on my forehead, scrapes on my knuckles, and the knee of my exercise pants was ripped. My shoulder and hip were aching. My glasses were shattered on the asphalt, and I was laying with my body in the road, and my feet were on the white line.

I tried to call Julie on her cell phone, but she was outside, and couldn't hear anything. Then I called our next door neighbor, and she didn't answer. I called several persons in my phone, and finally found one at home. He came out and picked me up, and took me to his house. They pumped some fluids in me, and we got hold of Julie.

Here's a photo of the results of my escapade.

 
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May 15, 2010

Grilled Chicken with Parsley and Rosemary

I made this up today, and it turned out surprisingly well. Thought you all might enjoy it, too.

Meat:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, mostly thawed

Sauce/Marinade:

1/3 cup corn oil
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
3 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

Equipment used: Weber grill and Kingsford Charcoal with Mesquite

The grill needs to pretty hot. I used about 25 coals in my travel grill, and that seemed to be just about right. This isn't like cooking steak where we want to get the grill as hot as we can -- this stuff needs to cook all the way through. Put a little oil on the grill to prevent sticking.

Mix up the sauce. Slather on chicken. Place chicken on grill, sauce side down. Slather sauce on top of chicken, and cover grill. Cook for about 3 minutes. Flip the chicken and repeat the sauce treatment, and cover the grill. Cook another three minutes, and repeat. Each side should cook twice, for a total of 12 minutes. Remove from the grill, and let it rest for a few minutes. Slice and serve.

Family gave the chicken rave reviews. Anna said "This is the best dinner I ever had." James agreed with Anna. Alden asked for more. Julie glowered at me because she doesn't ever have good luck with the grill, and then she told me that it tasted really good. Me, I don't like to toot my own horn, but "Toot! Toot!"

I'm curious to try this on a non-charcoal grill to see if it was the charcoal or the sauce that made this taste so good. I'm betting it was the charcoal...