Archives for posts with tag: chicken

so three chickens walk into a bar…

November 14, 2011 //

Today I spent several hours in waiting rooms. I got to have various bodily fluids taken for examination. I was mis-directed at the local hospital, so that I wasted almost an hour standing around waiting even more. I had two receptionists laugh at things I didn’t find particularly funny, which showed me that they were focussed on their role within their job, and not on the (possibly) frightened person before them who was seeking medical help.

To make a long story short… In the midst of all this fun, I let my subconscious guide my hands through making another cartoon! (This being something I’ve not taken the time to do for months and months! And months!)

click on cartoon to open bigger in a new window! then it's zoom-able, too!

I should be fine, health-wise. It is probably just a little blip. I might blog a bit about my experiences with whatever this is, or I might not. It is simply something that makes me a little different, like we all are.

Natasha Henderson, Montreal

Tags Beverages, black and white, cartoon, chicken, chickens, Cluck'N'Lurt, comic

Categories cartoons

lunch to go

By natashahenderson

September 26, 2011 //

chicken, sprouts, cheese, and extra flavours

I like to eat well. Every couple of weeks I make a chicken, I buy (and sometimes take the time to grow) organic sprouts. I prefer unpasteurised cheese (less processing and better flavour!) I am trying to avoid the mysterious ingredients and priciness of restaurant or take-out foods. No I am not perfect, and too often enjoy indulgences, but for day-to-day living this plan has been working for me.

delicious and convenient

For my typical busily scheduled day, this lunch is about as perfect as a lunch can get:

Layer in a glass jar:

pieces of boneless chicken
sprouts (or other salad greens, should you have them)
pieces of tasty cheese
a glob of mustard
about two tablespoons of olive oil and balsamic or red wine vinegar
sprinkle of salt, pepper, dill

Close up, shake around as much as you wish, and take with a fork to eat later. Mmm…

Natasha Henderson, Montreal

Tags 30 second lunch prep, cheese, chicken, jar lunch, lunch, lunch to go, mason jar, Nigella chicken, salad, sprouts

Categories Food, recipes, Uncategorized

The Harpie Doll Reflects

By natashahenderson

April 18, 2011 //

needing even more Alone Time to think a bit

Natasha Henderson, Montreal

Tags Canada, chicken, crown, election, Harpie, lite beer, politician, stuffed

Categories cartoons

a chicken in every pot… a harpie in every garage

By natashahenderson

April 13, 2011 //

This might only appeal to some of our readers, and mostly those in Canada only. Apologies. Other cartoons are on their way…

what type of politician would put such limits on the press?

This Chicken’s party slogan?

“Be Afraid”.

We are in the midst of political election campaigns in Canada. In between the multitudes of issues on the plate, one thing that really struck me as different from the “Good Old Days”, is that the press is being so very controlled by the current Prime Minister. I saw a news clip about his practice of allowing the journalists only four questions each per day, and only on different subjects. So… no follow-up questions? Only first-point questions?

Doesn’t come across as Mr Open-And-Honest, now, does he?

Natasha Henderson, Montreal

Tags bucka bucka, Canada, Canadian, cartoon, chicken, Conservatives, Drawing, elections, Fear, Government, Harper, humour, not that funny, Political campaign, Politics, Prime minister, Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper

Categories cartoons

making things better

By tammyschmidt

March 9, 2011 //

Cock-a-leekie! All of a sudden, I see this method everywhere!

Nigella Lawson is a woman who knows food, and she’s not afraid to show her love for it. In the last few weeks I have discovered a great recipe from her latest cookbook called Kitchen. Beyond being tasty, this recipe has made my life much less complicated.

It is her mother’s Praised chicken. In the last while, I have made this recipe once a week. It gives me enough soup stock and chicken to make tasty soups and salads all week long. Long ago, I remember someone from Saskatchewan telling me this is a great way to cook chicken because it made a delicious and clear stock. I thought that roasting chicken is the best way, so I never bothered with this other method. Well, years pass, and I now see that I have been missing out on something both great and efficient. Both the soup stock and the left over chicken are delicious. AND most importantly, it saves me time by making a stock and cooking a chicken, all at once.

What I do each week goes something like this. I enjoy the chicken as a hot meal on the first day. Within the same hour of preparing the chicken, I distribute the stock into individual portions that I can reheat during the week. I then take apart the chicken (by far, my least favourite job!) and put this in individual jars, so that I have portions ready for any kind of salad. The rest is a matter of finding a little lettuce and a few veggies, and then I am set for the week! Truly, this is fast food. And it is affordable, even if I buy an organic chicken.

Earlier this week I also discovered a similar recipe in the New York Times. It is a saké steamed chicken with ginger and scallions.

So, with many of my lunches being ultra-healthy and fast, it seems to make for a really nice week. And as a bonus, I feel that I can relax when I decide to go for a small treat at my favourite café. With balance, living is very beautiful.

Tammy Schmidt, Montreal

Nourishing Soup Stocks (wholefoodsmarket.com)
DF+EF; we’ve done our homework here! (fleurbain.com)

Tags chicken, Cooking, domestic goddess, eating well, Home, Montreal, New York Times, Nigella Lawson, praised chicken, Recipe, salad, Saskatchewan, Soup, Stock (food)

Categories Food, recipes, Uncategorized

El Chalateco, El Salvadoran Pupuseria

By natashahenderson

January 10, 2011 //

The décor is always festive.

One of the joys of living in a cosmopolitan city such as Montreal is the grand variety of restaurants. We recently enjoyed a couple of meals at El Chalateco, an El Salvadoran restaurant located steps away from the Beaubien metro.

A full, nourishing meal.

Pupusas, the national dish of El Salvador, are a specialty of the house. They are served as a street-food in El Salvador, and here in Montreal at El Chalateco they are served on a plate with accompanying house-fermented cole slaw. A pupusa is a filled, fried corn tortilla. They come with a tasty tomato sauce and a spicy hot sauce on the side. One of our favourites is Queso y loroco, which is filled with cheese and an asparagus-flavoured flower called loroco. At $2.25 a piece, one pupusa is insanely inexpensive, so it’s only polite to order at least two or three of them. If you come as a large group, you have the option of ordering large amounts to be served family-style.

The Queso y loroco pupusa is a must-eat.

Besides pupusas, there are many other dishes to be tasted at El Chalateco. Vegetarians will be happy here; there are not only veggie-based pupusas but a healthy handful of other meatless choices. Vegans can enjoy a bean pupusa with the fermented cole slaw, and there is a delicious-looking plate of beans, rice, and vegetables. Flexibility is an option because the kitchen is small. About three people make the food as it is ordered.

Layers: Fried tortilla, beans, cucumber, cole slaw, guacamole, egg, sweet onions. Delicious and refreshing.

For meat-eaters, this restaurant provides many satisfying choices. Among the appetizers are traditionally-cooked tamales. The masa is infused with other flavours because it is wrapped into a plantain leaf along with other ingredients such as olives and chicken. The tacos Salvadorenos are crunchy rolled-up meat-filled tortillas, served with veggies and a very hot sauce. With a pupusa they are a plentiful good lunch, or they can indeed be eaten as the appetizers that they claim to be. Another specialty of the house is the El Salvadoran version of the Québécois “Hot Chicken” sandwich, the Pan con pollo y escavechi. It is enormous and full of not only chicken and flavours, but vegetables too. The sauce is rich (but not overly so) and delicious. Pastelitos de carne are hot, crunchy packets of spicy goodness. Definitely give them a try.

In a word, the food here tastes of nourishment. The dishes are made with care, served hot and are nicely filling.

Pastelitos de carne are the "petits cousins latins de la tourtière."

Even though our visit was in the dead of winter, the ultimate summer drink had to be tested. El Salvadorians call it ‘Michelada‘, which is a mixture of lager, salsa juice and lime served in a mug with a spiced and salted rim. One sip led to dreams of relaxing in the shade with the good company of several drinks shared with many friends.

There are some good dessert options. Bite into a Torreja. It is a warm and delicious french toast-like dessert. It has a depth of sweetness that makes my heart race. Chocolate caliente is a rich, full-tasting and lightly spiced experience. Although my mug stayed very hot for a full half hour, my hot chocolate was always easily drinkable. Chilate is the choice for a ‘super-sized’ dessert or a meal all in itself. ‘Chilate’ is a warm and filling drink thickened with corn flour and spiked with a sprig of lightly crushed cocoa seeds. Drinking Chilate is thought to strengthen someone and it is often served to the convalescing. It seems like a good meal for this time of the year. The drink is served inside a calabash gourd, accompanied by a dish filled with slices of fried sweet-potato and a plantain; these are garnished with a sweet, cinnamon sauce of cooked plums. Each taken in turn makes for a delightfully filling combination.

Chilate!!!

The atmosphere in El Chalateco is relaxed, family friendly, yet quietly festive. There are always seasonal decorations suspended from the ceilings, it looks like the place is ready for a party. It is clean, inexpensive, friendly, and welcoming. It is easily a go-to place in the Beaubien area!

(El Chalateco, 520 Beaubien Est, 514.272.5585)