dream

I left my bag outside on the back porch and started exploring inside the house. I had someone with me, but I don't know who, maybe Bukama. It was kinda like Castlevania, and then we stumbled across a demon lord asleep in his bedroom. He was pale, maybe albino, and my companion told me to hold still and be quiet as he woke, and maybe he wouldn't find us. He reached out with a wing/tentacle and grabbed the bottom of my boot, the sole under my heel, and slowly constricted around it, crushing it. He knew where we were. I begged him to let us go, and he finally did deciding we weren't enough of a challenge and should come back when we were. I ran outside, apologizing to the little girl for waking her daddy. My bicycle was on the front porch, I left it on the lawn, and ran downstairs for my bag. I couldn't decide whether to wear my jacket or not, b/c I'd be working late, but it was warm and bulky, and I was about to bike to campus.

Mini-chicken!

I'm cooking it! It's only 2 lbs with all the guts. I ripped out the guts and put them in the bottom of the pan with a cup or two of Britta water. The chicken got basted with a small amount of olive oil, worchestershire sauce, and terriyaki sauce, salted and peppered, and then put atop a grill in the pan in the oven on 425ºF. While that's sitting for 15 min, I started a cup of water w/ a chicken boullion cube, and when it boiled I added 1/2 cup of dry basmati rice. Basted the chicken, then rice finished. Rice was mostly cooked, so I added a sprinkling of oregano, rosemary, and parsley, and something like 1/8 or 1/4 cup cold water and am letting it sit to cool more. At the 30-min mark I will take the chicken out, baste it more, stuff it with the rice, flip, assault salt and pepper more. Turn the oven down to 375ºF, and stick it back in for 30-40 minutes until a meat thermometer shoved up its butt into a thick thigh or breast reads .... (goes to check package) ... 180ºF. No tin foil, last time I made a turkey I liked the browned sides but didn't like the unbrowned breast.

*smacks lips* Man, I'm so excited. Schadenfreude! That's the ultimate reason I think it's so cute that I'm glutton-ing over a slaughtered baby chicken barely larger than my pet bird. *rubs hands with glee*

I was thinking on the whole drive home how it's such a bizzare bit of social evolution that some species we domesticate as livestock, and others we domesticate as companions. My college roommate, her family raised chickens, and she gave me the impression that they served both purposes for them, interestingly. Raised in the bathtub, given names, and then slaughtered and eaten when they'd taste good.

Oh, and speaking of Gabe, his photos from amavia came in! They'll be up on flickr soon and I'll post a link then.

Stuffing a chicken with rice (for righties)

Lie chicken on its back, round (breast) side up, flat side down, so that the tail makes a little platform underneath the big hole where its butt used to be. Have this hole point towards your right (assuming you're a righty, reverse for lefties), with the body towards the left. Scoop the rice in a chinese soup spoon. Place the spoon atop the tail platform, holding the spoon in your right hand, leaning it slightly in towards the hole. With your left hand, take another spoon (any sort will do) and scoop the rice out of the spoon into the bird's anal cavity. Do this for a few spoonfuls, then use one of the spoons to shove/pack the rice in with your right hand while your left spoon stabilizes the bird by pushing back on the neck area. Repeat until you're out of rice or cavity. Extra rice can sometimes be shoved in the neck side. Some people sew up the cavity after.

Gabe photos!

Oh my goodness amavia, you are an absolute goddess! Everybody go give her your business. I'm going to go pimp you out on the cockatiels and parrot_lovers pages too, those'll be up within minutes. (Who needs sleep? Or grading?)

Sample photos

As mentioned a while back, amavia was looking for some people with birds for stock photography, and Gabe and I volunteered. Tammy's a professional freelance photographer and graphic designer, specializing in pet photography, her webpage is rubicat.com, and I really can't say enough good about her. Our experience in person was very good: lasted an hour, Tammy made both Gabe and myself feel at home in her studio, and she was quite comfortable handling Gabe herself.

( And of course, in the end her photos speak for themselves. )

If you like the photos, compliments go to amavia, not me! And the best compliment is your business or sending other people her way. She's located in the Boston, MA area.

x-posted all over the place

M-B quizmemeathon

Not again...

Your Type is
ENTJ
Extroverted Intuitive Thinking Judging
Strength of the preferences %
56 25 1 78

Quiz

I barely got an ENTJ, but I've in the past gotten ENFJ as well. I can see where either would fit me - the latter is Teacher, and the former is Marshall. I've been doing more of Marshall type stuff lately, so it might make sense that I'm in that mindset.