Thoughts on Originality

And a quicker & healthier rendition of classic Orange Chicken

What’s Been On My Plate

Well well well. It appears I lived through the Wisdom Tooth malarky! I’m fully aware that many people have had their wisdom teeth removed with no issue (cue the “I was eating steak on day three!” or “I played in my baseball game the next day” people) but that was NOT my experience. I felt like I’d sucked on a tennis-ball sized jawbreaker in my sleep and woke up to someone striking both sides of my mouth with a metal bat. I had so much swelling and bruising in my cheeks that I looked like a squirrel preparing for the winter. I was truly down for the count, drinking chocolate milk and bone broth, swallowing (not chewing) soup and crying for a few days. Things are better now, thank goodness. The only thing that got me through the whole experience was knowing that I’d never be doing it again.

One of my dog's rubbing her functioning mouth in my face during the recovery and January's produce!

In other news, happy New Year! I am four wisdom teeth lighter and none the wiser. I’ve been loving cooking now that I can open my mouth and chew again. January’s in-season produce is zesty (thank-you citrus and ginger), filling (hello root vegetables and avocados), and chompy (I’m looking at you, pomegranates, fennel, and cabbage) and I’m enjoying concocting fun meals and bakes to add some fun these cold and cloudy days. Iowa City got over a foot of snow earlier this week so my winter walks are snowy and exciting. It’s a bit comical how much snow there is. I’m here for it— there’s something serene about my long winter walks, especially because all the sane people are cozy inside so it feels like I have the big world all to myself sometimes!

some of of our snow and January flowers

Some Thoughts, Feelings, & Opinions

The other day, I was making pancakes and had a thought. With almond flour in mind, what if I ground macadamia nuts or hazelnuts or whatever nuts into a flour and added them to a baked good, in replace of some of the flour? I imagined doing this to a normal banana chocolate-chip pancake recipe and felt like a genius.

I took to google to see if there were thoughts about this. Pancakes, grinding nuts into flour, the whole shebang. Turns out I’m not the nut-grinding trailblazer I thought I was.

Humans have been preparing and eating food for centuries. Nearly everything has been done before. It’s all the same, just created with whatever is applicable to each culture. For example, every culture has a portable carb to lap up food and sauces— bread, yes. But also, this looks like naan. Roti. Tortillas. Paratha. Injera. Pitas. Obviously people add variations and get creative with their mediums, but it’s all a type of flour mixed with salt and water and cooked on a hot surface at the end of the day.

Naan, tortillas, and injera

This realization, that nearly everything has been done before, is a bummer for someone who loves to cook and has a Substack where I try to send out relatively creative and original recipes (me). However, I’m beginning to see the beauty in this.

Each time I cook, I have the opportunity to build on the things I have learned from the cultures, recipes, and people around me to create something for myself. And I get to share my creations with others, creating a never-ending food party.

And this doesn’t only extend to food. Yes, I would only think to put Rice Krispies into chocolate-chip cookie dough because it’s something my Midwestern Grandma did. But also, I wear colorful lipstick because I grew up with a Mom who wore fun & bright lipsticks daily. I wear a ring in the shape of a snake because a guy I worked with in high school had a snake tattooed around his arm and I thought it was cool. Nora Ephron and A.M Holmes influence my writing and James Galvin and Eileen Myles inspire my poetry because they are who I enjoy reading. My professors handed me my pen.

lipstick, Van Gogh, and a wonky hat

I see French paintings while I drive through Iowa’s sweeping farmland, thinking of Van Gogh and his cypress and wheat stacks. Much of the music I listen to is because I grew up with parents who listened to a lot of Lin Brehmer on WXRT, Chicago’s radio station “for music lovers,” may he rest in peace. I stopped touching my eyebrows so much because a girl at camp told me that’s the secret to her lively brows. I default to create mountains and trees whenever I watercolor because of the summers I spent out west when I was younger. I knit hats and all kinds of things in a goofy way because my friend’s mom taught me how to knit when I was ten and I forgot how to do it correctly. I twist my wet hair into curls before bed some nights because my sister has curly hair that I find beautiful.

Everything I am has been exemplified by someone else and has coincidentally brought me a step closer to myself than I was before. Obviously, I’ve inherited some not-so-great instincts, too. But I’m more interesting this way.

I’m giving up on creating an unknown-something that’s never been done before and instead, I’m doing what I know and I’m doing it well. And I may just end up creating something new along the way. But whatever I do, it’ll be original and unique to me.

I am a mosaic and so are you. Created from several tiny pieces of everyone who’s ever left a mark.

What Will Be On Your Plate

One-Pan Orange Chicken

Broccoli, ginger, and orange are all in-season produce this month! Put them together and you’ll find yourself with tender chicken coated in a sticky and lively sauce over warm rice and steamed broccoli. An easy at-home version of one of my favorite takeout orders. Add as many chili flakes as you’d like, and eat this on the couch with a rich movie.

One night after my wisdom tooth extraction, unable to sleep and seething in pain, I was scrolling through Instagram to distract (as one does). I saw a video of someone making orange chicken and, even though I could hardly eat a scrambled egg at the time, I thought it looked positively scrumptious and decided it would be soft enough to have for when I could chew again.

The video I saw used several pots and pans, breaded then fried the chicken, mixed the sauce in a separate bowl before finally putting it all together in another pot, and baking the broccoli. This made me tired.

I don’t love dipping raw chicken into flour and egg wash and then frying it because my fingers hate the dirty sensation it entails. Plus, I will then have to deal with oil-splatters all over my stove. Not to mention the general cleanup of cooking anything can feel tiring. Especially in January.

Because of this, I wanted to make a recipe that would come together quickly and not cause a ruckus in the kitchen. I made this dish beginning-to-end in about 25 minutes while my rice cooked next to it. Easy peasy clean up and minimal dirty-chicken finger feelings. And! The leftovers are even better, dare I say.

We will be using a combo of chicken thighs and chicken breast for the most flavor. But, if you, like me, are antsy about dealing with raw chicken, you can (politely; with a smile) ask your butcher to cube your chicken into bite sized pieces in the back and they’ll do it for you. Asking with a smile is key. This way, all you have to do is stick your chicken in the pan once you’re home.

Orange Chicken

Serves 4-6

What You’ll Need:

• 2 chicken breasts cubed into bite sized pieces

• 1/2 lb of chicken thighs, boneless and skinless, cubed into bite sized pieces

• 1 head of broccoli, cut into florets

• 2-3 tablespoons of cornstarch

• 3 tablespoons of brown sugar

• 1 tsp orange zest

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1/2 tsp minced ginger

• 1/3 cup orange juice

• 1/3 cup and a tablespoon soy sauce

• chili flakes, to your liking

• 1-2 tablespoons of oil

• rice, to serve

  

  

1. Begin cooking your rice however you would like. Then, warm oil in a pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add the cubed chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken begins to brown and is nearly cooked through, about 6 minutes.

2. Lower the heat to medium-low and add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to the pan. Stir the chicken around until most of it is coated in the cornstarch. It may look a bit gluey, this is what we want!

3. Into the pan, add the brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and orange zest. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes or until fragrant.

4. Heat at medium-high, add the orange juice and soy sauce to the pan. Stir everything together until a sauce is formed, about 2-3 minutes. Adjust thickness to your liking by adding more cornstarch, a teaspoon at a time, taking care to stir away any lumps.

5. Remove the chicken from the heat and place in a dish to serve. Add broccoli to the pan you’ve been using with 2 tablespoons of water and cover with a lid for 6-8 minutes, or until broccoli is fork-tender. This will steam your broccoli and it will soak up any sauce remaining in the pan.

6. Serve the orange chicken and broccoli over rice, sprinkle with chili flakes. Enjoy!

From my plate to yours,

JuJu