Get ready friends, because this is a big Tourist Tuesday. A lot has happened since last week, and if you don’t remember you can catch up with Part 1 of Back in the DMV. When last I left you, I had been to my friend Mala’s bridal shower and I had spent the day hanging out with my childhood friends. After that I spent the rest of the week walking around DC, catching up with friends, and going to Mala’s wedding. Let me tell you about it. 

On Tuesday, I went to get my hair cut at Fiddleheads in Dupont. Yes, I flew across the ocean and decided to get my hair cut. I haven’t found a place in London that I really like, and I love Fiddleheads because they specialize in curly hair cuts. I had about 4 inches cut off and the pile of hair on the floor looked like a small dog. It was gross and amazing and I sort of wanted to take a picture of it.

I then went to visit my colleagues at Live It Learn It. It was wonderful to go back, but also a little tough since I was so sad to leave the job in the first place. In case you don’t know, Live It Learn It provides students from DC public schools with opportunities to visit and experience the museums and monuments throughout the city. Live It Learn It goes into the classroom to prepare students for their trip, and then students gets hands-on experience at sites throughout the city. It’s an amazing organization. Since I left, Live It Learn It is now in a beautiful new office, and the surrounding area is mostly the same but there were a couple of new shops in the area too. When I arrived we sat around, had some snacks, and chatted. I caught them up on what I’m doing in London and I got to hear about new programs, classes, and developments at Live It Learn It. The organization is celebrating it’s 10th anniversary next month and I got to hear all about their plans for commemorating the event. As I left, I felt blue about not being around anymore but glad that every thing was going well, and that I still get to help out a bit now and then.

Although most of my DMV vacation was about going to favorite places and seeing friends, I did want to do a little traditional tourist site seeing. I took the metro to the National Mall, and decided to walk the monuments. First, of course is the Washington Monument. Here’s my first, but not last, Abrhama Lincoln reference of the post. See where the color changes in the stone? That’s because during the Civil War, Lincoln stopped construction on the monument, and when they started building again they used stones from a  different quarry. Anyway, it’s not DC without construction, so you can see work being done on the Capitol Dome in the background of the bottom right photo.

After that, I went over to the Lincoln Memorial. I saw some helicopters fly by, which is another nice DC treat (photo at top of the post). I like the Lincoln Memorial in part because it has such lovely views. I could see over into Virginia (top left picture, above) and all the way back to the Washington Monument. It’s tough to see, but I attempted a good picture of the Washington Monument with the spot marking where Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. But, I really love this monument because Abraham Lincoln is my favorite, so I love this monument. After I left Lincoln, I went to peak over at the World War II Memorial, and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial (above photo, bottom left).

Next, I did a little tour of places where I used to work. First I went to the Newseum. One of my favorite things about the Newseum is the botched headlines they print on tiles in the bathroom. But, the real reason I went was to see the exhibit called “President Lincoln is Dead,” which is about the news coverage of Lincoln’s assassination. It’s about to be the 150th anniversary of the assassination and the Newseum is on the site of the National Hotel, which is where John Wilkes Booth was staying at the time – so that’s why they are having this exhibit. The exhibit itself is pretty small, but quite nice. My favorite part was learning how papers stayed up to date. The New York Herald printed seven special editions, some within one hour of each other. Each new addition had a new fact (and sometimes rumor) about the events of the assassination. The most interesting paper though was the one above officially announcing the president’s death. They printed black bars between the columns to show mourning and it reminded me of the black mouring bunting hung on buildings, like Ford’s Theatre.

If you’ve never been the Newseum, I do recommend it. For DC, it’s a pricey at $23 for an adult ticket. But the ticket is good for two days and the museum is amazing. They have a piece of the Berlin Wall and part of the antenna from one of the World Trade Center buildings. They have newspapers that are over 200 years old and photographs that will astound you. It’s a cool place, you should go.

After the Newseum, I then headed over to Ford’s to visit my friends/former colleagues. As you can see I had a warm welcome from my friend Anna. But that was just a quick visit, my real time with my Ford’s girls, Anna, Ashley, and Charlotte, was later in the week when we had brunch. We went to Ashley’s house and had a crepe buffet brunch. We had mimosas, Bloody Mary’s, and sweet and savory crepes. My favorite crepe was a bananas fosters one made by Charlotte. Although, when we went shopping for ingredients, Charlotte and I went to Trader Joe’s and bought cookie butter. It was like nutella, and cookies, and sugar, and perfection all wrapped into one. I did bring home two 48oz jars of peanut butter, but I should’ve also brought home one jar of cookie butter. Missed opportunity.

But, the real reason that I wanted to go to Ashley’s was to visit her new baby son. He was so tiny and adorable and snuggly. It was also nice to see Ashley with him. She is a chill mom and seems totally confident and is just wonderful with him. It was also wonderful to see her dog Tuck, who Ryan and I used to dog sit. He is a really loving dog, and you can see he’s curious about the baby – but it’s also clear that sometimes he wants to be petted instead of the baby. I tried to spread the love and give them both cuddles, but as you can see from the photos I was super excited about the baby.

The main event of the whole week in the DMV was Mala and Sean’s wedding in Baltimore. I was the Matron of Honor so I had to make a speech and do a dance! I was a little nervous because since I live across an ocean I haven’t been around for much of the wedding preparation – but once I arrived I devoted all my time to the bride. I held her train, I calmed her nerves, and I safety pinned her into her clothes. Whatever she needed, I was there.

It was a really beautiful day. She had both a Catholic and Hindu wedding ceremonies. Let me say, Mala looked progressively more gorgeous throughout the day with more sparkly and decorated outfits. It was so wonderful to watch her get ready and help her be beautiful. For the Hindu ceremony, it starts with the Baraat, which was Sean’s procession. He came in on a white horse and the rest of the guest and wedding party were dancing in the streets. It was awesome and slowed traffic as everybody watches us get our groove on. What I loved most, was how happy Sean looked and how much he was enjoying himself. I loved seeing him that excited to marry my best friend.

For me, the best part of the day was being there for Mala. I gave a toast, which I think went well. I told some funny stories about her, although of course I kept the best ones to myself. She said it was a “roller coaster of emotions,” which is pretty much what I wanted. And, as I said before, I had to do a dance. The bridesmaids and some of Mala’s family did a medley of dance routines at the reception in front of all the wedding guests. The other bridesmaids and I had practiced and we were all totally nervous – but once the music came on we jumped in and had a great time. It wasn’t perfect, but it was fun and Mala beamed at us the whole time which was nice. It was great that she appreciated it so much.

I also got to see some of my college friends, Lynn, Kim and Norma. We danced, told old stories, made up new jokes that don’t make any sense, and took some funny pictures. We can’t stay up as late or get down as low as we used to, but being together felt just like old times. The whole wedding a blast. I danced so much I was sore the next morning. I don’t think I could have had more fun.

I was nervous about this trip to the DC area. A year ago, I didn’t want to leave and move to London because I was sad to leave friends, family, and jobs behind. I was nervous about visiting again because I like London and I didn’t want those feelings to come back. If I’m honest, sometimes it was tough to be back. I felt nostalgic and homesick and I wanted more time with my friends. But, what I know is that even though time passes and we’re getting older, softer, and more gray haired – the people and places I love are still there for me. They are still there and when we’re back together it’s a blast. And now, I can always look forward to another amazing trip back to the DMV.

The post Tourist Tuesday: Back in the DMV Part 2 appeared first on Cooking is Messy.

When I made corn chowder, I told you that I liked to go to Zumba on Mondays. That means Monday dinner kind of gets short changed because I need something light and quick. This recipe fits the bill. Last Monday, I made this simple chicken dinner with broccoli and rice. As we were eating it I said to Ryan, “this is college Mariel dinner,” and he chuckled and nodded.

This was the meal I made all throughout college. It is the first real meal I ever knew how to make. It is probably the first meal I ever made for Ryan. In college I would’ve made this with defrosted frozen broccoli and a box of Near East rice pilaf, but over the years I’ve stepped up my game and now I can make everything from fresh ingredients.

I haven’t shared this recipe on the blog before because it didn’t seem very special. It seemed so straightforward, who would need this recipe? But the truth is my mom wrote this down for me when I was in college and didn’t know how to cook anything. She was writing down recipes for me in a spiral notebook and I felt like everything she was writing was too fancy (liked baked salmon filets). So I asked her, “how do I make just plain-ass chicken?” And this is it, plain-ass chicken.

This recipe is a great beginner recipe. It’s perfect for college students, busy people, people with few kitchen appliances, and people who want to learn to cook. Here are four other reasons why this meal is awesome.

1. It’s fast. The whole thing will take you 45 minutes. Yes, 45 minutes is longer than it takes to defrost a pizza, but it is faster than it takes to defrost a lasagna and can sometimes be faster than delivery.
2. It’s cheap. All the ingredients costs me less than £10. It serves two and you’ll still have rice and stock left for a future meal, so really cost per person is even lower.
3. It’s made of all whole, fresh, normal ingredients. So you can feel good about making a quick dinner with all ingredients you can pronounce.
4. It’s going to teach you three valuable basic cooking skills: how to make rice, how to steam vegetables, and how to cook chicken. Learn the basics and you have the foundation to make all kinds of more complicated stuff in the future.

Now a few notes on preparation. The only special equipment I recommend is a vegetable steamer. I like steaming vegetables because it is healthy and quick. Also, for beginner cooks you’ll be making everything on the stove which is good because it will be easy for you to keep your eye on everything. Also you can steam all kinds of veggies, green beans, asparagus, whatever you like. The vegetable steamer I use is pictured below. I like it because it’s easy to clean and store. It’s kind of floppy though so using the handles to remove the vegetables and steamer is a bit hard. If you aren’t going to steam your veggies, then I recommend roasting them. You can find my favorite roasted broccoli recipe at the Amateur Gourmet’s blog.

We’re going to be using boneless skinless chicken breasts. They don’t often get a lot of love because chicken with bones and skins have a bit more flavor. But boneless skinless is cheap to buy, easy to prepare, and quick to cook. You want to make sure that your chicken breast is uniform in thickness. The reason for this is that the thinner side can cook and dry out before the thicker side is even cooked. To even your chicken you can hammer it with a meat mallet. I don’t have that so I’ll sometimes use the bottom of a sturdy glass. You could also cut your chicken breast lengthwise, giving you pieces of even thickness. This is the method that I like, also because it also cuts down on cooking time.

Last note, for seasoning I used adobo and Old Bay, because that’s what I like. You should use what you would like. Don’t know what you like? Garlic powder, salt, and pepper are always a good choice.

Ok, now let me take you back in time to Mariel’s college days.

Messy level: This recipe is really easy and there isn’t much opportunity for spills or splatter. Still, you have to use three pots so that’s almost a full sink of dishes. Overall though, clean prep and easy clean up.

Easy Beginner Chicken Dinner

 

Print

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

An easy recipe for a beginner's chicken dinner

Author: Cooking is Messy

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• ½ cup white rice
• 1 cup chicken stock (you can use water, but stock is more flavorful)
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• adobo (or your preferred seasoning for the chicken)
• 1 medium head of broccoli
• Old Bay (or your preferred seasoning for the broccoli)

Instructions

1. Start with the rice. Put the rice and stock in a medium sauce pan. Heat on high on a back burner (since you're going to set it and leave it). Bring to a boil. Once it boils, lower the heat to low. Cover the pan, let it simmer until all the liquid is absorbed. This takes usually 35-40 minutes, but check your packaging. [Beginner tip: to check for doneness, lift the lid, and use your spoon to push aside a bit of rice to see the bottom of the pan. Is there liquid? If so, not done]
2. Now prep the chicken to make the breasts even (see note above) Season generously with adobo/seasoning of your choice. Set aside.
3. 
4. Wash the broccoli. Cut into little florets.
5. 
6. In a medium saucepan put about ½ inch of water in the bottom. Put the steamer on top of it. Make sure the water doesn't come up over the steamer.
7. Put the vegetables on top of the steamer. Sprinkle with Old Bay or the seasoning of your choice.
8. 
9. Cover the broccoli. Cook on medium-high for about 10 minutes. [Beginner tip: At about 7 minutes, lift the lid and take out a piece of broccoli and test it to see if it tender enough for your liking. Turn off the heat when you feel it is cooked enough]
10. Put a little oil in a skillet. Heat the pan on medium-high.
11. Flick a little water into the pan. If it does nothing, your pan isn't hot enough. If it pops and sizzles aggressively then it is too hot. If it just jumps a little, you're ready.
12. Lower the heat to medium. Add the chicken. Cook on one side for about 3-5 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side for 3-5 minutes. Chicken should be done at about 8 minutes. [Beginner tip: Make a small cut into the chicken breast. Still pink? not done. Increase the heat if it's taking forever, lower the heat if you feel it is browning too quickly]
13. Turn off the heat and serve.

3.2.2807

The post How to Make an Easy Beginner Chicken Dinner appeared first on Cooking is Messy.

Wings were a staple of my junior and senior year of college. Every Thursday, my friends and I would race to Cornerstone, our favorite local bar, to take advantage of 25¢ wings. The thing is, you had to arrive before 10pm to get the deal. If you couldn’t get there by 10, we would call in your order to one of our friends who was already there (and if you were first to arrive you usually had to order about half a dozen varieties of wings). But what made wing night so great, is that it was a standing date with my friends. We’d eat a ton, have a vodka cranberry (pretty much all of our drink of choice at the time), and then we’d dance all night. It was a blast, and today wings still remind me of happy times with my college buddies. Below are some college pictures, circa 2007.

And it’s not just college wing night that’s special! Every year when Ryan and I go to Stone Harbor, we go out with all of our friends to the Windrift. And again, we eat a lot, have a cold beer, and dance all night. Wing nights are where the best stories are made.

So, all of that is to say, I love wings. I honestly don’t know why I don’t make wings more, because I should. This recipe is a pretty good one (although I’m going to keep trying more recipes). This recipe turns out some moist and tasty wings – although not especially spicy. The marinade was spicy, but after cooking the wings didn’t have the tingly heat I like.  But, they have a lot of great garlic and honey flavor. That might sound weird, but it works. Also, they are sticky, saucy, and make a huge mess – all of which are a sure sign of good wings.

Adapted from Season with Spice.

Ingredients

12 wings

1 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

3 tbsp tomato paste

2 tsp hot sauce

1/2 tsp chili powder

2 tbsp honey (plus more for glaze, if desired)

salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, hot sauce, and chili powder.

2. Place the chicken wings in a rimmed dish (like a Pyrex). Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Pour the marinade over the chicken. Cover the chicken and refrigerate for one hour or up to overnight.

3. Preheat oven to 425°.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the chicken wings on top. Do not discard the extra marinade.

5. If desired, drizzle a bit of honey over each wing. As well, you can add a bit more pepper.

6. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip the chicken wings over. Brush the bottoms with remaining marinade. Cook for an additional 10-15 minutes. The wings should be a bit crispy and a rich brown color.

7. Serve warm with lots of napkins.

Messy level: The cooking part of this is actually pretty straightforward. The eating part however, is hugely messy. Average messy level is about 3 spoons.

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