Once Upon a Plate: February 2014

Tuesday

Honey Sesame Chicken (Slow Cooker) and two other things . . .

First of all:

Thank you - for leaving kind messages and emails for

positive thoughts, prayers and good wishes as we ushered

our sweet Black Labrador from this life.

Please accept my deepest thanks.

Your kindness and understanding has been so appreciated.

A little more about our pal at the end of this post.

Second of all:

Blog connection problems!!

With NO thanks to Blogger/Google. :(

There has been a snafu with my domain name onceuponaplate1.com.

I am attempting to retrieve it, but in the meantime I've reverted

to "www.onceuponaplate.blogspot.com", so if you have had

difficulty getting feeds or connecting with my blog -- that is why.

If you can change your address book/connection to 'www.onceuponaplate.blogspot.com'

we'll be able to keep in touch.

Thank you!!

And enough of that business.

~*~*~*~*~

Ah, this difficult time and dreary weather seemed to cry out for comfort food,

so when I happened upon this recipe I knew I wanted to try it.

Originally found at Baby Center (click), it was adapted by a another blogger

Tessa @ Handle the Heat (click).

Both versions looked good but

I wanted to pump it up slightly to give it more of an Asian edge,

which we prefer, so I added a couple of tweaks to suit our taste.

The original recipe called for boneless/skinless chicken breasts...

but for slow cooking I prefer boneless/skinless chicken thighs ~

they are more flavorful and can stand up to slow cooking more successfully

than breasts. Thighs remain moist and tender during the long cooking period.

I followed Tessa's (Handle the Heat) recipe fairly closely,

but I did make these changes:

- I tossed a couple of slices of fresh ginger into the slow cooker

- I used the ketchup called for in original recipe,
(if you are avoiding corn syrup use an organic brand that does not include it.)

(Or do as Tessa did and substitute tomato sauce.)

- Increased the garlic to 3 cloves, minced

- Increased the cider vinegar to 3 teaspoons (1 Tablespoon)

- Added a couple of splashes of Dry Cocktail Sherry

(may substitute Mirin instead~ Japanese cooking wine for the sherry)

- Increased the sesame oil to 2 teaspoons

- Along with the scallion garnish I added fresh Cilantro sprigs

As always, I recommend you adjust the seasonings to your own taste, of course. :)

I hope if you try this recipe you'll love it. It reheats and freezes well
(sans the garnishes), so you can make ahead and have it on hand.

Simply warm it up and sprinkle with the fresh garnishes.

Serve over rice, noodles, or your favorite grain.

It's also a fabulous filling for lettuce leaves or small sandwich buns.

You can find both recipes via the links above ...

I believe you will like this method of preparing chicken.

~*~*~*~*~*~

(© original oil by John Silver, UK)*
Original is available, click the above link to learn more.

My Pal

The good news is the Veterinarian was 'off' in her estimate of
the amount of time our pup had remaining.

Our boy actually enjoyed an additional several weeks of a good,
happy life beyond what was predicted, tail wags and all.

We made every effort to make sure he enjoyed each moment,
doing things he liked, eating well, going for rides in the car,
sleeping comfortably, being loved; he was able to remain
free of pain and discomfort until the very end.

May we all have it so when it's our time.

Here is to 14 splendid years of love and companionship.

Not a mean bone in his body . . . he was a good boy.

The tough decision was made Monday morning February 3rd ~

he was such a wonderful dog, very much loved,

is sorely missed and will remain forever in our hearts.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Fine Artist, U.K.

Please visit Mr. Silver's site, JSFA (The Fine Art of John Silver)
(http://www.johnsilverfinearts.com/) to see more of his exquisite work.

You may order prints, originals, or contact to

perhaps commission an original painting.

Shipping is available worldwide from the UK.*