Be Here Now

 I’m back.

Don’t know why I am doing this now, don’t know how long I’ll be here. Over the past 8 years, I’ve been trying to enjoy the good moments whenever they happen. 

So what if it took me over an hour to get out of bed? Who cares if my inability to self-regulate my body temperature had me pulling on warm knitted socks and huddling under one of Cory’s woolen baby blankets while the thermometer is set for 78 degrees? What’s the difference if I ate fried green tomato potato chips for lunch because I’m unable to navigate a treacherous flight of stairs to the kitchen?

I’m here now, like Baba Ram Dass, and that’s the best I can manage at this time. The pain is, for just this moment, delightfully underwhelming. Is that me or is that Flexeril? Who cares?

Anyway, don’t be fooled by my overt mellowness. Just this morning, to the thunderous cyber-applause of my Facebook friends and relatives, I referred to Lindsay Graham as an “Insincere, lying little f*ckweasel ... Graham has crawled so far up Trump’s over sized ass he can tell you what The Donald ate for breakfast.”

To celebrate my return to the blogosphere, here’s a recipe I’ve probably published before, but what the hell, it’s worth another look:

Cindy's Spectacular Jambalaya

This is totally my version of jambalaya, so I have no one to blame but myself if you find it displeasing.  But if you love one-pot dishes with everything and then some, please try this.

6 slices bacon, quartered crosswise

2/3 cup canola oil, divided

1-14 oz. package Johnsonville New Orleans Brand Andouille, sliced

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed

10 cloves garlic, chopped

3 onions, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped, including leaves

2 large green bell peppers, chopped

3 stalks of fresh thyme, with multiple stems on each

2 bay leaves

2 cups uncooked rice

1-14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with garlic, basil, and oregano

1-10 oz. can Ro-Tel Original Tomatoes with Green Chilies

1/2 pound chopped ham

1 quart chicken stock

1-8 oz. container fresh oysters, drained and rinsed (optional, but we love oysters)

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

Seasoning:  kosher salt, coarse black pepper, Emeril's Original Essence.  No exact amounts are given, so season to taste.  Remember that the sausage and the Ro-Tel tomatoes will add quite a bit of spice to the dish.

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

Tabasco sauce, to taste

Slap Ya Mama white pepper blend seasoning

You will need a large, deep, very heavy pot for this dish.  Cook the bacon until crisp, then remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined dish. Add about 1/3 cup canola oil to the pot.   Add the sliced andouille and saute for about five minutes, then remove to the same dish as the bacon.  Season the chicken with Emeril's Essence, using your fingers to distribute evenly, and saute in the same pot till the chicken is no longer pink on the outside, but not completely cooked through.  Remove and add to the dish with the bacon and the andouille.  Crumble the cooled bacon with your fingers.

Add another 1/3 cup of canola oil to the pot and bring up to heat.  Add the garlic, and once it becomes fragrant (within a minute) add the onions, celery, bell peppers, bay leaves and thyme (throw in the whole stalks).  Season well with kosher salt, coarse black pepper, Essence, and 1 tablespoon of light brown sugar.  Saute for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking.

Add the rice, stirring to coat with the cooking liquid.  Add the tomatoes and the ham.  Pour in the chicken stock.  Add back all of the cooked bacon, andouille and chicken.  Stir, bring up to a boil, reduce to low, cover and cook until the rice is tender and the liquid almost gone, about 25 minutes.  Check about halfway through to make sure the rice is not sticking to the bottom of the pan.  Add the oysters, cover and cook 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook another 2 minutes until the shrimp are pink and the oysters firm.  Discard the bay leaves and thyme stalks. 

Taste to check the seasoning.  I added more salt and pepper, Slap Ya Mama seasoning and some (quite a bit) Tabasco. We like ours spicy but not painful.