The chicken is marinating. I'm marinating it in the Puerto Rican version of adobo, which is this:

For every pound of meat:
1 garlic clove
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Oregano
2 peppercorns
1 tsp vinegar or lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil.

You mash all the dry stuff into a paste and mix in the wet stuff and slather it all over the meat. Refrigerate it for 24 hours or (horrors!) leave it on the counter for 2-3 hours. If you refrigerate it, take it out about an hour before cooking to get it to room temp. For mashing, I love the pilon my dad's wife Ileana bought for me. It's basically a wooden mortar and pestle. I use it to mash just about any garlic used for any recipe. You know what really smells good? Mashing up garlic and fresh ginger. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

I think I've said this before but it bears repeating: I use this adobo recipe on a pork picnic shoulder occasionally. Once you start roasting it, everyone in a 5 square mile radius will spontaneously start to drool.

So what did I eat for dinner? I had an odd hankering for country cooking. First off I made cornbread:

2 cups cornbread
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tbsp oil
1 egg
2 slices of bacon

Heat oven to 450 degrees; in a medium cast iron skillet cook the bacon. Meanwhile combine all the dry ingredients and mix well, then combine all the wet ingredients and mix well. Do not combine wet and dry yet!

Drain bacon on paper towels and drain off bacon grease but leave about a tablespoon in the skillet. Crumble the bacon back into the skillet and spread pieces evenly(some people dice the bacon first before cooking and that works fine). Now combine all the ingredients and stir just enough to combine. Lumps are okay; you do not want to overwork the batter. Pour into skillet then pop it into the oven for 18-20 minutes. You will know it's done when the cornbread pulls away from the sides. Flip it over on a plate. Not a good idea to slam the iron skillet on the plate. Just shake it out.

I also had blackeye peas and collard greens. Here's the recipe: 1 can of blackeye peas and 1 can of collard greens. Heat. Eat.

Blasphemy, you say? Nonsense! They taste perfectly yummy out of a can (I like Bush's peas and Southern collard greens) especiallly if you spice them up with a little of that leftover bacon grease. I can feel my arteries harden as I type. Mmmmmmmmmm!

PS: I suppose you could add sugar to this cornbread if that's what floats your boat (bleah!). I can't tell you how much, but I can tell you when doing the separate mixing you add it to the wet ingredients. It's the one exception to the rule of quickbread recipes.

In other news, Jon seems to be really enjoying his course. He's learning a great deal about sewing and the guy teaching the course is a nice fellow who is letting Jon stay at his place for the week. It's a nice break for him, getting away from the same old routine. He's also planning to go get his airframe and power plant mechanic's ticket before the baby arrives; that's a 12 day course. I think it's a great idea for him to go do these things before d-day; not just to get them out of the way, but to relax and recharge before he's up to his elbows in used diapers.

Also I had a pregnancy-induced moment of sheer stupidity yesterday afternoon. I had gone to the bank to deposit some checks; on the way back at a stoplight, I waited for the light to turn then I went right through a red light. The light had only given a green arrow to turn left. I scared myself pretty bad. Fortunately I didn't get into an accident.

I say pregnancy induced because I have noticed increased absent-mindedness and clumsiness, which is common in pregnancy. I have been fairly successful in combatting the clumsiness by moving a hell of a lot slower than I normally do. I still drop things and stumble a lot. How do I combat absent-mindedness, especially when I drive? Scary crap! I could have gotten into an accident, and gotten hurt and what if I hurt or killed the baby? Yeek! My hair is turning grayer as I type. I need to be vigilant.

Last but not least, this review is dedicated to Helly and Alan: Sing along! Who lives in a pinapple under the sea? Absorbent and yellow and porous is he!!