Springtime, Running & Southern Fried Chiken

Spring has arrived in what can be called a heavy fog. It was reported in the media as rain, but it reminded me of living in San Francisco when the fog blows in from the Pacific coast. It was nice hiking out on the trail with a light mist coming down. There was no wind to speak of, and the forecast is for temps to be back up in the 70's by Saturday.

I started jogging yesterday, only a little more than a 1/2 mile. I just want to do more than 2 or 3 miles a day. The impact on an old man's body, that's me, can be tremendous. I have friends and clients who are runners, and they all have some back or foot problems. Since I already have those, who knows. The high from running is very addictive. If I can do 2 miles at one stretch I'd be very happy, but this is something I will have to work up to slowly. I would like be able to get to that level by July 1st, the next weigh in, when I'm supposed to be 215 pounds.  I bought a new pair of running shoes just for this purpose. I'm stretching muscles that have not been used for so long it's not funny. Just for now I can do a 1/2 mile every other day. My muscles are sore. I'll have to see how the body holds out.

On to food. I'm going to work on perfecting my southern fried chicken, something that has slipped through my grasp my whole life. I just never tried to "perfect" it. If you read this you know my theory on perfection i..e., it doesn't exist, except possibly within the mind. I can cook chicken a dozen ways to Sunday, but I have never been able, at this house with our stove, to get it hot enough to fry chicken. I bought a portable outdoor stove a while back that has two burners which will get up to 35,000 BTUs' on each burner, and that is what I'm going to use to cook my fried chicken.

Without going into a lot detail this is what I think is needed for good fried chicken. #1- equal size pieces of chicken, #2- great batter, double coating #3 even cooking temp 375 degrees, #4- peanut oil, bacon fat and shortening on the stove top in the dutch oven and cook till the coating is golden brown, and #5- finish baking in the oven at 375 degrees to an internal temperature of 155 degrees. It should be extra crispy on the outside, and moist and tender on the inside. That is going to be the challenge.

I love fried chicken. It's not very healthy for you, but nothing will kill you if you don't eat it every day. At the cost of peanut oil I can't afford to cook it more than a couple of times a year .  I'm renaming my fried chicken to Yankee extra crispy fried chicken. The battle of the north and south continues.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War


What I ate today:
Breakfast: Hash brown new potato, 2 eggs over easy, 2 pieces of toast.

Lunch: Big salad

Snacks: handful of chocolate covered coffee beans, 2 pieces of watermellon, orange juice, double
             cappuccino and piece of cinnamon swirl bun (no coffee tomorrow)

Dinner: Turkey sandwich with mayo, mustard, avocado, black pepper

Exercise: 5 miles walking, 1/2 mile running