Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[mysty]

[Lvshack]

27 minutes ago, mysty said:

This one made me chuckle 😂 ( like do many others from all you water coolers) 

[TLCOhio]

Just posted on another thread on this board about the details from Royal Caribbean CEO Fain as to how it is going to take more time before any type of major and full-scale return to sailing happens for and by Silversea and the other cruise lines.  Get ready to "hunker down" for most of the winter.  Sorry!

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

[Lois R]

Hi Terry,  I am not surprised.  I would guess they are looking at what is happening around the world......so many

cases are going up☹️.........I am sure you are aware of how bad Wisconsin is right now.....they cancelled the

Badgers game (they were supposed to play Nebraska on Saturday).

[UpstateJan]

On 10/28/2020 at 1:03 PM, silkismom said:

Jan, have you tried quilting? Missouri Star Quilt Co has some fantastic patterns, free videos, easy to not.

Long time quilter, from a long line of quilters.  My first quilt was a 4H project which also doubled as a social studies project in 7th grade.  When my Mom passed away in 2005, I inherited her weaving loom and feel in love with that.   My goal is to be able to retire with enough eyesight ( and brain cells) to enjoy sewing & weaving.  Here's hoping...

[UpstateJan]

So, I cooked something new tonight, and it came out amazing.  Not much to look at, but the aroma and flavor exceeded expectations.  Moroccan style chicken thighs with lemon, olives, and apricots

 

[silkismom]

Recipe please, looks yummy

[jpalbny]

30 minutes ago, UpstateJan said:

So, I cooked something new tonight, and it came out amazing.  Not much to look at, but the aroma and flavor exceeded expectations.  Moroccan style chicken thighs with lemon, olives, and apricots

 

 

Wow! I am intrigued. I can only imagine how good that smells on a nasty, rainy night like tonight. Looks like enough to share! What spices go into that recipe? Did you serve it with couscous? (Oops, no, I see rice now)

 

We are making an old standby tonight. Chicken thighs as well. Ours are roasted with lemon (zest and juice), garlic, honey, and some herbs & spices. Oregano, thyme, and red pepper. Nothing too exotic, but should warm up the kitchen.

 

Enjoying a little cooking wine before dinner. Chris is trimming some Brussels sprouts to go in the air fryer. I'm trying to not drink her wine too... 

 

Today I cut down the tomato plants and harvested what I could. Two freezing nights in a row forecast here, so that's that.

 

I arranged all the unripe tomatoes on a table in a sunny window. We'll see what we get! The mess in the upper left is cherry tomatoes. Tons of them.

 

 

The bowl in the bottom right was just under 5# of tomatillos. I only kept the ripe ones. One plant...the yield was insane!

Edited October 29, 2020 by jpalbny

[silkismom]

Jan, you're waaay ahead of me in the quilting game, I just started about a year ago and now have enough fabric to last me the rest of my life. I see something I like and just have to get it w/o having any idea what I'll make. It's kept me from going completely crazy the past few months--that and Cruise Critic. Our 3rd cruise for this year was canceled the other day.

[UpstateJan]

mmmm, fried green tomato blt!  Yes, lots of leftovers, which is good since I'm in the office tomorrow.   It was perfect meal on this first snow of the season eve.  Spices are garlic, cumin, chili, paprika, cinnamon, and ginger.  My tummy feels warm, great spices for digestion.

 

Give me a few minutes to waddle into the office to upload the recipe on the laptop.  Honestly, it looks a bit intimidating, but it came together really quick.  I did up some basmati while this was cooking, so everything was hot & fresh. 

 

I picked up my last csa box yesterday, so there's some great seasonal cooking in the upcoming week.  The butternut squash could double as a lethal weapon.  

 

 

[UpstateJan]

9 minutes ago, silkismom said:

Jan, you're waaay ahead of me in the quilting game, I just started about a year ago and now have enough fabric to last me the rest of my life. I see something I like and just have to get it w/o having any idea what I'll make. It's kept me from going completely crazy the past few months--that and Cruise Critic. Our 3rd cruise for this year was canceled the other day.

Sorry to hear that, but guess it means more time for quilting!   Fun fact, I was assistant manager of the fabric store in my town when I was in college - 25% staff discount, including on sale items.  So, I'm still working off some of my stash, good thing I had classic taste since this fabric is 35+ years old.  I had acquired some great suiting wool, which isn't enough to cover my posterior at this stage of the game, so it was stripped and braided into an entryway rug when we moved to the new house last year.    If you ever want to come to the dark side of weaving, let me know ......

[UpstateJan]

28 minutes ago, silkismom said:

Recipe please, looks yummy

Instant Pot Moroccan Chicken With Lemon, Olives & Potatoes

• Author: Instant Pot Eats
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 4-6 

---

Description

You will love this family-friendly, one-pot Instant Pot Moroccan chicken stew with potatoes, carrots, olives, lemon and apricots. Gluten-free and Whole30-friendly. Serve with couscous, rice, quinoa, crusty bread or cauliflower rice or green veggies for a lower-carb version.

---

Ingredients

2 lb / 1 kg chicken thighs, skin and bone off
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, halved and sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons minced or crushed garlic
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp chili
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp paprika powder
1 tsp cumin powder
Juice of 1/2 orange (about 2–3 tablespoons)
1 cup of chicken stock
2/3 cup olives (green and black)
3 oz / 90 g dried apricots, sliced in halves
1 large carrot, sliced thick
6–7 lemon slices (one small lemon)
4 small potatoes, sliced into quarter wedges (about 0.6 lb / 300 g)
A little extra salt
Garnishes: toasted almonds and fresh parsley

 

Instructions

• Prepare all ingredients first. Cut the chicken thighs in halves and trim off any excess fat. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; set aside.
• Turn the Instant Pot and press the Sauté function key. Once the inside of the pot gets hot, add the olive oil, onions and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring a few times until lightly browned.
• Add garlic and spices and stir through to release the aromas. Add the orange juice and chicken stock and stir through, scraping off the bottom. Now, add the chicken pieces, olives, apricots and carrots and stir in the spiced broth.
• Insert lemon slices around the chicken and add the potato wedges on the top. Sprinkle them with a little extra salt.
• Pop the lid on top, lock and make sure the top valve is pointing to Sealing. Press Manual/Pressure Cook and set to 10 minutes at HIGH pressure. The Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes or so to come to pressure. Once the timer is done, allow 15 minutes for natural pressure release and then use the quick release method (point the top valve to Venting) to let off the remaining pressure.
• Open the lid. Remove the potatoes and lemon slices to a plate. Transfer everything but the sauce to an oven-proof casserole dish or frying pan. Place the potatoes and lemon wedges on top. Add heaped tablespoon of flour dissolved in 2 tablespoons of water to the sauce and stir through, to thicken. Pour over the chicken and potatoes and pop the pan under broil/grill for 5-7 minutes to brown slightly. This step is optional as the tagline will be ready to be served right away. I like to finish the whole thing with some toasted almonds and fresh parsley.
• Serve with couscous, rice or cauliflower rice for a lower-carb version.

Full disclosure, I served right from the instant pot, did not thicken the sauce and broil, etc.   It was ready, we were hungry, and it smelled too good to wait any longer.  For the potatoes, I used fingerlings that I had in last week's veggie box, nice waxy ones.  Jeremy gave it two thumbs up, so I've saved this off to put in the rotation, probably every two weeks or so.   Trying to decide what our weekend meal will be - I always make something big, we have it for Sunday & Monday, and some goes in the freezer for a night that I am not up for cooking (or if my brother invades the freezer).  I'm thinking either a lasagna or meatballs.

[silkismom]

Thank you, I don't have an instant pot so will have to do on the stove, wonder if my slow cooker would work?

[Lois R]

I don't own an Insta Pot or a slow cooker.......but it sure does sound like a delicious recipe🙂  I bet I could just make

it on the stove top.

[UpstateJan]

20 minutes ago, silkismom said:

Thank you, I don't have an instant pot so will have to do on the stove, wonder if my slow cooker would work?

I think it would be heavenly in a slow cooker, you'd get to sleep all those spices for a few hours.  

[UpstateJan]

19 minutes ago, Lois R said:

I don't own an Insta Pot or a slow cooker.......but it sure does sound like a delicious recipe🙂  I bet I could just make

it on the stove top.

If you have a Dutch oven, I'm sure that would work.  Low & slow, and finish it off in the broiler.

[FlyingScotSailors]

2 hours ago, UpstateJan said:

 It was perfect meal on this first snow of the season eve. 

 

That must be it, Jan.  We were worried that we had missed the announcement of "chicken thigh day in upstate NY", and that Ann made chicken thighs tonight by coincidence!

 

She baked them with Thai spices, and served them with baked sweet potatoes, zucchini, and tomatoes, the latter two with grated cheese.😊

 

[zqtchas]

[UpstateJan]

7 hours ago, FlyingScotSailors said:

 

That must be it, Jan.  We were worried that we had missed the announcement of "chicken thigh day in upstate NY", and that Ann made chicken thighs tonight by coincidence!

 

She baked them with Thai spices, and served them with baked sweet potatoes, zucchini, and tomatoes, the latter two with grated cheese.😊

 

Its a thing, much like Meatless Mondays, or Taco Tuesdays, it is Thigh Thursdays.  I always stock up when Fresh Market has theirs on sale.  The broth that comes off them when I make chicken & dumplings is nothing short of heavenly.  

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great safe day all!

[zqtchas]

21 hours ago, mysty said:

here's proof at Stone hedge!

[silkismom]

Jan, I copy/pasted your recipe, amazing--only things I'm missing is the olives.

[mysty]

1 hour ago, zqtchas said:

here's proof at Stone hedge!

 

 

Thanks for catching the action on the time change Chas!  🤣

[spinnaker2]

Today I made some treats for the neighbors!

No door to door this Halloween but I can deliver a few smiles. Now I just need to wrap in cello bags and tie with ribbon.

 

 

 

[TLCOhio]

16 minutes ago, spinnaker2 said:

Today I made some treats for the neighbors!  No door to door this Halloween but I can deliver a few smiles. Now I just need to wrap in cello bags and tie with ribbon.

 

Nice looking treats by Spins!!  Have fun doing "Trick or Treat" in 2020!!

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio