making do with what you have

I am a huge fan of comfort food. Sometimes you just need it. I don't know why, but for the last couple of days, I've been thinking nonstop about fried chicken. Now, I have never in my life made fried chicken. But I've been up since 7 and running around all day, and I've been so damn healthy for the last 3 weeks, by the time I got home at 6pm, all I could think about was fried chicken! Anyway, earlier this week, I mostly finished a container of black pepper cashews from Whole Foods. There were a lot of little cashew bits left among the salt and pepper in the bottom, and I had set them aside thinking I could use them in something later on. I had briefly thought about breading a chicken breast in them, but by the time I finished trimming all the skin and fat off the piece I had thawed, there were only three little strip-sized pieces. Struck with a brilliant notion, I chopped the peppered cashews finely with my Ulu, and added a couple of tablespoons of flour, a tablespoon of cornmeal, and salt. I brushed the chicken strips with egg, tossed them in the mixture, and pan fried them in olive oil. Seriously... what's better than chicken strips?? They were hot, crispy, crunchy, savory, and just PERFECT for a Friday night on the couch. I gobbled them up with broccoli and lemon, a vodka gimlet, and The March of the Penguins.

Ohmigah, these penguins are soooooo cute I kinda feel bad for just devouring one of their fellow fowls. But... I guess it's a good thing chickens aren't as cute as penguins, because my belly is really happy right now.