The Days and Nights of Tiny Montgomery: Not Quite Meatless Monday and Chicken Thighs

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Not Quite Meatless Monday and Chicken Thighs

I feel a bit of a failure, missing out on two Meatless Mondays in a row. I succumbed to barbeque on the Fourth of July and yesterday the lure of another Nicoise salad overcame me. Plus I could prepare the components in advance, meaning I didn't have to do any meaningful cooking in the oppressive heat of yesterday afternoon and evening. And, well, I fucking love Nicoise salad. This time I opted for canned tuna and I think it was better than the fresh grilled stuff. I have fairly recently become a convert to the olive oil packed tuna and it was perfect for the salad. Water-packed tuna just seems so very bland and boring now.

Tonight I decided to marinate some chicken thighs in white wine vinegar, some oil, garlic and a little pile of herbs from my garden - rosemary, oregano and basil. Some corn on the cob, shucked and put right on the grill (I have no idea why people bother with the process of pulling the husks back, removing the silk and putting the husks back on) to get a bit of char on it. Some asparagus sauteed with a bit of mushroom (I would have used a lot of mushroom but my container had mostly gone slimy) finished it off.

It was an actual pleasure to grill outside once the rain came and went. Nothing like being outside and not instantly sweating, for a change.

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What I'm Reading

Complicity by Iain Banks - Continuing my exploration of Banks and Scottish literature I delved into my third Banks novel, this one yet again completely different. The story of drug and drink addicted journo who gets inadvertently involved in a serial killer's revenge murders.
How to Be Good by Nick Hornby - It had its moments, but I got rather bored with it about 2/3 through. I'm not sure ole Nick ought to make his main characters female.
Sunshine by Robin McKinley - This book was recommended by the librarian who goes on NPR all the time and talks about summer books, etc. As it was about vampires, I had to try it anyway. And I kind of loved it. A completely new twist on vampires in a sort of alternate universe now. Unfortunately, the sex, while teased, wasn't what I hoped for. I thought I'd try some of her other titles, but the covers alone had me running away, screaming. Very florid, fantasy-type illustrations. Think I'll just stick with this one and the hoped-for sequel.
The Braindead Megaphone Essays by George Saunders - I'm only a few pages in but I've already belly laughed -- out loud while alone and at work! -- something I don't ususally do. I appreciate, very much, written humor, but it seldom makes me actually laugh out loud. George Saunders is so brilliant and so completely right on and so fucking funny. I love his surreal, absurdist fiction, but this book is so completely perfect.
The Business by Iain Banks - Completely unlike the Wasp Factory, but compelling nonetheless. The female main character doesn't always ring true, but the story turns out to be wotth it, despite my initial reservations.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt - Since she wrote a book I really loved, The Little Friend, I thought I should give this a try. I'm only a chapter or so in, so I'm withholding judgement for now.
The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks -- Whoa. This debut novel is like nothing I've read before. I have been known to physically throw books that feature animal abuse across the room in disgust, but this book uses it to further the story in a very effective way. I couldn't put it down.
You Don't Love Me Yet by Jonathan Lethem. Since I originally said I was reading this, I've read it at least three more times. (What? You listen to a record you like more than once, don't you?). I still can't really articulate why I love this book so much. There is just something that really speaks to me. Lethem is to be commended for writing a female character so perfectly.