“I’ve been thinking, Hobbes…”
“On a weekend?”
“Well, it wasn’t on purpose…”
- Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson
My self-care this weekend included a nice long walk. I got up at 6:30 a.m. Saturday, and walked down to the bakery and the vegetable stand at the weekmarket. Bought a lovely corn-fed chicken, a leek and some carrots. They also had ripe avocados, although where local farmers get avocados in Germany is a little beyond me. But hey, it was ripe and will taste delicious in a salad.
Later I got a craving for peanut butter pinwheel candy, often called potato candy if you actually use potatoes, which my family did only when there actually were cooked potatoes left over. So I made a wonderfully small portion and ate it during the day and evening on Saturday. After the first bite, I was ready to eat all of it at once, but then I realized I had plans to watch TV that night, and wanted to have these as a snack then. So I ate a few more pieces right then, and enjoyed the rest while I watched Germany’s Idol program, Deutschland Sucht den Superstar.
Today, I wanted to roast the chicken, and I was hungry enough early in the morning, that we decided to have a hot lunch instead of waiting for dinner. This chicken was absolutely perfect. First a glass of champagne. Then I took lots of Herbes de Provence, added some apricot seed oil and melted butter and salt, then rubbed the bird with it. A cut up onion inside, a splash of champagne, then 1.5 hours in the clay pot in the oven, and presto! a fabulous meal that I served with carrot-leek saute and boiled potatoes and another glass of champagne. I even left food on my plate. But no leftover champagne. Call it a Sunday champagne brunch if you like. It was worth it.
Aquajogging this morning was odd. I arrived and found the place full of people who were obviously trying to catch up on their New Year’s exercise resolutions. I walked into the pool and did my thing. I kept running into my own philosophy, wondering what the purpose of life was, so I finally gave up after half an hour. It really annoys me that I think about things so often, and that I’m not so good at getting over it and getting on with life.
That chicken sounds absolutely divine.