Chicken Irene

In the wake of Irene, I realized that we all must be grateful for what we have and so very thankful that it wasn’t worse.

We all prepared our properties by removing everything that wasn’t bolted down so that it wouldn’t hurt anyone or anything if it blew away.

Yes, some of us were devastated, some inconvenienced and annoyed and some just thankfully out of harms way. 

How creative did we get? I channeled my pioneer woman and worked all day to prepare for the evening's darkness. I collected my candles, flashlights and matches.

We were lucky, we were healthy and dry. I thought about the historical settlers and how they handled their limited resources. A simple yet efficient life they built. 

We made it through even without the comforts of our “modern home.” We were in survival mode as many other New Jerseyans were. We made it work with what we were dealt.

Thankfully I had my grill and stove top.

After rushing to save the food in my refrigerator that was semi defrosted from the power outage in the middle of the night, I decided that I wasn’t going to let the situation get me down.

I made chicken. In fact, I called it Chicken Irene. I prepared a marinade from the products in my pantry, combining four tablespoons lemon juice, lots of fresh basil that I cut from the sheltered window box, 1½ tablespoons of white vinegar, two teaspoons garlic powder, one teaspoon Italian seasonings, ¼ teaspoon dill, one teaspoon lemon pepper and some salt.

I marinated the chicken for one and a half hours and grilled it until it was cooked thoroughly.

With a side of perogies and sautéed onions and a salad, we ate by candlelight and washed our dishes in the bathroom sink. We ended the night by taking walks to pass the time while listening to the hum of generators that sounded in the distance.

It wasn’t so bad considering what some of our friends and neighbors were going through. It was peaceful with no telephones, computers, video games or TV.

I was actually debating using my washboard to do some laundry.

Until next time, eat well my friends and stay safe.