New Roles

Since I have been on bed rest Chris and I have found ourselves in new roles. Since we've been married I have generally managed the house and the kitchen. I make grocery lists, meal plans, clean out the fridge, cook, do housework and all the laundry. He's always helped with those tasks but never had to oversee them. Now he does. Probably this is good for both of us. He is becoming more aware of what is involved in taking care of the house and I am forced to let certain things go. We're growing.

Last weekend we had friends over for dinner. We'd made the plans before I was put on bed rest and we really wanted to see our friends so Chris said he'd just do all the work. I was so proud of him. While I remained on the couch directing him, he cleaned house, cooked dinner, served dinner, did dishes, served dessert and so on. And he was such a good host. Plus his dinner was delicious. I made up the recipe as we went and it turned out so wonderful. He is starting to become a really good cook. It's really fun to watch how much he improves. We didn't take any pictures but I thought I'd share the recipe anyway. This was a great meal for entertaining easy, cheap and delicious.

Braised Chicken and tomatoes with Cous Cous

1 chicken cut up or 6-8 thighs and drumsticks
2 Tb cumin
1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper
lard or vegetable oil
2 leeks chopped and rinsed
2 cloves garlic minced
5-6 fresh tomatoes chopped
1 tsp corriander
1 bay leaf
1 cup chicken broth
cous cous cooked

Pat chicken dry and season with salt, pepper and cumin. Dredge chicken in flour and brown in hot oil or lard until brown on each side. You'll probably have to do this in batches. Set chicken aside. Add splash of olive oil to pan then add leeks. Cook for a few minutes then add garlic. Cook another minute then add tomatoes, salt, pepper, corriander and bay leaf. Add chicken back to pan then pour in broth. Bring to boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook about one hour.

Serve over cous cous. We served this along with glazed carrots and a salad. Sauteed spinach or chard would also be really wonderful along side this chicken.