As I get older I realize I talk to myself because sometimes I need expert advice.
I don’t need anger management, I just need people to stop making me mad.
My people skills are just fine. It’s my tolerance of some people that needs work. The biggest lie I tell myself is: ‘I don’t need to write that down, I’ll remember it.’
When I was a child I thought nap time was punishment.
Now it’s like a mini-vacation.
I realize as I get older that even duct tape can’t fix stupid, but it can muffle the sound.
Wouldn’t it be great if we could put ourselves into the dryer for 10 minutes and come out wrinkle free and three sizes smaller?
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Moving from the goofy stuff to a recipe: When I was in Taiwan, I ate a lot of their food and it was delicious. Chicken is used in so many Chinese recipes.
Taiwanese Fried Chicken with Basil
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into bite sized nuggets
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp five spice powder
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 2 cloves of fresh garlic minced
• 3 cups vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs beaten
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 bunch fresh basil leaves. You can get Thai basil in most stores.
In a baking dish, marinate the chicken with the soy sauce.
Five spices powder, salt pepper, cornstarch and garlic. Cover and store in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour.
Make the pepper salt briefly toasting the mixture of equal parts of salt and white pepper in a small frying pan over medium he at until the mixture is highly fragrant. Add a touch of black peppercorns. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
Heath the oil in a high sided pot over medium heat . In one bowl, mix the eggs and water together until completely blended. Place the starch in a second bowl. Dip the marinaded chicken in the egg wash first, then dredge in starch shaking off any excess.
Fry the chicken in batches until the nuggets are golden brown, about 4 minutes. Remove the chicken to a wire rack or tray lined with paper towels.
Place the basil leave s in oil in batches, remove to paper towels after about 30 seconds of frying. In a large mixing bowl vigorously toss the chicken nugget with the fried basil and generous sprinkling of the pepper and salt.
Take care and Gooood Cooking.
Ken Wilson is a freelance columnist with the Tribune/Weekend Advisor.
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