It Tastes Like...Chicken.

Yogalena loves to cook. In my view, it's the closest I'm going to come to being a scientist in this life. I tend to go through cooking spurts, where I become obsessed with a particular cuisine or dish. My current obsession is fried chicken. For several reasons, it's sort of my nemesis.I've tried to make it a few times in the last couple years, with limited success and quite a number of grease burns. I mean, frying chicken should come easy to me - I love to cook, I live in the South, I come from a long line of great cooks, I'm Black. So why is it sooo haaaarrrd? [i bet you could almost hear my whine when you read that].

Anyway, my quest began when I got the urge to go on a picnic. The weather had been beautiful, the weekend was coming up, and I was geeked to make "picnic goodies." So I researched some recipes and invited a friend to join me for dining al fresco. I'm gonna jump ahead here and tell you that the picnic never happened - for reasons that would make up a whole separate post, but I did go forth with frying up some bird.

I visited one of my favorite cooking sites and found a nifty recipe for brined fried chicken. Now, if you've never brined poultry before, let me tell you it is a MUST DO. A little water, kosher salt and time does wonders for chicken and turkey, making it moist no matter the cooking method. Seriously, even simple boneless skinless breasts are so much better after being brined. So, I made the brine and soaked the chicken pieces over night.

The other reason I selected this recipe is because it used buttermilk. I've heard people say buttermilk is the "secret" to great fried chicken. Now, obviously this is a matter of opinion, but based on my results I think people who prefer this cooking method probably like fried chicken skin more than the actual meat. 'Cause let me tell you, the buttermilk and flour made a coating on that chicken that was about an inch thick. The thick batter also made the meat a little less "hard" than I like it. But let me tell you, it was juicy - thanks to the brine!

Up top is a crummy picture of my results. Actually, it's a still from my videocamera because my digital camera wasn't working, which is why it's crummy. All in all, I'd give the results a "C". The chicken was alright, but nothing special. The recipe was a lot more involved than my mom's and wasn't nearly as yummy.

Save the Date: Vision Board Workshop

Hi All - I'm so excited to share today's post because it's about something I'm a big believer in - The Law of Attraction. You've probably heard about The Secret - the book and movie that swept the country & helped people learn how their thoughts create their lives. If you've ever want to learn how to put it to work for YOU, check out this special workshop at the Yoga Hive in Atlanta. On Saturday, Jan. 31, the studio is holding a workshop about Creating and Living Your Life Vision. In addition to meditation and yoga, we'll discuss how to put the Law of Attraction to work in your life, AND each participant will create a vision board about something they want to manifest in their life. AND there will be yummy, healthy snacks. Pretty cool, huh? So if you have a dream that you need help putting into action, or even if you don't quite know what you want, this workshop is sure to open your eyes, inspire your soul and light a fire under your ass! To register, click right here.

Thought for the Day

We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.

- Anaïs Nin

Prayer of the Day

I've been very drawn to this for a couple of weeks and thought I'd share. Given the rollercoaster of life, I'm sure others can benefit from these words.

Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers,
but to be fearless in facing them.
Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain,
but for the heart to conquer it.
Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved,
but to hope for the patience to win my freedom.

Rabindranath Tagore, Indian Poet

Stop Sucking on that Bottle!

Clean, pure water is the most important substance we can consume, and Americans are doing a great job of consuming it, which is great for health. Unfortunately, we love to drink bottled water. In fact, in 2007, Americans drank 29 gallons of bottled water per person, which means U.S. residents drink more bottled water annually than any other beverage. And 8 out of 10 plastic water bottles used in the United States become garbage or end up in a landfill, because many of us don't have convenient access recycling resources.

The production of all these bottles is harming the earth as well. The Earth Policy Institute estimated that to make the plastic for the bottles burns up something like 1.5 million barrels of oil, enough to power 100,000 cars for a year.

So, what to do? If you're like me, and truly cannot tolerate the taste of your local tap water, consider investing in a water purifier. I've had a small Brita filtering pitcher for years and absolutely swear by it. My water tastes fabulous, and I know that unnecessary mineral and impurities have been removed. The pitchers are low-cost, less than $30, and the replacement filters average about $6 each - and last up to 3-4 months. Systems that attach right to your faucet also are available.

If you're still not convinced, why not purchase a filter and do a blindfolded taste test - like the ole school Pepsi Challenge. Gather a few friends, blind em temporarily and have them sample the filtered water, bottled and good old tap. I have a feeling the filter will win.