Wednesday’s Activities Include: new backpack survived Canobie Lake outing, chicken

T. took the new waterproof daypack (this is the matador that I inadvertently paid too much for on Amazon. I really need to never buy from 3rd party sellers) to Canobie Lake. It survived with no apparent damage, which suggests that there is good durability there. He forgot his shorts for gymnastics, and so stopped by the house after swimming to pick them up. He couldn’t find the ones he had laid out — I found them later when I ran Eufy in the upstairs hallway, and I moved the easel. They had fallen down behind the easel. He probably draped them over the easel to remember them. Oops!

I cooked the chicken. After yesterday’s, wait, this is a stew recipe? shenanigans (I was supposed to soak the chickpeas overnight, but it was okay, because I read the recipe carefully in the morning, thus giving me ample time for the “quick soak” and also for the hour plus cooking time), I started early with the chicken. I really didn’t care for the smell fo the orange blossom water in the bottle, but I figured it had the kind of I Don’t Like That Smell that often turns wonderful in the finished dish and went ahead with it. Other than subbing olive oil for the butter in the buttered almonds, leaving out salt, allium, increasing spices, etc. I pretty much followed the recipe (wow, even when I _am_ following a recipe, I don’t follow a recipe). I also arranged the giblets around the bird in the pot. It turned out really nice. Lots of leftovers. I am already plotting chicken salad (both chicken on green salad and chopped chicken with mayo and various veggies).