Two weeks of a new semester down in this new year and things are going great.
I very much appreciated having a long weekend of relaxing.
My friends and I had lots of fun just chilling and hanging out, and I enjoyed having today off to dedicate to my studies.
Did you do anything fun with your 3 day weekend?
One part I particularly enjoyed was helping out with the Purdue Crew Row-a-Thon on Saturday.
The rowers rowed of course, indoors on the ergs, an equivalent of 20 miles. Some of the braver ones even rowed a marathon!
That's 42,195 meters. In other words, a whole lot of rowing!
They did this to raise money for our team as well as a local charity we are helping.
Lafayette Urban Ministries is a group of churches that help those who have fallen on hard times, especially the homeless.
Our team does a lot of events with them, and half of the proceeds from the Row-a-Thon go towards their cause.
So far we've raised upwards of $10,000, but the amount continues to climb as donations roll in from friends and family that every member of the team wrote personalized letters to.
You can learn more about this organization and see pictures of the event here.
Since I'm not a rower, my job at this event was a little different.
The other coxswains and I were in charge of informing people about our cause, our team, and the sport of rowing, as well as asking for and collecting donations.
Overall it was pretty rewarding, knowing that all that money was going to help our team as well as people in need.
The rest of my weekend was equally as rewarding, but in a very different way.
For dinner on Sunday I took a dinner request and tried something new that turned out incredibly delicious.
The best part is, it couldn't have been simpler to prepare.
Adobo is actually a Spanish word meaning marinade and was reportedly given to this dish by Spanish colonists because it involved methods similar to Spanish adobo.
The beautiful thing about this dish is that it's impossibly simple to prepare, yet it still produces a final product intensely layered with flavor.
It all starts with soy sauce and garlic...
Yep, you heard right my friends. That's all there is to it. Toss some chicken into a bag with soy sauce and crushed garlic, stow it in the fridge and walk away for up to 24 hours.
The rest of the preparation is equally streamlined..
Just brown the chicken, then simmer the marinade with broth or water, some bay leaves, and lots of pepper.
The chicken is then simmered in this liquid until cooked through, and then comes the traditional adobo element-
vinegar.
Traditionally the chicken is stewed in the vinegar from the beginning, and lots of recipes do it this way. I've always learned that cooking chicken in acid for long periods of time will result in unpleasant stringy toughness that is far from delicious, so I strayed from the recipe a bit.
Instead of cooking the chicken in the vinegar, I simply added it in the last ten minutes.
Succulent, tender, juicy chicken emerged from that pot, coated in a deliciously salty and acidic sauce.
Subtly spiced and satisfyingly savory, this chicken has serious bang for its buck.
Served over rice, and smothered with the reduced sauce this dish made for a spectacular Sunday night dinner with friends.
Make this for an easy weeknight dinner and relish in the yummy things that can spring from minimal effort.
Enjoy!
~Maddy
Chicken Adobo
adapted from Tartine and Apron Strings
Ingredients- 2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (breasts could be used instead)
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 6 cloves garlic, mashed
- 1 to 2 cups chicken broth or water
- 1/4 vegetable oil
- 6 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper, coarse
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- In a large container or gallon ziploc bag, combine soy sauce and garlic, then marinade chicken for at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Heat the oil in a large sauté pan on medium heat.
- When the oil is hot, place the chicken on the pan and brown all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Don't over crowd the pan, you might have to work in batches. Set aside browned chicken.
- Pour in the remaining marinade and add the broth one cup at a time and bring to a boil. If you don't have enough broth, use water to bring it up to 2 cups.
- Add the bay leaves, pepper, and brown sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the chicken back and simmer on medium-low to low for 30 minutes, or until tender. Do not let it come to a hard boil.
- Stir in vinegar and shake the pan around to disperse it. Simmer for another 10 minutes, or until tender.
- Serve hot over white rice.
- When the chicken is plated, bring the sauce up to a brisk boil and cook for a few minutes to concentrate the flavors. Serve alongside the chicken.
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