Tonight it was LeeLee’s turn in the kitchen, and as a result we feasted on Castillian chicken* with rice and peas. (I think you’ll find LeeLee to be a more comprehensive cook than yours truly, and certainly his dishes have more flair than mine. This is something I’ve learned to live with.)
The chicken was, as usual, fantastic, and peas and rice are perfect complements to the entree. I love the blend of the fresh red bell pepper, soy sauce, garlic, and spices that serve as the marinade. It’s rustic, comforting, and tangy all at once. Paired with a cool glass of white wine, this Castillian chicken dish is a wonderful way to kick off a Friday night!
* as we are vegetarian, please read “Fake” in front of every meatish-type food item. :)
The stats:
Boca Original Chik’n Patties: $3.50/four ($0.88/patty)
Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice, Garden Vegetable: $1.75 ($0.88/serving)
LeSeur peas: $1.99 ($1.00/serving)
Red bell pepper: $2.50 ($0.63/serving)
Olive oil: Pennies
Espiral Vinho Verde wine: $3.99/bottle ($2.00 for two glasses)
GRAND TOTAL: $13.73 … or $6.87 per person.
While I have you on the line: I mentioned earlier that LeeLee has better presentation skills than yours truly. See for yourself — here’s his version, below!
:)
Hope is being way too modest about her own abilities in this post, but I’d like to take a moment to add a word about how this dish came to be.
For many years, the Capitol of Florida had a historic display of flags that included every ruling government in the state’s history. Many people do not know, for example, that Florida was a British colony in 1776 and chose to remain loyal to empire. Most people do know, however that the state was a Spanish colony.
Yet Spain’s flag was nowhere to be found in the historic display of flags. Instead, there was the flag of Castile — one of the four kingdoms that were merged to form a unified Spain at the end of the 15th century. This was the flag carried to the New World by Christopher Columbus and all those subsequent conquistadors.
Footnote to history: Former Gov. Jeb Bush decided to remove the historic display of flags unexpectedly during a renovation of the Capitol’s west front. As you might imagine, there was quite an uproar from the pro-Confederate types about losing the “stainless banner.” (Weirdly, the historic display included the second of three national flags which had the battle flag in the corner of a white field.)
But I was bummed about losing the flag of Castile. So I created this dish to remember the Castilian heritage of the state.