A New Favorite (2).

In case some of you haven't heard of it, I thought I would pass on the name of a design and furniture store which is a new favorite of mine:  West Elm.  Here are a few things from their website that caught my eye:

(all images from westelm.com)

Househunting

Since there is a chance that we might move, I have been on Craig's List, perusing the findings. Lest you think this premature (or perhaps it is), let me say that I am not searching to find anything, I am searching for fun. I'm sure at least some people can relate to the unexpected enjoyment of looking at real estate -- when I was in sixth grade, waiting for my Dad to finish work so we could go home after the school day (his work and my school were at the same place), I would sit on the computer, sometimes for hours, and look at homes in the area.

In the past year, I have perused Craig's List for apartments in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Fullerton, Chicago, Scotland, England, and New Hampshire -- anywhere I could imagine us living (okay, New Hampshire was just because I wanted to live somewhere with snow). The following are the priorities I have decided on for our next apartment. I will admit, it is ridiculously unlikely that a place with all these qualities exists:

-Good lighting. Bright. Sunny. Two windows in the living room, one in the kitchen (preferably above the sink).
-Hardwood floors. Old.
-Tall Ceilings. Maybe a little molding at the top.
-A nice color painted on the outside. Maybe not part of a huge complex.
-Kitchen counters with a square footage that exceeds (doubles? triples?) what we have now.
-WASHER AND DRYER
-Allows for a dog?

A new favorite

When searching for the perfect weeknight dinner, I have three criteria -- I would like for it to be healthy, it is great when it is relatively easy or speedy, and of course, it had better taste good. The below recipe meets all of these criteria, plus I think the cost of the ingredients is about $10 (depending on whether the chicken is on sale).  I love the flavor of the mango, the spicyness of the jalapeno, and how juicy the chicken stays from the steaming process. The first time I made this I added bell peppers, the second time I threw in some green beans -- you can add any vegetable you have on hand. I serve mine over brown rice, and add some fresh cilantro for extra flavor.

Chicken with Mango and Ginger

1 large mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/4-inch wedges
8 chicken cutlets (about 1 3/4 pounds total)
1 piece fresh ginger (1 inch), peeled and cut into matchsticks
1/3 cup fresh cilanto leaves
1 medium jalapeno, thinly sliced
Course salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Lime wedges, for serving

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place mango wedges in center of four 18-inch-long pieces of parchment (I used tin foil: it worked fine). Top with chicken, ginger, cilantro and jalapeno. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle each with 2 teaspoons oil. Fold parchment into a twist or envelope shape.

2. Place packets on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until packets are puffed up and chicken is cooked through, 18 to 20 minutes (mine took 25 minutes). Serve with lime wedges.