Chicken Wine

At the worst of the dry, hot spell, it was this bad:


Parched to a crisp.


The little grass patch next to my car was completely devoid of grass.

Each day that I picked my kids up from school in the sweltering afternoons, I would feel so sorry for some of the children who had to trudge to the bus-stops or back home, bent over with their heavy school bags and getting scorched by the merciless sun. The heat was unbearable.

Then, everybody's rain dance must have worked, because the rain FINALLY came.


After just one day of rain, patches of green started appearing the next morning.


But as they say, when it rains, it pours. And it continued raining till mushrooms appeared, as they always do after a few days of wet weather. Now, if only they were edible.

Cold, wet nights means warming food. And that, for me, is Chicken Wine, which you can get the recipe from here.

I'm keeping this post short. Too busy ... too many things on my mind, and I'm exhausted.


The ingredients that go with the chicken, sesame oil and alcohol.


Steaming up my camera.


Allowing the steam to dissipate ...


Lots of shredded old ginger to give the dish some kick!


One and a half cups of cognac went into this, and it was divine. Needless to say, I was radiating heat after dinner. New moms and people who are convalescing after an illness will benefit from the warming properties of this dish. I made my daughter take some too, as she is always feeling cold, even in warm weather.