Very Hungry Caterpillar, redux

Remember the children's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle?

In 2009, The Very Hungry Caterpillar celebrated its 40th anniversary. This caterpillar roll sushi was designed by Eric Carle, and served up at Moshi Moshi, a sushi restaurant in Northampton, Massachusetts.

This photo is by Paul Shoul. I scanned this picture from a copy of the January 2009 issue of Preview Massachusetts. (Which I found while going through my stuff, getting ready for The Big Move.)

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is in nearby Amherst, on the grounds of Hampshire College. Maybe you could build a day trip around the theme of Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Revised Chicken Adobo...even better.

When the chicken leg quarters or drumsticks go on sale for $1 or less per pound, I stock up, and put some away in the freezer. I break up the big packs into gallon size freezer bags with about six drumsticks or 3 leg quarters in each.

Sometimes, though, I don't freeze them right when I get home from the store, but a couple days later, refrigerating it in the meantime. You know how when chicken gets close to the "sell by" date, it gets smelly. It isn't spoiled, but it has a distinct smell. Yeah, I don't like it either. When I freeze chicken at this point, the smell comes back as it thaws. This revised version of Philipine Style Chicken Adobo is a good way to prepare that chicken, and conquer the smelliness with a zesty marinade.

• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (I use a low-sodium variety.)
• 1 tablespoon minced/crushed garlic (I've been using dried garlic flakes lately, a smaller amount than fresh.)
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 whole chicken legs (2 1/2 lb), cut into drumsticks and thighs (or I'll do all drumsticks)

Assuming that the chicken is still frozen, and in gallon-size freezer bags:

• Pour vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper into the plastic bag. Seal bag, pressing out air. Shake to mix ingredients. Turn to coat thoroughly, then put bag in a baking pan and marinate chicken, chilled, turning occasionally.
• Usually I do this before I go to bed on the night before making this for dinner. It takes about that long to thaw the chicken anyhow. For example the chicken marinates while it thaws, from about 11 on Tuesday night, then I'll cook it at about 6 or 7 for dinner Wednesday night.
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• 
  
• Arrange chicken, skin sides up, in 1 layer in a 13- by 9- by 2-inch metal baking pan lined with foil, or a disposable foil pan with a cookie sheet underneath, and pour marinade over it. Bake in middle of oven until cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes.
• 
  
• Preheat broiler.
• 
  
• Broil chicken about 4 inches from heat until skin is golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes.

(The original recipe separates the marinade from the chicken, boiling it to make a sauce while the chicken broils. I realized after making the original recipe a couple times that we don't even touch the sauce, so it wasn't worth going through those steps and dirtying another pan.)

Guacamole on Ice

Good news: Guacamole freezes well.

I bought about a dozen avocados when they were on sale for less than a dollar apiece. I forgot to "stagger" the degrees of ripeness, and within a couple days, they all had to be used or otherwise be wasted. As much as I love avocados, even I couldn't eat that much of them in such a short time.

So, I mashed all the avocados in a large mixing bowl, with my circular chopper and a fork. I don't use a recipe for guacamole, I just improvise with the following ingredients, adding to taste.

Lime juice (a whole small lime in this large batch, though I sometimes use proportionately even more)

Goya Adobo with cumin (a seasoned salt blend)

Black pepper

Then I divided the batch of guacamole between two cottage cheese tubs, and froze them.

When I thawed out the guacamole (in the fridge, overnight), I stirred it to improve the consistency, but otherwise, it weathered a month in the freezer very well.