In my old age, I find myself coming around on lots of things I used to think were dumb.
Three years ago, I was solidly in the anti e-reader camp. I wasn’t one of those people who loved owning books (the exact opposite, actually, after how many times I’ve moved), or even someone who really liked the feel of a physical book in my hands. To be honest, I thought e-readers (kindles, nooks, whathaveyou) were a little…tacky. You know? Like, reading is one of the oldest, most cherished pasttimes known to man, and we’ve been doing it for hundreds of years…do you really need a little gadget just to read?
Well, I finally got a kindle 2 years ago, and you can color me convinced. I love not having a bunch of books to take up space in my tiny apartment, I love not having to wait to get a book I want, and I love much better a kindle fits in my purse than a big paperback. And my Amazon library tells me I’ve read more than 25 books over the past two years, which is certainly more than I was ever reading before. Basically, I love my kindle, regardless of whether me-from-three-years-ago finds it tacky!
The newest thing I’m giving a try? Audio books. I tried one about two years ago, when I took a long solo roadtrip from Kansas City to Las Vegas. I haaaaated it. The guy reading it had the weirdest voice, and when he would do the dialogue of the young female character, I got majorly creeped out (the book, by the way, was The Night Circus, and the audio totally ruined it for me). But now I’m giving it another try in an effort to make my gym/workout time more bearable. It’s going a lot better this time — or maybe I’m just liking my latest book much better (The Bonfire of the Vanities, which I’m finally getting around to reading for the first time).
One thing that ISN’T new for me is eating chicken and ketchup together. The recipe for this sauce looks weird, right? It looks kinda weird. I was a bit skeptical. But it was easy and tasted great, so what more could you ask for?
CHICKEN DIABLO (recipe from Bev Cooks)
1/2 cup hot sauce (such as Frank’s)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup ketchup (yup, 1/2 cup ketchup)
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
4 chicken breasts, pounded out thinly
2 tbsp canola oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cooked rice
1/4 cup scallions, sliced, for garnish
1. In medium bowl, combine hot sauce, sour cream, ketchup, honey, paprika, and cumin, whisking to combine. Add chicken breasts to shallow dish and Pour half the sauce mixture over chicken breasts. Cover and reserve the rest. Cover and marinate chicken in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
2. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium-high. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chicken breasts and cook until nicely browned on both sides and cooked through, 10-15 minutes.
3. Heat remaining marinade in small saucepan until lightly simmering.
Serve chicken over rice. Spoon sauce over chicken and garnish with scallions.
Simple and delicious and not ketchupy tasting. I know it sounds weird, but it doesn’t taste weird – promise.
windykitchen 
You would not be you with chicken and ketchup! Love it!