Flash back 5 years...
My roommates and I had decided to have a dinner party. We each invited 4 people, making 20 people total. For this first dinner, we had grilled chicken pasta with pesto (see below), poppy seed chicken casserole, garlic bread, and a chocolate trifle (there were more dishes, but I can't remember everything). Anyways, my roommate S was making the poppy seed chicken casserole using store-bought rotisserie chicken. She had class that afternoon and asked if I would start prepping the chicken, by which she meant pulling the meat off of the bone. Since I only had morning classes that day, I agreed. Once I got home, I pulled the two rotisserie chickens out of the fridge, grabbed a large mixing bowl, sat down at our dining room table, and turned on the TV for entertainment (Beer Fest was on). I proceeded to start dismantling the chicken, ripping off pieces and putting it into the bowl. As I got closer and closer to the bone, I saw more and more gelatinous something-or-other and my hands were getting greasy with chicken fat. I started to feel grossed out and to think about the fact that this used to be a living, breathing creature and I was currently looking at it's insides. It was around this time that I started to shake. However, I had said I would do this and I knew we had a tight cooking schedule once S got back, so I kept going. I had promised I would help, right? So I want you to take some time to really visualize this. Get the image in your head. Picture this... a 19-year-old brown-haired girl, sitting alone at a small round table with a growing mound of chicken pieces and the sad-looking, slimy skeleton of chicken, watching Beer Fest, and ripping apart a second chicken that I was trying desperately not to look at or think about... and trembling. Amusing, right? Anyways, S finally got home and relieved me of my "Gitta the Chicken-Destroyer" duties. I promptly ran to the sink to scrub my hands and attempted to forget about the whole experience.
Back to the present...
This story is a pretty common experience for me over the years (though without as much shaking). I'm miserable at Thanksgiving turkeys; I have to rely on others to prep it. Even the little help I've provided my mom, such as holding the turkey so that she could stuff it, has been exceptionally gross for me. The reason I tell you this is so that you can truly understand what this Paleo diet means as far as overcoming some of my personal obstacles. The funny thing is that I seem to be handling the raw meat just fine lately. (Did you catch that pun? Pun definitely intended.) I guess you learn to deal when meat is one of your main sources of food. Sure I still touch raw chicken as little as possible and wash my hands after each time I touch it, but I don't freak out about it as much. Improvement? I'll say.(I did consider adding a picture of raw chicken breast, but I just couldn't do it; it looked too slimy.)
Pesto Recipe:2 cups loosely packed basil leaves, washed and thoroughly dried
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup plus 1 tbls extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Use a food processor to puree the basil, pine nuts, garlic, and salt. While running, slowly pour in the oil until it is fully incorporated. Add pepper. Serve. You can freeze any leftovers for up to one month. I read that you can freeze pesto in ice cube trays which I think is a great idea; it makes it so much easier for cooking with it later. [If you are eating dairy products, you can add 2 tbls of Parmesan cheese (freshly grated if possible).]
This is what I had been looking for. Thanks for posting the recipe.
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