My Apartment Smells Edible

Yes, another post. Three in one day. This must be a record. But I woke up early. I could not fall back to sleep. There was nothing to wash. No bill to pay. No apartment to clean or tidy. My clothes were already picked out for work and the gym bag was already packed. All of this done and I still have so much time in my day. So much time before I even have to think about getting on the train to drop off some banana coconut cupcakes at work before running over to the gym. So much time left and I already have lunch and dinner taken care of.

This is what I had:
chicken
plenty o' spices
some pine nuts just sitting innocently on my shelf
garlic. hmmmm. yummy garlic
left over spinach from another few experiments (breakfast and other dinners)
spinach focaccia (purchased from the local Farmers Market and always something I seek out)
other helpings in the fridge

And what did I make? Well, I ground the pine nuts and two cloves of garlic together to make a sort of paste (I didn't think to stop pulsing). I took the piece of chicken breast I had thawed (large enough to cut in half and make two servings out of) and cut small little strips and bits and pieces and coated them lightly in the paste. Seasoned with salt, pepper, and a little thyme (obsessed with it) and put in a pan with some olive oil already heated. The other piece I butterflied and filled with more of the garlic pine nut paste and spread a good helping of spinach on top of that, rolled it up, and put that in the same pan to start to cook (I love the smell of garlic cooking in olive oil and could probably eat that completely alone). I could eat that alone. And my stomach is nodding in agreement.

For the strips of chicken breast, I sliced the focaccia in half, toasted, and set it on the counter and added a slice of gouda cheese to it. The chicken, steaming from the stove top, was placed right on top of the gouda (the best way to really get it to melt and to absorb so much of the flavor from the chicken). The second slice of focaccia placed gingerly on top and now cooling before it becomes sealed in my portable tupperware.

The butterflied and stuffed chicken breast was sliced and is now cooling so I can place it on a bed of simple greens for what I hope with be a tasty salad.

We shall see.