Toenail Drama

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I have a fear of my toenails falling off. Fingernails too, I guess. My toenail fear has been exacerbated by my sister’s missing nail experience. She wore a pair of crappy shoes from Forever 21 on New Year’s Eve, and they seriously bruised both of her big toenails. Both nails turned black and fell off a few weeks later. She kept me sharply apprised of their status by sending me frequent pictures. Black nails, missing nails, toenails strategically placed over thumbnails, re-growing toenails, and the list goes on.

Then, while building furniture for the new apartment, I dropped a chair on my foot and bruised my toenail way down towards the base- the first black nail I’ve ever had. I was so scared it would fall off, especially after banging it several more times in the subsequent days. I now think it will survive.

While my sister’s story made me irrationally freak out about my subsequently bruised nail, her reaction to her own tragedy confirmed to me that we are close relatives. After her nails fell off in early February, she painted them red and mailed them to my mom for Valentine’s Day. HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

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BBQ Chicken Pizza

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I love making pizzas because they are so easy, fun, and delicious. I feel mildly adventurous when I experiment with different toppings, as you know from my post on breakfast pizza. Here is a spicy, tangy treat that is great for non-morning hours (although I’d eat it for breakfast too!).

To start, pre-heat your oven to 500ºF. Then, shred or chop up some cooked chicken and douse it with barbeque sauce. 

Also chop up half a red onion. What a labor of love- this onion made me cry and also turned my hands purple!

Next, stretch out your pizza dough as thinly as you can. I used pre-made dough from the market, but you can make your own if you prefer. Lay the dough down on a greased pizza pan or stone (or any other kind of baking sheet you have) and drizzle the top of it with olive oil. Spread the oil all around. Yummy already!

Add some BBQ sauce to the top of the crust and spread that around as well. It will act as the sauce component for this pizza. My sauce was on the spicier side and gave the pizza a nice kick. Then, sprinkle your pizza with mozzarella cheese. I used shredded cheese, but slices work too. Top the pizza with your BBQ chicken and chopped red onion. Make sure everything is evenly distributed so you get goodness in every bite!

Now your pizza is ready to bake! Put it in your heated oven on the lowest rack. Let it bake for 8-10 minutes or until your cheese starts to brown and the crust turns golden. 

Take your pizza out of the oven and sprinkle it with chopped cilantro. Oh la la. Slice it and serve immediately. This pizza is easy to love and enjoy, so have fun! I have the most fun when I’m eating it with good friends and washing it down with Skinny Girl margaritas!

Shopping list:

  • Pizza dough
  • Chicken- 1 to 2 cups, cubed or shredded
  • BBQ sauce- 3/4 to 1 cup
  • Red onion- 1
  • Mozzarella cheese- 1.5 cups
  • Cilantro
  • Olive oil

This recipe was guided by the Pioneer Woman.

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Cultural Convergence

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A funny thing is happening. Every piece of literature and cinema I take in are tangentially about the same topic. I am, quite unintentionally, observing 1920s Paris and the characters that inhabit it from three (and counting) points of view. First, Rachel recommended I read The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. It is a captivating book about Ernest Hemingway’s first wife, Hadley, and their marriage. It is a beautiful, honest, and raw story that is energizing for its first two thirds and tragically depressing for its last. I was amused to read about Paris’ glory days and be able to recognize much of it in Paris today. It was also fascinating to learn about the other characters in 1920s Paris like Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and Ezra Pound. Read this book if you love Paris, American literature, love stories, or historical fiction.

Then, I went to see Midnight in Paris. The main character in the movie is nostalgic for 1920s Paris and ends up time traveling there. And who does he meet? Ernest Hemingway and Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, of course. After feeling like I knew those people so well from The Paris Wife, it was funny to see them portrayed in a way that captured their essences in a very over-the-top, caricatured way. I liked the movie because it showed Paris as the beautiful, magical, welcoming city that it is. I’ve found that other movies often portray it as a dark and lonely place, but that’s not my experience with Paris at all. If you love Paris or Woody Allen, this movie will make you happy.

Most recently, I’ve been reading Julia Child’s memoir, My Life in France. She tells stories about people who were important in her life during that time, and guess who one of them was…Hadley, Ernest Hemingway’s wife!! We learn in The Paris Wife that Hadley remarries, and Julia describes some time she spent with the couple. She even served as the matron of honor in Hadley’s son’s wedding! It was comforting to read that Hadley ended up happy in a non-fictionalized world too. Julia’s book has pulled me into her life, and I want to stay there! I love reading about her time in Paris, learning to live and grow in a new city, and discovering truly good food and real cooking. If you love France or food or Julia, this book is a must.

It seems strange that my three most recent forms of entertainment have overlapped to such a great degree. While my interest in Paris is clearly dictating my cultural choices and made this overlap much more likely, I still believe that coincidences such as these happen for a reason. I can only hope that reason is a forthcoming trip to l’Hexagone!

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