Added a few more rows to the Saxon Braid for the Samus cardigan.

I'm not sure but I THINK I've beaten the whatever-it-was. I still have a slightly sore throat but I don't have that feeling of impending doom in my sinuses any more. I don't know - maybe it WAS the zinc after all. Or maybe it was the 64 oz. bottle of "100% Juice Cranberry and Berry Blend" juice I drank over the weekend. Or maybe it was that I made Kung Pao Chicken last night. (I don't make things blow-the-top-of-your head off hot, but I did put a little cayenne in it).

And, what the heck, here's a recipe for a sort-of Kung Pao Chicken*:

Marinade:
1 T soy sauce
1 T rice vinegar
1/4 t (or more if you like it hotter) ground ginger
1/4 t sugar

Cut up about 10 oz. chicken (two breasts) into 2" by 1/4" pieces. Put in marinade and let marinate at least 10 minutes. (Use tofu if you are a vegetarian.)

While this is marinating, rinse off about a cup of fresh snow or sugar snap peas. Cut up a bunch of scallions (or use about 1/2 of a smallish onion if you prefer). If you like, you can also cut a red bell pepper into strips, but I don't like bell pepper, so I didn't. You can also use carrots, or bamboo shoots, or any kind of veggie you like as long as it doesn't totally overwhelm the amount of sauce.

Heat a couple tablespoons of oil. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper or a couple of red pepper flakes. Use more if you like it hotter. Dump in the chicken and marinade (don't worry; the marinade boils so it's bacteria free). Saute the chicken for about 3 to 4 minutes or until it's no longer pink on the outside. Add the veggies and saute for a couple minutes more, until they start to get soft.

Then add: 1/4 cup orange juice to which a tablespoon of ketchup (or hoisin, if you have it) has been added. Heat until the sauce is just boiling.

Serve with rice, and if you like, add a small handful of salted peanuts or cashews as a garnish.

(*I just like saying "Kung Pao Chicken." It sounds like one of Hong Kong Phooey's sidekicks, or some other kind of animated crime-fighting animal. [and, good grief, there's also a Wikipedia entry on him. Sometime I will have to comment on the fact that Wikipedia has a summary of EVERY Simpson's episode ever run, but is lacking detailed entries on some soils and meterological phenomena...])

I used to make Chinese or Chinese-style food for myself a lot - for one thing, it was easy: you got a couple servings of vegetables, a serving of meat, a serving of starch, all in one dish. And usually I could disguise vegetables I wasn't as fond of with some kind of highly flavored sauce. The only drawback is with mixing all the sauce and chopping on two boards to avoid cross-contamination, it can dirty every pot and pan you have. I've also made a few things - mostly my own inventions or highly modified recipes - that didn't turn out well, recently, and I found myself faced with the moral dilemma of the (unappealing) leftovers stored in the fridge: do I waste food by throwing them out, or do I force myself to eat something that tastes sludgy and unpleasant? (I have to admit, I usually threw them out).

My only complaint about this recipe is that it didn't make enough sauce. I think I'd double the amounts in the marinate and double the OJ/hoisin combination for next time.