Chicken Cashew

I need to start eating better. It would help if I knew how to cook. To that end, I purchased a couple of cookbooks. 

My wife and I purchased this many years ago on our honeymoon in Disney World. That was a long time ago and to be honest, we never used it. It sat on our shelf for years, forgotten. It wasn't until the fire in our home that I remember it. 

I purchased a new one off of Amazon and made a pact with my wife to use it once a week. Despite the cover, it is not a kid's book. I swear. This is a great cookbook. It was probably published in 1989 or so. They have listings for "Walt Disney World Shopping Village" restaurants, but no listings for MGM Studios. 

This week I made two different recipes. I'll start with the one that got 5 stars - Chicken Cashew. 

This cookbook is broken down by typical food types but also breaks them down by restaurant and theme park. Chicken Cashew was offered at the Polynesian Village Resort. It's delicate ginger and cashew-flavored chicken breast. 

This is the prettiest picture of 
raw chicken I have ever taken.

The ingredients are simple: Chicken breasts, white wine, butter, ginger, chicken broth, bouillon cubes, cashews, cornstarch, and water. With a dash of pepper and salt.  

The chicken is pan-fried in butter until golden brown. In a different pan, brown the cashews. When nice and golden brown, put both aside. 

Take the bouillon, broth (or chicken stock), wine, and ginger and simmer for 15 minutes. Slowly add water and cornstarch to thicken. 

When everything is done, plate it up.

Now, the cookbook offers no details as to what this chicken is served with, so I had to improvise with veggies and starches. Snow peas would have been amazing as would fresh green beans. I didn't have those so I made broccoli. For a starch, I made Carolina rice. 

I could see this working with noodles of some kind, but not potatoes. 

Anyway, here is what it looks like: 

You'll notice that my plate has an extra ingredient, cauliflower. This is because I am diabetic. I can't handle a lot of rice. The little cup holds about 1.5 to 2 oz. of rice. 

Now, I have teenage children, three of them. I paired this with about 4 cooked cups of rice and a pound of broccoli. Since the recipe states "serves 6", I have enough for a full lunch and enough rice and veggies for a second lunch or a few snacks. 

The family's response to this one was 5 of 5 stars, "definitely make this again". That was a real confidence builder. 

I might as well mention the wine I used. I picked a nice California wine, Dark Horse Sauvignon Blanc. It's not the best wine, but it serves for cooking and is easily obtainable. It is dry with some fruity notes. I've always wanted to say that about a wine. Anyway, it would be fine before dinner or with a rice or pasta dish. Being a dry white, it has a surprisingly refreshing ending. 

Circling back to the cookbook itself, this 33-year-old book is still fairly available at a good price. Apparently, there are a couple of editions, ranging from 1986 to 1990. All of them are basically the same. Click this link for Cooking with Mickey Around Our World at Abebooks.com. 

Just so you are aware, this cookbook dates back to a time when Disney Cast Members would give visitors recipes on request. Typically, they were handwritten on the spot. A few were popular enough to typewritten (on a typewriter) and photocopied. As a result, there are some typos and editing errors in this cookbook. I find it more charming than confusing. 

"New" Game

I ran out and bought a new game. It isn't a great game or new game, but a simple one. 

I've never had a rug checker set, but I've always wanted one. The reason is simple, memories. 

I have an incredible love of amusement parks and The Magic Kingdom is at the top of the list. Every time we go there, we eat at The Liberty Tree Tavern. It isn't the food or the ambiance, it's the lobby. They have a waiting area loaded with simple games. 

Everytime I go there, we play a game. It's been going since before my wife and I had kids. This simple game of checkers is one of my favorite memories. A memory that gets refreshed every time we go. 

Memories are sometimes the best place to be and with this set, I'll be revisiting and updating the quality time I spend with the family, every day. 

The Continuing Adventures in Inkscape - Rocket's Pale Glare

I have to tell you, I've been watching Disney videos again and it's effecting my style.



I wanted to keep the color pallet simple and stuck to 4 colors and two shades of purple, green and grey and blues.


It was kind of fun. I took the idea of rockets and skinned them off in the vein of it's a small world. I'm not sure what color background looks correct to me.


Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Disney Panoramas

I love amusement parks. My sense of wonder and adventure is fueled by the novelty of pure fantasy made real. I don't have a great camera, only my Moto x4 phone. When combined with Google Photos, sometimes a phone can create some wonderful images.

Today, I would like to share all of the panorama images I captured at Disney this Christmas time. It was a wonderful trip and these images really captured the magic.

The Leave a Legacy at Epcot

Future World? at Epcot

The pylons for Skyliner at Christmas 2018.

The Magic Kingdom at Christmas

More fun at Magic Kingdom

Outside Be Our Guest

The moat around Be Our Guest.

Reflecting pond at Epcot

Hollywood Studios, I think. Beautiful, in any case.

Epcot again 

Epcot view from the edge of the International Showcase

The paths and gardens in UK, World Showcase

The countdown to New Years in Epcot.

In between Future World and International Showcase

The Bay at Disney Boardwalk, steps from Trattoria al Forno

Strange Memory Collision

This morning, I came out of the shower thinking of Disney. That isn't so odd, but it was triggered by a combination of smells. At Disney World, they use H2O products in all of the hotels. Bubbly Orange is my favorite. I need to pick up some shampoo to match the soap I have.

My wife's perfume from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab called Cheshire Cat and my Bubbly Orange soap reminds me of August in Disney. The soap also pairs well with my BPAL scent, Perversion.

Smells are powerful triggers. Today, a combination of them turned a boring Friday into this:

Outside the Envelope

Sometimes my family gets a chance to step out of New York and experience wonders in other places. Our most recent major endeavor was Disney World.

My wife and I had made this journey a couple of times, but the kids have only been twice. Both trips were amazing!

Alice, the Mad Hatter and my kids.

We had a little help for all of our trips. The first time it was AAA, the second was my mother-in-law, who is amazing a trip planning. She travels all the time, but Disney isn't really her favorite. We need a pro this time. 

A good planner can help get all your ducks in a row. Over the next few weeks, I will be reviewing some of the choices we made in the past and a few vacation planners, like Jaime Nowicki. You might find her helpful, too. Expert help is always wonderful, they can point you to new options and things you might not have thought of even if you are good at planning. Jaime has given me a ton of ideas for this upcoming trip. 

Two of three trips to Disney have been in August. The other was in February. Completely different experiences. This next one will be a big one around a major holiday. All of the rules change and I'll need a little help from Jaime to pull this off. 

I have another vacation in the works. This is more of a working vacation as it will be to support a novel called "Pio". It takes place in Bari, Italy. This is likely several years down the line, but the planning started a year ago. Jaime specialized in Disney, but also plans cruises and other all inclusive packages. I'm ready to pick her brain, but bookings and spousal approval are months to years away. 

If you are looking to get away, drop her a message or check out her website.