I eat, I read, I watch — dining solo #29
Chicken and creamed corn on sourdough toast with tomatoes and a non-alcoholic beer
I eat, I read, I watch — dining solo #29
Today’s post is the 29th of “I eat, I read, I watch,” my column highlighting a solo dinner and my reading or watching accompaniments. Please treat yourself well at mealtime too. Don’t just eat alone - dine solo! You’re worth it. And it’s not hard to do.
Missed the earlier instalments? Check out the bottom of the post.
I eat: Slow Cooker Chicken and Creamed Corn
I’m a big fan of the slow cooker. The process of letting things cook while you work is a treat I’ve afforded myself for most of my adult life, even though it produces quantities that can overwhelm my tiny Chandlerville kitchen. Sometimes that feeling of being swamped by food is worth it. When the New York Times cooking page recently sent some slow cooker recipes, it was a sure sign of fall! Out came the slow cooker to dominate my counter for a day.
This dish started with three cobs of fresh Ontario corn. I cut all the kernels off, set them aside, and, as the recipe surprisingly required, put the bare cobs into the bottom of the slow cooker. I then added a pound of boneless skinless chicken thighs, two diced celery stalks, a diced red pepper, a diced shallot, and some smashed garlic from my garden along with lots of salt, pepper, and cayenne. I put a knob of butter on the top and turned the slow cooker on low for 4+ hours.
At that point, I pulled the corn cobs out and added the corn kernels, a cup of sour cream, some chopped scallions, and the juice of a lime. I combined it all, pulling the chicken thighs apart with two forks. With a bit more cayenne, this was amazing on sourdough toast! I’m already excited about the idea of using leftovers to make enchiladas.
Want to go back to the source recipe? Click here: NYT recipe
Prep Time: 5 hours or so
Origin: Everything Canadian except for lime and cayenne.
Cost: $20+ of chicken (wow! It’s crazy what it costs to buy food these days) + $5 for vegetables. Serves 4 though, so not too bad.
Got a favourite way slow cooker meal? In the Comments below please!
I read: Enjoy Your Stay at the Shamrock Motel, Andrew Kaufman
I’ve known Andrew Kaufman since he introduced me to Culture Club in our Wingham, Ontario high school. We’ve stayed in each others outer orbits in the 40 years since, connected by his sister who remains my good friend. From a distance, I’ve watched Andrew have, by Canadian standards, a pretty decent career as a writer. It was exciting when, on a trip to the UK in ’04, I saw his cult hit, All my Friends are Superheroes, on the staff picks shelf of the Waterstones across from Trafalgar Square. He followed that up with a series of similarly short, quirky novellas best described as magical realism, I think.
When I went to the Coach House Books 2025 spring launch, it was partly because I knew Kaufman’s seventh book, Enjoy Your Stay at the Shamrock Motel, was on the release list. Andrew’s reading that night was about woman having a relationship with a bear — about as far from my usual memoir fare as you can get — but quite a bit more accessible than many of the others being read from that night. You see, Andrew is funny; has a helluva good way of describing things; peppers the narrative with inside jokes for the southwestern Ontario reader; and finishes one in this collection with the protagonist playing Culture Club’s classic, “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,” on repeat in her car’s CD player. Can relate. Interesting book.
Have you left your literary comfort zone lately? Let’s hear about it in the Comments below.
I watch: The Affair
If you watched the Baltimore-set series, The Wire, you know Domenic West, the brilliant UK actor who starred as McNulty. That was two decades ago. Since then, he’s shown up in many series, including playing Charles for two seasons of The Crown. I only just found The Affair though, West’s series from 2014-2019. He stars as Noah Solloway, a struggling novelist married to the daughter of a famous writer. They and their four children spend summers with their rich in-laws in Montauk, a hamlet at the eastern end of Long Island. Noah strays from the marital bed with a younger woman, a server at the local diner. Their affair has some pretty far-reaching consequences, allowing the show to extend to five seasons.
I’m about halfway through the series now, ending each day with at least one hour-long episode and sometimes two. This is a serious commitment but I am completely in the show’s thrall. I dislike most of the characters, by the way, but I can’t wait to see what can possibly happen next — there is certainly no predicting! The acting and the writing are terrific and those scenes shot on the ocean are stunning. Found on CBC Gem, for those who want to stream it. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but Gem has a subscription service to avoid the ads. While typically I resent paying subscription fees, this one I’m OK with. CBC needs whatever support it can get!
If you’re in the grips of a good drama, I’d love to hear about it! In the Comments below please!
Missed the earlier instalments of this column? Click:
#1 (pork chop & green beans)
#2 (trout & veg)
#3 (shrimp pepper bisque)
#4 (rice & peas with coleslaw)
#5 (ramen)
#6 (burger & fries)
#7 (duck sausage & salad),
#8 (shrimp & veg with pasta)
#9 (Wigilia)
#10 (mushroom shepherds pie)
#11 (roasted veg and sausage)
#12 (leftovers)
#13 (garlic shrimp with rapini on egg noodles)
#14 (beef stew)
#15 (salmon mac and cheese)
#16 (salmon cakes and ragout)
#17 (pork tenderloin, red cabbage, potatoes)
#18 (pulled turkey and salad)
#19 (almond butter chicken korma)
#20 (lobster tacos with asparagus)
#21 (rainbow trout, garlic mashed potatoes, and roasted asparagus)
#22 (pork tenderloin and black-truffle infused egg noodles with fresh asparagus)
#23 (grilled halloumi with roasted asparagus and mushroom salad)
#24 (savoury bread pudding)
#25 (Kung Pao chicken)
#26 (tofu, pepper, and shiitake stir fry on rice)
#27 (stuffed zucchini)
#28 (pulled duck tacos with cauliflower-stuffed red pepper)
If you like what you’re reading, there is no greater compliment than to become a subscriber. Sign up below with your email address to receive an email with my weekly blog.