These past couple of weeks have been so… draining. I’m one of those people who cannot eat when I am stressed. Whether work has me all wound up or something far more serious, food is not my friend. It is not therapeutic or comforting and I do not want it. Unfortunately for my husband, that means he’s been eating sandwiches or fast food in order to survive while I carry out my hunger strike. 

Last week I decided enough was enough. My clothes are fitting a little looser, my skin feels dry from the lack of nutrients and strangers keep trying to feed me, not that I’m complaining about the cupcakes being delivered to my doorstep. The point: I haven’t been taking very good care of myself, which I think is understandable given the circumstances. And I’ve been so consumed with trying to clean my grandmother’s beloved crystal that by the time I look up from my soot-stained hands it’s eight o’clock in the evening and my husband is stuffing his face with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich… or eating his third poppyseed muffin. Let’s hope he doesn’t have to take a drug test because I’m afraid he might test positive for opiates. 

Since I’ve been so occupied the majority of the day cleaning or doing actual paid work, I went searching through my box of slow cooker recipes. I always seem to fall back on the same slow cooker recipes: black bean burrito bowls, apricot chicken, chicken salsa verde so I wanted to make something I’d never made before but had been meaning to do for quite some time.

What’s great about this recipe is there are basically only three ingredients: chicken breasts, barbecue sauce and chunks of pineapple. Place all of the ingredients into your slow cooker, hit the “low” setting and you can walk away from it for hours. For me, that means once I’ve reached the point of having hand cramps from scrubbing I can resume coloring the pages of my nifty coloring book. I think I might be getting ADD late in life as all I can focus on lately is coloring the “grass” various shades of green. Or maybe it’s sleep deprivation and green is the only color I can really focus on. Anyone have tips for obtaining a better night of sleep? This three hours a night crud isn’t cutting it.

Chicken and Red Wine Pairing

Things have been so out of whack lately that I haven’t even wanted or enjoyed wine. But my husband being the kind, gentle soul that he is basically insisted that I have a glass (or three) try to relax after a very challenging day. A couple of weeks ago, I picked up my wine from Sculpterra’s pick-up party and remembered being told the wines in my bag were great for barbecuing. 

I ended up choosing to open the 2014 Primitivo, as it’s on the sweeter side. In fact, their port (which my husband just loves) is also made from five separate vintages of their Primitivo grapes. The flavors from the barbecue sauce weren’t overpowered by the sweetness of the wine or vice versa—this would be an excellent wine to have on hand for your next family barbecue or special occasion where you’re using a lot of intricate, smokey flavors. Just don’t pair it with anything too spicy as the balance will be thrown off.

Zinfandel has evolved quite a bit from the days of your grandmother only drinking white zin. Depending upon where it's grown, you'll find bottles that are more fruit forward and other's that seem to be quite spicy and aromatic. 

What are your plans this weekend?

This post was updated May 2019.