Sticky Chicken Wings Recipe

Tim made these this weekend and they are the best!

3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/4 cup oyster sauce

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 inch piece fresh ginger smashed and peeled

2 pound chicken wings cut in half at joint

(wing tips removed)

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a 9 by 13 inch baking dish, whisk together brown sugar, oyster sauce, lemon juice, and soy sauce until sugar dissolves. 2 minutes. Add ginger and chicken wings; toss to coat. Arrange wings in a single layer.

2. Bake wings 1 hour. Increase heat to 450 degrees and bake until sauce is reduced and wings are glazed, 30 to 35 minutes more, turning wings occasionally.

Chicken wings and Oreos ... couldn't be better!

God, I love Bovina. I don't want to be anyplace else but out in our yard in this kind of weather. There are those rare days in early spring that are so amazing! This weekend was one of them. 60 degree weather, sunshine, the snow almost melted and the pond overflowing. We had Burns(our siamese cat) up for the weekend because we didn't want him to be by himself without Grace. It was a total pleasure having an animal in the house. He enjoyed having a house to run around in and a new litter box. He enjoyed it many times.

Tim made the most amazing chicken wings saturday night. Oyster sauce and brown sugar - baked in the oven - yum! Pasta fritatta and roasted cauliflower and sweet potatoes. Vanilla Oreos cold from the freezer. Great weekend!

Grace

Tim and I met and fell in love. One of the hurdles that we had to overcome as we merged our lives was that he had cats. I am allergic to cats. Grace and Burns (yes, I know - Tim named them) are these two dark, beautiful, overweight, adorable, sweet, Siamese. They are brother and sister. I love all animals so it's hard having allergies because I would love nothing better then to have them purr and lick me all over. We have spent the last 5 years trying to manage the cats and allergies. We de-catted the bedroom so I had a safe haven to breathe. However, I still tried to get close to them. I would hold them in my arms, pet them and run for the bathroom to wash the hair off of me. Tim would change clothes and shower before he came to bed with me. Even though I may have had issues, one of my secret pleasures was getting up in the morning while Tim was still in bed and putting a pot of coffee on, feed the cats and sit there petting the cats. It was all part of our new life together.

We had to put Grace in the hospital yesterday and today we had to put her to sleep. She was diagnosed with cancer and advanced pancreatitis. It broke my heart to watch Tim hold her in his arms when the vet injected her. You never imagine when you get a kitten or puppy that they will not be with you forever. This morning because Burns cried all morning, I pulled him into bed with us and the three of us lay there together in our bed. We will miss Grace very much.

Snowcatrastophe

Snow like this traumatizes me. I lived in Montana when I was 8 years old and my dad was stationed at Great Falls, AFB. My mom would come out of the house and find me passed out face down in the snow after two minutes with asthma problems. So, for out first winter up here, it makes me very nervous. I love Bovina and I love the catskills. I love four seasons and I don't mind having some snow but this is insane. Even with snowshoes, we are chest deep in snow. Tim and I have a long way to retirement but this is part of our long range plan. A cottage in the mountains and an apartment in the city - perfect right? Tim, however loves disaster movies and thinks that this is all part of the climate change and believes that this will all end badly. He pre-bought tickets to the movie '2012." I am slightly more hopeful that this is a freak storm and that we will never see this kind of snow ever again... right?