As the calendar marched on and all the glitter and sparkle of Christmas began to fade into memory, I once again found myself trudging through the mud to Momma Fox's door. Many storms had obviously crossed over the normally inviting cobbled streets of Ottery St Catchpole and the path was a perilous mix of deep puddles, black ice and mud. Thankfully, yours truly had the common sense to wear the brand new boots that Mummy dear had bought her for Christmas, so avoided landing on her somewhat round bottom in the dirt. Not that it would have mattered much. It would have been nothing a quick flick of Tergeo and a drying spell could not have fixed. But that's not the point. No one wants soaking wet trousers when it is silly degrees cold in January.
Fortunately, by the time I had skidded my way with finesse to the large and welcoming portal, Momma Fox was already waiting for me. A bright and highly amused twinkle lighting up her old but intelligent eyes. "Well, then dear child. That looked like an adventure now didn't it? Let's get you inside and warmed up before your fingers drop off!" It appeared that the miniature miracle had already spotted that yes, I had forgotten my gloves that day in my rush to tie up the previously mentioned boots. Smiling sheepishly as I shoved them deep into my coat pockets, I followed her once more into her cavern of wonders and took up my seat. "So Momma Fox? How are you feeling now the holidays are done and what have you got for us today? I hope you are well and I'm sure it will be wonderful as always."
Smiling softly as she slid an enormous cup of divine smelling hot chocolate my way, the tawny eared witch sighed. Her brow creased slightly as she murmured, "Well Dearie, I always find things a bit flat in January if I'm honest. The holidays always seem to be over so quickly these days. So I was thinking and talking it over with my cat Deuteronomy last night and we decided we are going to hang on to the shiny things just a little longer this year. I mean why shouldn't I? I'm a very old fox and I can be as eccentric as I like can I not? To that end, I have something super fun for you. I hope it makes you smile as much as it did me when I wrote it."
A small piece of crisp clean parchment was passed into my now waiting hands as she finished speaking and I looked at it with a surprised gasp. You will never guess what was on it, my dear readers! Glitter chicken of all things! I was surprised but thrilled as I read the following and got to work in the now-familiar space.
Ingredients:
110g honey
55g low sodium soy sauce
40g Finely chopped red onion
2 tbsp cooking oil (vegetable oil or olive oil)
1.5 tbsp garlic minced (About 4 large cloves)
1 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp edible glitter (gold works well)
3/4 tsp fresh minced ginger
1.2 kg chicken thighs (skinless, boneless)
Salt and pepper to season
Directions:
1. In a shallow bowl, combine the honey, soy sauce, red onion, cooking oil, garlic, vinegar, edible glitter and ginger using yourPermisceto mixing spell (Three stirs clockwise and five stirs anticlockwise should do!) and set aside.
2. Pat chicken dry with a paper towel or use a very gentle application of the food drying spell; Exaruit Cibum. No more than 5 seconds at most or the meat will go hard.
3. Trim off any excess fat using the Excorio cutting spell, then season with salt and pepper before transferring the chicken to the bowl with the marinade. Cover the bowl with a cloth and marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes if time allows (or overnight). Do not use a cooling charm as it will very likely toughen the meat. A muggle refrigerator or a cold store is ideal for this.
4. Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C/Gas Mark 7.
5. Transfer the chicken along with the marinade to a cast-iron skillet or baking dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes in a muggle oven, flipping twice while baking to ensure the chicken doesn't dry out on top.
It should be glossy and golden brown when finished and the chicken juices must run clear when a toothpick is inserted.
6. Garnish with a little more glitter if desired and serve with either steamed rice, cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, regular noodles or mashed potatoes.
In what seemed like no time due to our almost continuous chatter that day, a tantalisingly oriental scent wafted through the kitchen and my stomach growled loudly in anticipation. The recipe had been surprisingly easy to follow and I had joyfully copied it into my notebook while the chicken had been marinating. But now it was done, I couldn't wait to dig in as Momma Fox carefully levitated the dish from the oven. "Oh my goodness Momma Fox! That smells incredible!" had slipped unbidden from my lips, earning me a wide toothy grin from the tiny genius. I knew that the end of the session was drawing close, but somehow, neither of us wanted to do other things that day. Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the January blues, but you can be sure my dear readers, that many hours were wasted that day in the comfort of Momma Fox's home.
So, as I'm sure you have guessed, it's now time for me to go and torture my own somewhat humble kitchen as I try to copy what I learned. Wish me luck folks! - Nikita