The Chicken Oysters...

The Chicken Oyster:

Roast Chicken.. mmm delicious, mouth watering.. we all have our favourite parts... white meat, dark meat.. drumsticks.. wings.... but the one part.. the most tender part.. the secret part are the 'oysters'.... they are hiding underneath the roast a pair of them.. one on each side.

 I was made aware as a child of this secret meat.... this mysterious treat..  Now of course I was immediately turned off by this idea... as I thought it was a crazy seafood thing that manifested on the innocent roast chicken... but as years went by I grew to understand the 'oyster' came to the name simply from the shape.. and I think perhaps because it is hidden and very sought after by those in the know, of where to look.

So this treat became a sneaky after dinner event, a contest if you will between my brother and I... who would retrieve the oysters (while no one was watching).

Stealth innocent movements to the kitchen area, well after the meal had been served, enjoyed and cleared away.... quietly opening the fridge, and flipping the bird... literally to an upside down position... scooping out the coveted oyster or both of them..... and on uber stealth nights... flipping the bird YET AGAIN... so no one was the wiser...   Until another unit playing the game, would try sneaking hours later to check the status of said bird and the horrible discovery that the treats were already gone.. only a vacant boney cave staring back from the quiet hum of the fridge on the platter that holds the carcass of the roasty beasty.

Upon returning to the common area of friends and family, immediately continuing the non-chalont conversation, smiles and jokes.... and a quick scan to the select family members who know of the coveted treat... and a very slight smug greasy grin shows itself from the guilty party... and now that particular game of 'chicken' is now done for the evening.

My mother still has a fantasy of having a meal consisting on nothing but chicken oysters.  As a child, she had two brothers to contend with for the treasure hunt in secret.  Very, very seldom did she manage to come away with the prize.

This link shows how to cut up a raw chicken and still save the precious oysters, for the pre - roasting decisions.

Apparently, it is the chef's prerogative to sample... or indulge in the Chicken Oyster at his or her discretion, while still in the kitchen prep area.  That is, unless the rest of the family don't already know the virtues and value of the prize at hand.

 

Here is a wonderful example of how to carve a roasted chicken... including the Oyster.

There are of course many ways to alternatively cook the Chicken Oyster on it's own.... here for instance. 

Keep in mind, those little suckers get all the best, moisty flavour and consitancey from being cooked on the bottom of the chicken where all the natural oils and flavours dribble down through cooking the beast all together.  

So when I do win the lottery, or my ship comes in... or that fantastical sugar daddy comes along... I will be purchasing many of the whole chickens... roasting them up for a large feast... and serving all the 'oysters' to me mum.... on a most special occasion  ;)

  Until next time my lovelies...

Peace, Love & Positive Energy to you all... 

Michelle, aka 'the Gypsy Mermaid'

the month of Love

Feburary... the month of Love... well if you only follow the Hallmark holidays advice for life structure.

I personally see and feel Love every single day... not the 'fall in love oh baby, baby be mine Valentine stuff.. but, Love true.  Although, I have to admit that is a fantastic place to be, whenever possible on the life journey.

Love is the most powerful energy in all the known universes.  Think about it... the love of a parent for it's child.... the protection, the inner strength, the ability to forgive and want better for, than yourself in life. The physical strength that kicks in when needed in crisis... holy guacamole... powerful stuff.

Love, that resides in each of us.... purely... for the innocent, for the known, for the bad guy even at times...The 'do good feeling' that is just there for your fellow human, for the animals, for the planet.... all this is naturally in all of us... from birth.

Now granted, some of us have had it squeezed out to almost a non recognition from various abusive forms in our life's journey thus far... but, there is always a faint glimmer just waiting for a spark of energy sent in the right direction.  This is why it is so important to put that positive energy out there, to share the Love from within, to all... and especially to those that seem to have lost their way from situations you probably couldn't even fathom in the darkest parts of your immagination.

I am not a religious person... I do believe there are higher powers and spiritual guides around us, but I do not do the church thing, or the follow this way or the other.... I understand and follow the concepts and ideas of Karma, the Cosmic Kitchen, Love, Peace, Growth, Sharing... and the belief that we are on this plain of existance right now for just that.... learning, growing, loving, sharing ... and when it is our time... we simply leave this framehold (the body) and our soul and spirit move onto another plain of existance... (possibly what many refer to as heaven).. where we can continue our evolution, discuss, evaluate, and when ready come on down again to learn some more.

Importantly, the knowledge that we are all joined... ALL of us.. and yes that includes Mother Earth... all her critters, and cosmic forces..all energy...  While at the same time, we are all individuals.  This is why Love, Peace, and Respect for all around you is so important... and to always put forward the positive energy.

Have you ever had a really crappy day?  Where everything is going wrong... and all you can think of is  'why me?!' ...'What else could possibly go wrong?!'.... 'Really!!??!'  and you swear, yell, scream... vent, become a sarcstic, bitter traffic nazi to all around you.... bite off someone's head for literally nothing?!   1st of all, you have just empowered all that crap to continue by your thoughts... putting energy into the negative...2ndly  well, there is an immediate way to end those days, and turn them around....really.

You just shake off the negativity... I mean literally... stop what you are doing.... close your eyes... see Love... see Goodness.. feel Positive Energy around you... as a protective bubble forming.. holding all that you hold precious in life safe..... open your hands above your head and 'shake off ' the negative energy around you... state out loud, Enough!, think of what you want to have happen next... (no not the a#hole in front of you getting into trouble... bad thinking.. not where you want to go!!!besides Karma will take care of that)  think with your heart, destinations, goals, deeds, desires that you want to have happen.. put your energies there.... take a deep cleansing breath.. exhale the negative... inhale the positive... (yeeup meditative measures here are awesome... even in a couple of breaths worth)

That's it.... no really... that is all it takes to turn a crappy negative day around into a fantastic positive day... Now if you just send your next paycheque to the address above... lol  just kidding... but in reality that is all you need to do.... what... don't believe me... go ahead.. give it a try.. with feeling.... or try this little experiment..... put out negative energy.. be in a shitty mood.. yell, swear, curse at folks.. believe that 'it always happens to me... damnit' and see if anything 'good' comes from it...  NO???!! shocking.... so turn it around and put out the Postive energy....... it's like 2 campfires.. one on each side of you..One being Positive Energy.. the other Negative Energy... the one that gets larger, bigger and hotter is the one you put logs on ... right?!  getting the picture?  If you don't feed it, it dies down to nothing that will bother you.... but if you even throw one stick of kindling on.. Whoosh!  hey, there's a flame ....

By the same measure.. and thought... life does indeed throw curveballs, lessons, and tests all the time... I mean that is why we are here... to learn, grow, love and share right.  When you are in a situation... a crisis, a breakdown of sorts... seek the lesson.. the silver lining.. the something .. anything good to take away with you.. to guide you.. to find solice in.   It is always there.. somewhere... sometimes it takes a while to discover (that is the challenging part... like finding Waldo on a google map of earth for instance) It is there somewhere, have patience with yourself, heal, breathe, grow.... evolve, and come away stronger from the experience.. it is now part of what makes you unique, special, individual.  Yeeup, that old saying of 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' well it's true.

On a closing note, Love.... Love each other...and very importantly.. Love yourself... don't talk down to yourself, pick yourself up... don't let others talk down to you either... believe in you.... You are here for a purpose, even if you don't realize what that specific purpose is yet... Love.... every single day.


Peace, Love and Positive Energy my darlins..
-Michelle aka the Gypsy Mermaid

and if you just can't wait for more stories from my Adventures in life on the road in the Gypsy Caravan.... ok.. you can sneak a peek at the book I am writing here 'Sharing Smiles & Giggles'

What? that's not enough to satisfy.. ok.. I have a cd out, you can hear me sing here

Oh and PS... Quality Dark Chocolates, Fabulous Flowers and Sparkly, Shiny Trinkets do go a long way my lovelies... and NOT only on Feb 14th   ;-)