By 2019 begins and the word that comes is: forward. Not up, not better, not healed — forward. Movement. Direction. The sense that the next step is a choice, not a survival mechanism. I am choosing. I am choosing this man. I am choosing this kitchen. I am choosing to keep cooking, keep teaching, keep setting the table. The choice is the difference between year one (survive) and year two (rebuild) and now, year three: live.
Back to school. Back to work. Marcus is in the home stretch of 8th grade — the final semester, the countdown to high school. He is fourteen on January 15th. FOURTEEN. He is taller than me now, which happened sometime in November without my permission. He looks down at me when we talk and I look up at him and the geometry of motherhood has reversed and I am not ready and I don't need to be ready because readiness is not required. Presence is required. I am present.
Jasmine is thriving in 6th grade. She has found her people: the choir kids, the creative kids, the kids who sing in the hallways and draw in the margins and live at a frequency that most adults have forgotten but that Jasmine vibrates at constantly. She is eleven and she is writing songs in the journal Derek gave her and I hear her humming them in the kitchen and the melodies are simple and true and the lyrics are about rain and shoes and a grandmother who "lives in the kitchen" — she is writing about Brenda and she doesn't even know it. She is writing about legacy in a journal with a music note on the cover and the music is the legacy and the legacy is the music and everything connects.
Made a new recipe: Thai basil chicken. Fish sauce, oyster sauce, Thai basil, chilies, garlic, served over jasmine rice. The kitchen smelled like Bangkok (I imagine; I have never been to Bangkok; the kitchen smelled like what the internet tells me Bangkok smells like). Marcus rated it "8 out of 10" which is his new system for evaluating my cooking and which I find both helpful and slightly offensive. Jasmine rated it "yellow" which I believe is her version of "good" on a color scale that only she understands. Curtis, on Saturday, ate it and said, "Different." I said, "Good different?" He said, "Different." He ate the whole plate. The "different" has become his version of "I accept this," and acceptance, from Curtis Jackson, is the highest form of love.
That Thai basil chicken night reminded me that my kitchen has no borders — it never did, really, but year three is when I finally started cooking like I believed it. So when Saturday came around again and Curtis was at the table and the kids were loud and the rice cooker was going, I reached for something else from that same global shelf: warm spices, slow heat, the kind of dish that fills a room and makes people stop talking just long enough to take a second bite. Moroccan chicken felt right — unhurried, layered, a little unexpected. Just like this year.
Slow-Cooked Moroccan Chicken
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 6 hrs | Total Time: 6 hrs 20 min | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 2 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks
- 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup dried apricots, halved
- 1/4 cup pitted green olives, halved
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped (for serving)
- Couscous or rice, for serving
Instructions
- Season the chicken. Pat chicken pieces dry with paper towels. Season generously on all sides with salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, paprika, and cayenne.
- Layer the slow cooker. Add onion and garlic to the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Place the seasoned chicken pieces on top in a single layer as much as possible.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Scatter chickpeas, diced tomatoes, apricots, and olives over and around the chicken. Whisk together the tomato paste and chicken broth, then pour over everything.
- Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours, or on HIGH for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, until the chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender and the sauce has thickened slightly.
- Adjust and serve. Taste the sauce and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Serve over couscous or jasmine rice, and finish with fresh chopped cilantro.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 380 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 28g | Fiber: 6g | Sodium: 520mg