Fried Chicken

(this was on Wednesday) with brown rice and roof lettuce. A word on what I mean by "fried chicken": I take chicken thighs (from chickens humanely raised, if nonetheless callously killed), brine them for half an hour in a quart of water with a cup of kosher salt dissolved in it, and pat them dry. Then I put them, skin-down, in a pan of very hot fat and leave them until they have a brown, glassily-crisp crust; then I turn them and cook until they're done. This is, obviously, not fancy and wouldn't qualify among the true chicken-fryers of the world, but man, is it good. Need I say that I usually use coconut oil to do the frying? Actually, I need, because as of Wednesday, I have a new fat! I'll update you as I explore the world of organic virgin expeller-pressed (or something) palm oil.

In the interest of full disclosure I will also tell you that I usually fry about six pieces of chicken; we eat maybe four of them for dinner, and then I eat the skin from whatever remains before I put the leftovers in Tupperware. Those last pieces of skin, eaten when I'm already full, tasting of pure calories, are heaven.