The Right Tool Matters

Talk about being behind on writing...
This was dinner - It was supposed to be the Chicken Hash from the Whole30 Cookbook. It looked NOTHING like the picture in the book. I was worried that the taste would be off as well (more than with my substitutions). The photo has sweet potato noodles, not the type of shredded hash I got that would have been better turned into sweet potato hash browns. Now there's an idea.

Sweet Potato Chicken Hash:
1lb chicken thighs, diced; 1/4 cup pecans, chopped; 1 large sweet potato, grated;
1 pink lady apple, diced; 1/4 cup apple cider; 1 -2 cups spinach; 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms; salt and pepper to taste

I think it probably had a lot to do with not having the right tool for the job. I found my cheese grater, but it wasn't a box grater with variable grating sizes, it was a handheld fine grater. Very fine. The cookbook suggested using a spiralizer, but the one I have was not up to the task. It gave me funky 1/2-inch noodles that kept trying to fall out of the bowl.

The final result tasted fine, it just looked ... off. And the texture ... well, that was different. Mushier than expected. No one wanted the leftovers except me. The texture was still weird, but the flavors blended extremely well. It was more than palatable two days later. I don't think I will attempt this recipe again without a coarse grater, or investing in a better spiralizer, especially since no one else seemed to like it. Cooking healthy should not involve buying more kitchen gadgets.

Maybe I'll  just make hash browns.