A good chicken sandwich can mimic a hamburger, becoming a delicious vehicle for toppings. We don't go out to eat very often, but when we do my eyes always stray to the hamburger menu. I stopped eating beef in my late twenties because I had burned out on it and I've never fully redeveloped my taste for it. So, hamburgers are just little sandwiches that taunt my memory. When we do go out to eat, though, I'm a hamburger pusher for Jedd.

“Oooh, they have bacon and monterey jack cheese. You should definitely have that. Oh, wait! They have guacamole too! You should definitely have the bacon, monterey jack and guacamole burger. Or, they also have...”

You get the idea. I'm like an ex-smoker who inhales patron's jackets in a club when they come back from smoking outside. Or like someone who's given up coffee, but still hangs around coffee shops because they love the smell and the conversation.

Ah, memories.

But for some reason I've never thought to treat a chicken sandwich like a hamburger. Then suddenly the other day it dawned on me that I should grill a chicken breast, slap it on a bun, coat the bun with chipotle sauce, cheese and pico de gallo and embrace the sandwich with open arms.

And I'm going to make these at least once a week. They filled a longing I had in my heart that I didn't know existed, outside of watching Jedd dine on pub food.

Ah, January. When this time of the year hits, we get nostalgic for the rocky beaches off the coast of Maine. Not that we've ever lived on the coast (which is a dream of ours) but because we used to make a trip to Maine every winter to enjoy the empty beach during the day - and the bars at night. But over the last few years work, life, etc., have kept us away from the cold sea air.

So, when winter-without-a-vacation melancholy hit us the other day, Jedd made cumin-coated shrimp for dinner. To contribute to the dinner I made a parsley lemon sauce.

And for a few minutes, our cabin fever went away.

I was recently gifted with about 4 pounds of green tomatoes. I had never played with green tomatoes before, but I thought they would work well in a chutney because I love chutneys and look for any reason to make one. To quote the Grail Knight in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: “You chose wisely.”

I started craving barbecue when Jedd's mother came to the apartment raving about some delicious chicken she had just had.

That made me remember the barbecued pork that our friends Ben and Kelee had made us last fall.

“Hmmm, I've never made Kelee's barbecue sauce recipe.” I checked the recipe ingredients and realized that it called for ketchup.

That posed a problem.

I've never purchased ketchup. Jedd's never bought ketchup either.