Farm fresh chicken dinner

There's hope that I am actually hitting my stride in the kitchen! I feel like I have had so many hit or miss dishes. And tried not to get discouraged by it. With this meal, I have to say, EVERYTHING turned out wonderfully!

First thing is that the produce I used I had purchased that day from the local farm stand in our neighborhood. This lettuce was beautiful, fresh, hearty, almost tough because it was so packed with good stuff. Some of the leaves were wine-stained looking. Gorgeous. I tossed in some shallot vinaigrette, goat cheese, and toasted pecans. A recent standby preparation that is just perfect (and easy).

Next, I was inspired by the fresh kale and sage I purchased at the local farm stand. I made farro and kale salad with brined then barbequed chicken breasts, and chermoula sauce on the side. Recipes courtesy of Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks and this great book on grilling and barbecuing.

This was the scene, a nice lazy day of cooking, hanging out, and enjoying the out-of-doors. Looking forward to leftovers tomorrow! And a repeat of this scene.

accomplished

Well, I successfully made all but one of the above list. It was many hours of cooking, but kind of nice on a Sunday to start up a pot of beans for example, then have a seat, watch a little football. Get up and turn on the oven, make a marinade, throw veggies into the oven, then watch a little football until the timer goes off, etc. So, hours went by, but I had all elements of dinner ready by the time we were ready to eat. The one dish that didn't photograph too well, but still tasted pretty good was the Pinto Bean/Plantain Stew. I'm not sure I understand how you call this stew, unless I didn't do it right. Regardless, I will throw it over rice throughout the week, and it will be a new spin on my ol' favorite Rice and Beans. Funny, this recipe is from a cookbook called Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. Another dish I made from that cookbook a couple years ago had a really snappy name: Seitanic Red and White Beans Jambalaya. It too had the same mush/mash consistency. Maybe that's what they're going for. Anyway, here are some pics...

Kale and Farro salad with sesame oil

Lemony roasted potatoes

Roasted portobello mushroom over
spicy mustard vinaigrette-dressed greens

Plantain and pinto stew

Big plans

Here are a couple of dishes I plan on making in the next couple of days:
Roasted portobello mushrooms over spicy mustard vinaigrette-dressed greens
Lemony roasted potatoes
Plantain and pinto stew
Marinated lentil salad
Kale and farro salad with toasted coconut and sesame oil
Steel cut Irish oatmeal sweetened with apple juice, topped with walnuts
A cocktail

Wish me luck

Listening to Rebirth Brass Band, making Farro with green onion sauce, toasted walnuts and asparagus

Cooking

Plated

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