Shhhhh, it’s a secret. The sun has finally arrived in Seattle, but don’t say that too loudly or you might scare it away. With the sun comes better moods and people out and about everywhere. I’ve seen my neighbors more in the past week than I have in the last 3 months! It’s hard to believe that the weather can have such an influence on a person, but with the sun comes a feeling of lightness and ease that I find surprising every year. Something inside of me loosens that I didn’t even know was tight until it relaxes. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ll be making less dishes (and therefore less work) as the cooking moves out to the grill! I can always bring it back to the kitchen somehow. The recipes I’m writing here are an easy weeknight meal that can also be worthy of company, they’re that good. And even better, quick. The marinade is my own design and the thing I love about it (besides the flavor and its adaptability), is it only needs to sit for 15 minutes. I rarely have it together during the week to organize an overnight marinade even though I love the big flavor results. This recipe gives big flavor in a short time. The sweet potatoes are from Alice Waters and are a perfect pairing. Put them in the oven when you first get home and the rest is a snap.

Chipotle chicken thighs
Serves 4
45 minutes
Serve with mashed sweet potatoes-recipe follows

2  lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 fresh orange
1 small lime or 1/2 large lime
1/4 cup olive oil
2-4 chipotles packed in Adobo sauce (more or less depending on your desire for heat)
salt to taste
2 tsp honey

Make marinade by juicing the lime and the orange. You should have a little less than 1/4 cup lime juice and about 1/4 cup orange juice. (A small aside: I always juice the other half of the orange and put the juice in an equalish amount of white wine. Yum! A refreshing treat to keep the cook happy.) Put the juice, olive oil, chipotles and salt in small food processor or blender. You should end up with a little over 1/2 cup marinade.

Put thighs in a bowl or plastic bag and pour 1/3 cup marinade over chicken. Stir to coat chicken and let sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes.  Take the unused marinade and stir in the 2 tsp of honey. Set aside.

Heat grill and cook thighs until done. Before removing from grill, brush marinade on one side of thighs and close grill for 1-2 minutes. Turn over the thighs, brush the other side with marinade then close grill for another minute or so. Turn again, cook briefly and serve with mashed sweet potatoes-recipe following.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Serves 4
1 hour
The lovely surprise of this recipe is the way the tartness of the lime juice balances out the sweetness of the potatoes. And the cilantro is not only gorgeous, it adds its own little special something to make this a far step from your Thanksgiving sweet potatoes.

3-4 medium sweet potatoes or yams
1-2 fresh limes
2 tbsp butter
2-3 tbsp fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 tsp salt and a few grinds of pepper)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put whole sweet potatoes in oven and roast until tender when pierced, 45 minutes to an hour. Remove skin, put in bowl and mash. Add butter, salt and pepper and combine. Squeeze lime juice over, stir and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve, adding more cilantro if desired.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

It looks like we’re finally getting some sun this week! I love to move my cooking outside, so first thing I did this morning was check the weather to see if I could plan on grilling this week. The infamous weather folks are predicting clear skies all week, so I planned a week’s worth of grilling. One of my absolute favorites is asparagus and it’s local and in the stores right now. All I do is put some olive oil on it, salt and pepper and put it on the grill until it’s tender and wrinkly looking. It’s so flavorful and juicy.  It doesn’t need anything else.  I also tried a butterflied chicken on the grill tonight. It was from Martha Stewart’s latest magazine. And I made the potato and green bean salad that went with it. Both were pretty darn tasty, but the potatoes were my favorite.  I’m posting those recipes here along with the rest of the week’s menu. Hope you get a chance to fire up your grill this week!

Monday-no cooking
Tuesday-turkey burgers and sweet potato fries
Wednesday-pasta with sausage, grilled asparagus
Thursday-yogurt-cumin chicken skewers with mint dipping sauce

Potato and green bean salad
Serves 4
30 minutes

2 lbs new potatoes
6 oz fresh green beans
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onions
4 tsp fresh lemon juice
4 tsp whole grain mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
salt and pepper

Put on a large pot of heavily salted water to boil. When it’s boiling, add the green beans and cook just until tender and bright green, 2-5 minutes. Remove from water with a slotted spoon and place immediately into ice water. When cool, remove and drain on paper towels. Set aside.
After you remove the green beans, put the potatoes in the boiling water and cook until tender, 10-12 minutes. Drain.
Meanwhile, whisk together the lemon juice, mustard, thyme, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. When potatoes are done, put them in a bowl with the beans and onions and gently combine.

I know this isn’t the prettiest chicken you’ve ever seen, but sometimes grilling goes that way. I wanted to post it anyway because we all still ate it and even cleaned our plates. Life and cooking don’t always turn out looking like we hoped it would, but it can still be satisfying.
Butterfly chicken with herb marinade
Serves 4
15 minutes to prepare marinade, 6-8 hours to marinade, 45 minutes to cook

1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half
1-2 large cloves of garlic, peeled
1/3 cup fresh herbs packed, rosemary, thyme, sage or parsley
1/2 lemon zested, peel in strips
1/4 cup olive oil
1 4-5 lb chicken, butterflied
2 large sprigs of rosemary soaked for 30 minutes in water before cooking

Butterfly the chicken by cutting along each side of the backbone with shears.  Remove the backbone and save for stock. Cut the breast bone slightly to flatten the chicken. You can see it here on the grill. Butterflying the chicken helps it to cook evenly on the grill or more quickly in the oven.
Puree the onion, garlic, lemon zest, herbs and olive oil in a food processor.  rub some puree under skin of chicken breast.  Rub remaining puree over rest of bird and refrigerate at least 6 hours and up to overnight.  Let stand at room temp 30 minutes before grilling.  Wipe off most of the rub and season with salt and pepper. Put the rosemary sprigs in water to soak.
Heat grill to medium-high or set up for indirect heat.  Place rosemary sprigs on the grill and put the chicken on top, breast side down. Cover and grill until nicely charred, 10-15 minutes. Flip and cook 30 minutes more. Flip again and grill until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees in the thickest part of the breast, 5 minutes or so more. When done, rest for 10 minutes before carving.
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So, I’ve been away from the blog for a while. I had one of those colds that isn’t enough to keep you home, but drains any extra energy you have for extra projects like blogging. And then, when I got rid of that, we managed to misplace the battery charger for the camera, so there were no photos and what’s a food blog without pictures? But today, it all came together. Cold is gone, battery is found and charged, so I’m back! This weekend I made soup. It was supposed to rain all week, so I thought some of my favorite soup would hit the spot and I had some beans to use up. This recipe is from Alice Waters Chez Panisse Vegetables cookbook. It’s a beautiful book with drawings and no photos, so you have to use your imagination to picture how the dish will look. She writes lovely descriptions, so it works. The great thing about having made this soup on Sunday is that when I came home today, I just pulled it out of the fridge, warmed it up and a delicious dinner was ready in no time at all. It’s completely worth the effort on Sunday to have this soup on a rainy Tuesday night after a long day at work.

Tuscan Bean and Farro Soup
(from Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters)
Serves 6-8
2-3 hours depending on the beans, about 30 minutes of that active time

2 cups dried cannellini or kidney beans
1 yellow onion
1 small leek
1 small carrot
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium tomatoes
1 sprig thyme
6 sage leaves
1 bay leaf
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 small piece prosciutto or smoked bacon
6 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper
1 cup farro (available at PCC in the bulk section or at PFI)
2 cups water
pesto for garnish, optional

   Soak the beans overnight or for several hours. When ready to make soup, peel and dice the onion, the white part of the leek, the carrot, and the garlic.  Stew the diced vegetables over medium-low heat in the olive oil in a nonreactive pot until the vegetables are translucent.  Peel and seed the tomatoes as follows: using a sharp knife, make a cross on the bottom of each tomato and remove the stem, blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for about 30 seconds, plunge in ice water and peel when cool, squeeze the tomatoes over the sink to get rid of most of the seeds.
Drain the beans and add them to the pot.  Add the tomatoes, herbs, pepper flakes, prosciutto or bacon and stew for 5 minutes or so.
Add the stock, bring the soup to a boil and lower the heat to a slow simmer.  Partially cover the soup and cook for about 1 1/4 hours, stirring occasionally.  Add 2-3 teaspoons salt after about an hour.
While the beans are cooking, put the farro and 2 cups salted water in a saucepan.  Cook at a simmer, covered, until the grains are soft and tender but not falling apart, about 45 minutes. (I often have to add more water before the farro is done, so hesitate to add more water if needed.)
Drain farro when done. When the beans are cooked, stir in the farro.  Simmer for another 10 minutes or so, being careful not to overcook.  Serve the soup with extra-virgin olive oil drizzled on top or a spoonful of pesto.

Bon appetit!

All my romantic notions of spring actually arriving here in the Pacific Northwest have been dashed to the ground by days of endless rain. We actually had snow yesterday! It didn’t stick, but still…they say that March comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb and I’m hoping “they” are right this time. All the indoor time this weekend has inspired me to try a few recipes from my new cookbook, Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry. I have to admit, he’s a little intimidating. But I love his philosophies on food-the idea that it’s ok to take time to make a meal and that we should relish the little things about cooking, like cutting the carrots. I really hate to cook in a hurry, so this affirms my desire to slow down and take my time. Of course, in truth, I rarely have that time, but I can dare to dream.
Today, I’m taking on a few of his appetizers, which are pictured above and making his agnolotti, which he says is from the Piedmont region of Italy and is a version of ravioli. We’ll see how it goes. The rest of the week will be a bit simpler and more sane cooking for weeknight meals.

Later: ok, so I’ve made a new rule, only one recipe from Keller in a sitting. After most of the day, I had one appetizer done and the agnolotti with sauce ready for dinner by 8:00. Crazy! which is why I’m not posting the recipes here. It would just take too long. I was a little frustrated with some of the directions, especially for the agnolotti, but in the end, even though my sauce broke, it was completely delicious. If you ever decide to take on agnolotti, please write and I’ll tell you what I figured out you need to add to his directions. But otherwise, please enjoy some more sane cooking for this week! And if we’re lucky, some sunshine since the first day of spring is coming…

Sunday-The French Laundry appetizer and agnolotti
Monday-no cooking, off to the neighbor’s
Tuesday-BLT pasta (bacon, spinach and tomato)
Wednesday-orange glazed salmon
Thursday-pecan-crusted chicken

I think this meal was a winner in my house. I made enough for 6 servings and after the three of us ate, there was none left. And my 14 year old stepson, who has very particular views on food these days, asked if we could have it again very soon. Definitely a success.
It takes a few steps, but none are too complicated and you get to pound on chicken, so if you’re having a grumpy day it’s a great chance to work some of that out! And a tip for you all, I made the mistake of making the salad first without reading the recipe carefully. I like to get my sides done first so when the cooked items are done, we get to eat while it’s hot. But, in this recipe, once you coat the chicken, it rests for 20-30 minutes, the perfect amount of time to make the salad that goes with it (or to drink some wine if you’re me and made the above mentioned error.)
First, cut the breasts in half lengthwise, then pound out to about 1/2 inch thick. The main thing you want is even thickness so the breasts will cook evenly. I put a plastic bag on top of the meat to protect it from falling apart.

Then prepare the coating mixtures-there are two, one for dipping and one for coating (recipes follow).
Dip the chicken in the liquid mixture first, then in the crumb mixture and don’t worry if the crumbs don’t stick on well. Scoop handfuls of the mixture and pile them on top of the chicken. Then transfer the chicken to a rack set over a baking sheet and air-dry the chicken for 20-30 minutes to help set the crumbs.
While chicken rests, make the salad. Then saute the chicken breasts, slice and serve on top of salad. The recipes come from Cuisine at Home. Enjoy!

Serves 4
About an hour total

For the pecan-crusted chicken:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts-pounded as mentioned above
2 egg whites
2 tsp cornstarch
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs (see note below on crumbs)
1 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
zest of 1 lemon, minced fine
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
3 tbsp canola oil for cooking

For Salad:
1/4 cup honey
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp minced shallot (1 medium sized shallot)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
8 cups mixed salad greens
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
4 oz mild goat cheese, crumbled

Note on bread crumbs: It’s best to make your own bread crumbs for this and it’s easy to do. You’ll need a rustic type of bread with a chewy, yet fairly soft crust. Cut bread into cubes or slices and put in food processor, you may need to work in batches. The crumbs don’t need to be uniform-they can be powdery to the size of peas. Then put crumbs on a baking sheet for 10-15 minutes in a 200 degree oven until dry, but not toasted.  I did this while I was pounding out the chicken. You can freeze any leftover crumbs and you’re all set for the next time you make this. And there will be a next time!

-Prepre chicken breasts by halving and pounding.
-Whisk egg whites, cornstarch and lemon juice in a shallow dish for dipping.
-Mix bread crumbs, parsley, salt, pepper, lemon zest, pecans, oregano, thyme, paprika and cayenne in another shallow dish, such as a pie plate.
-Dip both sides of chicken in liquid mix then into the crumb mixture. Pat crumbs on both sides of chicken-use hands to pat crumbs on and pile on top of chicken. Put coated chicken on rack to air-dry for 20-30 minutes.
-Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
-Put canola oil in large saute pan over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add chicken breasts-lay each breast in towards you so as the crumbs fall off into the pan, they create a “bed” for the chicken to rest on. Don’t worry about the crumbs that fall off, you’ll use them later. Saute chicken until golden, about 3 minutes. Carefully flip chicken and cook for another few minutes. Transfer skillet to oven to finish cooking. Roast chicken until just done, about 8 more minutes.
-Remove chicken from oven, slice and serve fanned over salad greens. Take the extra crumbs from the pan and sprinkle over the top for extra flavor. Serve with any extra dressing on the side.

To assemble the salad:
-Combine honey, mustard, shallot, vinegar, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Whisk in olive oil until combined.
-Put the greens in a bowl and toss with the dressing-you probably won’t need all the dressing, so just use enough to coat the greens nicely.
-Put the onions and cheese on top and toss lightly.
-Divide greens evenly between 4 plates and top with sliced chicken. Sprinkle any extra crumbs on top and serve with extra dressing on the side as noted above.

You may be tempted to skip making the gremolata, but don’t. It really makes the dish by adding a nice crunch from the bacon and bright notes from the herbs and lemon. This is a delicious, light risotto that’s perfect for transitioning into spring, or at least what we hope will soon be spring.  Since making the risotto takes all your attention, there’s really no multi-tasking allowed, which means that I used the time the stock was cooking to make the gremolata and my salad. That way when the risotto was done, we were ready to eat right away.

Serves 4
(Adapted from Cuisine at Home)
One hour

For the shrimp stock:
1 lb medium shrimp in their shells
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 cup chopped leek tops
9 whole peppercorns
4 fresh parsley sprigs
2 bay leaves

For the risotto:
1/2 lemon
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
1 cup chopped leeks
1 cup arborio rice
3/4 cup dry sherry or white wine
1 cup frozen peas
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

For the gremolata:
3 strips thick-sliced bacon, diced
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp snipped fresh chives
2 tbsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp minced garlic

-Peel and devein the prawns, leaving the tails on for presentation or taking them off for ease of eating (I always have this debate with myself when making prawn dishes! This time, I left just the tiniest bit of tail on so they’d look nice, but not be too messy to eat.) Put the prawns in a bowl and squeeze the 1/2 lemon over them. Add the 1 clove chopped garlic and 1/2 tsp salt. Stir to combine and set aside. Put the shells and remaining stock ingredients into a pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.  Strain stock through a sieve into a bowl, discard solids and return stock to pan over low heat.
-While stock is cooking, make gremolata by putting the 1 tbsp butter in a skillet. When butter foams, add bacon and saute until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. When cool, combine bacon with chives, parsley, lemon zest, garlic and salt. Set aside.
-Melt 2 tbsp butter in a Dutch oven or large saute pan over medium heat.  Add leeks and salt and saute gently for 2-4 minutes until translucent but not brown. Stir in rice and saute for 2 minutes or so, until rice grains look clear on their edges.
-Turn heat to medium high heat and add sherry or wine, stirring constantly until liquid is mostly evaporated. Add the cayenne pepper and nutmeg and about 1/2 cup stock and stir until absorbed. Continue adding stock in this manner until rice is tender and stock is mostly or all used up, 20-25 minutes.

-Stir in peas and shrimp and cook until shrimp are pink and firm, about 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt or pepper and needed. Remove from heat and stir in butter and Parmesan. Cover and let sit for 2-5 minutes to allow risotto to rest and flavors to meld.
Serve by topping each serving with a tbsp or so of the gremolata.

Spring is just around the corner. Green things are beginning to wiggle their way up from deep within the earth and the sweet smell of daphne is starting to sneak its way into my walks. Daphne is the true harbringer of spring for me. It’s a completely unremarkable bush most of the year, but it’s one of the first fragrant flowers to bloom in early spring. You’ll be walking along, minding your own business, when all of a sudden you’ll smell it. You won’t know exactly where it’s coming from, but you’ll have to look around and sure enough, you’ll spot the little pink-tinged flowers blooming nearby in someone’s yard and you’ll go have a sniff. And from the first daphne sighting, it’s all downhill towards daffodils and tulips, which means fresh asparagus, peas and all those fresh spring foods we love.
For now though, in my menu planning, it’s still all about the fresh citrus. Blood oranges are in abundance and the grapefruit right now is out of this world. I took a grapefruit and took it out of its membranes, put the segments in a bowl, gave it a few drops of balsamic vinegar for sweetnes and ate it for dessert. I loved it! My husband thought it was a little strange but he’s loved it in the salads I’ve been making and he loved the cocktail I made up last night.
I used fresh blood orange juice, a shot of rum and 1/2 shot of Grand Marnier shaken over ice and served up in a martini glass. So good! The rest of the menu this week is pretty light and leaning towards spring with a prawn risotto and fish cooked in parchment. I can feel the change coming  and couldn’t bring myself to plan anything too heavy.  And I’m still working on watching that sunset at least once this week…

Monday-no cooking, at the neighbors
Tuesday-halibut cooked in parchment with couscous and sweet potato wedges with lemon grass creme fraiche
Wednesday-prawn risotto with lemon, bacon and chives served with a beet, tangerine salad
Thursday-pecan crusted chicken with a salad

This has got to be one of the easiest pasta recipes ever.
It only has a few ingredients and is packed with flavor. It was inspired by a recipe in The Silver Spoon, one of the biggest Italian cookbooks on my shelf and is one of my go-to recipes when I want something delicious, but fast and easy.

First you cook the sausages, then deglaze the pan with red wine,

add cream,

then add tomatoes, cook for about 10 minutes on low and add 2-3 tablespoons pesto. It’s better if you have time to make your own pesto, but there are several good varieties out there that will work just as well. You only need a few tablespoons and then I use the leftover pesto for paninis on another night.
Then add sausage,
and stir to combine. Then the trick to this recipe is to put the Parmesan on top of the pasta and then the sauce on top of that. The cheese melts onto the pasta and it changes the overall texture just enough to make a difference.
And now here’s the recipe:

Serves 4
30 minutes

1 lb chicken or turkey Italian style sausages
1/2 cup red wine
1 28 oz can Muir Glen fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp pesto
1 lb rigatoni or penne pasta
salt and pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

-Put a large pot of salted water on high. Cook sausages in 1-2 tbsp of olive oil until browned and cooked through, 10-15 minutes. Remove from pan and pour in red wine. Cook, stirring up the bits from the pan until evaporated by about half. Turn heat to low and pour in cream. Add tomatoes, 1 tsp salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper and cook on low for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, put pasta in boiling water and cook according to package instructions.
-Stir in pesto. Stir in sausages. Serve by putting pasta on plates and sprinkling with Parmesan, then topping with sauce as desired.

This soup has a story-literally. I teach first grade and one of my students wrote a story about going to the store and buying pistachio soup. I was so curious about this soup, since I’ve never seen it on the shelves myself, that when his mother came in to volunteer, I asked her about it. She told me that they hadn’t actually bought it, but made it at home. It’s a recipe from Iran and she graciously shared it with me along with a few others I’m anxious to try soon! 

The longest part of this recipe was shelling the pistachios, so prepare yourself for that. I don’t really mind doing it though because they are a beautiful nut and I did snack on several to keep me energized.

The other ingredients were fairly simple but surprising. Seville orange juice is not what I would have expected in a nut soup, but it added a nice finishing note. If you don’t have Seville oranges, which I can never find, you use a combination of orange and lime juice to add that sour note.

It was a delicious soup. I only had two troubles with it. One was what to serve with it…I ended up making paninis out of some chicken, mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes I had and wanted to use up. We thought they were a good compliment to the soup, but even better I think would be caramelized onions, prosciutto and maybe Gruyere paninis. The other trouble is the need for a toothpick to get all those little bits of nut out of your teeth! But it was well worth the effort. I also topped it with a dollop of creme fraiche to add hint of creaminess. And then, “Nush-e Jan!” (Which, according the kind parent who shared this recipe, means “Enjoy your food!” in Farsi.)

Serves 4
About an hour
(Recipe from “New Food of Life” by Najimich Batmanglij)

1 cup pistachio, shelled
3 tbsp butter or oil
1 shallot, chopped
1/2 cup Seville orange juice or mixture of 1/4 cup orange juice and 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 leek, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tbsp rice flour(which I didn’t have, so used regular flour)
6 cups chicken stock
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

2 tbsp slivered pistachios for garnish
1/4 cup creme fraiche

-Grind pistachios in food processor or grinder. In a heavy pot, heat butter or oil over medium heat.  Add shallot, leek and garlic. Gently stew them and cover until translucent.  Add rice flour and stir to cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.
-Add pistachios, salt and pepper and reduce heat.  Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes.
-Remove from heat and add orange juice.  Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche and slivered pistachios on top. Can be served either hot or cold and can be made with hazelnuts or almonds.

Ahhhh, Sunday. Time to relax and get ready for the week, a day of mixed feelings for those two reasons. I was away last week because we had a week off of school, so I went to the seaside for a few days. It’s pretty quiet there during the winter months, which was exactly what I was looking for. Three days of just me and my little dog with lots of reading and walking on the beach. No one else’s needs or wants to worry about which also meant I got to eat lots of raw oysters and fresh clams. No one else in my family really likes these, so I got to go wild. I go to a little seafood market in the historic town of Oysterville. It’s right on the water and the smell of the sea hits you as you get out of your car, so you know the oysters and clams couldn’t be fresher. I won’t admit how many I ate, but they were delicious. Now I’m back home and perusing what I have in the fridge that needs to be used up this week. My boys went crazy on buying roasted chicken and I ended up with a stomach bug when I got back, so it’s chicken soup for us tonight. That’s when homemade chicken stock comes in handy. I’m just taking some out of the freezer, sauteing some vegetables and then adding the meat off one of the roast chickens and we have a healthy dinner which my weak stomach can handle. The other part of part of my trip I really appreciated was making time to watch the sun go down every day. I poured myself a glass of wine, sat down and watched the day transition into night. I’m going to try to make that happen again this week, at least once. So, I’m putting that on the menu too. Maybe you’ll be able to join me…

Sunday- chicken soup
Monday-no cooking, but watching the sun go down
Tuesday-smoky frittata and prosciutto pear salad
Wednesday-pistachio soup with chicken, mozzarella paninis
Thursday-sausage, pesto pasta with a citrus salad