Baked Chicken Breasts with Creamy Chard and Quinoa

This is just plain delicious.  After a few weeks of summer salads nearly every night for dinner, I took advantage of the cooler weather to make something a little more hearty, though still fresh tasting.  The chicken breasts stay nice and moist with the fresh herbs imparting delightful flavor and the natural tanginess of the chard is rounded out with a hint of cream.

Ingredients:
- 1 boneless chicken breast (get a nice, plump fresh one, not some scrawny, frozen cutlet)
- 4 fresh sage leaves (or more if they're small)
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano
- 2 tbsp crumble feta
- a drizzled of extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkle of salt, and a dash of pepper

- 2 c. loosely packed shredded chard
- 1/2 tbsp. butter
- 1/2 c. chicken broth
- 1 tbsp cream
- dash of salt and paprika

- 1/4 c. quinoa (I used red quinoa)
- 1/2 c. water
- dash of salt

Directions:
- Score the chicken breast on both sides and sprinkle with salt and black pepper.
- Place the chicken in small casserole dish.
- Tuck two of the sage leaves under the breast, place two on top, and sprinkle the chopped oregano on top.
- Drizzle with a just a little bit of olive oil.
- Add the crumbled feta to the top of the chicken breast.
- Bake at 400 for about 15 minutes, broiling in the last few if the feta needs help browning.  I baked mine in my toaster oven, (it wasn't quite cool enough to want to heat up my kitchen), so time in a real oven may vary.  Use your good judgement.

- To chiffonade your chard, remove the spines, stack the leaves, roll them up, and chop the roll.
- Sautee the chard in a skillet with the 1/2 tbsp butter, salt, and paprika until thoroughly wilted.
- Add the cream and chicken broth and simmer over low heat.
- Cook until the liquid is reduced, stirring occasionally.  For a slightly finer texture, mash the chard a bit with a wooden spoon as it cooks.  You could certainly puree it in the blender, but I liked it rather 'lumpy'.

- Combine the quinoa, water, and salt in a small pot and bring to a boil.
- Cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed.
- Pour any juices from the chicken casserole dish over the quinoa to serve.

I know this sounds like a lot of work, but it actually comes together quite simply and relatively quickly with the three components cooking simultaneously.  It's also easily multiplied to serve several people.

Enjoy!

Easy, Versatile Buttermilk Cake

Summer tends to be a time for simple desserts.  With all of the glorious fresh fruit available that hardly needs fussing with, the elaborate desserts of winter are easily forgotten.  Besides, who wants to hang around a hot stove or deal with melty doughs?

But, while fresh fruit is delicious on its own, sometimes you want something a little more special.  This basic buttermilk cake goes with everything that summer has to offer.  Fluffy, tender, and softly sweet it is always a crowd-pleaser.  It's quick and easy to throw together and with it's fast cook-time your kitchen will hardly heat up.  What I especially like is that the recipe is great to tinker with.  Add flavor with zests, add fruit to the top, (like the original recipe calls for), or the bottom as an upside-down cake.  Cut it in half and spread some jam in the middle or make a giant strawberry shortcake.  Make a buttermilk or citrus glaze to drizzle over the top.  The possibilities are endless.

Ingredients:
- 1 c. flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 c. sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 egg
- 1/2 c. buttermilk
- 2 tbsp brown sugar or demerara sugar (for more crunch)

Directions:
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest.  Mix with your fingers to release the oils of the zest until the sugar is moist, clumpy, and fragrant.
- Add the softened butter to the sugar and beat until fluffy.
- Add the egg and beat until combined.
- Add the flour in three batches and the buttermilk in two batches, alternating between them, gently mixing until it is just combined.
- Pour the batter into a buttered 8" pan.  A tart pan is the perfect size and created a pretty edge, but if you're adding fruit you'll need something deeper.  A 9" cake pan can be used, but the cake ends up a little thinner than I prefer.
- Sprinkle the top of the dough with the brown sugar.
- Bake in a 400 degree oven about 20 minutes.  If fruit has been added, it may take a little longer.

Serve at room temperature with fresh fruit and perhaps some creme fraiche if you're feeling fancy.  Covered tightly with plastic wrap, the cake will last 2-3 days.

Enjoy!

Save those beet greens!

In the heat of summer, eating a pile of steamy sauteed beat greens isn't always high on my list, especially when there is such an abundance of other fresh produce.  This is even more true if I've been hanging around a hot oven roasting beets.  Instead of forcing them down or, worse, tossing them in the trash save the beet greens for when you'll appreciate them.

Clean and trim the beet greens thoroughly (they're usually quite dirty).  You can trim the stems off or keep them on depending on your preference-- I usually leave a bit on.  Bring a large pot of water to boil and blanch the greens for 1-2 minutes.  Transfer them to ice water to cool.  Drain the greens thoroughly and let them sit out for a while to dry.  Now they are ready to freeze.  I recommend against freezing them in one giant lump.  Either divide them into portions reasonable for a meal, or do it my way: line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and divide your greens into clumps of one or two leaves.  Freeze them until they are firm then slide them into a freezer bag.  This allows you to take out whatever amount you might need at any time.

Beat greens are tasty sauteed with garlic and olive oil or added to soups and stir fries.  With a little forethought, you'll have a head start on fall and winter dishes.

Pickled Radishes

This is certainly not my prettiest photo ever, but these little guys sure are tasty!  Pickled radishes are a fun snack or great to toss on top of salads.  They add a wonderful pop of color and are full of flavor.

For one quart jar:
- 3 bunches radishes (I recommend the round varieties, like 'Easter Egg', over French Breakfast radishes)
- 1 c. white wine vinegar
- 2 c. water
- 4 tbsp sea salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp fennel seed
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 shallot

- Trim the tops off of the radishes.  You can leave a little nub of stem, but they can be a little tough.
- Wash and slice the radishes, quarters or halves depending on size.
- Add them to a jar with the shallot, quartered.
- Combine all other ingredients in a pot and simmer until the salt and sugar are dissolved.
- Add liquid to the jar and refrigerate one week (okay, you can taste them after two days but they really get better after a week).

Yep, that's it!  These keep several weeks in the refrigerator, but just try to keep them around that long.

Enjoy!

A Ballad of Salad

First, a moment to brag.  See that lettuce right there?  That delicious, organic, heirloom lettuce?  That is the direct result of my sweat, dirty fingernails, and sunburns.  Yes, I grew that... from seed!  And that's just a small first picking.  As my high horse is getting tired, I'll move on...

Warm weather is here and with it comes a cascade of salads.  I love salad and this time of year it becomes my go-to for lunch or dinner... and sometimes both.  Salads are fun and easy meals: you can quickly throw together all kinds of creative combinations.  Pretty much anything that sounds good together will be good.  I often top my salads with some cheese to give them a bit more heft, but this could be left off for vegans, (perhaps substituted with some legumes?), or meat-lovers could top them with some pieces of grilled meat or a fuller meal.  Chicken or scallops work with just about anything and flank steak, salmon, or shrimp can be great with many flavors, too.

A few salad tips:
- After washing your lettuce, ideally spread it out to air dry.  Even a salad spinner doesn't quite achieve the same result.  Truly dry leaves allow the dressing to cling better and let the taste and texture of the lettuce shine through.  If you're pressed for time towel off as much moisture as you can instead.
- Season your lettuce.  Sprinkling the naked lettuce with a bit of salt and pepper before adding other toppings goes a long way for flavor.  It also helps you use less dressing.
- An oldie but a goodie: tear your lettuce, don't chop it!
- Make sure to top lettuce with contrasting but complimentary flavors: sweet and tangy, spicy and creamy, fresh and earthy, etc.

Don't toss those radish greens!  Eat them in a salad instead.  Since they can be a little on the tough side, (similar in texture to mint leaves), toss them with some tender butterhead.  Top with sliced radishes, aged goat cheese, and a spicy mint vinaigrette, (olive oil, lemon juice, minced mint, chopped capers, red pepper flakes, cayenne, thyme, salt).

Tomatoes aren't the only salad-friendly fruit.  Here mixed greens are topped with blackberries, pickled radishes, and sheep's milk feta with a balsamic vinaigrette.

A true classic: apples and goat cheese atop butterhead lettuce with a fresh dill vinaigrette.

Almost too pretty to eat: arugula and mixed lettuces topped with thinly slice chioggia beets, minced shallots, and feta cheese with a blackberry balsamic vinaigrette.

And, of course, there will be many more to come.

Enjoy!