Usually I like to have my Martha Mondays post up in the morning, but I didn’t get to make this until just now. Greek Chicken Cutlets was chosen by Tiny Skillet. Greek food is always a winner in this house.

I liked this – especially how easy it was. I served mine over orzo, which was good. I don’t cook with mint often. But I did plant some in the herb garden this year, so I was happy to have an excuse to use it. I like no-cook tomato sauces like this in the summer. I made the chicken on the grill which made it even easier to put together. A great weeknight dinner.

Usually I like to have my Martha Mondays post up in the morning, but I didn’t get to make this until just now. Greek Chicken Cutlets was chosen by Tiny Skillet. Greek food is always a winner in this house. I liked this – especially how easy it was. I served mine over orzo, which … Read more →

My in-laws came to dinner recently and I wanted something that I could do a lot of prep for in advance and which wouldn’t be something too weird and outrageous. Grilled chicken is always a safe bet, so I dug out a recipe I saved from May 2007 Bon Appetit and tweaked it a bit. This turned out beautifully! It was flavorful and colorful and also amazing as leftovers the next day.

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

2 garlic cloves

6 garlic scapes

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp paprika

1 tsp salt

Pinch cayenne pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 chicken breasts and 4 chicken leg quarters (substitute any parts you prefer)

2 cups jasmine rice

3 cups water

1/2 cup pine nuts

1 mango, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes

Fresh cilantro for decoration

Put the cilantro, garlic, garlic scapes, cumin, paprika, salt, cayenne and oil in the food processor. Process until combined. Add the yogurt and lemon juice and pulse until combined. Reserve 1/3 cup of this mixture.

Place the chicken in a glass baking dish and cover with the mixture, turning to coat. Cover and marinate at least an hour (I left mine for about 6 hours).

Heat your grill to medium and cook the chicken until done. While this is cooking, combine the rice, water and reserved yogurt mix in a pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Allow to cook about 15 minutes until the liquid absorbs. Fluff with a fork and add in pine nuts and mango. Serve with chicken. Serves 6.

My in-laws came to dinner recently and I wanted something that I could do a lot of prep for in advance and which wouldn’t be something too weird and outrageous. Grilled chicken is always a safe bet, so I dug out a recipe I saved from May 2007 Bon Appetit and tweaked it a bit. … Read more →

Greek Chicken Cutlets is our next project, with thanks to Tiny Skillet, who had her daughter make this pick.

Greek Chicken Cutlets is our next project, with thanks to Tiny Skillet, who had her daughter make this pick.

Pru at Perfecting Pru chose this week’s recipe, cabinets. I had never heard of these before! They are essentially a milkshake on top of a sweetened, cooked fruit puree.syrup. Martha says they are from Rhode Island. I visited Rhode Island only once, when I was looking at Brown University (it’s probably where I would have gone had I not met my husband and decided to stay local to be with him). I didn’t have a cabinet when there. About the only thing I remember about Providence was my mom complaining that there was no place nice to stay or eat when we were there, which she found hard to believe with such a prestigious university in town.

I was intrigued at the idea of this drink I had never heard of and did some Googling. From what I read, Martha’s recipe is not really a cabinet at all. A Rhode Island cabinet is actually called a coffee cabinet. They make a drink called “coffee milk,” which is milk with coffee syrup. When you add ice cream to this to make it a milkshake, it’s a coffee cabinet. Fascinating. Now I will have to go to RI to sample one!

Anyway, I’m always excited to try something new and this was definitely new! I made the raspberry/strawberry/cherry fruit mix. I really don’t like raspberry seeds though. I am unsure how you are supposed to eat this. Spoon? Straw? Both? Some of the fruit was too big to make it up the straw. I liked it best when I mixed the fruit in completely because then it tasted like a smoothie and it wasn’t so tart (the fruit on its own just tart compared with the sweetness of the milkshake).

This was really pretty when put together and is a fun way to make a milkshake something classier or more grown up!

Pru at Perfecting Pru chose this week’s recipe, cabinets. I had never heard of these before! They are essentially a milkshake on top of a sweetened, cooked fruit puree.syrup. Martha says they are from Rhode Island. I visited Rhode Island only once, when I was looking at Brown University (it’s probably where I would have … Read more →

We had garlic scapes in our CSA haul again and this time I decided to use them to make garlic bread. The photo of this did not turn out at all- it looks yellow. In reality, this was bright green. It was very simple to make. I sliced a loaf of bread and put a handful of scapes in the food processor (maybe 10) and half a stick of butter and some salt. Then I just whizzed until I had a paste. I spread it on the bread and baked at 400 for about 15 minutes, until the bread was browning and the paste was bubbly. It was delicious. Not as sharp and garlicky as garlic bread, but it had a lovely fresh green taste in addition to the gentle garlic flavor. I still have some scapes left and may make some pesto with them.

We had garlic scapes in our CSA haul again and this time I decided to use them to make garlic bread. The photo of this did not turn out at all- it looks yellow. In reality, this was bright green. It was very simple to make. I sliced a loaf of bread and put a … Read more →

herbs and cutting flowers

We joined a CSA this year so we could get local, organic vegetables. So far it has been spectacular. I am rarely able to use it all up in one week. We’ve enjoyed many types of greens (tat soi, vitamin greens, arugula, spinach, kale), lots of lettuce, cukes, kohlrabi, squash, broccoli, scallions, chard, turnips, and more. This week something new started: u-pick. You can help yourself to as much as you want in the u-pick fields that is ready for picking. They put little signs with labels so you know what is ready. This week it was herbs and cutting flowers. I planted my own herb garden this year (which is much handier because I can just pop out the back door and grab what I need for dinner each night), but I don’t have any dill, so I picked a bunch of that and some flowers (daisies and black-eyed Susans).

It was so fun to walk back into the fields and cut what I

Note to self: wear closed toe shoes next week!

wanted.  I’m already wondering what will be ready next week! And in the meantime, I need to roast the beets I picked up today so we can use them in a salad.

Heading back in the fields made me think of my grandfather, who was a farmer and built a successful greenhouse business with his brother, now run by my uncle.  By the time I came along, everything was grown in the greenhouses, but I did go with my grandfather to pick corn in his brother’s field a few times. The CSA fields aren’t far from my grandfather’s fields. On the way home I was wondering what he would think. I can hear him saying “Why cripe, why don’t you just plant it in your own backyard?”

view of the fields not yet ready for picking

We joined a CSA this year so we could get local, organic vegetables. So far it has been spectacular. I am rarely able to use it all up in one week. We’ve enjoyed many types of greens (tat soi, vitamin greens, arugula, spinach, kale), lots of lettuce, cukes, kohlrabi, squash, broccoli, scallions, chard, turnips, and … Read more →

Thanks to Sassy Suppers for choosing bruschetta for today’s project. I cheated and used pita bread for this. I have to say I am not much of a fan of bruschetta because I always feel like it needs something else – cheese, or some other vegetables or just something. It was good, but in general I just don’t find it too exciting. I would rather slice the tomatoes and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and eat with some fresh mozzarella than this way I think.

This photo is a total cheat by the way. I completely forgot to take the pic, then when I remembered the grill was off so I just recreated it on an ungrilled piece.

Thanks to Sassy Suppers for choosing bruschetta for today’s project. I cheated and used pita bread for this. I have to say I am not much of a fan of bruschetta because I always feel like it needs something else – cheese, or some other vegetables or just something. It was good, but in general … Read more →

My mom recently made this amazing (and super easy) carrot dish for us at the lake. They were crunchy on the outside and roasting them brought out their inner sweetness. They were awesome and I am totally stealing the recipe:

Mix whole egg and some milk together. Dip carrots in egg mix and then roll in plain cornmeal. Drizzle with olive oil. Spray baking sheet.  Roast about 20 -30- min.  at 350.

She used whole carrots with the stems on and cut the stems down to an inch or two. I would love to find REAL baby carrots with stems on and make this as an hors d’oeuvre. I would make a fab dipping sauce to go with it I think – maybe something with bleu cheese. These were awesome as is though, as part of a meal.

My mom recently made this amazing (and super easy) carrot dish for us at the lake. They were crunchy on the outside and roasting them brought out their inner sweetness. They were awesome and I am totally stealing the recipe: Mix whole egg and some milk together. Dip carrots in egg mix and then roll … Read more →

Sunchokes, also called Jerusalem artichokes, are something I had never tried before. I ran across them in the grocery store recently and brought them home. They look kind of like a round ginger root when raw. I researched how to use them. I ended up quartering them and tossing with olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper and roasting at 400 for about 45 minutes. When I served them, I tossed them with some fresh chives.

These taste surprisingly like potatoes, but just a tad sweeter and the tiniest bit crunchier. We really liked them. They are actually healthier than potatoes, so that is a big plus for this veggie. I’ve got big plans to do lots of other dishes with them if they appear at my store again. Have you ever tried these?

Sunchokes, also called Jerusalem artichokes, are something I had never tried before. I ran across them in the grocery store recently and brought them home. They look kind of like a round ginger root when raw. I researched how to use them. I ended up quartering them and tossing with olive oil, garlic, and salt … Read more →

Megan at Megan’s Cookin’ chose today’s project, Coconut Balls. These look a lot like Mexican wedding cakes (or what my family calls Russian teacakes). In full disclosure, I used gluten-free flour in mine, which explains why they didn’t hold their shape well at all. I thought they were really good though – so delicate and soft. The coconut was good in them. This is a nice alternative to Mexican wedding cakes. I’ll bet they would be good with some nuts added – maybe finely chopped macadamias.

Megan at Megan’s Cookin’ chose today’s project, Coconut Balls. These look a lot like Mexican wedding cakes (or what my family calls Russian teacakes). In full disclosure, I used gluten-free flour in mine, which explains why they didn’t hold their shape well at all. I thought they were really good though – so delicate and … Read more →