Letting Go with Counter-Top Salads for Dinner

IMPORTANT MESSAGE: Please read my message after the story especially my gracious email subscribers.


She was three years old when she performed in her first dance recital. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and The Bunny Hop. Her little feet could be heard "tap, tap, tapping" away as she practiced for her big debut.

Considering that when she wasn't dancing she was impersonating Mary Poppins, she seemed destined for life as a performer.

On the soccer field, she was the one with bows in her hair, picking daisies, twirling around and skipping as the ball rolled past her.

When the girls around her and the competitiveness of the game grew to such a level that skipping as the ball rolled past you wasn't considered cute anymore, the Rooster and I decided to pull her from soccer. We encouraged her to forge her own path in dance.

And dance, she did...ballet, pointe, jazz, hip-hop, tap, lyrical. Six nights a week. She blossomed into an amazing dancer. And call me bias....but I love to watch her dance. She's beautiful on-stage.

And just when there seemed to be no end to her dancing days and at the height of sequins, sparkles, lycra, stage make-up and dark auditoriums, she said to me, "Mom, I'd really like to try lacrosse."

Like a needle being ripped across a record, the room went silent.

"Lacrosse?"

"Yeah, my friends who play are always telling me how fun it is."

"But, sweetie, you have to wear goggles...and a mouthguard," I said to my fashion-concious daughter.

"I know."

"And you have to get in there and mix-it up with sticks and a ball," added the Rooster. "You don't like competitive contact. Remember when you played soccer?"

"No, I don't remember. Last time I played I was like in fourth grade."

That was probably true. While her "out-in-the-field picking daisies" ways were still very present in our minds, for her it was four years ago. Practically a lifetime.

We continued to throw out reasons why lacrosse wouldn't work for her and she continued to come back with reasons why it would.

On her own, she worked out a schedule that would accommodate lacrosse, dance and school. She contacted coaches about getting on the team. She figured out how to get to and from practices. When game time came around, she not only got in there and mixed-it up, she was aggressive. And fast.

When she asked to go to a tournament in Seattle at the end of the season, we had to say no. "You are committed to your dance classes that conflict with the lacrosse practices. Your recital is coming up. You can't miss class. Other dancers are counting on you."

She contacted the coaches for the tournament and arranged to miss Monday night practices so she could be at dance. I told the Rooster that her determination should be rewarded so we agreed to let her go to the tournament.

Her team, the Bulldogs, played three games in the tournament. The Rooster and I watched every one from under umbrellas, down jackets and fleece blankets. We watched our daughter flying down the field in the rain, fighting for the ball amidst a swarm of sticks and on occasion, putting that little ball into the net to score.

Her team lost all three games. The final game had a score of 2-13 but her coach awarded her "Player of the Game" for her persistence and hard work and I felt myself tear up.

There is something so gratifying about watching your child succeed at something that she alone wanted. Something she was determined to do even if her parents were trying to talk her out of it.

So last week, instead of feeling bitter about driving her out to a lacrosse camp clear across town, leaving no time to cook but only time for counter-top meals, I was happy to do it.

And as she limped along into her dance recital over the weekend, I could tell by her demeanor that perhaps this phase of her life was coming to a close. She was still beautiful on-stage but there was something removed about her stance. And when I asked her if she thought she'd take dance next year, she said to me, "Well, I know you like me to do dance...."

That's when I told myself, "Let go."

I don't know whether her future will hold mouthguards or ballet slippers but I do know that it is her future and I am loving watching her decide for herself just what that future will be.


...


IMPORTANT MESSAGE: I know I have alluded to the fact that  I have been working with web designer, Kirsten Hope, to create a new look for La Pomme de Portland. She has helped me create a lovely new space. I know you will love it.

The time has come for us to do the site transfer. In order to do so, my website will be down for about a week starting July 3rd. I'm letting you know this for a couple of reasons.

1. I am crossing all fingers and toes that nothing will happen but there is a chance that in the transfer I may loose a few of my email subscribers' subscriptions. I apologize in advance for this. Should you not receive your regular emails from me after July 10th, you may need to go back onto my site and re-subscribe. My site address will remain the same: www.lapommedeportland.com

2. In case you want any recipes for Fourth of July, I encourage you to print them off soon. :) Once the site transfer happens, all recipes, new and old, will be available again.

Counter-Top Salads
Sometimes there just isn't time to cook. Sometimes I don't want to cook. During the summer, I don't like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen especially considering that we've just come off of the coldest, wettest spring on record in 117 years...I want to be outside where it is finally sunny. One of my favorite meals when I'm feeling like this is the ole counter-top salad. Basically, pull out any leftover bits and pieces from your refrigerator and slap them on the counter with some lettuce as a base and a vinaigrette as a topping and voila....dinner. I'm always amazed at the things my children will put on their salads...that I didn't think they would like...when I let them choose their own toppings.

Ingredients
Of course, these ingredients could be anything you have leftover but here are my favorites....

a head or two of romaine lettuce, washed and coarsely chopped
cherry tomatoes
blanched green beans
cooked red potatoes, cut into quarters
hard boiled eggs
leftover roasted chicken
crumbled gorgonzola
and usually, I put a little crumbled bacon on top or avocado but I didn't have any leftover this time

homemade vinaigrette, recipe here.


Directions
I'm assuming that most of this is leftover from other meals but should you be making it from scratch, here are a few quick tips.

To blanch green beans, trim the ends then put in boiling water for two minutes. Drain the water and immediately run cold water over them to stop them from cooking.

To cook your potatoes, wash them, quarter them and put them in a pot of salted boiling water for about 12-15 minutes or until just softened. Drain water and set aside.

For the hard boiled eggs, everyone has a different method for the timing but I put mine in a pot, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to very, very low and simmer for 12 minutes. Drain and run cold water over them.

For your chicken, get a roasted one from the grocery store.

Put all of your ingredients out on your counter...plates at one end, vinaigrette at the other and let the troops have at it. Quick and easy....enjoy.

...


Organizing Project
The only thing I have been organizing is my summer....travel dates, camp registrations, down time, up time...so that I can simply enjoy and not have to worry about the details.



All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2011

Chicken Marinara or Dinner from a Bottle and a Bag

It's 6:00 a.m., the radio is blaring but I'm not budging. Gone are the mornings when I gleefully arose, tiptoed downstairs through the dark house and pedaled my legs around the elliptical for a half hour like a gerbil in a habitrail while watching french films. This particular morning, I barely exert the energy to roll over and whack that alarm sending it into snooze mode. And so it goes, every 20 minutes for the next hour.

Finally, at 7:00 a.m. by sheer willpower, I lumber out of bed, open the doors of my sleeping chickens (except for my middle guy who is always up and at 'em before anyone), holler out a half-hearted "Good morning. Time to get up.", before I reluctantly make my way downstairs. I'm dreading what's waiting for me down there. And what's waiting for me is....the dang school lunches.

Can I be honest here? I'm worn out. I'm tired of being the cheerleader. The one who motivates everyone to get their homework done, get ready for this or that, speeds around the city getting them to their activities on-time which is a major feat for me considering I'm never on-time myself.* The one making sure they pick-up after themselves, brush their teeth, get to bed on-time, treat other people with respect, use good manners. And the one making meal after meal after meal. If only they would stop eating.

Just last week my middle-guy tells me with a twinkle in his eyes about his need for a nap...during school. How he convinced some buddies to turn the pages of his book during quiet reading time while he snoozed. For crying out loud! Normally, I would have launched into some big lecture on the importance of school, of getting to bed early, of how crucial reading skills are for success in life and on and on. But I was too tired for all of that. Instead, I just looked at him with fascination and said with a sigh, "Well, I guess everyone has their methods for getting through life."

(Although, Mr. Most Fabulous Teacher of my Fifth-Grade Son, if you happen to be reading this...consider yourself "tipped-off" but please, don't reveal your source. :) )

And then just this weekend, we were enjoying a lovely time on the Oregon Coast. We had our cars parked to block the wind so we could soak in a little sun. The adults were circled around in our beach chairs. The children were splashing in the water, building sand castles, tossing around the lacrosse ball and all seemed blissful when suddenly, the 5th grader emerges from the car with a bloody lip.

Upon further investigation, he had apparently been hit by an unidentified flying object hurled by the kindergartner. When I asked the kindergartner why he had thrown the object at his brother, he said with a quivering lip, "He was pressing on my heart!" Now, I could have launched into a dissertation about how we treat each other or tried the "hold hands" method of reconciliation again but that seemed like a lot of effort. Instead, I sighed and said, "Well, I guess what goes around comes around."

And as you can imagine, in this household, we have a constant dialogue running about eating healthy. I'm constantly pushing the fruits and vegetables. Yes, we have some "junk food" in-house but it's not a lot. And while all of my children are good eaters, my daughter definitely wins the award for "Healthiest Eater."

Recently, I had noticed that she had stopped making her normal smoothies for after-school snack but instead was gravitating toward bowls of ice cream. Just a few days ago, she somehow managed to get a tub of Butterfinger Ice Cream into the grocery cart and then, proceeded to munch it down, bowl after bowl. And guess what? Instead of lecturing her about healthy eating and on and on and on....I shrugged my shoulders, scooped myself up a bowl and plopped down on the couch to eat it with her because to bring it full circle...I'm pooped.

Which is why, not only do I dread making the school lunches these days, I dread the dinnertime hour....and I love to cook. But the problem is, I'm out of energy and ideas. Plain and simple.

This is when I tell myself, "not every meal has to be from scratch." "It's okay if the chicken and the vegetables didn't come from your own backyard. Really." Because sometimes you just need to get dinner on the table and preserve what little energy you have left to try and enjoy the end-of-the-school-year celebrations. A year of hard work - yours, your husband's and the children's. Celebrating your daughter leaving middle school and heading to high school. Your middle guy leaving grade school and heading to middle school. And, the last few weeks that you'll ever - ever and ever and ever - have a kindergartner. {sigh}


*For the record, the hubs helps with all of this as well and he's just as tired but he doesn't really like me to talk about him here on La Pomme; however, I wanted to make sure he got his "credit due" which is hugely appreciated and I couldn't do it without him. xo

Chicken Marinara
I find that I tend to make this meal every year around this time. When I'm out of energy and ready for summer. The kids always love it as well as the hubs. (As you may have noticed, I kind of like calling him "the hubs.") You can use whatever your favorite jarred marinara/pasta sauce is. For awhile I was using Dave's Gourmet Pasta Sauce but now I have a crush on Trader Joe's Organic Vodka Sauce. I also use a cast iron skillet for this recipe which moves easily from the stove-top to the oven but if you do not have an oven-friendly skillet you could always sear your chicken in a skillet and then, transfer the chicken to an oven-safe dish before you pour on your sauce and cheese.

Ingredients
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast sliced lengthwise into 3 pieces each
1-2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

2 cups of jarred marinara/tomato sauce (I'm loving Trader Joe's Organic Vodka Sauce right now.)
1 bag pre-shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese or Italian Cheese Blend

Directions
Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees.

Begin by cutting your chicken breasts lengthwise into 3 pieces each - although sometimes I end up with four. I'm sure I'm breaking all kinds of poultry rules here but since I'm not a chef...ignorance is bliss...and I don't care to "pound" my chicken into thin pieces which always results in microscopic chicken bits flying everywhere.

If using a cast iron skillet, put it on the stove over medium-high heat to begin heating up.

Brush both sides of your chicken pieces with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Turn your heat down to medium and lay your chicken pieces in the hot skillet. I know you're not supposed to "crowd the meat" but with this dish, my chicken pieces are usually quite snug with other pieces. However, if you want to be a rule follower you could always do this step in two batches. Allow your chicken to sear and brown for one minute on each side. Remove skillet from heat.

Carefully, pour your tomato sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with the grated cheese to your liking and pop the whole thing in the oven for another 6-7 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Pull it from the oven and serve with bread and applesauce on the side. Rice and bagged salad. Spaghetti and roasted asparagus. Whatever is easiest and gets the troops fed. Make your kids do the dishes. If you don't have any kids, find some neighbor kids.

Enjoy.

Yield: Dinner for a family of 4 and a kindergartner who doesn't eat much

...

Organizing Project
Does organizing the piles that have accumulated on the dining room table count?



All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2011

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Mexican Soup...the Perfect Meal at the End of a Long Ride Down the Highway

On a highway. In the middle of Mt. Hood National Forest. Our car was in park. The engine off. And even though there was a line of cars behind us, as far as I could see, in the same predicament, it was strangely quiet. Dark. The snow gently falling all around us. Those big luscious feather-like flakes. I thought about how a little over 10 years ago I was parked here as well. Going the other direction. My 11-year old was a baby and we had just rung in the 2000 New Year. I was in a panic about whether to take him out of his car seat to nurse him. Never sure when the line of cars would start moving again. I sang Raffi songs for the hours we were parked on the highway to entertain his sister because that was back when I was even more of a glutton for punishment than I am now. Back when I thought children should not have electronic devices in the car but instead, should gaze out the window and let their imaginations run wild. As I looked at my three children, now, lit up by the glow of the movie they were watching...with headphones...in the quiet, quiet car, I thought, "Thank goodness, I came to my senses."

We were headed to Sunriver in Central Oregon. Our yearly destination for Thanksgiving. Nana and Papa, aunts and uncles and a gaggle of cousins were waiting for our arrival. But here we were, stopped on this oft-traveled highway. A highway that was a means to an end. A highway I'd traveled on my entire life. A highway that was like an old-time movie. Little bits of memory from my life flickered by in my mind as we made our way down the road. The spot I handed off the baton on my one and only Hood to Coast race. The little church in which I sang "One Hand, One Heart" at the bride's request. (Poor thing should have had me stick to just playing the piano.) The end of the Glade trail. Our back door way to get off the mountain from all-night New Year's Eve skiing. The turn-off for Timothy Lake where we survived the Dust Bowl '03 camping trip which rendered our children so covered in dirt, they looked like extras from the set of Grapes of Wrath.

A few hours later, a few more miles down the road, we're stopped again. I'm under the car dealing with chains and cursing myself for not taking the forecast for snow more seriously. My hands are covered in grease. I think of the times, as a teenager, I had to put chains on our Toyota and how often I had put them on the wrong tires....front instead of back. Or was it back instead of front? Not far from here was the road marker I somehow backed into and blew out the back window of our car in 100 degree weather. Not sure what to do about it in the middle of nowhere, I kept driving. The cat howling. The eldest children, preschoolers at the time, crying. My sweetie still raises an eyebrow no matter how many times I say to him, "Cross my heart, hope to die, I never saw a road marker. It came out of nowhere."

Moving again, we pass the turn-off for the short-cut into Maupin. Where I hit a rabbit. At 1 in the morning. In my '73 VW Bug. Back when my sweetie and I were newlyweds. I'm still sad about that rabbit.

On and on down the road we go, and on and on plays the grainy film of my life.

A week later, the 10 hour drive and Thanksgiving behind us, we strike out onto the highway again. Headed for home. This time we opt for the more southern pass but the same grainy movie plays as we drive. Sisters Coffee Company we stumbled upon last summer. Camping under the stars and fly-fishing in Camp Sherman back in college. Driving a golf cart around Black Butte Ranch back in high school. Wondering if that rope swing stills hangs there on the edge of Suttle Lake all these years later?

I felt as if I was in an old silent movie house as these little scenes played out. Only the sound of the clicking of the film, as it went round and round the reel, could be heard. It made me think that this is how life works. We keep driving down the highway and life happens. Scenes are filmed.

The snow gave way to rain signaling that we were almost home. We pull into our driveway, just in time for me to make dinner, and go inside. It takes me awhile to shake the feeling that I'd just left a dark movie house and stepped out into bright light. The film wound down. The clicks coming more and more slowly, as I pulled ingredients from the pantry to whip up a quick Tomato and Red Pepper soup. By the time I sat the bowls down, sprinkled with sharp cheddar, tortilla chips and cilantro, the movie was over. I was back to creating new scenes. Scenes that would eventually be sliced into the grainy film of my life played out again on some long, snowy drive down a highway.


Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Mexican Soup
Passed on to me by my sis

This recipe is so so fast. A great one to keep handy as you're getting ready for the holidays and don't have much time to cook. The salsa you decide to use can really change the flavor of this soup. The last time I made this soup, I found a tub of salsa in the back of my fridge crying to be used. It happened to be a fresh, medium salsa made by Whole Foods. Was perfect. I served it with some homemade guacamole and sliced pears because that's what I had in the house, but you could also whip up a little green salad or just serve it as is. For a vegetarian version, simply omit the chicken.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 boxes (32 oz.) of Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup (I've found this at Trader Joe's and my local grocery store.)
1 can of corn or 1 small bag of frozen corn
2 c salsa
2 c (approx) chicken breasts, grilled, poached*, leftover from a roasted chicken OR 1 lg can of white chicken

Possible toppings:
grated, sharp cheddar cheese
tortillas strips or crushed tortilla chips
chopped cilantro

Directions:

Heat your olive oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add your onions and garlic and saute for about 5-10 minutes or until your onions soften and start to become translucent. Pour in your roasted red pepper and tomato soup. Add your corn, salsa and chicken. Bring to a boil. Then, turn down the heat, simmer, serve.

Ladle into bowls and top with cheese, chips and cilantro, if you'd like. Enjoy.

*The last time I made this soup, I poached a couple of boneless skinless breasts and they were delicious in this soup. Basically, I sprinkled my chicken with salt and pepper and put them in a small pan. I covered them with some chicken stock that I needed to use up but you could use water or a combo of the two. Sprinkled in a teaspoon or so of Herbes de Provence. Tossed in a bay leaf. Put the lid on. Brought it to a boil. Then, lowered the heat and simmered with the lid on for 15 minutes. The chicken was cooking while I put together the rest of the soup. The timing came out perfectly.

Yield: One big pot-full


Conclusion to the Turkey Saga.....
In case you were curious about my turkey dilemma, I thought I would let you know that I survived. I ended up going my own route and had the turkey cut up into pieces before we left town. I gave it a salt rub the night before. Then, pulled it out of the fridge for 45 min before roasting. Rubbed it with butter, more salt and pepper. Surrounded it with herbs from my garden (rosemary, sage, Italian parsely, oregano) and garlic cloves still in their "paper". Then, put it in the oven at 425 degrees for an hour and a half. Smelled delicious and tasted delicious. The only thing I would do differently next time is check the temperature of the meat at about the one hour mark since the breast were done a little more than I prefer. All in all, I'd say it was a success. But, if I may be completely honest with you....here's what I learned through this entire process: Call me crazy but I don't even really like roasted turkey. Where's the grilled salmon? I just don't feel the turkey love.


Calendar Update....
My Etsy shop where you will be able to purchase the 2011 La Pomme de Portland calendar, should be up and running later today. I will send out an official announcement tomorrow. Thank you so much to those of you who have sent emails and so forth letting me know you'll be ordering one or two or...six. I am so excited about this project and the thought of helping out two great organizations. Cheers!



All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Some Exciting News to Share.....

I am so excited to give you all a sneak preview of a project I've been working on with my über-talented graphic design sister. We have put together a 2011 La Pomme de Portland Calendar. Each month features one of my food photos, many of them highlighting what is in season for that time of year. In the back is a quick little cheat sheet outlining what actually is in season for the different times of the year which we thought would be helpful since I get asked about that fairly often.

Most importantly though, all of the proceeds made from the sale of this calendar will go to the Oregon Food Bank and the Northwest Sarcoma Foundation. We will have this calendar available for purchase right after the Thanksgiving holiday. I hope you'll keep this in mind as you're thinking of holiday gifts for family, friends, yourself, your boss, your co-workers, teachers, Christmas, Hanukkah.....

I also want to let you know how much I have appreciated all of the emails, the flickr, facebook and twitter messages, the phone calls and so on, with tips for roasting a turkey, whether to brine or not, and so on. I have to admit that the most intriguing method that was shared with me is to roast the turkey in a paper grocery sack. Very interesting....

However, I'm still undecided on what to do but I work best under pressure and it's not nearly close enough to Thanksgiving yet for me to kick it in to high gear. I still have at least 5-6 days.

Lately, I've been thinking, what if I get the turkey cut into pieces and cook it the same way I cook my Oregano Chicken? Seems like it would be nice and moist and flavorful. Wouldn't take as long to roast. You wouldn't have the same "Big Bird" presentation but we always carve ours up and stick it on a platter anyways.

A week from now, it will all be over, and I'll let you know how it went....following in my mother's and grandmother's shoes that is....with or without help from my sister, who, when I told her the other day that she had to help me with the turkey said, "Well, what do you want me to do? Hold your hand as you stick it in the oven?" Where is the respect for the eldest child?







If a video screen does not appear above this line, click here to be taken directly to the site.

Oh, and speaking of Oregano Chicken, should you like to see a live version of how to prepare that succulent dish, I whipped some up on AM Northwest Wednesday morning and above you'll find the video from my morning there.

Have a great weekend!!

Cheers,
Carrie




All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Oregano Chicken - A Simple Dish with a Regal Air

Maybe it's that we're finally getting into a rhythm two months into the school year. (Has it only been 2 months?) A "Limp-a-long Cassidy" kind of rhythm but a rhythm nonetheless. Maybe it's that the days are shorter. The kids are in bed earlier. The house is quieter. The rainy season has begun. I don't know. But on the sporadic occasion that the afternoon sun bursts through our windows and lays down a warm path of light across our floor, I look for him.

A month into our marriage, we were still in the stage where we were more than happy to appease each other's little obsessions. Such as me pretending to be a runner and him pretending to love furry little animals. So, somehow knowing that this stage wouldn't last forever, I dragged my new beau across town and pulled down off the curtains a little bundle of fur which we would bring home and have with us for the next 18 years. (As for the running, I dropped it shortly after and that was that.) Wanting to encourage any possible bonding between man and beast, I encouraged my sweetie to name our bundle of joy. He pronounced him, "Bruce." And Bruce, it was. Others came after him. Another cat. An 80-pound dog. But at the 18-year mark, Bruce was the only one still around.

He had this way of silently being everywhere. As if he could materialize out of thin air. One would sit down and out of nowhere he was curled up on your lap or trying his darndest to curl up on your chest and snuggle his head in the crook of your neck which could sometimes be a little awkward for guests. You wouldn't see him for hours and then, "boom" there he was waiting to curl up under the covers for a good night's sleep. Or eerily you would notice that one minute no one's there and the next minute there he was sitting ramrod tall right next to your keyboard as you typed away. Every now and then, stepping on the keyboard just to make sure you noticed him. And the lawn....oh, the lawn. It had never looked better since he moonlighted as a mole catcher. And catch moles he did. Always leaving his handiwork for us to admire on the front porch.

I tend to put out of my mind the fact that he could actually "fling poo." That he found it necessary to cough up a hairball, "Puss N' Boots" style wherever we might least suspect it but were sure to step in it. That he was known to howl like a coyote, over and over, for hours, especially middle of the night hours, when he didn't get his way. (Although, that howl saved his life when, in his old age, he lost his way home.) That he would run from one end of the house to the other like a cat gone mad during a full moon. And that he had a peculiar tick of sucking his paw that could be thought of as tender and sweet or as just plain weird depending on one's mood.

A couple of nights ago, as I prepared our family dinner of herbed chicken simmered in wine and served along roasted potatoes, I looked for him. I expected him to be silently standing nearby, regally sniffing the air around him like some upper crust feline and secretly hoping that one little morsel of that chicken might fall to the floor. And it's true, he may have silently left his spot by my side and gone directly to the front door where he purposely coughed up a hairball "just because" but that doesn't matter. I miss that furry feline. His presence.

And don't you think it's true that whether it's a person or a hairball coughing cat, when they are gone, we don't think of the good or the bad but simply their presence? And I definitely miss the presence of that howling, paw sucking, poo flinging, furry feline.


Bruce went to the Happy Hunting Grounds in April where I'm sure he is happily keeping the lush grounds mole free. It's strange though how I miss him most now. Now that the house is quieter.


A Quick Question for You Before the Recipe:

My kind and generous mother has been tirelessly preparing our Thanksgiving turkey, gravy and stuffing  almost every year since, well, since I was born which is to say....a long, long time. Whether the crowd was 5 of us or 20 of us, she would selflessly prepare the dinner's main attraction and for that, I and many others are so grateful. Well, now that she has two daughters of "a certain age" (little brother gets a free pass this year since he has a newborn on his hands), the time for the passing of the torch has come. And the torch has landed squarely in my lap. (Funny how the eldest child has to do everything!) (Ahh....just kiddin' sister.) So, I have been researching turkey preparations and I'm intrigued by the brining method. What do you think? Do you brine? What do you like in your brine? Or is it a lot of extra mess? If you don't brine, do you have a special rub you like? If you don't mind sharing your thoughts with me, I would be grateful. Trying to follow in the footsteps of my grandmother and mother....well, let's just say..."Pressure's on!"

Oregano Chicken Simmered in White Wine
Inspired by Rosemary Chicken, Saveur 

Now, that the holidays are looking us square in the face, I'm assuming most of us have thought of the main meal....the Grandaddy meal....but what about the other nights? Are your guests only there for the Thanksgiving extravaganza or will they need to be fed other evenings as well? Well, this is a dish I love to serve to guests. (Although, be forewarned, if you drink the wine that you'll be cooking with while cooking, it can lead to lots of animated chatting and loud laughing which will ensure that the dinner won't actually hit the table until 8pm or later.) This isn't a dish you prepare in advance or leave in a crock pot all day, but it is one that has only a few ingredients, minimal prep and sits in the oven for 45 minutes while you drink wine and chat clean up the kitchen and prepare the side dishes. I use a variety of chicken pieces...always with the bone-in and skin-on. This makes for a much moister meat and it's easier on the pocket-book. You can always take off the skin once it's done cooking if you'd prefer not to eat it. If you don't have fresh oregano handy, you could always use rosemary or thyme. And as a testimonial to this dish, the last time I made it my 5-year old said to me, "Mawm, you prob'ly won't be too surprised when I say this to you, but that dinner was so delicious."


Ingredients:

A medley of skin-on, bone-in chicken pieces - ex: 2 drumsticks, 3 whole legs and 1 breast
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup flour
3 tbsp olive oil
1 c dry white wine (I usually use King Estate Pinot Gris or Erath Pinot Gris)
4 sprigs fresh oregano, leaves removed from stem, stem discarded (I haven't tried it but you could probably substitute 1 tsp or so of dried oregano)
3 bay leaves
juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Generously sprinkle your chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Put your flour on a plate and then, dredge your chicken pieces through it, coating them evenly and completely with the flour and then, shaking off the excess.

Heat a heavy-bottomed pot, one that can move from stove to oven, on your stove over medium heat. Pour in your olive oil to heat. Then, add your chicken pieces, skin side down. Cook for 5 minutes then, carefully flip your pieces over and cook for another 5 minutes.

Slowly and carefully pour in your white wine. Add your oregano and bay leaves. Allow wine to reduce for about 2 minutes. Then, pour in 1 1/2 c of water, put the lid on your pot and put the whole concoction in the oven for 45 minutes.

At this point, I usually cut up some potatoes - fingerling, red potatoes, etc. - toss them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and sometimes some rosemary, and put them in the oven along with the chicken when there is about 25-30 minutes left of cooking time. Then, all I have to do is cut open some bagged lettuce whip together a little green salad or steam some broccoli and we have a meal.

When the timer goes off, take the lid off your pot and allow the skin to crisp for another 5 minutes. Then, carefully take your chicken out of the pot, put on a platter, tent with foil and set aside. To the juices left in the pan, squeeze in the juice of 1/2 a lemon (more if you like things really "lemony") and stir it up a bit. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Add a ladle and have people spoon this heavenly "au jus" over their chicken and potatoes. If you didn't want to monkey around with preparing the potatoes, you could also serve this with rice which would also soak up all of the delicious "au jus" beautifully. However you decide to go....enjoy.

Yield: 5 or so chicken pieces - This recipe can easily be doubled to serve more people.



All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

The Rosemary and Garlic Roasted Chicken Named Rosie

I roasted a chicken. With rosemary, garlic and lemon. Her name was Rosie. Or at least that's what it said on the tag. I'm not sure how I feel about that but as my 11-year old pointed out, just like they do in Avatar, we gave thanks for her life so that we might feed our family.

Already, our mornings are peppered with fog and mist.

I put some boots on this morning. And then, I quickly took them off.

Our final moments at the coast, clearly heralded the waning days of summer.

Not wanting a bit of Rosie to go unappreciated, I made chicken stock. The smell of which made me think fondly of my grandma. I felt her hug and heard her laugh. Then, I thought of the holidays.

The children are back in school. The house is so quiet. So very, very quiet. A mess, from a summer of neglect....but quiet.

The sun has clearly changed. Up there in our crisp sky. A new angle. She's all glitter and sparkles.

There are leaves falling....on my neighbor's lawn.

I lit candles last night and then, looked for them dancing in the already darkened windowpanes.

Apples are in the trees. I had my first Honeycrisp of the season. A wee bit tart but a Honeycrisp nonetheless.

With Rosie's stock, I proceeded to make soup after soup. First this veggie one, then this pancetta bean one.

I find myself pondering combinations of black and red...."Oooo black pea coat with red scarf and ooo, ooo, black converse."  so that I can appropriately show my support like any good football mama. (Nevermind that my guy is on the bench with a cast on his lower arm and I haven't even been to a game because what's the point of going to a game of 5th and 6th graders if your guy isn't playing?)

Shasta Daisies have given way to Black-Eyed Susans.

The hurricanes have been filled with coffee beans.

My sweetie arrived home just the other day with the first of the Christmas gifts to stash away.

I hear the piano calling to me. Asking me to please lift the lid and run my fingers up and down the keys. Just one little tune and if not that, "Please, at least, dust us."

But despite all of this. Despite every indication that fall is here (with the holidays right around the corner), I just can't quite believe it. We must have another month of summer tucked in here somewhere. "Why?", you ask. "Why this disbelief, Carrie?" Well, I'll tell you why. Because....my tomatoes are still green. Just look at them.

Not a single red one. Not even the little guys. Trails of green globes. But no red ones. Uh-uh. Nada. Rien. Nope. Nothin'. I even went out last spring and purchased new-fangled curly-cue tomato stakes. The ones that are supposed to give them plenty of breathing room but no. This is how they repay me. Not a single ounce of appreciation for my efforts.

I recently had the fine opportunity to be at a lunch hosted by Chef Dustin Clark of Wildwood Restaurant acclaim and he told me that he has red tomatoes but he also goes out and "blankets" his tomatoes every evening. Hmmmm....the only thing that's getting blanketed around here is my 3 children.  But then again, that's why he's a world-renowned chef and I'm just....well, I'm just me.

And then, as if to slam it home for me that yes, fall is here, a monsoon blew through our fair city last night. Littering leaves all over my newly mowed lawn and blowing down my tomato plants with such force that the new-fangled tomato stakes snapped in half. (Clearly the joke's on me.) However, despite this maddening weather and all indications that summer is over, one little red fellow rolled out from under the wreckage. Who knew?

Rosemary and Garlic Roast Chicken with Potatoes

1 whole chicken, 3-lbs or so
2-3 sprigs of rosemary
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, halved

1 lb small boiling potatoes, red or white, cut in quarters

Additional salt, pepper and olive oil

As soon as you bring your little bird home from the grocery store, even if it's a day or two in advance, go ahead and generously sprinkle the inside and out with salt and pepper. Of course, you can only salt and pepper the inside once you've removed the little packet containing the neck and giblets which I'm sure you will put to good use later in a neck and giblet gravy. Then, you can put her back in the fridge until you're ready to roast her.

Now, depending on your time schedule, you can also do the following a day or two in advance or an hour before roasting. Whatever your schedule allows. In a small bowl, mix up your rosemary (amount depends on how much of a "rosemary" taste you like), your garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil. Now, using your own, clean hands, gently lift up the skin and carefully, "spread" your mixture between the skin and the meat. You will need to do this in a few places around the chicken so you don't pull the skin completely off the bird. If you are doing this an hour before roasting, then just loosely cover your chicken and leave her on the counter. Otherwise, loosely cover her and put her back in the fridge, taking her out again an hour before roasting.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Coat your potatoes with a tablespoon of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. (You can choose to use a roasting rack or not. If you do use a rack, place it in your roasting pan first.) Place your potatoes on the bottom of a shallow roasting pan or "earthenware" dish.

Brush your chicken with a bit of olive oil. Give it one last sprinkle of salt and pepper and put your halved lemon inside your bird. You can tie up the legs if you'd like or just leave them hanging out there like I did for an "extra-crispy" effect.

Put your bird directly on the potatoes or on your roasting rack and then, place in the center of your oven.

Now, you can leave her in there for 1 hour and up to 1 1/2 hours or until the juices run clear (mine took 1 hour 20 minutes) and then, pull her out, let her rest for 15 minutes. After she's had her "resting period" call someone who won't mangle the job to carve her up. OR, you can follow Alice Waters advice, which is what I did, and roast her for 20 minutes, then flip her over for another 20 minutes and then, flip her back over for the remainder of the time. A simulated roasting spit. Now, I don't know if this makes any difference or if it's just complete insanity but I have a "rawther" high opinion of Alice Waters so I went with it. Then, I did the carving job myself which is to say...a mangled one.

Now, I must tell you that the chicken was delicious and the smells in our house.....oh, the smells in our house. But it was the potatoes. The potatoes, roasting there in the pan juices, that were absolutely divine. Enjoy.



All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Getting Sentimental with Savory Chicken Pocket Pies

"Is something the matter? You don't seem yourself," my dear friend inquired of me. "I don't know. I feel a little....sad." "Melancholy?" "Yeah, maybe that's what it is...melancholy. I'm not sure why." Here it was. The end of the school year for my eldest children. A day that I had been so looking forward to. A day that I had literally been counting down the minutes until its arrival and now, here it was and....."sigh." I couldn't shake this...this...heaviness. Not wanting to cast a little black cloud over the end-of-the-year celebration, I tried to perk myself up by clinking glasses of champagne with my dear friends and tossing homemade chicken pocket pies out to the children. Then, after they'd inhaled their savory pie, hollering out to them that there were chocolate chip cookies for dessert...but they were already outside again.

Here it was the end of the school year and I should be rejoicing. No more lunches. No more homework. No more wondering whether my daughter would actually get herself ready for school in time to take the bus or once again, would I be driving the hour long round trip? Oh, I know, there are some of you dutiful parents out there thinking that I should teach her a lesson by simply saying to her, "If you don't make the bus, then, you don't go to school." But, let's think about that one. "Will that actually work?" and "Who really suffers from those consequences?" And, besides, I remember those junior high years. Spending hours in the morning on my Farrah Fawcett curls and my electric blue eyeliner. "And this too...shall pass." We hope...

Being raised in a military family, I grew up saying good-bye...a lot. Whether it was our family moving or another family. I also grew up saying good-bye to my own father for months, even years at a time. It was he who always reminded us, over and over again, "Never say good-bye. Always say, "I'll see you later." I've always carried around his little nugget of advice with me and have tried as best I could to honor the sentiment behind his words of wisdom but as more and more time collects behind me, I've come to realize that sometimes, good-bye is good-bye. And the end of the school year, while joyous for so many reasons, can also be a bit sad. It's the end of a chapter. In our lives. Our children's lives. And, not everything from that chapter carries forward. We say good-bye to teachers. Amazing, incredible teachers that we feel completely inept to properly thank. Teachers that not only taught our children but genuinely cared about them. Good-bye to that 5th year, that 10th year, that 12th year of our children's lives. Good-bye to a rhythm and tempo that was unique only for that one year. And saying good-bye can sometimes be...sad. Melancholy.

I left that Last-Day-of-School celebration with my spirits lifted a bit more thanks to the champagne Glee's season finale Medley of Journey songs blaring on the stereo. Nothing quite does it for me like a round of "Don't Stop Believin'" Takes me right back to those curls and electric blue eyeliner. And maybe my Dad's right. Maybe it is just, "See ya later." Look how "Don't Stop Believin'" shows back up out of nowhere. After we thought we'd said good-bye to it a long, long time ago. And, as I moved into the days of summer, I felt less sad. Just a bit of wistfulness was left. I had all my chickens home. No more schedules. No more daily commitments. And stretched out in front of us was an entire summer of togetherness.

Before I closed the car door, I turned to my eldest son and said, "No taunting or teasing your brother." Then, I turned to the littlest one and said, "Do not bite your brother again." And to both of them I said, "And you guys...no more wedgies." I could see them trying to choke back their smiles as I shut the door. As I ran in to get myself a latte yesterday morning, I thought to myself, "And, why were you excited for the end of the school year to be here? And why, exactly, were you sad?"


Savory Chicken Pocket Pies
Adapted from Lucinda Scala Quinn's recipe of the same name in her cookbook, Feeding Men and Boys

Now, let me say right off the bat, that this is not a weeknight recipe. No, this is a recipe you save for a cold and rainy Sunday afternoon and lucky for you, if you live in Portland, there are plenty of those kinds of afternoons to choose from right now. When you do find that perfect afternoon, make sure you double or even, triple this recipe. These little savory pies freeze beautifully and are a perfect snack for the members of your family with a bottomless pit for a stomach. Because I tend to be a vegetable-pusher, I decreased the amount of chicken from the original recipe and upped the amounts of carrots and celery but you could easily play around with those quantities to your own liking. Lucinda also has spinach & feta and beef empanada versions of these little pies in her cookbook that I can't wait to try. Speaking of her cookbook, Feeding Men and Boys, I highly recommend it. She hooked me right at the start, when she says in her introduction, "Feeding my four guys has been one of the greatest pleasures of my life. Eating is something we have to do, so why give it short shrift? If you have to do it, make it beautiful and spread the beauty."

Cream Cheese Pastry Ingredients
8 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp coarse salt

1 large egg for egg wash

Filling Ingredients
1 cup of shredded/chopped chicken meat (I recommend purchasing an already roasted chicken from the grocery store for this or you could get crazy and roast your own.)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 tsp coarse salt
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Start by making your pastry dough. Process the butter, cream cheese and cream in a food processor, electric mixer or by hand to thoroughly combine.

Then, add the flour and salt. Process just until combined and the dough holds together in a ball. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Divide into 2 pieces. Flatten into disks and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling out. If the dough is refrigerated overnight, take it out 15 minutes before rolling it out.

Next, chop up your chicken and your vegetables. Then, melt your butter in a medium-sized hot skillet and add the onion, celery and carrot. Sauté over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the salt and flour and cook for 1 minute more. Add the chicken broth and stir until thickened about 2 minutes. Stir in your chicken and the Parmesan cheese. Cool in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease or line a baking sheet.

Starting with one disk of dough, roll it out using a well-floured rolling pin on a well-floured surface until it is about 12 inches in diameter. Thin but not transparent. Using an overturned bowl, about 5 inches across, cut out circles about 3 at a time from each piece of dough. Gathering and re-rolling out the scraps until you can no longer cut out any additional circles. Do the same with the second disk of dough.

To form the pockets, place 1/8-1/4 cup of filling on one side of a dough circle. My filling mixture was fairly "soupy" so when I scooped up my filling I tried to let a bit of the "juice" strain out from my spoonful before putting it on the dough. Wet the edges of the dough with water or in my case, there was enough liquid from the filling to wet the edges. Fold the dough over to form a half circle. Pinch the edges of the dough together. Crimp the edges with a fork. Repeat the process until all the filling is used. Prick each pie on top twice with a fork. The pocket pies can be frozen at this point.

Place the pocket pies on the prepared baking sheet and chill for a few minutes. When ready to bake, beat the egg with 1 tbsp water. Brush the egg wash over each pocket pie. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

I served these for dinner one time along with a green salad and another time, I passed them out to my children and their friends. Definitely a crowd pleaser. Enjoy.

Yield: About 10


Saving/Freezing for later:
You can "save" these for later a couple of ways. You can place freshly prepared, unbaked pies in a single layer on a baking sheet and put in the freezer. Once they are frozen solid, they can be stacked together in a resealable bag or other container for easy storage. To bake from frozen, place on a baking sheet, brush with the egg wash and bake according to the recipe but for about 5 minutes longer.

You can also cool the freshly baked pies and then, freeze them. Your brood can then reheat them in the microwave to satiate their undying hunger in just a few minutes.


All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Une Petite Pomme: The First Ever La Pomme de Portland Dinner Party

I simply must tell you about one of my dear, dear friends and an entertaining endeavor she took on. She recently had a dinner party. For three families. Including all offspring. Before I go any farther into her story, let me stop and ask you, "Aren't you impressed with just these details I've given you?!" Three families! Including kids! For dinner! I find that we seem to be at an age where nobody is doing much entertaining. Remember all those Christmas parties, "wine club" parties, block parties, progressive dinners, Birthday dinners, drinks on the deck, kick-off to camping barbecues?? Nope. No one's doin' them anymore. We're all just too dang tired. So the fact that my dear friend actually threw a dinner party, during this frenetic stage of life, leaves me duly impressed.

But wait, there's more. She didn't serve frozen lasagna and a Caesar salad from Costco. No. She made everything. From scratch. And to top it off, each and every recipe was from right here. From La Pomme. I feel quite honored and thank goodness I didn't exactly know what she was doing ahead of time or I would have felt a tad bit stressed out, worrying about the caliber of my recipes I've posted here and whether or not they are dinner party worthy. When I hooked up with her afterwards, she flashed me one of her beautiful, infectious smiles (the fact that she was still smiling is saying quite a bit) and shared with me that the party had been a huge success. The dishes had been so simple to prepare, so delicious to eat and....quite healthy to boot. Even the kids had enjoyed the offerings.

So you can share in the astonishment OR perhaps throw a dinner party of your own, I give you her La Pomme de Portland Dinner Menu:

Herbes de Provence Goat Cheese Spread

A Simple Salad

String Beans and Caramelized Shallots

Braised Pacific Halibut with Mushrooms and Leeks

Cinnamon Apple Crostata

I also feel compelled to share with you that another friend let me know that she made the Ginger and Garlic Stir Fry and her kids ate some particular veggies in that dish for the first time. Veggies they had not been willing to try before...and loved them.

And then, just the other day, another friend told me that she made the Pasta e Fagioli Soup I recently posted but instead of pasta, she used cheese tortellini. Her kids lapped it up. And another friend's husband proclaimed after she made him this same soup, "Well, we're never going to have that again, are we?" "Why not?", she asked. "Because I really liked that." She and I have the same problem of making things that the whole family loves but then, never making them again simply because we can't remember what we made. And so the hubbies, much to their dismay, never see that tasty dish again.

Thank you Kim, Laura, Suzi and Tammy for sharing your culinary adventures with me. I love hearing about them but then again, I love food....actually it's more than love. A small obsession is more like it...

Happy Weekend to All....wherever you may be!!



All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Ginger & Garlic Stir-Fry to Mark a Moment in Time

I flip open the familiar sheet music, time and time again, pounding out the theme from The Young and The Restless Nadia's Theme on the piano. Having recently watched Nadia score the first perfect 10 ever in gymnastics at the Montreal Olympics, I am just sure that will be me one day. As I play the music, I can see myself accepting the gold medal. Weeping. For my country. My fans. Nevermind that when I did finally manage to land a back handspring a few years later, I broke my arm and that was the end of my gymnastic career.

My father arranges us just perfectly. Taller ones in back. Smaller in front. The handmade Noel sign as part of the background. My sister and I in matching cream colored dresses and matching Dorothy Hamill hairdos, posing for the yearly Christmas picture. Even my sweet little brother's blond hair gives a nod to the famous "doo". Each night I ever so carefully wrap my brown locks up in the pink foam curlers to keep the "undercurl" going day after day. I never could figure out how to get rid of that dratted kink that preceded each curl. Dorothy never seemed to have that problem. But, kinks and all, I smile proudly.

Starving, we dash anonymously across the street for some Chinese take-out. We chuckle that only minutes ago we had entered the hotel with all eyes upon us. He, ever so handsome in his black tuxedo, and me, in the infamous white dress. The one my mother wore on her wedding day. The one with the beautiful fitted lace (or at least, fitted for her.) The one that cried out desperately for some type of support in the brassiere department and yet, not a single "fyi" from dear friends and family before walking down the aisle and so....the sagging will be forever documented. We hop up on the bed with our take-out boxes and watch as Kristi Yamaguchi skates into history with her gold medal in Albertville, France.

We make the hour-long drive from Lake Annecy twice, determined to make it to the top of Mont Blanc. The first day it's covered in clouds and all rides to the top are closed. The second go around, the mountain is out in all her glory. We leave Nana and the baby at the bottom. No children under 3 are allowed. The air is too thin at the top. We hop on the gondola with a nervous glance toward my father-in-law. Up, up, up we ride. Paragliders sail past us. We leave the timberline behind in our gentle wake. Alighting on the platform, we take in the ominous view of the jagged, powerful alps. I watch as my father-in-law looks down at Chamonix - the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924 - so far below us. We snap photo after photo of what was to be our last big trip with him...and for that, I am so grateful.

I stand at the stove, quickly stir-frying my carrots, my broccoli, my peppers. I ask myself if this is a proper dinner to mark 18-years together. I ponder on what it means to be married this long and how we arrived here so quickly. "Mom, come on! The Olympics are on!" Breaking my own steadfast rule of "No eating in the living room.", we each balance a plate of nutty brown rice topped with crisply, stir-fried vegetables on our laps, watching the TV in anticipation of who will forever mark a moment in time for us. My sweetie happily eating his most requested dish from my repertoire. The one he always wolfs down and remarks afterwards, "Mmm, that was a good batch, wasn't it?" The one in which I can never cheat and try to use a bottled sauce. He always knows it wasn't mine. And, just to see him, enjoying his dinner, surrounded by his family, with the 2010 Winter Olympics on the television, I decide that it's the perfect dinner to celebrate our years together.

Ginger & Garlic Stir-Fry to Mark a Moment in Time

This truly is my guy's most requested dish. The one he would eat over and over again, night after night, if I didn't find stir-fry to sometimes be a little too much work for a weeknight. But, this weeknight, in honor of 18 years together, I happily fix him his favorite. Now, if you haven't made the switch to brown rice, let me just give it a little plug. Yes, it takes a little bit longer to cook...but, it leaves you so much more satisfied. It's much more fulfilling, in the literal sense, and when you are trying to feed teens and pre-teens who seem to have a never-ending appetite, you want them as full as possible, as often as possible. As for the veggies, I tend to mix-it-up with whatever is in-season. Sometimes I may only use two vegetables and sometimes I go all out and use 4 or so....everything from broccoli to peppers to carrots to celery to snow peas to bean sprouts to bok choy to green onions to Chinese cabbage...really the list is endless. I mean, what vegetable doesn't taste scrumptious with a bit of olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and a quick turn in a hot pan?

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil or canola oil

1 tsp soy sauce

salt & pepper

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized strips

3 tbsp cooking sherry

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp water

1 tsp corn starch

1 sm red onion, peeled, halved from "pole to pole" and then cut into wedges

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 tbsp ginger root, peeled & minced or finely grated

2 med carrots, peeled and julienned

1 red pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch strips

1 head of broccoli, cut into florets (I pop mine in the microwave with a bit of water for 2 minutes to "parboil" them. They seem to work out better in a stir-fry this way.)

more olive oil or canola oil for cooking

brown rice

Let your brown rice cook as listed on the package while you make the stir-fry.

Slice your chicken breasts up and toss in a bowl with 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp soy sauce and pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.

Whisk together the sherry, the soy sauce, the water and the corn starch in a small bowl. Set aside, keeping your whisk handy for later.

Mince the ginger and the garlic. Place in a small bowl and set aside.

Place a heavy bottomed skillet over low heat while you chop up your vegetables. A few minutes before stir-frying, turn up the heat to high and turn your exhaust fan on.

Prepare all of your vegetables as listed above. Put them on a large plate, keeping them separate.

When you are ready to start cooking, make sure you have everything else taken care of - drinks, utensils and homework questions out of the way - because you cannot leave your post once you start stir-frying or your veggies will have burned bits on them and I don't know about you but my children won't eat burned bits...not even microscopic ones.

When you are ready, heat a tbsp of oil in your skillet, swirling it around to coat the pan. Add 1/2 of your chicken and stir-fry until seared and just cooked, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a clean bowl and tent with foil. Add the second half of your chicken to the skillet, adding to the bowl when cooked.

Add another 1-2 tbsp of oil to your hot skillet. Add the onion and stir-fry until browned but still crisp, about 1 minute. Add your garlic and ginger, stir to combine with onions. Then, add your carrots and stir-fry 1 -2 minutes. Add your red peppers and continue stir-frying for another 1-2 minutes. Add your "parboiled" broccoli and saute until all the vegetables are tender crisp, 1-2 minutes longer. Return the chicken to the skillet.

Push the veggies and chicken to the sides of the pan creating a circle in the center. Grab your bowl of sauce, giving it a quick whisk, and then, pour into your circle. Let the sauce just start to bubble and then, mix it together with your chicken and your vegetables. Serve immediately with warm, nutty brown rice. Enjoy.

NOTE 1: For a vegetarian version, simply omit the first four ingredients.

NOTE 2: A long time ago I read somewhere about keeping your ginger root in the freezer. It lasts longer this way. It's easy to peel and can be grated up on a fine grater in a snap which is what I've done ever since receiving this tip.

Yield: Serves 4 regular eaters and 1 eater who is currently eating like a bird.

All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

All Is Safe and Sound Chicken

The warm smells from dinner still lingered in the house. Smells from perhaps a "fall off the bone" tender beef stew, maybe chicken and dumplings or my mother's delicious chicken and wild rice soup with her homemade dill bread. The dishwasher was humming. The voices from the TV were soft. Distant. I made my way down the long, darkened hallway toward the single glowing lamp above the piano. I sat down on the bench, sighed and pushed up the lid to reveal the keys.

I opened my book and searched for Mr. Burke's distinct, purposeful handwriting that marked this week's assignment. As I reluctantly placed the correct song against the stand, my father quietly slipped into the living room and took up his place in his favorite chair. With his feet up, his hands clasped over his chest and his eyes closed, he would say to me, "I love to listen to you play." And there, he patiently sat. Sat while I banged out songs like "Candy Man" and "You're a Grand Old Flag" or the occasional "Für Elise." He sat there during the weeks when I threw myself down on the bench in tears claiming that, "I will not practice the piano tonight!" He quietly waited as I pulled myself together, wiped the tears and began again with the "Blue Danube."

And now, when I look back, I'm so grateful for those practice sessions. The smells. The darkness. The hushed tones. My father's presence. The sound of the piano. I felt safe. Even knowing that my father may be leaving soon, to stand guard at some far flung destination in the world...still, I felt safe.

That same piano sits in the living room of my home. The one my mother was determined her children would play. The one that my parents had to carry up a winding path. The one with the salamander burned into the wood, just behind the stand.

And, in the deep fall, when the kitchen has been put away, the dishwasher is humming and the baby has been put to bed, I'll pass that piano and something will pull me over to it. Whether it's the smells from our dinner of chicken sautéed with garlic and tomatoes, the early darkness of the evening or knowing that the eldest children are in their rooms reading and I, for a minute, have no one needing me, I will flick on the lamp, pull out the bench, put up the familiar music and start to play. My fingers will trip over themselves at first. Out of practice since the piano tends to sit unused for all of spring and summer. But, soon, they will remember the way and I will play, song after song. From Winter Peace to Thanksgiving to Jessica's Theme. I will play. I will be lost in the music and I will feel safe. At this moment, in this place in the world, we are all here in this home, enveloped by the smells and the darkness and we are safe.

Then, whether it be a sixth sense or mother's intuition, I will feel a presence with me while I play. Something will cause me to stop and look. There, in the semi-darkness of the stairwell, are my eldest children. Jammies on, peering through the railings and quietly listening to me play. And, there, in the darkness of the kitchen, I can just make out the shape of my sweetie.

All Is Safe and Sound Chicken

(Inspired by Caroline Conran's Poulet À La Provencal)

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, or 4 thighs and 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts or 4 chicken breasts

2 tbls olive oil

1 tbls butter

3 large shallots, coarsely chopped

2-4 cloves garlic, sliced lengthwise

6 ripe sm-med sized, tomatoes, cut in half

4 sprigs fresh thyme, coarsely chopped or a pinch or two of dried

salt and pepper to taste

For this recipe, I like to use a Le Creuset type of pot. Begin by seasoning your chicken pieces with salt and pepper. In our household, I'm a bit of a short order cook based on the type of chicken people like. Some want dark meat, some want white. Whatever mix of pieces you use, just make sure they are bone-in, skin-on. The meat will be much more flavorful and tender than boneless, skinless and you can always pick off the skin once it is cooked. Next, heat/melt the olive oil and butter in your pot. Add the chicken pieces to the pot and cook them on all sides until they are lightly browned. Add the shallots and the garlic and lightly brown them also, but do not let them burn.

Next, take your tomato halves, squeeze out most of their seeds and some of their liquid. Coarsely chop them and add them to your pot along with the thyme and salt and pepper to taste. One note: should you not be able to find decent tomatoes this time of year, a 15-oz can of drained, diced tomatoes would work as well. Cover the pot and cook, turning the chicken from time to time, for 15-20 minutes or until the meat is cooked through. Smell and enjoy the aromas that will linger in your home the night through.

I like to serve this with couscous and steamed green beans or broccoli. Or, instead of dirtying another pot, you could just cut up some in-season pears or apples, and call it good. Make sure not to let any of the delicious "sauce" go to waste. Spoon that on top of your couscous. Heaven.

Happy Thanksgiving, my dear friends!

All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009