Roast Chicken

Maybe everyone else is already producing roast chickens with ease, without a recipe, but it took a recipe published in my newspaper to prod me into trying it for the first time.  I tweaked the recipe a bit, using what I've learned about roasting a turkey.  This is more of a technique than a recipe, but I like having it all written down.  I made it for the second time last night, and it was a hit!  The kids eat the meat much better than typical chicken breasts, because it is so much moister.  And I thoroughly enjoy the crispy, garlick-y skin!

Roast Chicken

1 whole chicken, 4 to 5 lbs.	½ cup mayonnaise
2 gallons water	2 T fresh herbs
1 cup kosher salt	½ onion, peeled
1 cup sugar	Salt and pepper
5T butter, softened	2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4-5 cloves garlic, divided

Brining the chicken (6 hours to overnight):  Put 2 gallons water, kosher salt and sugar in a large stockpot or brining bucket.  Swish to dissolve.  Remove giblets from chicken and submerge chicken in the brine.  (1 gallon water, ½ cup salt, ½ cup sugar seems to be enough for my stockpot, but it's easy to adjust).

Two and a quarter hours before dinner:  Remove chicken from the brine and rinse thoroughly.  Pat dry with paper towels.  Place chicken in roasting pan or dish.  Preheat oven to 350°.  Mix one pressed clove of garlic in with the softened butter.  (I freeze leftover garlic butter from when I make garlic bread-- this is a good way to use this-- just take the butter out of the freezer when you start brining the chicken.)  Chop fresh herbs and mix into the mayo.  Gently loosen the skin over the breast and rub the herbed mayonnaise over the meat underneath the skin.  To reach further back, place a large dollop of the mayonnaise under the skin, then, massage it back by pressing on the skin.  Then, rub the skin with the garlic butter and salt and pepper generously.  Place the half onion and the rest of the garlic cloves, peeled, in the cavity of the chicken.  Pour the chicken broth into the bottom of the pan.  Place roasting pan in oven and set timer for 1 hour and 10 minutes.  Then peel potatoes, etc. to get ready for the meal.  When the timer goes off, increase the heat to 400° and roast for another 20-25 minutes, until skin is crispy and a meat thermometer registers 165°.  Remove chicken from the oven and lift out chicken onto a cutting board.  Tent with foil and let rest for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, strain pan juices through a sieve into a saucepan to make gravy.  Heat the juices, whisking in Wondra flour, until thickened.  Taste, then salt if needed.  Carve chicken and serve.

Strawberry Jam

This is what Cheyenne's teacher and bus driver ended up getting for end-of-year presents.  I didn't remember about needing presents until 8:30 last night, so I ran to Wal-Mart and bought two lunch bag cooler and two cold packs.  Then, this morning, I wrote a card for them, stuck it in a ziploc bag so it wouldn't get wet from the condensation off the jam, and gave them each a jar of the freezer jam.  I didn't think it was half-bad for completely last minute panic!

 

Strawberry Freezer Jam

2 pts. Strawberries (about 3 cups)	1 pkg. Sure-Jell
4 cups sugar	¾ cup water

Crush the strawberries and measure exactly 2 cups of crushed berries.  Mix the 4 cups of sugar thoroughly into the berries.  Let stand 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir ¾ cup water and the Sure-Jell together in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil on high heat, stirring constantly.  Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Stir pectin mixture into berry/sugar mixture.  Stir constantly until sugar is completely dissolved and no longer grainy, about three minutes.

Pour into prepared containers (1 to 2 cup plastic or glass containers with tight-fitting lids), leaving ½ inch space at the top for expansion during freezing.  Cover.  Let sit at room temperature for 24 hours, until set.  Refrigerate for 3 weeks, or store in freezer for up to 1 year.  Thaw in refrigerator.

I won't buy jam from the store anymore-- this is way too easy, and way too yummy, to eat anything else.

Gingery Goodness

I love using ginger in recipes. I have several ginger cookie recipes I will have to post at some point, but I've been using ginger in some interesting fruit dishes lately.

This recipe is one I clipped from the newspaper years ago (it's from Bobby Flay's book "New York City Cooks"). I think I tried it years ago, but I used dried ginger because I didn't have a ginger grater. I now have a spiffy Microplane zester, and the fresh ginger is awesome! The pears were excellent, but they are mild enough in flavor, I think you would be hard pressed to notice the difference between pears and apples in this recipe. Use whatever is cheaper, or what kind of tree you have in your backyard!

Pear and Ginger Crisp with Spiced Whipped Cream

Topping:

• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 4 tsp. granulated sugar
• Pinch of ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 6 T butter, softened

Filling:

• 1 1/2 T grated fresh ginger
• Juice of two lemons
• 2 T grated sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 6 medium pears, peeled, cored, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch slices

Spiced Whipped Cream

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 T sugar
• 1/8 tsp. each ground cinnamon, ground ginger and nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375°. Butter baking dish. (I used my cute little pan-- 9x7, maybe?) Toast pecans in over for about 8 minutes and set aside. When cool, chop into desired consistency. (I like mine really fine, although the recipe calls for a "coarse" chop). In another bowl, mix flour, sugars, cinnamon and salt. Use a spoon (or pastry cutter) to slowly stir in the butter. Add pecans.

In another bowl, mix ginger, lemon juice, sugar, salt and sliced pears. Turn into prepared baking dish and cover with topping mixture. Bake until topping is crisp and pears are soft when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 40 minutes.

Whip the cream and then beat in sugar and spices.

The pears, awaiting the topping.

A lovely serving, with the whipped cream!

Wow, this was good!

The whipped cream was excellent, too. I was worried it would be too spicy, but there was just a hint of spice while maintaining the coolness of whipped cream.

The next recipe is from Orangette. I loved her recent book, A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table. I doubled the recipe, since I had bought a big bag of plums at the farmer's market the week before.

Plum Crumble

Plum Spices:

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 T all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger (I found this in the gourmet spice section at Wegmans, but for you Albany folks, Evan says Candy Kraft sells this!)
• About 24 Italian prune plums, halved and pitted (I bought freestone plums, they are SO much easier than the other ones I bought this summer.)

Topping:

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 eggs, well-beaten
• 14 (!!!) T butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 375°. In a medium bowl, whisk together the seasoning for the plums: the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, ginger and crystallized ginger. Add the plums and gently stir to coat. Arrange the plums skin side up in an ungreased baking dish. (Same cute baking dish as the pear crisp, which was probably too small. Maybe a 13x9?)

They do NOT look pretty right now, even accounting for the terrible light.

In another medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the topping. Whisk to blend well. Add the eggs. Using your hands (I did a first stir with the pastry cutter), mix thoroughly, squeezing and tossing and pinching handfuls of the mixture, to produce moist little particles. Sprinkle evenly over the plums. Spoon the butter evenly over the topping, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is browned and the plums yield easily when pricked with a knife or toothpick. Let cool some before serving with creme fraiche (I still have yet to ever try this!), thick yogurt, or whipping cream. Or vanilla yogurt. Mmm...

This topping is excellent, and the plums are prune-y and gingery. Delicious!

The next recipe is from Cook's Country, one of my favorite food magazines. I read Marilyn's copies, and then I subscribe to the online archives. It's the best gingerbread I have ever had! The only change I made was to the liquid for the cake-- the recipe called for 3/4 cup stout. I had no idea how to go about buying that amount of beer, and I decided I could find some acceptable substitute. I searched "alcohol substitutes" but didn't find much to help me in a recipe dessert. The usual answer was chicken broth. I thought about what other flavored waters were available-- tea seemed the perfect answer to a gingerbread recipe!

Bold and Spicy Gingerbread

Cake:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 16 T (2 sticks) butter
• 2 T ground ginger
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground allspice (I don't have allspice; mixed equal parts ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and black pepper, and that worked fine!)
• 1/4 tsp. finely ground black pepper
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 tsp. fresh ginger
• 3/4 cup molasses, "robust" or "dark"
• 3/4 cup black tea

Glaze

• 1 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar
• 3 T ginger ale OR orange juice OR lemon juice
• 1 tsp. ground ginger

Heat oven to 375°. Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat until bubbling. Stir in ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Whisk eggs, sugar and fresh ginger in large bowl until light and frothy. Stir in melted butter mixture, molasses, and tea until incorporated. Whisk flour mixture into egg mixture until no lumps remain. Pour batter into prepared pan and gently tap on countertop to release any trapped air bubbles. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cook cake in pan 20 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet. Let cool completely.

For the glaze, whisk confectioner's sugar, ginger ale (or preferred juice) and ginger in bowl until smooth. Pour glaze over cooled cake. Let glaze set 15 minutes. Serve. Cake can be stored at room temperature, covered in plastic wrap, for two days.

I don't have a picture of this gingerbread, since I haven't made it since last winter. I still have some fresh ginger in the fridge, though, and the air is getting full of autumn, so I will be making it soon!

First Day of Fall = Soup!

This picture was taken in the Adirondacks this same weekend last year! It actually has been feeling like fall here for a couple of weeks. We don't eat much soup in the summer, but now that it's chilly outside we'll be having lots of it!

I made this tomato soup for Friday night supper.

Creamy Tomato Soup

• 4 slices bacon
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cans (28 oz. each) tomatoes (I like to do one can of peeled, whole tomatoes and one can of crushed, but I've used lots of variations, and they all work!)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 T sugar
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 T balsamic vinegar (do NOT omit! [in my humble opinion!])

Heat a large, deep pot over medium heat; add bacon and cook until barely crisp. Remove bacon and reserve. Remove and discard all but one tablespoon of the drippings. Add garlic and cook, stirring, over medium heat, one minute. Add tomatoes and their juices, breaking up whole tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Add broth, sugar and black pepper; bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes with cover ajar. Cool for a while, then puree soup with reserved bacon. Be careful, hot soup in a blender can go fearfully awry! Return pureed soup to pot, stir in cream until incorporated, and heat through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar. This soup only gets better-- make the day before for best flavor!

Saturday, Rosemary made pumpkin soup for us! I have always thought, "Bleagh!" when I heard about pumpkin soup, but it was really good! It wasn't overwhelmingly pumpkin-y or spicy like pumpkin pie, just subtle goodness! There's lots of pumpkins around this time of year, I'll be making this soon.

Rosemary's Pumpkin Soup

• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 3 T butter
• 2 cups cooked mashed pumpkin (Rosemary cooked the pumpkin, whole, in the microwave)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 T sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. ginger
• 1/8 tsp. black pepper
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup half-and-half (I only had cream in the house, it worked fine)

Saute the onion in the butter. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the cream. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Puree in a blender (carefully!), then add the cream and heat until hot (do not boil).

This next soup freezes well, and contains quite a few vegetables. A lot of the ingredients come from the can, so it's very fast to throw together.

Beef and Barley Soup

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 (16-oz.) can tomatoes, cut up
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 quart water
• 1 (16-oz) can whole kernel corn and juice
• 1 (8 oz.) can water chestnuts
• 6 stalks celery, sliced
• 1/2 cup barley, uncooked
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2 bouillon cubes
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. basil
• 2 tsp. seasoned salt
• 1 tsp. paprika
• Carrots, sliced (I usually use a 10 oz. bag of frozen carrots, or 4-5 fresh carrots)

Brown meat and drain excess fat. Put all ingredients in Crock-Pot and stir. Cook on high 4 to 5 hours or on low 8 hours. Can also be done using kettle on top of stove, simmer a little over an hour.

I've got a lot more delicious soup recipes, but right now I have a wiggly 18-month old doing acrobatics on me, her personal jungle gym. Time to quit!

Sweet and Savory

This is sort of a hodge-podge of recipes-- things I have been making over the last several weeks, but haven't had the time to post here!

Remember this pesto? Here's one of the things I used it for...

Four Cheese Pesto Pizza

• 6 (6-inch) pita breads
• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 T milk
• 6 T pesto
• 1 can ripe olives, sliced
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup shredded Fontina cheese
• 2 T Parmesan cheese

Place pita breads on ungreased cookie sheet. Mix cream cheese and milk until smooth. Spread on pita breads. Gently spread pesto over cream cheese. Top with olives. Sprinkle with cheeses. Bake 7-12 minutes or until thoroughly heated and cheese is melted.

Except, this time, I didn't have pita breads. Or Fontina cheese. And I hate olives. But, I did make a pizza crust (still working on finding a recipe I really like for homemade pizza crust!) and loosely followed these instructions for the topping. I also added chopped chicken, from the following recipe. I have followed the four cheese pesto pizza recipe exactly (except for the olives) in the past, and it was very tasty.

Cooked Chicken (from Rival Crock-Pot Cookbook)

• 2-3 pounds chicken breasts or parts
• 4 cups water
• 2 T chopped parsley
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 T minced onion
• 1 tsp. seasoning salt

Place all ingredients in Crock-Pot. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Remove chicken from water, discard bay leaf, and shred or dice according to your preference.

This is such a handy recipe for when those big club packs of chicken are on sale. I cook it (my big crockpot can take a doubled recipe of this), chop it up, and freeze it. It's great having cooked chicken ready for casseroles, and it also makes excellent chicken salad for sandwiches. And you can put it on pesto pizza!

I cooked one of my favorite chicken recipes last night--

Spicy Buttermilk Chicken

Marinade:

• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 T hot pepper sauce
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. salt

Mix together and pour over about 1 1/2 lbs. of chicken breasts or tenders. Marinate for at least four hours or overnight.

Topping:

• 1 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 T flour
• 2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 T olive oil

Combine topping ingredients and dredge chicken through the crumbs. Place chicken on a baking rack and let sit for 20 minutes, so that crumbs will adhere better. (I've skipped this step before without too noticeable a difference in the crumbs. Those twenty minutes are useful for working on other parts of the supper, though!) Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil on a baking sheet and place in oven. Heat oven to 400°. After about 5 minutes, place chicken on heated baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes (tenders will be done in about 20 minutes).

Last night, I served this with potatoes, because I had some neglected potatoes that were thinking about sprouting, but I usually serve this with jasmine rice. Both ways are yummy! I also did some of the tenders differently for my kids, who aren't as fond of hot things-- when I was mixing the crumb coating, I took about 1/3 of a cup of the crumbs out before adding the cayenne pepper and paprika. I'm not sure the paprika adds much heat, but it made it easy to see the less hot tenders-- they weren't as red!

Now, on to sweet things...

I found a recipe for this Millionaire's Shortbread in Hannaford's "fresh" magazine, which I stole from my mother. I wish we had a Hannaford's in our area, so I wouldn't have to resort to thievery-- it's usually full of good recipes! I wasn't crazy over this recipe at first, but every little nibble made me more of a fan. Elliott loved these, too.

Millionaire's Shortbread

Shortbread base:

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder

Caramel filling:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Lyle's golden syrup or dark corn syrup (I bought dark corn syrup, but I did see Lyle's golden syrup in Wegman's the next day!)
• 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2/3 cup (4 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 8- or 9-inch pan. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium speed to cream butter and sugar until smooth and lightened in color, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl and beaters as needed with a rubber spatula. Mix in vanilla. Sift together flour, cornstarch, and baking powder and add to bowl. Mix on low speed until dough forms large clumps and holds together, about 1 minute. Using your hands, press dough gently and evenly into pan. Bake until top is golden and edges brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.

While shortbread bakes, prepare caramel filling. Put butter, sugar, syrup and condensed milk in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil, stirring occasionally, about 10 to 15 minutes. (I don't know if I had the heat too high or I didn't stir enough, but I had to throw my first batch out-- watch it!) Continue boiling, stirring gently and constantly, 4 more minutes. Mixture should darken to a light caramel color. Remove pan from heat and pour filling over warm shortbread. Let filling cool about 5 minutes, then sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let chips soften until they melt, then use a knife or spatula to spread melted chocolate over filling. Let chocolate set until firm, 2 or 3 hours (or 15 in this heat!) When set, cut shortbread into squares (or cut a little piece out of the pan every time you walk by!)

A couple of weeks ago, Evan was dreaming about the lava cakes he had eaten at the restaurant "99" while working away from home this spring. It took me about three minutes to whip these up, and Evan was eating them 14 minutes later! He wolfed them down too fast to take a picture of them (well, the kids and I helped, too) but they are the chocolate cakes with fudgy filling oozing out of them when you eat them. Excellent with vanilla ice cream!

Molten Lava Cakes (Kraft Foods)

• 4 squares Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate (or 4 oz. of chocolate chips)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 6 T flour
• Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 425°. Butter four 3/4 cup custard cups or souffle dishes. Place on baking sheet. Microwave butter and chocolate in large bowl on high for 1 minute or until butter is melted. Stir with wire whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar until well blended. Blend in eggs and egg yolks with whisk. Stir in flour. Divide batter among prepared custard cups. Bake 13 to 14 minutes or until sides are firm but centers are soft. (Evan felt 12 minutes would be better-- more goo, less side.) Let stand 1 minute. Carefully run small knife around cakes to loosen. Invert cakes onto dessert dishes. Serve immediately.

And, the cookie recipe I've made hundreds of times-- chocolate chip cookies. This is the recipe Evan's family makes. It's basically the Toll House recipe with oatmeal. Evan likes a steady supply of these for his lunches, and none of us are averse to eating the dough before it's cooked!

Evan's Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. water (I have NO idea why this is in the family recipe... makes you kinda wonder about those Whites-- you can probably safely omit this ingredient)
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cup oatmeal
• 12 oz. (2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips

Cream together butter and sugars. Add vanilla and eggs; beat well. Add flour, soda, salt and oatmeal and beat until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Eat cookie dough raw, or place tablespoons of the dough on a greased cookie sheet and bake in a 375° oven for 9 minutes. Let cool in pan, if you like them chewy.

There's no recipe attached to this activity, but we made some creamed corn this year! We came home from Altamont with four garbage bags of corn. (Thanks, Knaggs!)

Evan husked it all, with lots of help from the kids.

I then boiled it, about a dozen ears at a time, for 2 minutes, dunked it in ice water, and let drain on the drainboard.

I then used my handy-dandy Lee corn-cutter and creamer to take all the corn off the cobs.

All 95 cobs, eventually. This was early in the process.

I froze it in plastic Ziploc containers, and got about 6 1/2 quarts. It sure will be delicious this winter with a little butter and salt!

All this writing about food has made me hungry! Time to go check out the kitchen before bed...

Food Processor Fun!

I love food processors. They can take a whole massive amount of basil...

(plus a few other ingredients)...

and turn it into this tiny (but wonderful) amount of stuff. Pesto, to be precise.

Much as I love the food processor I've had for a year now, I still haven't abandoned this.

It's a salsa maker that they sell at fairs and flea markets. Evan and I saw one years ago at the fair, and watched the demonstration, and tasted the salsa. It was so good, but Evan didn't think we needed one. Well, I (and by proxy, Evan) regretted that decision all year. So the next year, I bought one. It is the handiest onion chopper ever...

And it still does the best job of making salsa of anything out there! (Sorry, Most Beloved Food Processor.)

This is some of the green-leaf lettuce I bought at the farmer's market.

We made taco salad for supper the other night, it was all so fresh and yummy! I need to make lots more fresh salsa. My pesto is sitting in the fridge, too, waiting for me to use it. I often make grilled chicken and cheese sandwiches with pesto, or put it on a white pizza. We'll have to see what I actually do with it this week!

Pesto
This recipe is from Process This! by Jean Anderson. I got that book out of the library when I first got my food processor, and it was so helpful I actually went out and bought a copy.

• 2 quarts loosely packed tender young basil leaves (two humongous bunches at the farmer's market should do it), washed and dried.
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 2 large whole cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 T freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup oil (I ended up using closer to 1/3)

Place all ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor fitted with the medal chopping blade and churn for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and churn 30 seconds longer to form a thick paste. With the motor running, drizzle the olive oil down the feed tube, adding only enough to give the pesto the consistency of prepared mustard. Scoop into a small bowl, press plastic food wrap on top to keep from darkening (I have experience in stating this is a VERY important step!) and refrigerate until needed. Bring to room temperature and stir well before using.

Fresh Salsa

• Small white onion, chopped and rinsed
• Juice of one lime
• 5 Roma tomatoes, or 3 small regular tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• 2-3 jalapeno or serrano peppers, seeded if you're a wimp like Evan
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Chop it all up in a food processor or the like. My sister Bethaney uses a blender, which makes a very finely chopped salsa. Eat immediately, although it will keep fairly nicely in the fridge.

Last Thursday's Supper

Last Thursday morning I went to the farmer's market in Syracuse. While I always love the farmer's market, it's usually a little overwhelming to consider going there. I discovered the secret-- don't go on Saturday! On Saturday it is crowded, and there are lots more vendors selling things other than fresh produce. This Thursday, I parked right next to the market, breezed through selecting yummy things, and was out again quickly! That's really key when there's three kids with you.

I have no idea what to do with eggplant at this point in my life, but I just loved the colors, so I had to snap a picture.

Cheyenne eating one of the little plums we bought.

It isn't ALL fresh vegetables-- there's some pretty yummy fresh-made doughnuts we had to sample!

Aren't these pretty little plums? They were destined for plum torte.

Fresh Plum Torte

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 12 plums (small deep purple, prune or Italian), halved and pitted
• 1 T sugar
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 to 1 tsp. cinnamon
• Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for serving

Preheat oven to 350° and spray 9- or 10-inch springform pan. (I used the 9-inch-- it was less dusty.) Cream together sugar and butter until light and creamy. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture with eggs and vanilla and beat well. (I didn't sift together the dry ingredients first, just dumped them in at that step. It worked fine, but maybe you like to sift flour!) Spoon batter into the pan and place plum halves, skin side up, on top of batter. They will sink as it cools. Batter will barely cover the bottom of the pan, which is as it should be! Sprinkle lightly with sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon. (The first time I made this recipe I forgot to do this, and I did it when it came out of the oven. I almost liked it better that way-- the lemon juice was fresher tasting!) Bake torte for one hour, depending on pan (a black pan takes less time.) Torte is done when tester inserted in the torte comes out clean. (Mine was done in a little over 40 minutes, since I have a black non-stick pan.) Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for a few minutes. Remove from the pan, cool to lukewarm, and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. (I didn't put anything on it, and it was pretty good plain. The ice cream may have helped the taste of the occasional overly tart plum, though.)

This was how it looked before it went in the oven. I think I used a few more than a dozen plums-- 14 or 15 maybe? Just cover the torte nicely.

Then, while the torte was baking, we got busy with the supper. Tori cut up the fresh green beans.

And I made Crispy Yogurt Chicken, from Pioneer Woman, slightly tweaked.

Crispy Yogurt Chicken

• Chicken pieces (I had tenders on hand)
• 2 cups plain, unflavored yogurt
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• Herb of your choice (I was in the mood for Rosemary, snipped from my herb garden!)
• Juice of one lemon
• Salt
• Butter
• 2 cups Panko bread crumbs (these bread crumbs are awesome, but plain old bread crumbs will work if you're desperate)

Mince the garlic and herbs, and add them, along with the lemon juice, to the yogurt. In another bowl, mix the bread crumbs with a bit of salt, or seasonings. Shake salt onto the chicken pieces, dredge them through the yogurt and then through the bread crumbs. Place them on a cookie sheet or in a 13x9 pan. Put dabs of sliced butter on each piece. Now, Pioneer Woman says to cover with foil and bake for 1 to 1 and 1/4 hours at 350°. I'm forgetful and impatient, so I rarely bother with the tin foil, and the chicken will be cooked much sooner than an hour, especially if you cut your chicken into smaller pieces-- it just won't be as crispy. Depending on how rushed I am for supper, I have done this in as little as twenty minutes, or as long as 45 minutes. I also usually crank the heat up a tad-- 375° or 400°. If you do go with the foil, remove for the last 15 minutes of baking.

Here's the chicken, a-waiting to be baked.

What a yummy looking supper! That's jasmine rice we're having with the chicken. My in-laws often use this rice, and I'm a huge fan. With just a tad of butter and some salt, it's better than candy!

All year long, we eat frozen green beans quite happily. When these come along, though, we wonder how we were ever content with the frozen ones.

The finished plum torte.

It is quite moist, and SO GOOD! It's one Evan doesn't like, though. He's not a huge fan of plums. This is one of those dishes that does depend heavily on the quality of the plum. There were a few in this batch that were a bit tart, but the rest of the torte was excellent.

Okay, now I have to go to bed so I can get up in the morning and head off to the farmer's market again!

Summer Salads

I love eating salads, but I'm pretty lazy about making them. I have often told my sister Lindsey, who makes awesome salads with lots of interesting, finely chopped ingredients, that I would gladly scrub her bathroom for her if she came over once a week and made me a massive salad. Sadly, she did not think the commute from Alaska was really worth it.

These are two salads that are not that difficult to throw together, and even if they were, they would be worth the effort. The strawberry romaine salad was a recipe from Evan's side of the family, as many of my yummy recipes are. The Farmer's salad was one Bet made last week, and I've already had to make a huge one for me and Evan to plow through. Alas, Evan isn't crazy over it, so I've had to eat lots of it myself-- bummer!

Strawberry Romaine Salad

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 T poppyseeds
• Honey-roasted peanuts
• Romaine lettuce
• Strawberries

Combine dressing and pour over chopped peanuts, lettuce and strawberries.

Farmer's Salad (originally from All Recipes)

• 1 head iceberg lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1 head fresh broccoli florets, cut into small pieces
  
• 4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese (Bet's addition, so optional, but oh-so-yummy!)
  
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 3 T white sugar
• 1 T distilled white vinegar
• 1 pound bacon

Fry bacon until lightly crisp. Crumble into bits, and measure one cup. Or throw the whole shebang in, as I do. In a large bowl, combine lettuce, broccoli and cheese. Prepare the dressing. Now, if you've got a large crowd to eat this right away, mix all the dressing in. Otherwise, I'd divide the salad and only dress half of it. It's a big salad, and it doesn't keep well with the dressing on it. I waited three days to dress the other half, and it was still very fresh. Oh, and throw the bacon on. It is SO good, I had to dig the leftovers out of the fridge at 10:00 the next morning for a morning snack.