Balsamic Glazed Chicken

Yesterday just flew by for some reason.  It got off to an early start with some prep work for the lentil and brown rice pancakes I'll be making for tonight's dinner along with some roasted Veggies.  You know, rinsing lentils can be risky business at 7:30 am since one is not often conscious enought to realize that said lentils are small enough to pass through the holes in some colanders.  The relative inexpensiveness of lentils influenced my decision to just run some water and let them go down the drain as opposed to spending an hour and half picking them out of the sink one by one! 

My mother and I made an emergency run to Bath and Body Works to take advantage of the bag sale.  Our favorite farm stand is on that side of town as well so we stopped off there for some fresh, locally made goat cheese (I probably petted the very goat the milk came from) and some local produce.  From there it was off to BJ's wholesale club to restock some of the essentials.

It probably wouldn't have been such an ordeal if it had not been 115 degree freaking heat index.  Heat like that sucks the life right out of you.  We came home literally THREW ourselves in the pool for a couple of hour.  I always have a pitcher of fruit water in the fridge so I filled some glasses with ice and we drank them out by the pool...super refreshing.  There's no big secret to the fruit water...fresh cut fruit, sweetener or not (stevia in this case) depending on your taste, fresh mint and mineral water...sparkling or plain.  Just let the cut fruit and mint leaves sit in the water in your fridge for a couple of hours.  Waa laa...fruit water, natural and healthy (unlike some of those nasty artifically flavored fruit waters you see in the store).  If I'm going to use sparkling water, I just fill the glass about 1/3 of the way with the prepared fruit water and then top off with sparkling water so as not to water it down. 

Zero calories...plenty of satisfying flavor!  Plus, you get to eat the lovely chilled fruit when the glass is empty.

I seriously had no desire for cooking last night after all that so I didn't really plan on having anything to post.  However, I underestimated the beauty of the fresh produce.  This was about as simple a meal as you could prepare; pan cooked chicken breasts in a thick balsamic glaze with a side of haricots verts, slivered almonds and fresh peaches.

Just cook the boneless, skinless chicken breasts in some olive oil until they are mostly done.  Add 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar to the skillet and bring to a boil.  I also added a couple of tablespoons of honey but you don't have to.  Turn the chicken a few times as the vinegar reduces so that it becomes coated in the glaze.  It ends up being the most beautiful mahagony color and tastes sweet and tangy at the same time.

The beans didn't even require pre-cooking because they were so tiny.  I just sauteed them in olive oil with a little sea salt.  When they are crisp tender, add the slivered almonds and one large peach, sliced.  Toss gently until the peach slices are warmed.  When you plate everything, drizzle the chicken and beans with some of the balsamic glaze and enjoy!

BTW...We uploaded a brand spanking new video to our youtube channel today.

I apologize that it has taken me so long to start the next series of videos.  I haven't made any new ones in about three months.  My life SHOULD be settled back to my version of normal now so hopefully we can go back to adding a new one each week. 

I'll be adding a new page to the blog which will correspond with the weekly youtube video.  The recipes will be dated for the week that they post and then hopefully archived (once I figure out how) for future reference.  Just a note...even though I feature all kinds of foods on the blog, the recipes for my youtube channel are all vegan and vegetarian.  I strive to demo as many vegan recipes as possible because those are the ones viewers seem to want the most.  As you all know, my husband and mother are NOT vegans so I do cook meat (obviously) and those will continue to show up on the blog's main page.  I am working on them though.  Look for tomorrow's post about the incredible vegan dinner they are having!

Just Peachy

I hope everyone had a lovely 4th of July weekend.  Here in the tropics its just raining...and raining...and raining.  The hurricane may have hit Texas but Florida's Gulf coast is trapped in its outer rain bands.  So far we haven't seen any oil washing up in the Fort Myers/Sanibel Island area but we are all holding our collective breaths.

Nothing screams summer like a ripe juicy (Georgia) peach.  Roadside vendors are popping up all over Florida at this time of year selling their peaches, watermelons and tomatoes...mostly from Georgia.  I stopped by my favorite family run farm stand a couple of days ago and rewarded with a particularly fragrant and luscious crop. 

Yes, these peaches really are a perfect and blemish free as they look!

I did save a few back just for eating but my husband was yelling COBBLER before I could even get the bags unpacked!  I picked through them and selected the firmest, less-ripe specimens which hold their shape better for cooking and are in general easier to handle.

Peeling a peach is a simple procedure.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil, make a small X incision on the bottom (opposite the stem end) of each peach and submerge in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon to a large bowl of ice water.  After their "spa treatment" the fuzzy little skins should slip right off. 

Speaking of Food Porn....NAKED PEACHES!

For the purpose of this recipe and because my husband can consume obscene amounts of cobbler and ice cream, I've used 6 pounds of fresh, ripe but firm peaches.  For this size that ended up being 15 peaches.

Once scalded and peeled, slice the peaches into a large (3 quart) saucepan and follow the simple instructions for my Peachy Keen Cobbler below.

• 6 lbs fresh ripe peaches, peeled
• 1 stick unsalted butter (or earth balance vegan margarine)
• 1/2 cup peach brandy (may sub orange juice)
• juice of one lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 cups organic (Florida Crystals) pure cane sugar
• 4 Tablespoons non-gmo cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mace

1. To make filling, halve peaches and discard pits.  Slice each half into 4 or 5 segments and place slices in a 3 quart sauce pan.  Cut butter into pieces and toss in with the peaches.  Add peach brandy or orange juice, lemon juice and kosher salt.  Place over medium heat and stir gently until butter has thoroughly melted.  Remove from heat.
2. In a medium bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch and spices.  Pour this mixture into the peaches and stir gently until sugar/cornstarch is melted.  The mixture will not be thick at this time.
3. Pour the filling into a 4 quart (I prefer glass) casserole dish and set aside while you prepare topping.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

For Crust:

• 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 stick melted butter or vegan margarine
• pinch of kosher salt
• Enough milk (or almond milk) to make a thick batter (about 2 1/2 cups)

*batter is not really pourable...but thin enough to spoon onto filling

1. Combine flour, sugar,baking powder and salt in a medium bowl, mix well.  Add milk and melted butter all at once.  Stir to form a thick batter.  Use more or less milk as needed. 
2. Spoon batter onto filling, covering the peaches entirely.  Don't worry if juice comes through in places, it won't matter once it is baked.
3. Sprinkle the top of crust with demerera sugar and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. 

*I bake mine on a foil lined baking sheet...just in case!

This recipe makes enough for you, your family and 25 of your closest friends.

No self-respecting southerner is going to eat this without a handful of Georgia pecans tossed on top!

I even broke out the antique granny-bowls for this old fashioned comfort classic (ok so the peach brandy wasn't in granny's original...sue me).

(c)copyright Jill Anderson

The Homegrown Gourmet