Yogurt-and-Spice Marinated Grilled Chicken Breasts

Although I have a lot of recipes that need to be posted here, this one cannot wait. Summer is waning and what I made for dinner is perfect for a warm, and busy, day.


I took about a half hour this morning to make a yogurt-based marinade for chicken breasts, and a yogurt sauce for serving the chicken with. Late this evening, all I had to do was steam rice and green beans, and grill the chicken-- very easy.


Don't be scared off by the laundry list of the spices required for the marinade. It's certainly not complicated, and the half-hour investment will guarantee an easy meal in several hours. You can skip the step of toasting and grinding the spices and use already-ground cumin and coriander seed instead, but since toasting intensifies the flavor of the seeds and gives them an incredible flavor, I don't recommend it. However, if you do skip this step, use only 2 teaspoons of each already-ground spice instead of the 1 tablespoon of the seeds in the recipe.


The chicken, because it is coated with the thick marinade during the grilling process, stays moist and flavorful. Served over fluffy basmati rice with the yogurt sauce and chopped cilantro, it is absolutely delicious.



* Exported from MasterCook *

Yogurt-and-Spice Marinated Grilled Chicken Breasts



Recipe By: Vicci
Servings: 4

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1/2 teaspoon canola oil
1 tablespoon cumin seed
1 tablespoon coriander seed
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground paprika -- (or other ground mild red pepper)
3/4 teaspoon sweet curry powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 cup sweet onion -- diced
1 tablespoon grated ginger root
3 large garlic cloves -- chopped
1/2 medium jalapeno pepper -- seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
20 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast -- (4 pieces)


sauce:
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 large garlic clove -- crushed
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice


2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro -- (garnish- optional)


Drizzle the oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the cumin and coriander seeds. Toast, stirring frequently, until fragrant (about one minute, be careful not to burn them!). Remove to a small plate. In the hot skillet, combine the garam masala through the turmeric and stir constantly over medium heat for one more minute. Add these ground spices to the seeds and, after they have cooled, grind them all together in an electric spice grinder or using a mortar-and-pestle. Set aside.


In a blender, blend the yogurt, spices, and remaining ingredients until almost smooth.


Pour mixture into a nonmetal covered container which is large enough to hold the chicken in a single layer. Cut about (4) 1/2" long, 1/4" deep slits in the chicken, on both sides. Place in the container and rub the yogurt mixture into the chicken, forcing some of the mixture into the slits. Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours, turn occasionally and re-rub with the marinade if possible.


In a small bowl, combine 1 cup yogurt, 1/2 teaspoon each ground coriander and cumin, garlic clove (crushed) and fresh lime juice. Set aside.


Preheat grill to medium-high (400 degrees). When ready, take the container of marinating chicken, cooking spray, and tongs to the grill. With the tongs, pick up the first chicken breast (there will be a good quantity of the marinade mixture adhering to it), tilt is slightly while spraying the underside with the cooking spray, and place, sprayed side down, on the grill. Repeat this with the other pieces of chicken. Spoon about half of the remaining marinade over the top of the chicken, smoothing it down to coat evenly. Lower the cover on the grill, turn the heat down to medium, and grill for 5 minutes. Check once or twice to make certain the chicken is not burning (although the marinade will char in a few areas).


After 5 minutes, carefully spray the top of the chicken with cooking spray and turn over using a spatula. Spoon the remaining marinade mixture on top, smoothing to cover, and close the lid. Turn heat down a bit, and cook for another 5 minutes; then, without lifting the cover, turn off the heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes.


Serve over basmati rice drizzled, with the yogurt sauce, and sprinkled with cilantro.


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Per serving: 251 Calories (kcal); 8g Total Fat; (27% calories from fat); 33g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; 82mg Cholesterol; 609mg Sodium
Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 2 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates


Remember-- everyone's grill is different and you will probably need to make any necessary adjustments in temperature level, cooking time, etc.


I grilled extra chicken and plan to use it in a sandwich with naan and other wonderful things. I'll post on that soon.

Happy Birthday to a special person...

This is a photo of flowers which are surrounding our birdbath on the back patio. They are some type of periwinkle which has been in my family for over 50 years. My Gram grew them, and now my Mom and I do the same. Before the first frost, we pinch off pieces of the plant and put them in water. When they root, they are planted in pots. These provide color during the winter and, sometime in March, we will pinch off pieces of those plants and root them in water. The resulting plants will be planted outside where they will spend the summer until just before the first frost... and so on.

Today, August 12, would have been Gram's 96th birthday. This will be our third year without her and I miss her terribly! I am grateful that I had 47 years to be with that wonderful woman. She gave my first cookbook (“Betty Crocker’s Cooking for Girls and Boys”, about 1966) and it is from her that I inherited my love of cooking and baking. It was also pretty great to have someone in my life who thought I was special, perfect, and could do anything. Well, my Mom feels that way too (except for the “perfect” part—Mom knows all about my flaws!), but to my Gram I could do no wrong.

Happy Birthday, Grammie! :) And thanks so much for everything!

Lime-Cilantro Vinaigrette

I don't like the way our weather has been acting lately. It's cool, around 70F today and in the low 50's at night. This is a preview of what we will be experiencing in September and I'm simply not ready for summer to be over yet! Of course, it's nice to be able to walk outside and tie up a few tomato plants without suffering heat-stroke.


Last weekend we went to a party and I took a Mexican-inspired pasta salad as my contribution to the buffet table. Of course, there was a good quantity of chopped (grilled) zucchini in it! Also grilled sweet onion, diced red bell peppers and tomatoes, pink beans, and queso fresco cheese. The dressing was a standby which I have been using for a few years, Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette. I added some powdered dried chipotle powder to give it zing.


It went very well with the pasta and vegetables.


I've also used this vinaigrette for a grilled chicken salad which is also Mexican-inspired, combining the chicken with black beans, red leaf lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado.


Vinaigrettes are basically oil and vinegar, but in order to tone down the sharpness of the vinegar and still make the dressing low in fat there has to be another liquid as a "carrier". I have also successfully used orange and grapefruit juice in other types of dressings.



* Exported from MasterCook *


Lime-Cilantro Vinaigrette


Recipe By: Vicci
Servings: 20
Serving Size: 2 tablespoons


Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
14 ounces canned diced tomatoes
1/2 cup canola oil
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons grated lime rind
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder -- (for a bit more
punch, sub half the amount of dried
ground chipotle pepper)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 large garlic cloves -- crushed
2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro


Place undrained tomatoes in a food processor or blender. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Transfer to a plastic or glass bottle and refrigerate for at least overnight to meld flavors.

Yield:
"2 1/2 cups"


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Per serving: 60 Calories (kcal); 6g Total Fat; (84% calories from fat); trace Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 150mg Sodium
Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 17 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

Zucchini Pancakes

Recipe: Zucchini Pancakes

I believe that those zucchini which I brought back from my parents’ house, and which have been confined to a plastic bag in the extra refrigerator, are multiplying. Really, I don’t mind it all that much. So far. But I’ve been adding zucchini, in one form or another, to almost every meal for the past few days and the overall quantity is not decreasing!

For lunch today, I made Jack’s favorite zucchini recipe—Zucchini Pancakes. These are quite easy but there is one warning—if you don’t get the shredded zucchini as dry as possible, the pancakes will be gummy inside after they’re cooked.

My favorite method is using the spin-dry feature in my washing machine. I also use this method to squeeze excess water from cooked or frozen-then-thawed spinach. Use a large cotton tea-towel (I have a certain one which I use every time because it does tend to acquire a greenish tint even after washing), lay it flat on the counter, and pile the shredded zucchini in the center. Pat it into a small rectangle, then wrap the towel securely around the zucchini. Here is the absolute most important part—USE A SAFETY PIN TO SECURE IT CLOSED. Do not skip this. Yes, you can probably tempt fate several times without using a pin, but I guarantee you that eventually you will reach in to take the unpinned packet of spun-dry zucchini shreds out of the washer and it will open. Look at the interior drum of your washer. Lots of tiny little holes in it, aren’t there? Imagine how difficult it will be to remove the zucchini shreds from these holes! And use that safety pin!!! This is a public service announcement brought to you by someone who knows… ;)

Back to the zucchini pancakes.

These are filled with zucchini, flavored with parmesan, and sautéed until crisp. Our favorite topping is hot sauce, but you can also dip each bite in marinara or cover with another type of sauce. Today, for lunch, I grilled Sam’s Club brand chicken, asiago, and spinach sausages to go with the zucchini pancakes. As a condiment we used some of the jar of hot peppers and tomato sauce which my brother and his wife prepared and generously gave to us. Delicious! After he finished eating Jack said “well, it doesn’t get any better than this”, and asked me to prepare the exact same thing for him for tomorrow’s lunch.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Zucchini Pancakes

Recipe By: Vicci

Servings : 2

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

1 1/2 pounds zucchini -- shredded

2 large eggs

1/4 cup skim milk

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

3 ounces finely chopped onion -- about 1/2 cup

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/3 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

hot sauce to taste

S

Shred the zucchini and squeeze as much moisture out as possible. The drier the shreds are, the better the pancakes!

In a large bowl, beat the eggs well. Add the milk, cheese, onion, salt, and peppers and stir. In a small cup, combine the flour and baking powder. Add it into the egg mixture, then toss in the zucchini and mix well.

Lightly grease the surface of a griddle and preheat on medium-high. Drop batter by quarter-cupfuls onto the griddle and cook for 3-4 minutes per side, or until browned. Serve immediately.

Yield:

"8 pancakes "

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Per serving: 260 Calories (kcal); 8g Total Fat; (27% calories from fat); 17g Protein; 32g Carbohydrate; 195mg Cholesterol; 924mg Sodium

Food Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 1 1/2 Lean Meat; 2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

Lowfat Fruit-Stuffed Scones

Recipe- Lowfat Fruit-Stuffed Scones

A couple of days ago, we returned from a long weekend visiting my parents. Now, for the first time since the beginning of June, we are able to finally unpack the suitcases and put them away—we’re back here at the farm for a whole 11 days!

I enjoy spending time with my parents, and a bonus in the summer is that they are very generous with the produce from their garden. I returned home with two bags of zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, peppers, pole beans, and tomatoes! And ten (yes ten) pounds of blueberries which my Dad picked at his friends’ farm on Sunday morning. Fortunately we were able to consume the plethora of produce which our friends Dary and Caroline brought to us the previous weekend, and now have this fresh bounty to feast upon. I love summer!

Now to go back in time a bit since I have a lot of recipes from the past few weeks, waiting to be posted here..

When Jack and I went to Massachusetts in June we decided to stay at my parents’ house overnight, leaving from there early the following morning, to decrease the length of our trip a bit. Mom gave us a large plastic container of scones and muffins to eat on the way, and to store in the freezer at the rental house for breakfasts. We enjoyed her strawberry-stuffed scones so much that I just had to have the recipe and make them for our guests. Twice!

First, when Jenni came to the lake house a few weeks ago, we made these for a breakfast. Although they were very good, we both agreed that the scones needed just a touch of additional moistness. The second time I made these, for our guests the following weekend, I added just a couple of tablespoons of canola oil and it made a big difference. I also replaced buttermilk with vanilla yogurt. It seems to me that, whenever I do lowfat baking, the items that I make with yogurt seem to be lighter in texture than those I prepare with buttermilk.

Now, these scones are not made with butter. Nope, none at all! The fat comes from yogurt or buttermilk and whatever is in lowfat Bisquick. And, now, canola oil. These are also made healthy by using white whole wheat flour and oatmeal. And they are delicious.

I made one round with strawberry jam and strawberries, the other with blueberry jam and blueberries. When the temps fall a bit and I can turn on the oven again, I want to try peaches and peach jam. But the possibilities are practically endless (ooh, raspberries!!!).

* Exported from MasterCook *

Fruit-Stuffed Scones


Recipe By : Vicci (and her Mom)
Servings: 12


Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 3/4 cups rolled oats
2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups Bisquick Heart Smart
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup skim milk
1/2 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup jam
1 1/4 cups sliced fruit



Preheat oven to 400F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment and set aside. Sprinkle a large cutting board with flour and have extra nearby.


In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (oats through sugar). Set aside.


In a smaller bowl, beat the egg and egg white lightly. Add the oil, yogurt, milk, and vanilla and whisk to blend.


Make a "well" in the center of the dry mixture and pour the egg mixture into it. Use a large wooden spoon to mix (it will seem rather dry). Dump this mixture out onto the floured board and pull together into a mound. Knead about 6 or 7 times (add drops of milk if it seems to be too dry). Divide into 4 equal pieces.


Pat 2 of the pieces of dough out into a 7" circle, about 3/8" thick. Place on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Pat the remaining 2 circles out into the same-sized circles. Divide the jam between the two pieces of dough which are on the baking sheet and spread to about 1" of the edge. Divide the fruit between the 2 dough circles and arrange in a single layer (these can overlap slightly).


With water, moisten the outer edges of both of the fruited circles. Place a dough round on top of each of the fruit-topped rounds. Pinch the edges to seal.


Deeply score each into 6 sections (cut about 3/4 of the way through, but not the whole way). Brush tops with milk, sprinkle with Demerara sugar.




Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the bottom is a deep golden brown. Remove from oven, allow to stand for 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack and cool for 10 minutes before breaking apart and serving.


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Per serving: 386 Calories (kcal); 6g Total Fat (1g saturated); (14% calories from fat); 6g fiber; 11g Protein; 69g Carbohydrate; 16mg Cholesterol; 614mg Sodium
Food Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 7 1/2 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates

Jack's Favorite Granola; Coconut Rum-Swirled Brownies

Recipe: Granola and Coconut Rum-Swirled Brownies

As often happens, I arrive at the end of this week and realize that I need another day or two to complete what I had set out to accomplish at the beginning of the week.

Because of the almost 1¼” of rain which we received yesterday, the soil in my garden was nice and soft, and I took the opportunity to weed. It was so easy to pull those little buggers out with their roots that I spent way too much time doing this. The result—my garden looks great! And my back is killing me. I really should leave a bottle of ibuprofen in the kitchen, instead of upstairs in the bathroom, since neither Jack (who also spent the day doing intensive work outside and is feeling its after-effects) nor I have the energy to climb the stairs. I’ve refilled his iced tea twice since dinner—with any luck he will have to go upstairs soon… ;)

I had wanted to post at least three times this week, but it will have to be two. And since I am late with so many things, I will post a recipe which two friends have asked me to since mid-June.

Last winter when I broke my ankle, my Mom brought down a lot of food to sustain us. I love my Mom! Anyway, one of the items she brought was a big bag of granola. Jack, needing something to snack on one evening, spooned some vanilla yogurt in a bowl and then added some of the granola. He enjoyed this so much it became his “usual” evening snack (which beats the heck out of even the baked tortilla chips and baked potato chips which he had been eating until then). After this supply was used, I was beginning to feel more stable in my cast, so I set about reworking Mom’s recipe a little. I came up with a really delicious, lowfat granola that is full of good things.

I made four pounds of this to take on vacation in June. For one breakfast while our friends

George & Tammy were there, I made scones and also had fresh fruit, vanilla yogurt and granola. Tammy, as expected, enjoyed it. George, surprisingly, did also! He’s not a “breakfast person” but he did a good job on the granola, even asking if I could post the recipe on my blog. This past weekend, during our lake house get-together, he also commented on how much he liked it. I felt badly since things were so crazy for the last month that I had barely even posted anything on the blog, so I made a promise to do this in the very near future. Here it is!

* Exported from MasterCook *

Granola

Recipe By: Vicci

Servings: 30

Preparation Time: 1:15

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

----------------------------------------------------

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 cups rolled oats

2 cups almonds -- chopped; or 2 cups total of any mixture of nuts

Bring the water and brown sugar to a boil over low heat, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat, stir in salt, and allow to cool until lukewarm. Stir in vanilla.

Preheat the oven to 275F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment.

Measure the oats into a huge bowl (you need the space to toss the oats and syrup together). If the nuts which you are using are NOT ROASTED, add them to the bowl as well. Pour the syrup over and mix thoroughly (using your hands is the easiest way to do this).

Divide the mixture between the 2 baking sheets and level, patting down firmly.

Bake for 20 minutes, rotate the sheets and bake for another 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir (the oats around the outside edges will be browned more than the oats in the center). A flat, heatproof spatula is perfect for this, working around the perimeter scraping the mixture from the outside into the center.

IF you are using ROASTED nuts, add them (divide between the 2 baking sheets) and stir in a bit. Level and return to the oven for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until golden.

Remove from the oven, allow to cool on the sheets on baking racks until completely cooled (stir occasionally).

Transfer to an airtight container and store in a cool, dry place. This keeps nicely for about a month. You can freeze it in a freezer bag for longer storage.

Yield:

"10 cups"

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Per serving: 163 Calories (kcal); 7g Total Fat (1g Saturated); (39% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 39mg Sodium

Food Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 4 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

NOTES : Add dried fruit (cranberries, blueberries, cherries, apricots, etc) after granola has cooled, if desired. You can also add dried or fresh fruit prior to serving.

Well, I think that I’ll post another favorite. While I was making the granola this evening, I decided to also prepare some coconut rum brownies to take when we visit my parents this weekend.

These brownies are a chunk o’ heaven. They are easy—two specially-prepared brownie mixes are the base, and a coconut-flavored cream cheese mixture is swirled in. Dark rum is used to prepare the brownie mixes instead of water. You can prepare them as just Coconut Brownies, using water instead of dark rum, but why would you want to? These are dense, fudgy, and
incredibly decadent! Use a fork… ;)

All brownie mixes are not created equal, so I use the best-quality available. Ghirardelli makes great mixes, and I’ve used both the mix containing the chocolate syrup pouch or, since I have been unable to locate that mix lately, I’ve been using the Double Chocolate mix which contains chocolate chips.

Every brownie mix has different ingredients, too, so here are a couple of rules-of-thumb to use:

• Replace the water with dark rum. If you are serving these to guests and you are not certain if they like a heavy rum flavor, use about 2/3 of the total amount of water as rum, and the remaining amount water.

• As for the oil, I reduce it a little. For example, with the Ghirardelli mix each package calls for 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 2/3 cup total for the recipe. I use ½ cup.
• 
  

Now, this makes a 9” x 13” pan. It can be halved and baked in an 8” square pan (adjust the baking time accordingly) but since these brownies are so darn good, and they freeze very well, why just not make the big ol’ pan? Really, you won't be sorry. :)

When I make brownies or bar cookies, I find that it helps a lot to line the baking pan with foil (leaving a 2” overhang on the long sides), then spray with cooking spray. When the brownies are thoroughly cool, lift the brownies up out of the pan in one piece and they will be much easier to cut that way.

I sprinkled shredded, sweetened coconut on top of this batch. Next time, I will use toasted coconut since this didn't "toast" very much while the brownies were cooking.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Coconut Rum-Swirled Brownies

Recipe By: Vicci

Servings: 24

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

1 large egg

1/3 cup sugar

8 ounces neufchatel cheese

1/2 tablespoon coconut extract

2 large eggs

40 ounces Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix -- (2 packages)

2/3 cup dark rum

1/2 cup canola oil

Preheat oven to 325F. Spray a 9"x13" baking pan with cooking spray.

Prepare swirl by beating egg lightly in medium bowl, then add sugar and beat with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add the neufchatel cheese and coconut extract and beat at high speed for one minute. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs lightly then add the dark rum and canola oil and mix well. Add the two packages of brownie mix and stir gently until mixed. Pour into the prepared baking pan. Dollop the cream cheese swirl on top of the brownie mixture and, using a wide-tip knife, swirl the cream cheese into the chocolate.

Bake for about 50-55 minutes, turning the pan 2 or 3 times, until the center is set and the edges are very lightly browned and dry-looking. Insert a toothpick into the center- it will emerge relatively clean with only a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Cool completely, on a rack, before cutting.

Store in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 days; freeze for longer storage. Like they will last for that long...

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Per serving: 290 Calories (kcal); 12g Total Fat (4g Saturated Fat); (39% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 40g Carbohydrate; 31mg Cholesterol; 207mg Sodium

Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 15 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

Picnic in the Glass; Garden Vegetable Pasta

Recipes: Gourmet's "Picnic In The Glass" recipes, Curried Chicken Salad with Spiced Chickpeas and Raita and Greek Salad with Orzo and Black-Eyed Peas;
Garden Vegetable Pasta


The past few weeks have been very busy. I am here, at the end of July, wondering where our summer went to. But I know. Vacation, entertaining… June and July have swept by and I haven’t even had the chance to lazy an afternoon away, reading in a hammock. I am not complaining (much)-- I really do enjoy hosting parties and weekend get-togethers (well, everything but shopping for the food). Planning, preparation, and lately I’ve been delegating some menu items to my guests and that had really taken a load off. It’s fun. I think that, if I won a lottery, I would budget money to have someone do the grocery shopping, and then someone to clean up afterwards. Then it would be almost too perfect!

There are many recipes that I need to post here. I hope to be able to get a few on this week, then some posted next week.

I am not going to do this in chronological order, though. There are some recipes which have turned out so well that I just have to place them here as soon as I can.

But first.

This past weekend Jack and I had 5 friends to the lake house for a few days. The weather cooperated perfectly. Every evening we were able to eat on the patio, surrounded by flickering torches; during the day the sun was out but not too hot, and we were able to spend the afternoons on the boat. It rained once, at 3am. As I said, the weather was perfect.

I think that my favorite recipe which I made over the weekend was for our Sunday lunch on the boat. I was dithering between several ideas when I flipped through an August issue of Gourmet, which Nancy had left for me to read the previous weekend. The article “Picnic In The Glass” caught my attention. Two-cup glass jars were used to layer different ingredients, producing portable salads. What a great idea to use those pint canning jars I have so many of (since I haven’t done much in the way of canning in the past few years).

First, both Tammy and Caroline helped me to put these together. They are very competent sous chefs and chopped quantities of cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, etc. without complaint. Then the ingredients were placed in the jars, transferred to a cooler, and taken to the boat where they were enjoyed a few hours later.

What an incredibly cool way to picnic! The jars were easy to hold, and no paper plates were remaining to dispose of. Each of the guys consumed 2 jars, the ladies one each (although Caroline and I “shared” a few bites of each salad). Although Indian food is my favorite type of cuisine, and I enjoyed this salad very much, the Greek one was pretty delicious also.

Basically, the Curried Chicken Salad with Spiced Chickpeas and Raita consisted on red grapes on the bottom of the jar, then a layer of curried chicken salad, a layer of cool cucumber raita, and then a layer of cumin-and-turmeric-spiced chickpeas which was topped with toasted slivered almonds.

The Greek Salad with Orzo and Black-Eyed Peas started with a black-eyed pea salad (they were tossed with tomatoes, parsley and a red wine vinaigrette) on the bottom, then on top of that an orzo salad (orzo, cucumber, Kalamata olives, red onion, fresh oregano in a lemony dressing), then a layer each of shredded romaine and crumbled feta. A peperocini pepper or two was to be placed on top, but we ran out of room and left those out.

Both of these salads were incredible. There were four other salads featured in the article and I want to try the shrimp with salsa, avocado, and chips soon (the other three didn’t do much for me).

One of the Indian salads was left. Although the directions say that these can be made up to 6 hours before serving, it wasn’t until 2 days later that it was used. I microwaved it on a very low power just to take the refrigerator chill off, and served it over some leftover, room-temperature coconut rice for lunch. It still was delicious.

Friends Dary and Caroline arrived not only with their share of food and wine, but also with bags of fresh produce from their garden. I have to admit, as I wiled my afternoons away on the boat I was figuring out what I could do with these wonderful spoils of their garden. For dinner on Sunday night I steamed the fresh (edible-pod) peas and served them with leftover barbequed chicken from Friday night. I haven’t had fresh peas in years, since I stopped growing them, and they were superb.

On Monday we spent the day cleaning and packing, and didn’t arrive back at the farm until almost 7. As I transferred those vegetables from the cooler into the refrigerator I had an idea for dinner. Garden Veggie Penne!

There is no recipe for this. Basically, vegetables are sautéed in olive oil and garlic, a milk-and-cornstarch mixture (about 2 teaspoons cornstarch to 1 cup of milk) is added and stirred until thickened. Then the addition of fresh basil and grated cheese (I used Asiago), and the mixture is tossed with whole wheat penne.

After dividing between plates, sprinkle with a little more cheese. Quick and so, so delicious with all of those vegetables (almost) straight from the garden!

My vegetable garden is very late this year since we were on vacation and I didn’t plant anything until the beginning of July. And something keeps nipping the top off of my bean plants. So to have fresh vegetables was such a wonderful treat. Dary, Carolyn, if you guys are reading this—THANKS!!!

More soon!