Chicken Cutlets Topped with Bruschetta

I'm sad to report that this dinner marks the end of fresh tomatoes from my garden. Of course, as I noted in earlier posts, I have a freezer full of frozen veggies that will get me through the next couple of months, but fresh is always best, isn't it?

My mom started making chicken this way, and it instantly became a family hit. Everyone loves it, plus it's crazy easy to make. I paired it with some green beans from the garden. For those, I like to boil for just a few minutes until tender, then shock them with cold water. Season with a squeeze of lemon, a touch of olive oil and salt and pepper. Simple and delicious!

Chicken and tomatoes over rice

My tomatoes are finally ready and ripening faster than Nick and I can eat. I would say I have about 20 tomato plants in my garden. Most of them are plum tomatoes, which contain less seeds and are good for making sauce. Plus, I find there's less of a chance of bugs and other problems happening with the smaller variety. My mother is growing some tomatoes on her patio, but they're huge and before she can even pick them they are spoiling. What a bummer! I did buy a few other tomato varieties (not sure what kind, sorry!) and they are a little bigger than the plum tomatores, but they're not the huge beefsteak variety.

With all the tomatoes on hand, I'm always trying to figure out how to incorporate them into dinner. For this dish, I also used some onions from my garden, as well as some of my herbs.  The taste of summer!

Ingredients:

12 chicken thighs, skin removed

About 15 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

One small onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 c. white wine or chicken broth

Vegetable oil to coat pan

Flour to dredge the chicken
1 tbsp butter
Parsley, basil and oregano, chopped

Heat the vegetable oil in a deep saute pan. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, dredge in flour and cook until brown on each side. Remove the chicken from the pan, add a pat of butter with the garlic and onions. Saute for a few minutes and add the wine or chicken broth. Let that simmer for about 2 minutes and then add the tomatoes. Simmer for another minute or two and then add the chicken back into the pan. Cover and simmer on low for about 20 minutes. Remove the cover and let cook for another 10 minutes. Mix in the herbs in the last minute. Serve over a bed of rice.

Dinner party!

This past weekend, I got the chance to host the Kastner Cousin's Dinner. We girls try to get together every month or so, usually under the pretense of celebrating someone's birthday -- and in a family as large as ours, it's always someone's birthday.

To start, I served bruschetta made with basil from my garden. (tomatoes aren't ready yet!) For the main course, I put together some chicken kebabs with cherry tomatoes, pineapple, pepper and onion. I had just harvested my potatoes, so I decided to make a traditional potato salad with hard boiled eggs, celery, onion and mayo. I can't tell you how excited I am about the potatoes! I was expecting only one potato per quarter planted, but you actually get five or six per quarter. According to What'sOnMyFood.org, potatoes are treated with about 37 pesticides. I also read recently that they are so harmful, that many farmers grow a separate crop for their own consumption, versus the ones that they sell commercially, so I'm really happy to have some of my own on hand. I quickly planted some more that should be ready to harvest by the end of the season, as well.

Also fresh on the menu was the green bean salad. After boiling the beans until slightly tender, I tossed them in a homemade vinaigrette which includes basil, balsamic vinegar, oil, diced onion, salt and pepper and a little bit of freshly grated pecorino-romano cheese. Yum!

The best part of the menu was that I was able to prepare everything the night before, which gave me more time to enjoy my company and my martini (s).

Sun-dried tomato and arugula pasta

Peppery arugula is a wonderful green to add to your salad, but also is perfect in a pasta dish like this. In addition to the arugula, I also used some basil from my garden for this recipe. Remember: Fresh herbs should be added at the end of the dish, dried in the beginning. I've also become a big fan of fresh-grated cheese, particularly pecorino-romano, but feel free to substitute a handful of your Kraft parmesan from the jar. I also used whole wheat pasta, but again, your regular pasta would be just as good. And don't forget the wine! You should always cook with a wine that you would drink, not too expensive, but still tasty.

• 1 box whole wheat pasta, cooked al dente. (Reserve about a cup of pasta water)
• Olive oil, enough to thoroughly coat the bottom of your saute pan 
• One small onion, chopped
• 5-6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• One small jar of sun dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 c. hot cherry peppers, coarsely chopped (more or less, depending how spicy you want to go!)
• 1 can white beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp salt
• a few basil leaves, chopped
• 2 c. arugula, coarsely chopped
• 1 c. white wine
• 1 c. pasta water
• handful of freshly grated Pecorino-Romano cheese
• 3 tbsp butter

While pasta cooks, heat large saute pan with olive oil. Saute onion and garlic for a couple of minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes, cherry peppers, and beans. Let cook for a couple of more minutes and then add white wine, Italian seasoning and salt.

Before you drain the pasta, take about a cup of the pasta water and add to saute pan. Return the pasta back to its pot and toss with the butter and cheese. While the butter melts, stir in the arugula to the sun-dried tomato mixture. Combine the pasta mixture and sun-dried tomato mixture and toss well to coat. Plate your dishes and sprinkle the basil and a little more cheese on top.

All about herbs

Aaaaahhhh, herbs. I love their smell, their taste, their beauty. There's nothing better than pinching off a bunch of thyme (left) and inhaling its sweet, lemony fragrance. That's the joy of gardening -- taking time out to reconnect with nature and with your senses: feeling the warm earth between your fingers, listening to the chirping birds, breathing in the wonderful aromas, and then savoring the taste of fresh food.

Herbs are a wonderful addition to your garden, for many reasons. First, they are perennials, which means once you plant that basil, it will continue to come back, year after year, with essentially no work. Two, herbs are a natural insecticide. Their fragrant leaves repel pesks that can eat away at your tomatoes. For that reason, I have several bushes scattered throughout my garden. An oregano here, a rosemary there.

Do you have a small backyard and limited space in your garden? Herbs do wonderful in containers. Even though I have the space, I still love putting a couple of herb planters on my back porch as decoration. I even love to clip a large sprig of herbs and put them in water in a vase in the house. (right) It's decorative, it's fragrant, and it's great to have your herbs on hand when you're cooking.

Which brings me to the best reason for growing herbs in your garden: the wonderful flavor they bring to your food. Parsley and oregano in homemade salsa -- delicious! Basil for your bruschetta -- mouthwatering! Rosemary chicken -- yum! The new motto in my house lately has been 'halt the salt'. Fresh herbs are a wonderful way to help cut your salt intake and add a flavorful punch to any dish.

Tomato and Bean Soup

Campbell's has got nothing on this tomato soup! It's chock full of fiber, protein, vitamins and antioxidants, plus it has at least half the salt. I'm by no means a vegetarian, but I do think it is important for your health, and the health of the planet, to try and eat at least one meat-free dinner a week. This hearty soup would make a great dinner, especially if you have some nice crusty Italian bread to go along with it.

I can't believe that it is the middle of the winter and I'm still enjoying veggies from my garden! Instead of canning my veggies, I've opted to freeze them. It's a great alternative, especially if you have a Food Saver and the freezer space.  I used up the last of the tomatoes and string beans from last season's crop for this recipe. Is it spring yet?

Ingredients:
1/2 onion, diced
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 green pepper, chopped
2-3 celery stalks, chopped
2-3 carrots, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups diced tomatoes
2 cups water
Sprinkle of oregano and basil
Pinch of cumin
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 can white beans
1 cup cut green beans

Directions:
In large soup pan, cook onion in oil on low heat for about 5 minutes. Add celery, carrot, pepper, and garlic and cook another 3-4 minutes.

Add tomatoes, water, oregano, basil, cumin, salt and pepper. Cover and cook over low heat about 10 minutes, or until veggies are tender.

Add string beans and white beans. Add additional salt and pepper, if necessary. Cover and cook additional 10 minutes, or until string beans are tender.