Green, Green...

The most beautiful words of the Spring: "the farm in Pennington is now open."

And with that, the farm season at the Honey Brook Organic Farm in Pennington has begun. Our first pickup for this year was Sunday, and it was an impressive first day haul: a huge bunch of leeks, 4 enormous heads of curly green leaf lettuce in shades of deep green and chartreuse, a pound of baby bok choy, a pound of dark green, spicy arugula and SIX pounds of spinach.

Do you have any idea how much SIX pounds of spinach can be?

The farm was buzzing with eager members when we arrived on Sunday after church, everyone standing in line to sign in for the season and receive their fluorescent pink ID badges, milling around the counters filled with all of the greens we'd be taking home that day, kids playing out on the lawn under the giant gnarled tree and on its branches. It was a great first day, bursting with enthusiasm.

When I got home I bagged everything as quickly as possible for the fridges, trimmed and julienned the leeks for quick grilling next to the London broil I planned for dinner. Much of the leeks ended up sprinkled atop mashed potatoes, a nice little garnish. One of the giant heads of lettuce and a big fistful of arugula made more than enough salad for dinner, along with rainbow grape tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes and chick peas.

On Monday, I knew I had to start utilizing the spinach and searched online for a recipe for "chicken and spinach". Here's what I selected, from Food.com:


Bowties with Chicken and Spinach

Ingredients:

Servings:

  6   6

6-8

Units: US | Metric

• 16 ounces bow tie pasta
• 1 lb chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 cup chopped red pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pepper, to taste
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 lb spinach, rinsed and chopped
• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Directions:

1. 1
   Boil the pasta until done.
2. 2
   Meanwhile, cook the chicken in oil over medium-high heat.
3. 3
   Add the onion, red pepper, garlic, salt, and pepper with the chicken.
4. 4
   Continue to cook and stir 5-7 minutes until chicken is almost cooked through.
5. 5
   Add the broth and spinach then cook until spinach is wilted and chicken is done.
6. 6
   Combine chicken mixture with hot drained pasta and toss well.
7. 7
   Top with cheese and parsley then serve.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   It turned out to be a great recipe. I had twice the amount of boneless chicken breast, so I just doubled up all of the ingredients.  Sophie wisely chose tomato-carrot farfalle, which we had on hand in the pantry, for the bowtie pasta and it really made for an attractive dish.  I amped up the garlic a bit, and used about a pound and a half of the spinach. Simple, full of spring/summer flavors, and it used a quarter of the spinach. Now I need to figure out what to do with the rest of the spinach.
   
   
   Any ideas?

EAT THIS CHICKEN!

Every now and then you just get lucky. Sunday was one of those days. I got an e-mail from AllRecipes.com, who usually supply some terrific cooking ideas. Sunday's e-mail was one of those terrific ideas: Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken. I know it's just chicken, and when you see the recipe,you'll see that it's ridiculously simple and mistake-proof, but seriously, this was an elegantly simple dish with a real depth of flavor. And my eclectically-fed (and increaslngly fussy) kids loved it. Case closed. This goes in the recipe rotation as Casa Lawrenceville. Keeper. Sure shot. Slam dunk. Add your own catch phrase.

I played with the recipe slightly, substituting fresh garlic for the garlic powder listed in the original recipe (see above AllRecipes.com link), and omitting the onion powder. I also used a Trader Joe's spice blend called "21 Seasoning Salute", which includes dehydrated onion and a bunch of dried herbs and spices, instead of the dried herbs specified. Gave the chicken a really bright fresh flavor and kitchen-filling aroma.

So try this utterly simple recipe, make a big pot of Jasmine rice (I like Trader Joe's brand, very clean and sweet), and steam or stir fry some whole green and yellow beans with some diced red pepper. I paired this dish with the new Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye ale, and the beer went beautifully with it. I would pour an Italian Pinot Grigio or Spanish Albarino with this as well.

Dinner in under 30 min. Thank me later: post your results!



SPICY GARLIC LIME CHICKEN
Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Makes 4 servings


1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
3 tsp Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute
(or Mrs Dash's if easier to obtain)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 Tbls finely chopped garlic
Juice from one lime


In a small bowl, mix together salt, black pepper, cayenne, paprika, and seasoning blend. Sprinkle spice mixture generously on both sides of chicken breasts. Rub spice mixture to completely coat breasts on both sides.
Heat butter and olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute chicken until golden brown, about 6 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with chopped garlic and lime juice. Cook, covered, for 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently to baste breasts with sauce. Serve chicken on a small platter, spoon sauce on top.