mushroom chicken with couscous

I have had a package of whole wheat couscous in the cabinet for way too long.

I keep looking at it and choosing rice instead. Or mashed potatoes. Or stuffing. But couscous is really tasty! I know this and keep passing it by.... Silly me.

I made this just for me the other night. Scale it up as far as you want.

Mushroom Chicken with Couscous

1 chicken breast, diced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/4-1/2 cup finely chopped onions

2 tbsp Butter Olive Oil

1/4 cup chicken broth, low sodium

Couscous

Follow the directions for 1 serving of couscous. If they call for butter, substitute the Butter Olive Oil for real butter in equal amounts. Cook and set aside.

In a medium pan, heat the 2 tbsp of olive oil to medium heat. Saute the onions and mushrooms until they get nice and soft and the mushrooms start to brown. 5-7 minutes.

Add the chicken and stir to combine well. Add the chicken broth and bring the heat to medium high. Cover and let simmer until the chicken is done, about 8-10 minutes.

Cook uncovered an extra 1-2 minutes. Spoon over couscous and serve.

(I drizzled a little Traditional Balsamic over this a little bit later. It was good.)

Truffle Honey Mustard Chicken

We got in this neat product a little while back and I have been trying to come up with interesting things to do with it. We got Truffle Honey. If you like truffles, it's spectacular. It goes beautifully with a cheese and cracker platter. I've been wanting to use it to glaze steaks or a roast, but I was making chicken the other day and said, Hey, why not?

Truffle Honey Mustard Chicken

1 pkg chicken, chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped frozen broccoli
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp Garlic Olive Oil
1 tbsp Truffle Honey*
pinch of Greek Sea Salt*, and pepper

Heat the olive oil in a pan to medium high heat. Saute the chicken pieces about 5-7 minutes, stirring often.

Add the frozen broccoli and cover. Let cook for about 4 minutes. Remove the cover and fork test the broccoli. If they aren't tender, stir them to the bottom of the pot, cover and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Now add the Truffle Honey, the mustard and Salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Cook another 2-3 minutes to let the flavors really blend.

*Truffle Honey and Greek Sea Salt available in the store or by phone only.

Eggplant Fries with Lime Aioli

Aioli is like mayonnaise. But made with olive oil instead of vegetable oil. Of course, we now have olive oil mayonnaise available in grocery stores. And that is the easiest way to make this!

I made my eggplant slices really thin. (So I burned a few of them, whoops!) Feel free to make yours a bit thicker.

Eggplant Fries

1 eggplant
Olive Oil for cooking, up to a 1/2 cup

Slice your eggplant into manageable slices. Maybe a 1/4 inch thick and an inch or two wide. Heat your pan to a medium high heat and brush olive oil on the side of the slice that you are going to fry first. I used Chipotle Oil, but you can use any oil that you like.

Pan fry the slices until they are browned on one side. Brush the other side with oil and flip them over. Brown that side too and remove to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain.

Sprinkle with a little bit of salt. I used our Himalayan Pink. Serve with the Lime Aioli. (see below)

Lime Aioli

4 tbsp Persian Lime Olive Oil
1/2 - 1 cup Olive Oil based Mayonnaise

Start with 1/2 cup of the mayo. Whisk in the olive oil and start adding more mayo until you like the texture. That is all!

Peach Balsamic Chicken

This chicken is so awesome! I've told a few people at the store about this already, so as promised, here it is!

Peach Balsamic Chicken

1/2 cup Peach Jam

1 pkg chicken thighs, about 4

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tbsp Meyer Lemon Olive Oil

3 tbsp White Peach Balsamic

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan to medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions and let them caramelize. Stir occasionally, but it should take about 7-10 minutes. 

Add the jam and Balsamic and stir. Cook a couple minutes to melt the jam. Stir to combine.

Arrange the chicken in an oven-safe pan and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Pour the broth and the jam/onion mixture over the chicken.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Meyer Lemon Chickpea Salad

I have been in the mood for some simple food. You can't get much more simple than this salad. A little chopping, a little opening of cans, and salad!

I took this to our Father's Day picnic. It went over so well I only got a picture of my own bowl.

Meyer Lemon Chickpea Salad

1 can Chickpeas
1 avocado
1/2 a cucumber
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1-3 cloves garlic
2-4 tbsp Meyer Lemon Olive Oil
(optional - a little drizzle of Greek Honey)

Rinse and drain the chickpeas. Add to a large serving bowl.

Dice the avocado, cucumber and the cherry tomatoes. Add to the bowl. Depending on how much garlic everyone likes, press 1-3 cloves. We like a lot of garlic, so 3 cloves it was. Start with one and see how it goes. You can always stir in more later.

Toss everything with the Meyer Lemon Olive Oil and chill for at least an hour. Drizzle with the honey just before serving. (if using)

Customer Recipe: Jim's Chicken and Potatoes

One of our customers stopped by to restock over the weekend and showed off his cooking skills with this Instagram photo. He described it thus:

"White truffle sauté chukar, pancetta essence seared diminutive tubers and savoy florets over a bed of fresh spinach drizzled with piquant dressing and a fresh cut of lemon for zest."

Or, as he told me later, "Boneless chicken fried in White Truffle Garlic oil, baby potatoes and broccoli florets seared in Bacon oil. Everything was laid out on fresh spinach with a drizzle of Buffalo Ranch dressing (and a slice of lemon)."

Thanks Jim! It looks divine!

Welcome Home!

My parents are coming home from Italy! Now I can go back to posting recipes instead of pictures. Whoohoo!

I was tidying up at their place, getting the mail in order when I noticed that they had no food. They have been gone for a long time, so there are a couple things in the fridge, like garlic. And some bottled water. Of course, they aren't going to want to cook when they come home, so I thought I'd get them a little something.

When I get some one a little something, I mean food. So I got them groceries. Some milk and some eggs...and I made them some chicken so they don't have to cook on their first night back.

Welcome Home Chicken

2 large chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1 orange pepper, sliced thinly
1/2 a large onion, chopped
1 pkg mushrooms
3-6 tbsp Garlic Olive Oil
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp fresh oregano
Himalayan Pink Sea Salt, to taste
2-4 tbsp Red Pepper Bruschetta

Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large saute pan to medium heat. Add the chopped onions and let cook, stirring occasionally until they are almost fully caramelized, 20 minutes or so. Add the mushrooms a little salt and a little extra oil if the pan is looking dry. Saute them until they break down, about another 8-10 minutes. Add the peppers and the chicken and stir it all to combine. Add more olive oil to make sure that everything is well coated.

Bring the heat up to medium-high and add the chicken broth and the oregano and cover. Let simmer for about ten minutes. Stir and test how done the chicken is. This will depend on how thick your slices are. Stir in the Red Pepper Bruschetta (avaliable in store) and a little salt to taste.

Serve with fresh bread.

This recipe could be easily done with tofu subbed in for the chicken. Have fun with it!

Welcome Home Mom and Dad!

Modena and The Alps

And on this hot hot day, I thought we could all use this moment. Brr!