Braised Chicken with Olives

This recipe is one I tried last week. As I said in my first post, I'll include the good, bad and in-between. This one was an in-between. That being said, I'll post the recipe I tried, and some thoughts on how to improve it.

I got the idea for this dish from a variety of sources, including All About Braising by Molly Stevens and Saveur. The recipes were more Middle Eastern, using preserved lemons. I needed to use up the ingredients I had in the fridge and decided to try to give it a slightly more French flavor. I used fresh lemon, added some fennel seed and Lillet, and topped it with goat cheese at the end.

Braised Chicken with Olives and Lemon

        4-6 Boneless Chicken Thighs

        1-2 Tbsp Butter

        1 Medium Onion - Sliced

        3 Garlic Cloves - Sliced

        1/3 Cup Olives - Pitted

        1/2 Lemon - Thinly Sliced

        1/4 Cup Lillet

        1/2 Cup Water

        1/2 tsp Paprika

        1/2 tsp Fennel Seed

        1/4 tsp Ground Cumin

        1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper

        Salt and Pepper to Taste

        1/2 Cup Kale - Diced

        2 Tbsp Goat Cheese

        Rice

Rub the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Heat the butter over Medium-Medium High heat in a dutch oven. You want to heat it enough to sear the chicken, but not hot enough that the butter will burn.

Place the chicken in the hot butter and allow to brown for about 5 minutes. Try not to move the pieces as they won't brown as nicely. Lift the corner of one piece and take a peak. If it is browned, then flip and reaper on the other side. Depending on the size of your pan you may need to brown the chicken in batches.

Once browned, set the chicken aside until later. Remove any excess fat from the pan - you only want about 1Tbsp left. Fry the onion and garlic slices in the remaining butter. Toss in the spices and the Lillet and let it simmer for a minute. Arrange your chicken in the pan and pour the water over it. Cover and turn the heat down to low.

Let the chicken simmer for 15 minutes, then flip the pieces and cook for 15 more minutes. Flip again and add the olives and lemons on top. Simmer for another 15-20 minutes.

Serve over rice with minced kale and goat cheese.

What Would I Changed?

So, I want to record good recipes, but I also want to show the process involved in developing a good recipe. Learning to cook is all about trial and error and this is an example.

This meal was good, but it could be better. Part of the problem was that it was under salted. I tasted the braised chicken out of the pan and it seemed salty enough, but once I put it over the rice and added the raw kale it was a little bland.

To fix the problem I would bump up the the olives to 1/2 a cup and add salt at the end of the braise. I would also recommend using chicken thighs with bones. I happened to have boneless, so I used what I had, but bone-in chicken adds more flavor and braises better. I would also increase the fennel seeds to 1 tsp. I was worried about the anise flavor becoming overpowering but the other flavors were strong enough to hold up to plenty more fennel. Finally, I like garnishing with something green and all I had was kale. It worked well, but parsley or chervil would be better.

Contemplations on Digging

New bed I dug earlier this spring.

I have a digging problem.

The sun starts shining in the spring and all I want to do is DIG. I'm going to need to join some sort of 12-step program. It'll be me and a room full of dirty nosed dogs.

There is just something about digging, simply digging, that is deeply satisfying: the repetitive rasping sound as your shovel breaks through the earth over and over again, the weight of the soil as you scoop up heaping shovelfuls, the bits and pieces of rock and root that have been unearthed, waiting to be picked out and tossed aside, and the dull ache that begins in your arms and shoulders. 

Digging is peaceful and meditative, yet violent and destructive. All your cares can be worked out, worked into the soil. Your anxieties can become a bed for new life that will sustain your body and your mind.

So if I find digging so satisfying, do I really need to stop? If I want to have a lawn and garden, rather than a mud pit, I'll need to reign in this compulsion. But there may be other reasons to stop digging.

Some gardeners argue that digging actually causes more harm than good. Soil has its own ecology and by digging a bed you disrupt the balance of the system. In Nature, soil forms district layers. The top layer is made up of decomposing leaf litter, dead plants, deer poop and the like. When this organic matter breaks down it become humus, basically an analog of compost. The next layer is the all important topsoil. It is a mix of organic matter (the humus) and inorganic minerals. This is where the plant roots form and extract nutrients. The next layer is the subsoil, which is mostly inorganic minerals. Some plants send roots into this layer too, but not for nutrients. Instead the roots are searching out water and anchoring the plant.

These soil layers are full of microorganisms and invertebrates, yet different layers house differt life forms. When you dig, you mix up all the layers and create conditions that can no longer sustain all of this life, thus disrupting the system that plants are adapted for.

So how do you kill weeds and improve your worn out soil, while still providing your plants and microbes with the layers they like? It is pretty simple: you kill weeds (a covering of newspaper works well) add a few inches of compost or topsoil and then mulch. By doing this you are basically speeding up the natural process of topsoil formation.

This method actually works too. For the past two growing seasons, I lived on a historic site with archeologically sensitive grounds. That meant NO DIGGING. So I removed the weeds, added several inches of compost and sowed my seeds. It worked out nicely.

But, with all that said, is there still a place for digging? I think so. When establishing a new bed, it can be a good way to get rid of weeds, loosen really heavy soils, and remove large rocks and clay chunks. In poor soils you will be missing much of the organic matter that plants need, so this is an opportunity to add it again. Again you are basically mimicking a natural process, just at super speed. You are transforming subsoil into topsoil by mixing in compost. This is what worms do in nature, so just think of yourself as a gigantic worm. After you've established your bed, you can just add organics to the top every year and your soil will regain its usual layered form.

So even though I don't have to dig, you will still find me in the garden with my shovel in hand. And although I may be sweating and cursing a bit as I dig, it will be meditative, satisfied cursing.

Pad Thai

Pad Thai is one of those meals that seems harder than it really is. You'll have to do a bit of culinary juggling, but it isn't bad if you've planned ahead. I think it is one of the most easily accessible foreign dishes, both in terms of flavor and preparation.
The following recipe may not be the most authentic preparation ever, but it's the way I like to make it. This is an easy recipe to adapt to your own taste, so vary the amounts as you please.

What You'll Need:

1 Tbsp Tamarind Paste*
1 1/2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
1/4 Cup Peanuts - Ground
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 - 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
1 Small Onion - Diced
1 Tbsp Hot Pepper - Diced (I don't use a specific type, just whatever I happen to have on hand)
1 Box Rice Noodles
2 Large Eggs - Beaten
Sprouts (Mung Bean are best, but I'll substitute with other types when I can't find good ones at the store)
Lime Wedges

* The tamarind I use is the type that comes as a compressed brick of pulpy paste. You'll need to rehydrate it and strain out the seeds before you use it. If you don't have access to tamarind, then you can use lime juice diluted in a little water. You are looking for enough acidity to balance the sugar and enhance the salty savoriness of the fish sauce.

How to Put it Together:

First start a pot of water boiling for the noodles.

For the sauce you'll need to let your tamarind soak in about 1/2 a cup of water for 5-10 minutes, then strain into a small sauce pot. Add the fish sauce to the tamarind and bring it to a boil. Turn down the heat to low and stir in the sugar. Mix in about 1/2 the ground peanuts. You can skip this step, but I think it gives the sauce a stronger peanut flavor and makes it easier to incorporate the nuts later. Let the sauce simmer gently while you prepare the rest, but remember to stir occasionally.

Next heat the coconut oil over medium heat in a large frying pan or wok. Add the onion and pepper and fry for several minutes until they start to turn clear.

This is the juggling portion of the act. Your water should be boiling as your onions get to the translucent state. Add you rice noodles to the water and boil for 4-5 minutes. Let the onions and peppers brown, but not burn, while the noodles cook.

Once cooked, strain your noodles dump the into the pan. Turn the heat off. Quickly pour in your egg and toss it with the noodles and onions. Now add a handful of sprouts, pour your sauce over the whole lot and toss some more.

Now you can make it pretty. Garnish with more spouts, the remaining peanuts and a lime wedge.

Spring Forward

Early this morning we all set our clocks forward for Daylight Savings. Today the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and flowers are blooming. All signs point to Spring and I am itching to plant.
Unfortunately, Daylight Savings is a ruse. Frost still looms over us and I'll have to be content with my seedlings in the house.

Trowel and Trivet

I'm starting this blog as a record of my experimentation in the garden and in the kitchen. I invite you witness my triumphs and tribulations - and also my in between moments.
I'm a proponent of locally sourced food and believe that what you eat is so much more than 'calories in'. Eating something you've grown yourself just tastes better. Not only is it fresher than anything you could buy, but it is full of memory and effort. And nothing tastes better than effort.
I grew up helping my parents in their garden, but I haven't had the chance to do much on my own. Their garden was largely ornamental, and I do love ornamentals, but I'm hoping to branch out into more edibles. This year I'm working on starting plants from seed and I have several beds already prepared. They are in partial shade, so I'd like to use them for herbs and flowers. I'm hoping to put in raised beds for vegetables behind the house. They'll get more sun and the raised beds should make it somewhat easier to keep the pesky rabbits and ground hogs out.
As for cooking, I enjoy it as both a creative outlet and a way to nourish my family and friends. Learning the basic principles of cooking was especially important for me and I'd like to be able to document what I've already learned, as well as what I'm still learning.
I know there are a million gardening and cooking blogs out there, but I'm creating my own because I'd like to explore self expression too. I often feel that I can't articulate my thoughts. I hope a public forum like this can help me express myself and find my voice. That may be a bit cliche, but it is honest to my intentions. Hopefully, the more I write, the less I'll need to rely on cliches.
So what can you expect from me? You can expect principles of cooking, recipe ideas and updates on the progress of my garden, as well as some good old philosophizing. Hopefully, you can also expect to find something that will make you chuckle or that will inspire you try something new or that will cause you to pause and wonder why.