Potato Tower Experiment Finished

We did the potato towers again this year and instead of putting wood all the way up the sides like last year, we used chicken wire, so the plants could grow through the sides at will and get a lot more sunshine, etc.

We still had a very poor harvest.  Only a couple of gallons of little bitty potatoes.   It could have been the cooler summer, but we're a bit tired of this experiment. 

We're going back to the regular raised beds.  It's easier to plant and harvest from regular raised beds and all of the plants get plenty of sun and water. 

Field Thistle

 This is a field thistle.  




I just thought it was pretty.




That is all.

Peppers

I love fall pepper harvest time.  Mostly because I love this soup.   You must try it!

Our goal was to get really sweet peppers this year - not hot ones, so I read through all the description of the peppers from Baker Creek and I chose four kinds.   Red Marconi, Golden Marconi, Ozark Giant and Quadrato D'Asti Rosso.

None of them did very well this year in the cool, damp spring.   They did a bit better after things got hot in later summer, but harvest was nothing like last year.  

Red Marconi.   These are long peppers, sweet, excellent flavor and we loved them.   I'll be doing these again.   Fleshy and good for all types of cooking, roasting and stuffing.












Golden Marconi.  Just as good as the red and I love that color.

Ozark Giant.  We got a few of these, but the bugs got most of them before we did.   I'll try them again, but they weren't as sweet or as large as the Marconis.





Quadrato D'Ast Rosso.   We didn't get a single one of these.   I'll save the seed and try one more time next year because they're supposed to be superb, but it looks like these guys are a bit sensitive.   We'll see.

Another Country Cat

I walked out of the house the other day and noticed that one of the squash had fur.

Nelly loves to curl up in things.  The shape of this giant rampicante squash was just her size.

She napped there for hours.

It was really quite adorable.

Early Autumn Beehives

I like the look of the beehives surrounded by some of our goldenrod.  You can't tell from the pic, but there's a nicely mowed clearing where the hives sit.   I was tickled to see this view from a distance away and down the hill from the hives - off on a side that I usually don't see the hives from.

The hives smell terrific this time of year.   Goldenrod honey - fall honey - has a strong, distinctive odor that you can smell several feet away from the hives.   I love that smell.   

Spicebush Berries

If you look hard at this pic, or better yet, click it to blow it up, you'll see a whole lot of red berries.   Those are the berries of the spicebush - Lindera benzoin.    We have loads of these.

They loved the early monsoons we had around here and flowered like crazy and now are fruiting like crazy.

The berries - more properly called 'drupes' - are small and brilliant.   The birds, possums and racoons love them.

Which is why we have them all over the place here.  

At any rate, they are very very pretty even on the dusty bushes by the road. 

I just found out that these are edible.   They taste very strongly of allspice.  Check out this site and this site for more information.

Giveaway Winner!

I let random.org select the winner of this lovely book, Decorating Cookies.    Random picked comment #2, from Melissa, who made this comment on the blog:

Melissa  September 18, 2013 at 2:06 PM

I look forward to making truffles every year.

I love truffles, too!

Melissa, please email me at robin at morenna dot com with your address and I'll get this book out to you!

Scary

So it turns out that there are some pretty scary things around here.  

I'm not talking about the snakes.   Even though there is this one water snake that lives along the road that is easily as big around as your arm.   I'm totally not exaggerating. 

OK, I am totally exaggerating.   It's not that big.   It just seemed that big when it scooted off the culvert top and splashed into the creek with a mighty splash that sent a tidal wave of water up the creek and flooded our lower pasture.  Twice.

OK, that never really happened.  There was a snake, and a mighty splash but no actual flooding anywhere after it dropped into the water.

Hyperbole is a story teller's BFF.

Other scary things around here include some ginormous spiders,  some ginormous cows and a really scary monster.

Which turns out to be me.

No kidding.  According to all the dogs that live around here except mine, I am The Scariest Thing in the World.  They all stay out of my way.  Please note:  I have never hurt one.  In fact, I don't even have to touch them.   I am scary out of pure intimidation.  [I know some people who think so, too.   You know who you are.]

We get a lot of strays out here.  Seriously many.  Six so far this summer.   It's like there's some website somewhere with a map of Where To Dump Your Unwanted Dogs and it has a big arrow pointing to our road. 

A couple of days ago, I chased a stray dog away from where it had been sleeping on my flowers and eating Tibby's dogfood.   It wouldn't leave us alone or go away so I decided to take it with us on our daily walk and then leave it a mile up the road at the blacktop where it could go find someone else's flowers to sleep on.

It worked like a charm.   That poor dog followed every rule of Pack Etiquette, never getting ahead of me [Pack Leader] or my kids.  It knew its place.  We got to the blacktop and I went into my Big Scary Person Whom A Dog Does NOT Want To Follow Home.

This involves me baring my teeth, growling and stomping around at them with my arms outstretched like Michael Gambon in that scene from Wives and Daughters where he's playing with his little grandson flapping around like a giant bird.  Really.

I am very good at it.   By doing this, I am able to scare the pee [literally] out of dogs, who cower on the ground in front of me.  All the neighborhood dogs that have tried to hang out here are terrified of me.  It's freaking hilarious.

On this day, after we got to the blacktop,  I went into my Big Scary Monster act and I was insisting that the stray stay up the road and around a corner.   This means that I scare it where I want it, then turn my back and walk away.  If it follows, I do it again.   And again.   Usually it takes no more than a half dozen times and sometimes much fewer.   You have to be firm and willing to do it as many times as possible.   When that dog sees you on another day, all you have to do is bare your teeth and look mean and it'll stay away.  Works like a charm.

This stray was persistent.   Doggone dog wouldn't stay gone.  I picked up a couple of big sticks to hold in each hand and wave around to make me look bigger.    Finally, that dog stayed put.   I turned around and headed back down the road where my girls and our dog were waiting for me just around a curve out of sight.  

And then a bunch of coyotes in the thicket right next to me started howling and yipping.  Loudly.  Coming toward me.   And it sounded like lots of them.   Coyotes in full voice are one of the creepiest, most blood-chilling sounds out here. 

It scared the living tar out of me.  I pitched the sticks and took off back toward the girls, calling them but they couldn't hear me over the coyotes and the loud pounding of their hearts and feet as they ran the other way.   All I could think was that I'd make a pretty good target for the coyotes who were no doubt in hot pursuit.  I kept looking back.  And then saw that the stray followed me again, too.  Apparently, coyotes are even scarier than me.

I got the girls to stop, and I picked up some more sticks with which to wave like Monster Arms to scare that stray.   About that time a man came walking around the curve with an even bigger stick in one hand and a pistol in his other.   I wondered if I ought to stomp around and try to scare the pee out of him.  

I don't see well at distances and it wasn't until he called out to ask if that was my dog that I realized it was a neighbor, whom I like a lot, but didn't expect to see walking on the road amidst all the howling, carrying a stick and gun.   The stray saw the two of us and hid in the brush at the side of the road. So, Ben and I watched it and swapped stray dog and coyote stories.   He'd seen me stomping away the stray up and down his hill a few times [I can just imagine him howling with laughter at that sight!] and then heard the coyotes and came out with the gun to make sure we were OK.   God bless him.  

About that time, Eric drove up, home from work, and stopped and talked with the truck  right where that poor stray was hiding and we all chatted for a while.   Then I started home with the girls and Eric talked to Ben about guns and the stray didn't follow us home.    And neither did the coyotes.

The stray was so traumatized by the Robin Monster and the coyotes and the neighbor and the truck, that it has stayed away.   The next day, when we went for a walk, it was hanging out with another dog at a house near the road.   It thought about coming over to say Hi, but when I glared at it, it turned around and went back to its buddy. 

The End

By the way, this pic up there has nothing to do with this post.  I just thought it was pretty how the sun hit the grass just right.  

Arum

We see a spike of this once in a while out here.   They're a European import from who knows when.   They like damp partially shaded places and you don't even realize they're around until September when the seed ripen into spikes of brilliant orange-red.  

So pretty!

And so poisonous!




The leaf shows up in the winter or early spring - a big arrow shaped thing that will disappear in the heat.  Then in the summer, an inconspicuous flower spike will pop up that we don't even notice until it turns red, red, red. 

Perilla Frutescens

This plant keeps a pretty low profile until late summer and early fall.   It has a square purple stem, purple veining in the leaves and a pink cast underneath.  The plant is aromatic and smells really good when you crush the leaves.   Notice that smell - that's your tell. 

We see it along the roadside way up in a dampish spot in the shade.   It doesn't do extended periods of hot and dry because two very hot and dry days after I took these pics, the plants were completely wilted and done.

Poor things. 

 


The flowers are pink and very small.   Mostly you just notice the longer spikes of spent calyxes.  For a long time, seeing this through the windows of a moving car, I just thought they were green flowers.

It is Perilla frutescens.   Chinese basil.   It took me a long time to find a good online reference about it because often perilla is a bit taller, with curlier purple leaves.  [The curly leaves are called 'crisped'.]  As in, purple like coleus purple.  Or purple basil purple.   Purple.  

And this one was definitely not purple, except the stem.  So this one confused me.  

That purple variety grows way back in our iris bog, and seems to come on a bit earlier.  Now that I know they're related, I'll keep a better eye out and try to get some pics of them together.  

These are super easy to grow from seed and they will Take Over if you let them.   Ours in the iris bog is competing with the mint and iris - pretty fierce competitors - so it hasn't taken everything over.  These along the road are competing with the county bush hog, the clover, wood nettles and poison ivy.   It's holding its own.

Vanilla Yogurt

I know it looks like ice cream, but it's really yogurt. 

Really.

We've been perfecting our yogurt this year, trying to get it thick.   Also, I've been trying to get a version of yogurt that K2 likes, because we mostly eat plain yogurt with jam and that plain stuff is tart. 

We get our yogurt culture from www.cheesemaking.com.   We love it and go through a lot of it, so I buy the bulk packages. 

We've made it with regular store milk, and organic milk and raw milk.   By far the thickest, best yogurt is made with raw milk.  Heat it to 185 degrees, then cool it to 112 degrees and add the culture.   One packet per half gallon of milk. 
Best. Yogurt. Ever. 

Claire still wasn't interested. Too tart. [Says the kid who drinks gallons of lemonade with as little sugar as possible.  Go figure.]

The first thing we did was drain the whey off the yogurt.  The whey is the sourest stuff and I was hoping that once we drained it, it would be nice and even thicker [it was] and enough less-tart that K2 would eat it [she didn't].   The rest of us Love It. 

Soooo.    I started thinking about vanilla yogurt.    A little sugar, a vanilla bean....

Yum.

After just a bit of experimenting, we found that this made The Best Vanilla Yogurt In The Entire Universe Bar None.  

The Best Homemade Vanilla Yogurt in the Universe
www.rurification.com

• 1 gallon raw milk [or whatever milk you want to use.  This is America.]
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 vanilla beans, split
• 2 packets Y5 yogurt culture from New England Cheesemaking Co.

Put the milk, sugar and vanilla beans in a big pot.  Heat to 185 degrees, stirring frequently. Once it reaches 185, remove the pot from the heat and let it cool to 112 degrees.   Once it reaches 112 degrees, stir in the contents of both packets of culture.  Stir well.   Cover with a towel and let sit for 12 - 18 hours.  If you're in a cool or drafty place, you can culture it in your microwave or oven or a cooler over night.   Just drape a towel or two around it to keep it warm.  

It'll be very thick the next day.   If you want to make it even thicker, line a large colander with cheesecloth and put the yogurt in it.   Twist the ends/corners together and let it sit for 1-2 hours.   We usually get 2-3 quarts of really thick yogurt after an hour of draining.    The longer it drains, the drier it gets.   If you drain it for many hours, you'll end up with fantastic Vanilla Yogurt Cheese.   Heaven.

When it reaches the consistency you want, spoon it into jars and remove the vanilla beans.  Refrigerate the yogurt or cheese. 

Rinse the cheesecloth in cold water until it's mostly clean and then you can run it through the washer and drier.   [That is what I do whenever I drain any type of cheese in cloth.]

Early Autumn Bees

The bees have been busy.   No looting this year [knock wood] but plenty of action.   Last year at this time they gave us a bit of honey and we're hoping for a bit more this year.  

We have a good fall nectar flow here.  Acres of wildflowers, mostly goldenrod and Queen Anne's lace, but a good bit of Joe Pye Weed, ironweed, thistle and asters.   Also, the smooth sumac bloomed very late this year.  





The bees were all over the asters and the garlic chives in the garden.  All. Over.  Them.   It's nice to go and stand quietly next to those areas in the garden and watch the movement and listen to the buzz of hundreds of happy bees.   

We'll start to button up the hives for winter in October.  That'll mean pulling off the extra honey, tucking the small new hive in with some extra insulation board inside and adding some candy to the tops of all of the hives for the winter.   The candy will help insulate the hives and keep the heat in.  

Winter Squash Roundup 2013: Part 3

This is the squash class of 2013.   Back row:  Musquee de Provence [3].
Middle:  Honeyboat delicata [4], Queensland Blue [1], Greek Sweet Red [1]
Right side:  Rampicante [2]
Front:  Black Futsu [3, pink with the blue cast], Tiny Whites, Australian Butter [1]

I love that the rampicante squash look like long necked birds.   They can harvested green, like summer squash, and which encourages lots of new squash, or you can wait until they turn beige.   They're orange inside then and are an excellent winter squash.   We like them that way. 

Here's the Australian Butter.   The vine succumbed early to vine borers and it didn't seem to like the cool wet weather we had early in the  summer.   I did manage to get this one though.   I think that under the right conditions, these would be good bearers and get much bigger.   I'll try them again.

This is a Greek Sweet Red.  I've grown them before and really like that they put on a late summer push.   I can get several new squash in September and October.   They're dense and delicious.  One of my favorites. 

How was your squash production this year?

Gratuitous Bee Pic

The September bees are busy working the goldenrod and the asters.   It's a peaceful hum this time of year.

Decorating Cookies: Cookbook Giveaway!

It's never too early to start thinking about holiday cookies and I have a terrific cookbook to pass along to you.

Decorating Cookies:  60+ designs for holidays, celebrations and everyday, by Bridget Edwards.

It's a beautiful book, full of terrific pictures and instructions for decorating the most adorable cookies you'll ever see.   You'll love this book!







Here's the Project List [Table of Contents], all listed by photo. 

Cookies for ever season, holiday and event.  

Every project has step by step directions for how to get just the right look for your cookies.



Rules:
1. Leave a comment on the blog, facebook or google+ telling me what holiday food you look forward to most.   It doesn't have to be cookies.   
2. Just one comment per person, please.
3. International participants must be willing to pay shipping themselves.  I can send you an invoice for shipping via Paypal. 
4. Giveaway closes Sunday, Sept 22, 2013 at 11:59 pm.  Some time next week, I'll post the winner.  Good luck!

Winter Squash Roundup 2013: Part 2

Pretty!    Notice the big ones in the back?   Those are Musquee de Provence.  

Because French pumpkins are somehow more....je nes cest pas quoi.   Which means I don't know what.  No. Really.   That's what it means.   "I don't know what".   And which is probably spelled wrong.   Because French is not one of my languages. 



So I should probably leave that alone and just focus on my lovely squash. 

Here's the Musquee de Provence up close. Notice that they're bigger and orange-r than the Black Futsu in the middle up there.

I got three of them.   I love them.

What I didn't get was any from the Rouge Vif D'Etampes pumpkins that I planted.   And that's really sad because I really wanted red pumpkins this year.   That's what 'rouge' means.  Red.

I have no idea what the rest means and I guess it doesn't really matter, because I didn't get any anyway.   Maybe next year.  

This is a Queensland Blue.   I like these squash and so do the squash bugs  We only got one of these before the squash bugs and the borers got them.    I'll keep trying though.  That blue really makes me happy. 

Honey Peach Thyme Glaze

I saved a few peaches back to try a  new recipe and was very happy with how it turned out.

This glaze is sweetened with honey instead of white sugar and the thyme perfectly compliments the other flavors.   I'm thinking this would be fabulous on a slow roasted pork shoulder cut.  Mmmm.


Honey Peach Thyme Glaze
www.rurification.com

4 cups peach chunks
2 sprigs thyme
extra water if necessary so the fruit doesn't stick
4 tablespoons low sugar pectin
1 cup honey

Heat the peaches, thyme, pectin and water to a full rolling boil that can't be stirred down.  Boil hard for one minute.  Add honey.  Return to full rolling boil. Boil hard for one minute.  Remove thyme sprigs.

Ladle into clean jars and cover with clean lids and rings.  


Note:  I left the peaches in chunks, but if you want a smoother consistency, you can puree the peaches before you start.

Happy glazing!

Winter Squash Report 2013: Part 1

We got a decent array of winter squash this year in spite of the wet cool start and the variable end of summer.

Wild and wacky weather was the name of the weather game this summer. 

Here are a couple of the cool varieties we grew.   This one is Black Futsu.   Beautiful shape and a lovely blue-ish cast.   

I hope it tastes as good as it looks.   They're a medium sized pumpkin - as big as your head - that's still a lot of pie. 

The truth is, they're so pretty, I wait until the last second to cut them open.    I just love looking at the outsides.

This was another new one for us.   Honeyboat delicata.   These were so good we couldn't keep the bugs off them.   Reasonable prolific for us, they are smaller - the length of your hand.   They ripened early.   

We'll do these again.   Just because they're so cute.

I know that's a dumb reason.  I don't care.   The world needs more cute squash.  Amen.

More squash in a later post.  Stay tuned.

Eric's Jam Bars

Every jam-maker has a few batches of jam that just never quite set up the way they're supposed to.   Runny jam is a reality that we all have to deal with now and again.  

Eric loves runny jam.   It's usually thicker than syrup and he considers it much easier to bake with than regular jam.   Plus, it's easier to use on waffles with yogurt.  Plus it's good without the waffles on yogurt.   Or ice cream.

And all sorts of other things.

Like this riff on Lemon Bars.   Only they're not Lemon Bars, they're Elaeagnus Orange Ginger Marmalade Bars.  Because that jam never quite firmed up all the way.   A perfect chance to experiment with some new recipes!   And these are amazing. They disappeared fast!

Eric's Jam Squares:  Elaeagnus Orange Ginger Marmalade Bars
www.rurification.com

Crust:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened 
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1  cup all-purpose flour 

 Filling

• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 pint jam  [or 2 jars, 8 oz. each]

 Preheat the oven to 350.

Mix the butter, sugar and flour well.   Eric used a food processor.   Press the crust into the bottom of a 9x9 square pan.  Bake empty crust until golden - 15 minutes or so.

While the crust is in the oven, beat the eggs, flour and jam together well.   When the crust is done, pour the filling in and bake for an additional 20 - 25  minutes.  Keep an eye on it; you don't want it to brown.  

Remove from oven and cool completely.   Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Want the recipe for the Elaeagnus Orange Ginger Marmalade and a whole lot of other terrific jam recipes?   Check out my ebook:  A Simple Jar of Jam  at www.rurification.etsy.com.   You can preview the book by clicking the link on the sidebar.

2013 Winter Squash

I grew a bunch of winter squash this year, as I always do.   Here's a preview.   Details coming in the next few days.

Lemon Honey Tea Concentrate

I love all sorts of lemon pickles and preserves.   The top shelf of the fridge and sometimes the window sills are crowded with lemon pickles in various stages of fermentation and preservation. 

So I was kind of excited to see another type of lemon preserve over at the blog Twenty Two Pleasant.   [It's a lovely blog with some of the best photography I've seen in a blog.  It'd be worth your while to click around and look at her gorgeous pics.]

Twenty Two Pleasant made Lemon Honey Tea Concentrate after she saw it here and it was so beautiful and sounded so good that I had to try it, too.   All you do is slice up lemons, put them in a jar and pour honey over them.  If you like ginger as much as I do, you can add some thin slices of ginger to the mix, too.

After a time, the honey and lemons meld into a jam-like consistency which you can use as a lemon tea concentrate by putting a spoonful in a mug and then pouring hot water over it.    Easy squeezy.

Generally, lemon pickles take a few weeks to do their thing, so start now and be patient.    By the time cold weather hits, it'll be ready to dip into.  Honey is anti-bacterial and that combined with the high acidity in the lemons makes this an almost fool-proof preserve.   As the lemons do their thing, they'll start to float.   That's normal.  

You can bet that I'll have a few jars of this stuff around all winter long.   Mmmmm.

Adult Activities

It's harder than I thought to identify exactly what kind of grasshoppers these are.    There are a lot of grasshoppers out there.

Who knew?  

Turns out they are Differential Grasshoppers [Melanoplus differentialis].  You can tell because of the yellow legs and the black chevrons on the upper leg.   Very distinctive.

I thought these guys were engaged in a little adult activity, but it turns out they were multitasking.

They were eating my lemon tree.   

I chased them off and told them to go get a room. Geez.

Click the pics for a closer view of these lemon leaves.   They're pretty cool. 

Uzbek Sweetness Melon

This year I tried two new melon varieties [new to us, that is].  Charentais and Uzbek Sweetness.  

I got both types from Baker Creek  and if you've never perused their melon selection, go there now and check it out.   A. May. Zing.

The cat dug up the Charentais.  Twice.  [Yes, I threw a fit. Plus,  I swore at him.  He was completely unmoved.  Except when I caught him in the act and threw him bodily out of the garden.  Then he moved plenty.]  I planted them again but by the time they came up, there was a lot of competition in the bed from the other stuff in there.  They stuck it out and I do have one tiny fist-sized baby Charentais in there now.  We'll see if it does anything before frost.   It's the traditional French melon, supposed to be the mother of all muskmelon.   I'll try these again next year.



The cat left the other melon alone and the Uzbek Sweetness did just fine in spite of the cooler weather.  I got three nice melons.   It turned bright orange when ripe - I love that color!   Definitely an Eat Me Orange. 

And eat it I did.  

When I bought the seeds, there was no picture, so I was going on faith and I was interested to see that the insides were white with a peach tinge around the seeds. 

These babies are seriously sweet.   SWEET.  The flesh is firm.

I read later where some people consider these sort of like a honeydew but I'm glad I didn't know that before because I don't like honeydew.  I would never have tried it, and I'm so glad I did. 

Uzbek Sweetness is my new favorite melon!   I saved some of the seeds and I'll definitely do these again.

Thank you!!

A million thanks to our readers who helped us out by voting for our entry in the Avian Aqua Miser giveaway.   I love you guys!  We won!!

We are very excited to get to try one of their new bucket waterers.   They are designed to keep the water off ground level where birds are notorious for standing in and on and knocking over other types of waterers.  Poop free water!  We'll give you a full report when we get it set up.

They have another type of waterer, too, that's smaller and better for crates and small enclosures. 

AND!   They have DIY kits, so if you have your own bucket, etc, they can send you only the gasket, nipples and drill bit that you need to make your own waterer.  

The products are made on a family farm by Anna and Mark from Walden Effect - a terrific blog about their adventures in full time 'trailersteading'.   Check out the list of books they've written [left sidebar of their blog] on the many aspects of homesteading and growing and storing your own food.   The blog itself is a treasure trove of knowledge.   Look for several posts a day on every aspect of the farm.   I especially love the brown bag series that Ann does occasionally with detailed reviews of books and vids about homesteading and permaculture.   Their blog is a daily must-read for me.   Check it out!

And - as a way to share the love,  I'll be doing a couple of giveaways here on Rurification, too.   I've got a couple of great cookbooks to pass along to you.   Stay tuned!!

Tiny Pumpkins

Can I just tell you how much I love little bitty white pumpkins? 

At the end of the season, sometime in December, we pitch the remains in with the chickens and every year when we use the chicken dirt in the garden, I get some of these cuties as volunteers in the veg garden.  

So many cute things to do with them.   Here's a list of ideas and pics from Pinterest.

Shout out in the comments what you'd do with a pile of little white pumpkins.

Orange Garlic Basil Chicken, Quinoa and Veg Stir Fry

I gave a friend of mine a jar of this beautiful Orange Garlic Basil Glaze that I made last year.   She's a much more creative and knowledgeable cook than I am and I was thrilled when she emailed me the recipe that she'd come up with for this glaze.  You'll love it! Take your time and enjoy the resulting feast.  

Thank you, Sharon!! 

Sharon's Orange Garlic Basil Chicken and Quinoa w/Vegetable Stir Fry

www.rurification.com

• 1 small half pint of Robin’s Orange Garlic Basil Glaze  (you will use most if not all of it)
• 1 chicken breast half – butterflied
• ½ cup quinoa
• 1 cup of water, plus 3 TBS of water for veggies.
• 3 cups (or more) vegetables - cut small (eggplant, onions, zucchini, brocollini, mushrooms, carrots – whatever combo you like!)
• 1 TBS soy sauce
• 2-4 TBS chopped fresh basil
• Olive oil – as needed.

Thin 2-3 tbs of Orange Garlic Basic Jam in enough Olive Oil to thin to a thick liquid in a zip lock bag.  Add 1 butterflied skinned chicken breast.  Let sit in the refrigerator 4 hrs or longer.

25 minutes before you are ready to eat pre-heat the grill.

20 minutes before dinner put the chicken on the grill.  At the same time, combine ½ cut of Quinoa in 1 cup of water, salt to taste and simmer.  

Meanwhile: chop ½ small onion, sauté in a bit of olive oil, when translucent add up to 3 cups of vegetables (brocollini, mushrooms, kale, grated carrots, or whatever you like)

About 9 minutes later flip the chicken. At this point add a bit of water to the vegetables to help steam them (if the vegetables are thick – cover to condense heat – else, leave the lid off!).  Your vegetables should end up a bit on the crisp side.

15 minutes after you started the chicken and quinoa, take the chicken off the grill, take the quinoa off the stove (the quinoa should be a soupy and a bit underdone – adjust your time if needed).

Dump the soupy quinoa in the vegetables.  Dollop 3-4 TBS (or to taste) of Orange Garlic Basil Glaze in the pan and stir to dissolve.  Slice the chicken and add it to the same pan.

Continue “evaporating” the liquid until thickened – about 5 minutes.  Add 1 tbs of soy sauce and some fresh chopped basil. Serve.  Will easily feed 2 – 3 if accompanied with a side dish (VERY filling – and light at the same time)