My Greek grandfather always had some ingenious way to deal with any problem you might have. Duct tape can fix anything wasn't just his motto, it was his way of life. Born to a Greek immigrant and grew up in South City St. Louis working at the family grocery store, Grandpa became a machinist and worked almost until the day he died. A man of few words but the ones he did say were very memorable.

I remember the story about how they were jealous of the new color TVs that had just come out. Ever the innovator, my grandfather decided to upgrade his just as good ole black and white TV with strips of colored cellophane. Blue at the top for the sky, orange in the middle for people's skin, and green at the bottom for grass. And no, I am not making this up! Another instance when my aunts were very young they were complaining about the muggy, hot St. Louis summer my grandpa said, "Girls! Just think cool thoughts." That saying became one of the family's running jokes even to this day and it was what I was thinking the other day when it was so hot and muggy here in Cleveland. I guess God was listening because he has blessed us with some cool days since then. With today's dish you wont need to think cool even if it was hot!  (Again, I've been too lazy to get the camera out and too focused on eating. I'll try to do better next week :)

Cool as a Cucumber Pesto Pasta
***Add celery for more crunch

1 C orzo pasta, cooked to al dente, optional
1 C shredded chicken
1 English or regular cucumber (Source: FFM)
1 lb flat romano green beans, blanched (Source: FFM)
1 C chickpeas
Basil pesto (Source: garden)
Olive oil
S&P

Cook your pasta to al dente if using, drain, coat with olive oil and set aside to cool. Poach or roast your chicken and shred- I used leftover roasted chicken that I had stored in the freezer for a time just like this! Blanch your green beans in salted water just until they have lost some of their bite and plunge into an ice bath or run under cold water to stop the cooking process. If you get heartburn from regular cucumbers like I do, remove the skin and seeds from the cucumber and slice into 1/4" thick half moons.

You can make your pesto or buy it- I wont tell. I processed fresh basil, garlic (3 cloves!), S&P, olive oil, a touch of lemon juice and pistachios in a food processor to make mine.

Toss orzo, veggies, chicken, and pesto together in a bowl. Top with crumbled feta cheese and S&P to taste.

I am not a huge fan of leftovers. Which is a serious problem considering I am completely incapable of cooking for two people. I can't help it though, it's been bred into me that it takes the same amount of energy to cook enough for 2 as 20! But after seeing how much meat was on our chicken, I knew exactly what I was going to do with the leftovers. For some reason, leftovers are so much more palatable to me if they have been remixed into a new version of something equally or more yummy than the original. With the scapes and green onions in our basket (last week) I knew chicken salad was in my future.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink Chicken Salad Sammies
**This recipe isnt exactly rocket science. Use leftover roasted chicken for the best flavor but you could always poach some chicken and shred it. Add your favorite stuff or remove anything you don't like.






1-2 C shredded chicken, leftover from Chicken Riganati (Source: FFM)
2-3 green onions, chopped finely
bunch white french breakfast radishes (source: FFM), sliced thinly on a mandoline
lettuce (source: FFM)
bread (we used Pugiliese Bread)

homemade mayo
1-2 scapes (source: FFM)
juice of lemon

Make the scape aioli with homemade (or store bought, I wont tell) in your food processor. S&P

Combine sliced green onions and radishes with shredded chicken. Mix with scape aaolio and serve on your favorite bread. Enjoy!

I am not a butcher.  While I may possess dissection skills and fine motor movements being a scientist in a research lab, tackling a chicken for some reason seemed daunting at first.  However, I must admit, even before I lifted the knife, I felt a sense of pride.  Pride in taking part in the actual preparation of my food.  Pride, in using a bird that was raised locally and naturally.  Picking up the boning knife, I went to town following some instructions in the book listed below.  A few cuts, pulls, tugs, and cracks later, the bird was deboned, and off to take a bath in it's brine.  Later that night, all I could think about was how..GOOD, that chicken was going to taste.  Every year, we head up to the local Greek Orthodox church for "greek-fest," days of eating, dancing, and socializing with the local community, all centered around being greek.  Among many (ok, all) of the delectable treats, one of our favorites is Chicken Riganati.  Well, tonight, after taking my first bite of this meal, all I could think about was indeed, how...GOOD, this chicken tasted.  Blown away doesn't even describe the flavor.  I was amazed at how the chicken actually tasted like, shocker of shockers, chicken, and how store bought, probably frozen and shipped birds, tasted like amorphous "meat."  Fresh poultry is definitely the way to go!  And if you want fresh, you're going to have to look locally!

Chicken Riganati a la Michael Psilakis
From his book, How to Cook a Lamb
YOU MUST BUY THIS BOOK! If not for the beautiful photography, the tasty recipes, at least for the stories behind the food. Being Greek myself this book struck such a strong chord with me.
**This recipe is certainly not for the faint of heart or those pressed for time. It requires the removal of most of the bones which is both tedious and time consuming. If that wasnt enough prep work for you, there's a brining step and a marinating step. When pressed for time, dont skimp on the brining step but you can shorten the marinating step if necessary. You will be rewarded with the most flavorful chicken you've ever tasted, I promise!

1 3 1/2 lb chicken (Source: FFM via Pleasant Valley Poultry, ours were between 4-5 lbs)
1 lb yukon gold or fingerling potatoes scrubbed
kosher salt and pepper
olive oil
greek oregano (Source: Fire escape garden, dried is fine if you dont have fresh)
1/2 lemon sliced
2 TBL fresh lemon juice
2 tbl water
butter

Brine (enough for 1 lb meat, make enough for how much meat you have :
1 quart cold water
1/4 C kosher salt
1/4 C granulated sugar (I decided to use dark brown sugar as Ive used it in other brines and prefer it)
1 C distilled white vinegar (*** I would recommend reducing this just a touch)

Marinade (also enough for 1 lb meat, make enough for what you're cooking):
1 C olive oil
3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
2 sprigs rosemary
Greek oregano
2 shallots sliced or onion if that's all you have

Essentially you will be spatchcocking your chicken but you also remove the thigh bone. I thought the directions in the cookbook were like reading Greek (haha) but engineer hubby was able to decipher them. The main difference in directions and spatchcocking is that you will cut the bird in half (you'll see what I mean in our plated dinner). The chicken could also be cooked whole, but keep in mind that the bones will add significant cook time. If you do take this task on, save the bones in the freezer for stock later.

Brine the chicken overnight- 12hrs- in the fridge. Marinate the chicken at least 4 hrs but overnight is okay too.

Take chicken out of marinade and let it come to room temp- this is super important for crispy skin. Parboil potatoes in salted water (about 3-4 min), drain well and slice 1/2" thick.

Preheat oven to 375F. Season chicken with just a little S&P and heat some oil in a skillet on high heat. Place chicken skin side down and do not move for at least 4-5 minutes to develop a nice golden crust. Flip chicken meat side down for about 2-3 min. Spoon out some of the fat and place skillet in oven for about 15 minutes or until thermometer reaches 180F.

In a second pan, heat some oil and saute the heck out of those potatoes developing a nice crust.

At this point, I deviated from the recipe because I was just so darn hungry. After I took the chicken out of the oven I poured the juices over the potatoes and added some lemon juice and served the whole shebang up. For the "right" way to do this, you'll have to get the book :)

Listening:

Artist: Ray LaMontange
Albumn: Till the sun turns black

I can remember the first time I ever had a radish. I was living and studying in Airdrie, Scotland for the semester and it was rainy and cold. Every day. All the time. But despite the dreary weather, the country was and is beautiful and I was always warm when sharing a meal with the people of Airdrie RPC on Sunday afternoons. I distinctly recall being confused by these delectable root vegetables that my host served up on my plate, caramelized in butter and seasoned with sea salt. I had never seen radishes outside of a bucket of water on a salad bar at Old Country Buffet so my opinion of radishes was quite biased, I must admit. On the same plate were parsnips, another virtually unknown vegetable. This was uncharted foodie territory for me and I was convinced that I would be disappointed by these THINGS that had the apparent texture of styrofoam. Not wanting to be rude, I politely took a bite- the radishes first. And my preconceived notions about root vegetables were dramatically shattered. These little red globes were delicious! Throughout my time in Scotland, I grew to love a variety of other root vegetables (I am particularly fond of parsnip soup and turnip mash) and lament the fact that I live in an apartment and cannot grow my own. FFM CSA to the rescue! In our first week we were given a gloriously scarlet bunch of plump radishes- with greens attached. But these are unlike any other radish I have ever had. So tender; so delicate and fresh tasting. And the texture was so soft! I was almost convinced these weren't really radishes because I actually liked them even more than those I've already grown to love.


So, here is the first recipe of 3 using up our radishes. This is a much more "typical" preparation, but it's a good one to expose yourself to these cheery vegetables. 

Paprika Chicken with Buttered (Or Olive Oiled) Warm Radishes
adapted from Rachel Ray 


(*** Disclaimer: I am not a huge fan of Rachel Ray because its seems like everything she makes is the same and I am so tired of her tired little "yummo" phrases. However, this recipe is great! Trust me, and I hope you enjoy my take on it)


8 oz egg noodles or spaghetti, fresh or dried
2 lbs chicken, choose your favorite- white or dark meat, cut into bite size pieces
1 medium onion, thinly sliced (I usually use either yellow or vidalia onions)
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp sweet paprika, smoked if you have it
1/2 C water or chicken stock (please dont use canned or boxed stock or boullion cubes, if you dont have homemade stock, just use water. I promise it will come out fine!)
2-3 TBL butter
1 lb radishes, trimmed and halved
1/2 C sour cream, or plain non fat yogurt, or heavy cream (Ive used all three and they all work, though the sour cream/yogurt result in the creamiest dishes)
Chives
Parsley
S&P
Olive oil


Cook up your pasta to al dente in salted water. Drain and return to the pan with a little butter.


Brown your chicken in a skillet in olive oil for about 3-4 min. Add the sliced onions and garlic, paprika, and S&P. Cook for a few minutes and then add your stock or water to deglaze the pan and let simmer for about 2 min.


While this is working, heat up a little butter in a skillet and toss your radishes in cut side down for 2-3 min. Flip/stir and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, until tender and remove from heat. Toss with chives and S&P.


When the chicken pan is deglazed, remove from heat and stir in the sour cream. 


Serve the chicken on top of the pasta and sprinkle fresh parsley on top. Serve radishes on the side.
**Makes great leftovers (this recipe serves about 4 people)




Stay tuned for radish iteration Nos. 2 and 3!