Happy, Healthy Dinner-Time

For some reason, I’ve struggled to work up the muster for a blog this week. Maybe it’s partially the weather. Although Seattle has been hit with a generous heaping of sunshine, the bright blue days mean cloudless nights, and it’s been chilly without our usual blanket over the city. The cold is definitely a de-motivator for me, as I would prefer to cuddle up in blankets instead of just about anything else if I’m feeling cold.

Ever since starting this weekly blog, I’ve meant to put together a cooking entry. I love to cook and experiment with new recipes. The only problem is, I always forget to photo document my culinary explorations. I might take a few shots throughout the cooking process, but there’s always crucial pieces of photo evidence missing.

Last week was no different. I invited a few friends over for dinner, and the menu was simple but delicious:

Chicken with vegetables and cous cous
Cucumber and radish salad with garlic and sour cream
Fruit salad
And my friends supplied the green salad, wine, and cake for dessert.

The chicken was really easy to put together, and I think the result is especially tastey. The ingredients you will need are:

3 chicken breasts,
2 cups salsa
½-1 lime
1 onion
2-3 cloves garlic
Olive oil or grapeseed oil
Currents
Toasted, slivered almonds
Salt and pepper
Cumin
Honey

But curses upon curses, I took a few preliminary photos, and got so completely wound up in chopping, cooking, visiting, and eating, I forgot to take many essential photos. Let’s see if I can talk through the instructions all the same…

I'll start with explaining the chicken: just sauté the chicken breast with onion, garlic, salt and pepper. I cut the chicken into bit sized pieces, but you can likewise keep them nearly whole or in large slices. After the chicken is cooked and slightly browned, add the salsa, cumin, honey and lime juice. Let it simmer until you are ready to eat. When you are ready to serve the chicken, toss in some currants, and top the dish with the toasted almonds. Serve with cous cous on the side and it’s delicious, hearty, and healthy.

The cucumber and radish salad was a cinch, but takes a bit of planning. First you must peel and thinly slice the cucumber the day before. Put the slices in a covered bowl and the next day, drain the excess water and toss with sliced radishes and garlic. I used 2 cucumbers, about a dozen radishes, and 4-6 cloves of garlic finely minced. Toss all ingredients together with salt, garlic powder, and finally a bit of sour cream. The raw garlic gives it a spicy taste that my husband winces at, but I love!

Finally, to add even more color to the table, I cut up some fresh persimmons, kiwis, and topped them with pomegranate seeds.

Even without pictures, I hope you can just see how lovely this dinner turned out! With all the slicing, dicing, and what not, it did take a bit of planning and finesse to make happen – but, in terms of a dinner party spread, it was definitely delicious!