Farm Fresh Dinner

One of my favorite things about summer is the abundance of fresh produce that is available. On Tuesdays and Fridays there is a wonderful farmer's market held in Copley Square. Local farms from all over Massachusetts get together and sell everything from fresh cut flowers and herbs to freshly baked bread and just picked strawberries.

I stopped at this farmer's market today on my lunch break. The smell of just picked strawberries was intoxicating. I could smell it as far away as Berkley Street! But alas, I did not get any strawberries. Instead I picked up some baby beets, buttercrisp lettuce, arugula, an organic tomato (wahoo!), goat cheese and some fragrant basil.

For dinner, I decided to make a composed salad of roasted baby beets, buttercrisp lettuce, caramelized onions and goat cheese.

We also had veal schnitzel and creamy, dreamy polenta.

The polenta is a variation on a Mario Batali recipe.

Creamy Dreamy Polenta
2 1/2 cups of water

1 cup of quick cooking polenta (stone ground cornmeal)

1/4 cup of basil, cut into thin strips

1/4 to 1/2 cup of mascarpone

Pinch of salt and pepper

1. Bring water to boil in a med. saucepan over Med. heat

2. Add polenta and stir continously (DO NOT STIR VIGOROUSLY OR YOU WILL GET SPLATTERED!) for 10 min. or till thickened.

3. Turn off heat

4. Stir in mascarpone, salt, pepper and basil.

I have to say (and I think Erich would agree) this was one of the most wonderful meals I have created.

Sumac Chicken with Roasted Bread Salad

I got this recipe from the chow.com website and made some minor adjustments. It was pretty easy to put together because I had all the ingredients in my pantry and fridge.

My Recipe (adjusted from the chow.com recipe)

1 lb. chicken thighs (bone in and skin on)
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons sumac

Olive oil
1 large red onion, sliced thinly into half moons
3 minced/chopped garlic cloves
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
4 or 5 slices of THICK country bread, preferably day old

1/2 of a hothouse cucumber, cut into chunks

1 large tomato, cut into chunks
1/2 cup of chopped kalmara olives (pitted!!)
Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup of crumbled feta.

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl mix 2 T. olive oil, sumac, pinch of salt and pepper.
2. Rub sumac paste onto chicken and let sit in fridge for 2-3 hours.

3. Preheat oven to 350

4. Saute onion with a bit of olive oil in a large oven proof skillet. Add salt and let saute till soft. Add garlic and chopped parsely and let cook for 1-2 min. Pour mixture into a large bowl, add bread and toss to mix.

5. Butter or oil a large casserole dish and lay bread in bottom (try to make it into a single layer if possible). Lay chicken on top and roast for 1 hour (or more OR less depending on the size of your thighs).

6. When chicken is cooked, remove to a plate and cover with foil.

7. Toss toasted bread and juices into a bowl and let cool for a few minutes. Add the tomato, olives, cucumber, lemon juice and salt/pepper.

8. Pour bread salad onto a platter and top with chicken and feta crumbles. ENJOY!!