Barefoot Bloggers: Chicken Piccata

Lindsey of Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings chose Chicken Piccata for the recipe this week. I've always wanted to try it - so here was my big chance!

The recipe from Food Network, courtesy of Ina Garten, of course.


The chicken was easily pounded to 1/4-1/2". I find the breading process tedious and time consuming, however that has much more to do with my kitchen setup and lack of appropriate breading trays than the actual process. The chicken breasts cooked quickly in the pan and then moved to the oven for a final heat through while I made the sauce.

Oh, the sauce. I reduced the amount of lemon from the start knowing my husband is not fond of lemon, but holy cow! That was one tart sauce. I added in capers and a small garlic clove. After tasting several times, I smoothed it out with a touch more butter. I tossed capellini quickly in the sauce and served the baked chicken on top with a touch of the remaining sauce.



Results: My husband wasn't fond of the sauce on the pasta, but loved it on the chicken. I thought the sauce tasted much better on the food than alone - it reduced the tartness. The chicken, though, was superb! The breading was perfect. The chicken moist and delicious. I can't wait to use it for chicken parmigiana. I'm not sure I'll make the "piccata" part again.

Final Grade: B

Introducing Barefoot Bloggers

Ina Garten is my kind of cook. She keeps it simple yet elegant. Her recipes are classics - from chicken salad to Coq a vin. She uses quality ingredients, too. Often, she takes a walk from her Hampton home into her own backyard garden to snip fresh herbs for the dishes.

Four years ago, I made my first Barefoot recipe: "outrageous brownies" Yumm! I've watched episode after episode, read most of her recipes, and now, I have a community to cook with.

The Barefoot Bloggers (see link to the left) is a site dedicated to food and all things Ina. Each month, two recipes are chosen by the current participants. Each member of the blog is responsible for making the recipe, photography, and blogging about the results. Then, we are able to read other blogger's experiences with the recipe. I'm way down on the list. I'm not sure I'll have anything to pick when the choice comes my way. Another reason I like the idea of this group is that it forces you to cook outside your comfort zone. I'm not sure I would have ever made a tomato/goat cheese tart - yet it's due later this month - so I will. It certainly sounds delicious, just a little fancier than my husband and I require for dinner.

Tonight I will make Chicken Piccata. Check back for my review.

Little Greens

I placed the tray of peat pellets in the laundry room a few days ago to provide more adequate heat. I checked on them this morning and much to my surprise, I had little sprouts! I didn't expect anything so soon. It's only been four days and my brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower and lettuces are up. I propped open the lid, since there are still ungerminated seed, and placed them as close to the grow lights as I could.

Seeds Sown

3.6.2009

Brussels Sprouts, Diablo
Broccoli, Beaumont
Cauliflower, Early Dawn
Lettuces, Jericho and Matina Sweet Butterhead

3.7.2009

Rosemary
Parsley, Gigante d'Italia
Thyme, English
Jalepenos, Jalisco
Bell Pepper, Quadrato d'Asti
Hot Pepper Mix, Hungarian Wax, Anaheim. Large Cherry and Long Red Cayenne plus Jalapeno

I kinda jumped the gun with the peppers. Most sites say 3/14 for my climate, but I know they had a pretty rough start last year and had extremely stunted growth. My jalepenos were still prolific. The bell pepper only gave up one. Hopefully I'll be able to baby and nourish them better this year. Frankly, I had no idea when to start the herbs. I took a stab in the dark. I didn't sow nearly as many seeds this time. Last year I placed about 10 of each type of seed into a peat pellet. No wonder they died.

Project: Backyard

My husband and I were busy bees these past few days. I needed to clean up the garden area and my husband got to work building a fence to separate the dogs from the rest of the yard. The yard will basically be divided into four sections: the garden, play area (with grass), dog run, and the deck.

1) The garden still needs to be tilled. The ground is soft and workable, but more rain came and my husband was tired from building the fence. We have one little strip worked. More importantly, though, we definitely determined that the garden will be 15'x15'. It's smaller than I anticipated, which will reduce our yield a little, but I think it will be more manageable, for now. I'll find more creative ways of growing food later. It does leave us plenty of room to maneuver around, allow for a storage shed, and hopefully a compost bin in the corner. We are buying a rain barrel (hopefully soon!) and attaching soaker hoses, which will be run down the length of each big row. We haven't yet figured out how to avoid soil erosion and promote good drainage, since the garden will be on a slight downhill slope leading to boggy, flooding land. Still working the brains on that one.



2) Dog Run: My stronger half was hard at work building a fence for the dogs these past few days. He set the posts in the ground and then yesterday nailed in the hog wire fencing. The fencing is not particularly strong so we'll see how it goes. Our little Daisy (a beagle) is the one we have to worry about. If anybody makes it through the fence, it's her. Unfortunately, since we aren't professionals, the posts didn't square up well - so we'll be building our own custom gate, too! We plan on putting some sort of small tree in the dog area to provide shade and using mulch. If we try grass, they will just trample it down.





3) Play area: This is the area from the newly built dog fence to the garden. We will be seeding it with our Eco Lawn seed this spring. We want a nice bit of area for little Jacob to play around in . The dogs will be able to use it too when we decide to let them out of the run. On this side of the fence, I'm going to grow morning glories, clematis, or black eyed susan - something to grow up the fence and look pretty. Along the wood fence, I'm planting sunflowers.

4) Deck: The deck is an already existing structure. We have a few chairs, a charcoal grill and a firepit. We'd like to add a canopy/tent, a side table, and possibly a hammock. The canopy will be great - our deck faces the west. It's impossible to spend a nice afternoon/evening out there because the sun is in your eyes.

Seeds of Life

The order from Kitchen Garden Seeds arrived a little over a week ago. I've supplemented that with a few packets from Lowe's - including a great buy on seed potatoes. Next week I sow the broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and lettuces indoors. I could probably do it now, but I don't want to run the risk of any one of them becoming "leggy" due to a late cold snap.

Calendar of Events

Subject to change

Date of LAST FROST: May 9, 2009


3/7: Sow Broccoli, Brussels, Cauliflower, and Lettuce indoors
3/14: Sow Peppers indoors
3/21: Sow Tomatoes indoors
4/11: Sow Radishes DIRECTLY in containers. Set out Lettuce.
4/18: Sow Cucumbers indoors. Set Brussels outdoors
4/20: Plant Potatoes DIRECTLY
4/25: Sow Carrots DIRECTLY. Sow Beets DIRECTLY in containers. Set Broccoli and Cauliflower outdoors.
5/16: Set out Tomatoes and Cucumbers
5/23: Sow Beans DIRECTLY. Set out Peppers.

I'll most likely have two other containers to experiment with. I definitely want to try radishes and beets. Other possibilities include Swiss Chard, Spinach, or Eggplant.

This list also doesn't include herbs. I'll update this list as I figure it all out.

The Incubator

One day soon, the seeds will be set and my little babies will emerge, ever-reaching for sunlight and thirsty for water. My husband and I set up our future darlings temporary housing - on top the fridge.


We only have one south-facing window, which I utilized last year, but this year my son occupies the space. I have read the warmth generated by the refrigerator will help germination. We hung a two foot shop light from the ceiling and replaced the bulbs with grow lights. I have room for two 72-count Jiffy starter kits. Although I'm not entirely fond of the peat pellets, it will have to do for this year. Maybe by the end of the year, I'll figure out how to build a cold frame.

The first date to plant is March 7th (broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, lettuce). I can hardly wait!

Waiting

Unfortunately the rains came and we were unable to get a head start on our soil last week. We will have to do the best we can this spring and hope for another warm breeze to make its way through the midwest.

I placed my online order for seeds last week as well. I ordered from John Scheepers. I ordered from them last year and was impressed with their prompt delivery and packaging. The seeds seemed to be in good order and a large number of them germinated, given my inexperience. I do need to do more research about their policies regarding Monsanto. I know they offer both hybrid and open-pollinated seeds. I purchased a few hybrids to ensure a little consistency to my first backyard garden. In particular, I purchased the Big Beef Beefsteak Tomatoes to round out other heirloom and open pollinated varieties I will be planting.

What else did I purchase, you ask?

Blue Lake Pole Beans
Sweet Slice Cucumbers
Alibi Pickling Cucumbers
Jericho Romaine Lettuce
Matina Sweet Butterhead Lettuce
Beaumont Broccoli
Early Dawn Cauliflower
Diablo Brussels Sprouts
Royal Chantenay Carrots

Now I will (im)patiently wait for Tony the Mailman to deliver my babies!

My Green Valentine

It's an understood fact that we don't "celebrate" Valentine's Day in our household. There are no cards, no flowers, no big night out. We are lovable and thoughtful in our own ways.

I'm a firm believer that a way to a man's heart is through his stomach - so I did what I do best - made cupcakes. A chocolate version by Ina Garten topped with pink icing. They are totally decadent.


My husband surprised me with a stop by our favorite sushi restaurant, Ichiban. Sammy makes the BEST sushi I've ever had (and I've had a lot of sushi). We tried out a new roll, the Green Roll, made with salmon and avocado, rolled inside out with a soy wrapper with tiny green roe on top and a creamy sauce on the side. It was fresh and delicious.

When we returned home, he again surprised me with a new book. I love this man, but who's he calling an idiot!?

Hope

The weather has been so refreshing - and promising. There will be a spring! I do realize that we're still a few months away, and snow showers will continue. However, the past few days are a reminder that we need to start preparing. Just look at this forcast:



The ground where our future garden will be is still water logged. Twelve inches of melting snow will do that to soil. If the temps stay high and the sun stays out, it should dry up tomorrow. Our plan is to take a tiller to the ground and start working the soil a bit on Tuesday. I'd like to do a pH test as well.

We bought supplies the other day for starting our seeds. A 2' shop light with grow bulbs and Jiffy seeds starters 72ct (2). I know the Jiffy starters are not the best way of starting seeds, but I don't have the capital to invest in a materials just yet. I am saving any container I can to transplant into: formula canisters, sour cream containers, etc. Use and reuse. Jeremy plants to set up our seed station today, on top of the fridge.

I've been working on my garden plan as well. Revising and revising. I've removed peas and onions from my planning, since I don't believe we'll have the garden prepared in time for early planting. We'll try again next year.



Broccoli: Space 18-24" apart. Approx 10 plants.
Cauliflower: Space 18-24" apart. Approx 10 plants.
Brussels Sprouts: Space 24-36" apart. Approx 3-4 plants.
Carrots: Thin to approx 1 per 1-2". Three rows yield approx 150 carrots.
Potatoes: Space 10-12" apart, rows 24" apart. Approx 16 seed potatoes.
Tomatoes & Peppers: Space 24" apart. Approx 16 plants (12 tomato, 4 peppers)
Lettuce: Space 6-8" apart. Approx 25 plants per row. 1-2 rows.
Beans: Space 4-6" apart. Approx 20 plants.
Cucumbers: Space 12" apart. Approx 8 plants. (4 slicing, 4 pickling).

Gardeners helping gardeners

It's good to have friends. It's at least good to have fellow established gardeners help out a novice by sending samples of their prized tomato seed collections.

I joined a new gardening forum last week. The people there are not only fantastic gardeners from all over the country (world?), but they are funny, political, and most importantly - generous.

After asking what kind of tomato they would plant if they only had ONE choice - for taste and high yield - I received many differing opinions. One choice that did stand out was Black Krim. Another was Big Beef for main crop consistency. Two members sent me seeds they had on hand. I think the majority of people there collect their own seeds, something that is very daunting and intimidating to me. I was ecstatic when I received two packages in the mail yesterday. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I've narrowed my tomato choices down to the following:

1. Big Beef Beefsteak (order from Kitchen Garden Seeds)(4)
2. Black Krim (1)
3. Husky Gold (1)
4. Black Cherry (1)
5. Opalka (4)
6. Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye or Indian Stripe (1)

Thoughts? Suggestions?

I've also put together a list of seeds of buying from Kitchen Garden Seeds for my other plants.

1. Blue Lake Pole Beans 55-65 days
2. Beaumont Broccoli 75-80 days
3. Royal Chantenay Carrots 60-70 days
4. Early Dawn Cauliflower 50-60 days
5. Sweet Slice Burpless Cucumbers 40-50 days
6. Alibi Pickling Cucumbers 45-55 days
7. Jericho Romaine Lettuce 55-65 days
8. Matina Sweet Butterhead Lettuce 50-70 days
9. Yellow Granex Sweet Onions 150 days
10. Dakota Shelling Peas 55-60 days

So much planning to do. I need to figure out how I want to start the seeds (I want to limit transplanting to bigger pots). My husband has agreed to install a big grow light above the refrigerator that will be on chains so we can adjust the height as necessary. I also want to start some herbs in small clay pots in my kitchen window.

So many tomatoes, so little space

What is a gardener to do? I know I only have room for roughly 10-12 tomato plants. I have some seeds from last year, but I know I would like to purchase a few new varieties.

What will yield the most yet taste the best? I've heard the coveted Brandywine tomato will set only one or two fruits in a season. If I had more space, I would give up one of my precious spots. I don't see that happening this year. So what else? Celebrity? Beefsteak? What about plum tomatoes for tomato sauce?

1 cherry tomato
2-3 heirloom
3-4 main crop
3-4 plum/paste

What I have on hand:

Husky Gold
Super Sweet 100s
Sweet Cluster

What would I like to buy:

From John Scheepers

#4285 San Marzano 2 Plum Tomatoes: 80-90 days
Originating in the volcanic fields near Mount Vesuvius, this acclaimed variety comes to us from the foremost Italian seed house. Known as the best cooking tomato in the world, we can not sing its praises loudly enough. San Marsano 2 is disease-resistant and grows in bunches of five to six, large fruits on indeterminate vines, ripening to a brilliant red with lustrous green shoulders. Producing over a long period of time, the crack-resistant fruit holds well on the vine. San Marzano 2 has a wonderful, delicate taste and a solid, meaty texture and is easy to use in the kitchen. It has an elongated, plum-shape, only two, small seed pockets that are easily scooped out and an easy-to-peel skin. San Marzano 2’s high sugar content helps create its big tomato taste and rich consistency. You had better plant loads since you will want to make vats of herbed tomato sauce for coveted use throughout the year. It is the only plum tomato that great Italian chefs use in their prized recipes. It will soon be your exclusive choice too. (VF) (OP.)

From The Cook's Garden

Tomato Matina (pictured above, from Cook's Garden)
Our Best Selling Tomato
Medium size German heirloom with great flavor

Heirloom. This tried-and-true heirloom from Germany is one of the few early fruiting kinds that has the kind of flavor normally associated with beefsteak tomatoes. Huge plants, with abundant potato-leaf foliage that is resistant to diseases like Early Blight and protects the fruits from sunscald. The globular red, quarter pound fruits are borne in large clusters and free from the green shoulders often seen on others of this type, such as the Czech heirloom Stupice. Indeterminate.

I have yet to receive Johnny's seed catalog, so I'm sure my final decisions will be modified.

Snow Garden

 

This is the current state of our garden. A frozen tundra buried under snow and, yes, dog poo. We plan on building a fence at the edge of the deck thereby sectioning off the dogs from the garden. That is the only way we will be able to grow anything. The dogs are famous for destroying plants in a matter of seconds. I know you shouldn't use animal waste on your garden as fertilizer, but I'm hoping it will be well rotted by the time we begin tilling the ground. I am concerned about the shadows the fencing will cast on the garden. I'm trying to figure out placement of plants.



This is a design I created using a free trial at GrowVeg. Very useful in figuring out where to put plants and how many you can fit.


N <-------

Fences run along the right and bottom sides

Each row is 4' x 17' with a 1' walkway in between and 3' along each border

Row 1: Tomatoes & Peppers
Row 2: Carrots, Pole Beans, and Lettuce
Row 3: Onions, Broccoli, Cauliflower
Row 4: Cucumbers, Peas, Potatoes

The Beginning

Hello. My name is Kim, and this is my new gardening blog.

I'm not completely new to gardening. When I was younger, I insisted on planting vegetable plants in the flowerbed along the west side of the house. Not exactly the greatest soil - more like a rock garden, really. Nonetheless, somehow I managed to produce one very small green pepper and a small eggplant. Prized treasures!

Last year, I started several vegetables from seed. Most of them sprouted, but I was very late transplanting them to the large bins I had placed along the south side of the house. I ended up with three Sweet 100 cherry tomato plants, a Sweet Cluster tomato plant, two basil plants, three jalepenos, and one bell pepper. I had a bountiful harvest, in my opinion. I ended up making a jar of the best salsa ever, tomato sauce, and lots of cherry tomatoes that were eaten straight off the vine.






After the end of the season, my husband and I had a serious discussion about what our gardening plans were for the upcoming year. We expressed much interest in growing a large amount of vegetables that could not only be utilized during the year, but also canned or frozen for future use. We had come to the conclusion that our lives will become more healthful if we reduce our dependency on large grocery store produce and renew our appreciation of slow foods. It was decided that we would section off half of our back yard and create a large vegetable garden.

As it stands right now, it is unamended soil covered in snow. In the following posts, I will describe and photograph our progress towards creating our very own victory garden.