A Culinary Monday

Happy Monday!

Great comments yesterday about friendship - I am always so blown away by the thoughtful discussions here!

We had a lovely Sunday - my dreams of lazing were only partially achieved as I actually did some well-needed housework.  However, in the evening we went to see some friends that we have not seen in a while.  They had just put in the most amazing water feature in their garden - it looks like a little brook - so we went to see and drink Rose and listen to the babble of the fake brook which looked anything but fake..

I know it's not Miller Time Friday, but I must share a cocktail recipe before the summer is out.

The August issue of O had a recipe for a summer cocktail, The Berry Patch, I had been dying to try:

Ingredients

• 1 sprig mojito mint
• 1 sprig pineapple sage
• 1/2 lime
• 4-5 strawberries
• 1 1/2 ounces white rum
• 1/2 ounce St-Germain elderflower liqueur
• Sparkling wine, optional

Directions

 Squeeze lime juice into a cocktail shaker and add all the other ingredients. Gently crush the strawberries and herbs with a muddler. Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Top with sparkling wine, if desired.

I had all the ingredients in my garden and on my liquor cart, so I was away to the races.

What it looked like in the magazine:

What it looked like Chez Wendy:

Hmmm.....that was refreshing....

I also decided to roast some chicken breasts last night.  I am a big chicken breast girl (insert your own joke).  I looked around the kitchen to see what I had and came up with this recipe of my own design which was quite tasty and a big hit by the three eaters (myself included!)

Wendy's Lavender-Rose-Cape Gooseberry Chicken

• Chop up sage and lavender (not the buds)
• Put under the skin and then salt and pepper the chicken
• heat olive oil and some butter in a pan, medium high heat
• brown, take chicken out of frying pan and put in roasting pan.
• Add rose wine to the frying pan and toss in a bunch of lavender buds, boil down by half
• Add more rose (just a bit) and toss in champagne (or regular grapes) and cape gooseberries
• pour over chicken pieces.  You shouldn't have made more than 1/2 cup of sauce
• roast in 375 oven till done - I always use a meat thermometer as I want my chicken moist
• eat up!

A picture of it going into the oven:

you can see the roasting potatoes above.  I served these with a mesclun salad

And all done:

Have you ever eaten a cape gooseberry?  We got a box of them in our farm box this week and they are very good!

Apparently, they were originally cultivated in the Andes (though another site mentioned South Africa, so I am really not sure) and they have a sweet tartness that I love.

I rarely use a recipe now when I am doing chicken this way - just see what I have and try to make it as tasty and interesting as I can.  I am sharing this one as it was quite a hit!

Have you cooked anything great lately?  Do tell!

Have a great Monday and stay safe out there!