Dreaming of Summer's Meat and Three

I'm starting to reminisce on last year's summer garden.  We had such great luck with tomatoes and peppers that I could just cry about it every time I'm in the produce section of the local markets.  Tomatoes aren't fit for consumption until after July 4th; I only eat grape tomatoes from the grocery store to carry me through the winter.  Sure, I use canned tomato products for soups and chillies and such, but I turn my nose up to any tomato larger than a grape after the season ends in the fall.

You'll know you're almost to the Farmer's Daughter when you see this beehive.

Last year we had the sprawlinest yellow pear tomato vines you ever did see.  We didn't stake, cage and trellis our plants at all the right times...and when we got those vines off of the dirt...it was on.  Those yellow pears could have easily trapped passing garden enthusiasts, if they stayed in one spot too long.

We picked those plants up at the Farmer's Daughter on 17, along with some black cherry tomatoes that had already been started by people with more patience than I have.  Being an heirloom, I didn't have high expectations for the black cherry, so I didn't leave her enough room.  She was gorgeous, a sight to behold.  She also produced fruit well into the fall.

Black cherry tomatoes in my McCarty pottery bowl from Merigold, MS.

Jalapenos and Hungarian wax peppers.

During the summer, there are so many wonderful sides, the main course doesn't have to me so, well, main.   I have a simple recipe for you that you can use when your seasonal fruits and vegetables take up a lot of room on your plate.  Get ready for Perfect Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs!  You'll need a cast iron skillet, skin-on chicken thighs, salt, pepper and oil...and a day where setting your oven to 475 F for about 18 minutes of cook time won't put you flat out on the kitchen floor.  In addition to the directions in this recipe, I trim down the excess chicken skin; there will be plenty left for the fat to render.  

Also, I highly recommend buying some handle mitts.  Cast iron is heavy, and I can never get a safe grip using a tea towel and my small hands.  I tend to burn oven mitts, so slipping a mitt on the handle works better for me.  If you don't have your family's cast iron, Le Creuset's enameled cast iron will put you in the poor house, but you'll still want to make a spot in your bed for your precious cookware...it's that awesome.  In the list of items-to-grab-on-your-way-out-of-your-burning-house, your Le Creuset will be in your top ten.  (T.J. Maxx sometimes sells this brand, but the sticker is still shocking, if you are not independently wealthy.)  If you frequent Cracker Barrel, they usually carry Lodge cast iron in their store shop, but I haven't tried that brand yet.

Super Chikan and Super Chickens

Here's a brief introduction to Super Chikan that focuses on his ability to recycle just about anything into a musical instrument.

Here he is groovin' with a cigar box guitar.

If you need some more tunes, here's a Spotify playlist from the Mississippi Blues Project.   Listen for Mr. Super Chikan on track 6.

Summertime is perfect for trying out new music and new recipes.   If you have access to fresh eggs from happy chickens, give them a try.   Your baking will improve exponentially.   (Don't hard boil them right away...fresh eggs aren't so good for that.)   

I'm lucky enough to live a couple of doors down from a family who sells farm fresh eggs for $1.50/dozen.   In order to keep the groundhogs out of their gardens, they play classic rock 24-7.   The last time I picked up an order, the ladies were listening to this song by Journey.

I love having eggs over easy with fresh salsa or guacamole.   Cornbread is an old standby.   But my favorite summer treat that involves eggs is cobbler.   If you are lucky enough to live near free-to-pick blackberry bushes, use those.   If you can get your hands on some fresh peaches and blueberries, those will be delicious.   Get yourself some vanilla ice cream to go on the side.   

My favorite cobbler recipe comes from this book.

It's so simple; you probably already have all of the ingredients you need on hand.

Coors Contraband Crock Pot Chicken

There's a recipe for crock pot chicken that's spreading like wildfire on Pinterest.   It's basically a few spices, a can of beer and a chicken.   The weather is turning hot again here, so cooking on the porch seems like a good plan for the foreseeable future.

Not being a beer drinker, I don't have a favorite.   Since Coors is the featured beverage from Smokey and the Bandit, Coors it is.   I also opted for Paul Prudhomme's Magic Seasoning Salt since it contained most of the listed spices.   Also, who doesn't like magic?   I added some fresh pepper and put a lid on it.

I cooked it on low for an hour and 45 minutes, but when I estimated the end time, I cranked it up to high and tried to split the difference.

Frozen Ore Ida sweet potato fries and sautéed zucchini with sage from our garden was on the side with blackberries, peaches and vanilla ice cream for dessert.   Actually, we keep snacking on those blackberries, so they may not make it into dessert.

So was the recipe too simple to be true?   No.   It was downright tasty.   The meat was falling off the drumsticks.   It would be a great way to cook chicken in preparation for a pot pie as well.   We cooked a cut up fryer, but you could throw in four breasts instead.

There's also some of that three-bean salad marinating in the fridge that includes the first gypsy pepper from our garden...but that can wait until tomorrow.

For the vegetarians among you, I give you Rufus Thomas and a stadium full of folks getting down with the funky chicken.   This performance is from the documentary Wattstax that showcases the 1972 music festival.   Can you believe that line-up?   And at $1.00 a ticket?!   Do the funky chicken, y'all.