a year of happy

monica riedel's fabulous baked chicken cutlets

For this week's
Blog Cookery,
I didn't go to a blog...

I went to the
professional chef herself,
Monica Riedel!

Monica lives in my neighborhood,
and is a great friend.
And when I told her
I'm working on
"making dinner", (see here and here)
she was more than happy to help!

One of the things
I love about Monica
is her passion for good food.
And when she says GOOD,
she means tasty AND healthy.

She is working to get our community
excited about eating foods
that are locally grown 
and fresh--straight from the farm.

Last summer,
Monica spent the day
learning how to make cheese
at the Rockhill Creamery
in Richmond, Utah.



Locally made cheese
is just one of the home-grown
ingredients she uses in her 
Farm to Fabulous dinners--
we were lucky enough
to enjoy one of those dinners.
It was amazing!

We had fresh corn on the cob
served with lemon herb butter,
a wonderful green salad made
with locally grown veggies,
steak so tender
you didn't have to use a knife,
and an amazing dessert--
panna cotta topped with
apricot compote.
Delicious!

Monica has introduced me
to food in ways
I have never
experienced before.

She takes simple fresh ingredients,
and turns them into
something extraordinary. 

This week Monica shared
some easy and delicious
recipes with me.

So last night for dinner we had
Baked Chicken Cutlet
with Rice Pilaf
and Spinach Salad.

I was a little intimidated
when Monica told me
I had to butterfly the chicken. 
But using the new knife
that F gave me,
it was easy!

Thanks Monica - dinner was terrific!

Monica Riedel's Baked Chicken Cutlets

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 oz. butter
1 T. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup Parmesan cheese

Butterfly the chicken -- using a sharp knife, cut breasts open like a book, not all the way through. Combine butter, Dijon and Worcestershire sauce in a sauce pan and melt together over medium-low heat. Place in shallow dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Combine crumbs and cheese in another shallow dish. Dip chicken in butter mixture, then coat in crumb mixture. Lay out on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

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You can read more about
Monica Riedel in the Daily Herald.


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october... potato harvest & the world series

photo from flickr creative commons - tpmartin

Our recent visit to Idaho
in October
reminded me of
potato harvest.

Every October 
in Idaho where I grew up
school was closed for
two weeks
so all of the students
could help with
the harvest.

I was a 
combine worker.
Every morning when
it was still dark,
we would head up
to the
dry farms.

We had to wear layers
as it started out
cold,
got warmer through
the day, and then
cold again at night.

We wore scarves around
our necks
to pull up over our faces
when the wind
filled the air with
dust and dirt.

Sunset from a combine
was a beautiful sight...
and it meant
that it was almost time
to go home.

Every night
our ears and eyes
and noses
were filled with dirt.

We had to peel off
each layer of clothing
very carefully,
because they were
filled
with dirt too.

When I tried to go to sleep,
all I could see in
my mind's eye
were potatoes, moving
past me on the conveyer belt
of the combine.
Sleep would eventually come,
but I was still picking out
the dirt clods
and weeds
and rotten potatoes
in my dreams.

The best part
of potato harvest
was walking in the door every night
to the sounds of the
World Series
on TV.

I still like to eat
potatoes.
And I still like
to watch the
World Series.
But I doubt I'll ever
work on a combine
again.

apple booty

We have
seven apple trees
in our yard -- and
in October we
gather everybody together
to pick apples.

We did a lot of picking...

along with a lot of
goofing around...

over the fence with the
neighbor's dog...

on the fence doing parkour...

and playing catch with the rotten apples.

It was the first time
in a long time
that F was with us
to pick.

And he was the
life of the party!

What a harvest!

the field is white

*click to enlarge

This sight
was so simple
and so overwhelmingly
beautiful to me.

We were driving through
the canyon
between Cache Valley
and Brigham City...
and came upon this.

It took my breath
away.

I had to stop
to take pictures.

It made this scripture
come to life
like it never has
before.

"...the field is white already to harvest; wherefore, thrust in your sickles, and reap with all your might..."