Innocent

When I was three I went to the markets in Oklahoma with my mom and my brother. It was such an amazing time. I was probably no more than two in my memories. As a little girl I remember the smell of roasting peauts. They smelled sweet and delicious. They would hand them to us in a brown paper bag, and when you would get them they would be hot, and salty. That first bite would be perfect, and of course it was perfect because I was no more than three. Anything at that point in your life is perfect, because you haven't experienced much of anything else.

While we were at the market I kept asking my mom for the Pennis meaning "the peanuts". My brother got so embaraced he kept correcting me. "Mary it is Not Pennis it is Peanuts"! Let's be serious I was three. I had no idea what l I was saying. But to my brother at the old age of four at the time it was utterly humiliating.

I took this girl at the market. It reminded me of being a child, and how every smell, taste and fell is double what it is as an adult. How those first few memories of taste, smell, and feel can impact your life exponentially.

All the best,
mary

Chicken Doesn't Have to Be So Plain....

The end of summer is such a difficult time to cook. It is still very hot, but never the less you need to eat. The entire summer has been nothing but heirloom tomatoes, gazpacho, and grilled meats. You still want to feel like you are cooking with the season, and not advance to squashes, and fall mushrooms. So what do you cook?

One delicious meal that I prepared is a beautiful seared chicken breast with a corn, tomato, red onion salad, and grilled Raddichio. Searing chicken with the skin on is always tricky. The way to do it well is to rinse and dry the chicken, put oil in a pan and place the chicken in the pan. The skin will not shrink as much as it would if you put it directly into a piping hot pan. Then you leave it at medium heat so it doesn't burn the chicken, and just let is do it's thing. You will have really great results.

This dish is a perfect end of the summer treat.

Happy Cooking!
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Mary