Found this keeper recipe on the web- we’ve made it a few times like this and it’s great.

 

Moist & Tender Chicken Breasts Every Time

from The Kitchn

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“Boneless, skinless chicken breasts ….too often overcooked until dry and chewy, and I generally prefer more succulent boneless, skinless thighs. But for lunch and dinner favorites like chicken Caesar salad and chicken pasta, sliced juicy chicken breasts can’t be beat. They’re a great staple for quick lunches, too.  unfailingly juicy and tender boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Need some chicken for a salad, or to top some pasta? This is the method. It takes some trust, but believe me — it works flawlessly every single time. “

A Method That Requires Trust!

This method takes trust; you can’t check the chicken breasts or watch them cooking. The method isn’t searing, sautéing, broiling, frying, or baking; it heats the chicken breasts quickly on the stovetop then lets them essentially poach from the inside out in their juices in a covered pan.

So you can’t peek, and you have to trust us. But I promise that if you follow this method exactly, you won’t be disappointed. I learned this cooking method from an old edition of Joy of Cooking, which gives this method its special label: Cockaigne, reserved for only their personal favorite and best recipes.

Simple chicken, for salads and rice bowls.

Seasoning the Chicken

season the breasts any way you like; make them spicy, or flavor them with fresh herbs.

You don’t need to brine or marinate the chicken, but a quick brine does make them even juicier! …. super-quick 15-minute brine. (If you use a brine, make sure to pat the chicken very dry before proceeding with the cooking method below.)

How To Cook Moist & Tender Chicken Breasts Every Time

 

Ingredients

1 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, of similar size
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil, unsalted butter, or combination of both

Instructions

1. Flatten the chicken breasts: Pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness with the bottom of a wide jar or glass. You can also (carefully!) use the handle of a heavy chef’s knife.
2. Season the chicken breasts: Lightly salt and pepper the chicken breasts.
3. Prepare the pan: Heat the sauté pan over medium-high heat. When it is quite hot, add the olive oil (or butter, if using). Swirl the pan so it is lightly covered with the olive oil.
4. Cook the chicken breasts for 1 minute without moving: Turn the heat to medium. Add the chicken breasts. Cook for just about 1 minute to help them get a little golden on one side (you are not actually searing or browning them).
5. Flip the chicken breasts: Then flip each chicken breast over.
6. Turn the heat down to low: Turn the heat to low.
7. Cover the pan and cook on low for 10 minutes. Cover with a tight-fitting lid. Set a timer for 10 minutes, and walk away. Do not lift the lid; do not peek.
8. Turn off the heat and let sit for an additional 10 minutes: After 10 minutes have elapsed, turn off the heat. (If you have an electric stove, remove the pan from the heat.) Reset the timer for 10 minutes and leave the chicken breasts in the pan. Again, do not lift the lid; do not peek.
9. Remove lid and take temperature: After the 10 minutes are up, take the lid off, and your chicken is done. Make sure there is no pink in the middle of the chicken breasts. If you want to be absolutely sure it is cooked, you can use an instant-read thermometer to check (the chicken should be at least 165°F). Slice and eat. Store any leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator.

Recipe Notes

• Dredge in seasoned flour: You can also dredge the chicken breasts in flour before cooking. Season the flour with spices or fresh herbs and make sure the chicken is golden on one side before you flip it over. This will give your chicken a very subtle crust.
• Quick brine: You can make your boneless skinless chicken breasts even juicier and more flavorful with a super-quick brine. Even just 15 minutes in a simple brine will make them juicier. Watch the video above to see how this is done.

Updated from post originally published February 2011.

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A small first experiment.  1/4 c white sugar, 1/4 c brown sugar, 1/2 c kosher salt, and lots of cracked black pepper.  I rinsed and dried the lovely piece of salmon and wrapped it, and weighed it down between heavy glass in the cold box.  Tomorrow I will smoke it. I’m going to try some different recipes.

 

I am reading Norman Maclean’s “Young Men and Fire,” a story about Storm jumpers who lost their lives in the Mann Gulch fire not far from here many years ago. Maclean’s  descriptions of the young men make them seem like kids I might know. It’s a relief our fires in the area have calmed with the rain.

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Hot Lips Salvia

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I picked all the tomatoes that were starting to get ripe. It’s always a gamble this time of year, since it will freeze soon, so if they’re partially red already I choose to let them finish safely inside.

Unfortunately I didn’t think to take any photos beforehand. I thought of it as it was starting to get dark.  These were taken with a phone camera. I miss that old Olympus!

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Peppers

I processed these 3 jars of pickled peppers in a water bath for 15 minutes. But will keep the small jar in the fridge since it’s not a canning jar and lid. These will go well with a plate of beans and cornbread.

There are still lots of green cherry peppers in the garden to be picked before the freeze. I picked all of the serrannos and jalapenos of good size and there are still quite a few of them left out there too.

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Last spring I was gifted a bunch of lily roots and ran out of time so just stuck them in half a bed in the garden.  They bloomed this spring and summer. Unlike the lilies I already had, these blossoms were a beatiful orange. I think they’re

tiger lilies

. And now there are these interesting berries on the stems!

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There are so many things in the garden. I’m really in love with it. Most of the time it’s a peaceful spot.

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Yes that is a seedless raspberry cane growing up through the vent in the hood.

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In an interview in 2010 on the ABC News program “Nightline,” Mr. Kagin was asked if he felt hostility toward the religious beliefs of others — people whose beliefs, the reporter added, were doing him no harm.

“But they are doing me harm,” he shot back. “They’re doing harm to a great number of people. They’re saying that ‘what we’re doing is sacred and inviolate. We can do whatever we want to your rights. And you cannot react.’ ”

 

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/09/us/politics/edwin-kagin-atheist-who-battled-religion-in-public-sphere-dies-at-73.html

Link Love:The Cake Vibraslap Playlist

Please check out this blogcritics post linked here: http://blogcritics.org/the-cake-vibraslap-playlist/

 

The Cake Vibraslap Playlist

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By Robert of the Radish    |   Thursday, May 31, 2007

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On August 14th, Cake will release B-Sides and Rarities, which is the band’s first release since 2004’s Pressure Chief. I’ve been listening to an advance copy of the CD, which includes unreleased tracks and a bunch of great covers. The remakes include artists like Black Sabbath, Barry White, Frank Sinatra, Buck Owens, George Jones, and Kenny Rogers.

Like every previous Cake album to date, B-Sides does not take itself too seriously, and is simply loads of fun.

Anyway, the new record inspired me to browse back through my Cake collection. As I did, something struck me.

Cake is the most vibraslap-happy band on the planet.

Mixed in with the trumpets, ever-so-slightly offtime vocal delivery and in-unison "HEY!"s you’ll hear the rattling sound of an instrument called the vibraslap (as shown in the included photo).

From Wikipedia, "A vibraslap (also known as a Mandible) is a percussion instrument consisting of a piece of stiff wire (bent in a handle-like shape) connecting a wood ball to a block of wood with metal "teeth" inside. When the percussionist holds the handle in one hand and strikes the ball (usually against the palm of their other hand), the metal teeth vibrate against the wood block, causing a distinctive rattling sound."

This playlist pulls the best vibraslap tracks ever recorded by Cake into a single EP-sized collection. To listen to the playlist in full via Rhapsody, click here.

Playlist Tracklisting:

1. Never There
2. Comfort Eagle
3. Love You Madly
4. No Phone
5. Short Skirt/Long Jacket
6. Nugget
7. Arco Arena

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“The disdain for those righteous tree-huggers offering themselves as convenient scapegoats is sadly predictable, but it doesn’t make what they’re warning about any less dire.”

 

 

http://www.myoats.com/

I think it was the first link I ever shared on facebook. It was interesting to go back and look again.

(except for hot running water on tap)

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Wildebeest from Bird Box Studio

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from observando

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This was where we hiked yesterday. On the hills below Chief Cliff.

Leta and I did not make it to the homestead, as we were on the next hill over. It looks like a nice gentle walk up the hill but it’s not. <grin> Me and Leta, and Elmer and Little Guy, decided not to take the road, since it’s longer and we were late, behind the rest of the group by about an hour. We decided to go straight up. It was a workout! But the view was heavenly, so incredibly beautiful. Breathtaking, really. And the second wind, when it hits, feels so good. The dogs loved it, being out and able to really run around. I could really tell Elmer is not a young dog, since he was walking even slower than I on the way back. I gave him some aspirin last night and today he’s crashed out.

If you click on the picture, it should open up for a better view. These photographs were generously shared by Cindy Doll.