A Great All-In-One Dish for Busy Weeknights

Chicken with Tomatoes, Chickpeas, and Spinach 2Everyone does it! We pick up the phone and call for take-out when our lives are so rushed there’s no way we can get homemade food on the table. I confess that I have the neighborhood pizza place and the near-by Mexican restaurant on speed dial for weeknight emergencies. The truth is, though, that I’m never thrilled with these quick fixes. I’d much rather be pulling something fresh from my fridge to heat up — something like Chicken with Tomatoes, Chick Peas, and Spinach, a new dish I created recently.

Here is a recipe that wins on more than one front. It’s simple to prepare, calls for easily found ingredients, and holds up well when made a couple of days ahead. Oh, and did I mention that it’s healthy and inexpensive too! You simply season chicken thighs (with or without the skin, your choice) with basil and oregano, then brown them along with chopped carrots, onions, and celery. Next, the thighs and vegetables are simmered in stock, tomatoes, and wine about 45 minutes until tender. Finally, you stir in chickpeas and baby spinach and cook only minutes more. Continue reading

Riding Out the Storm with a French Classic—Cassoulet

Cassoulet Rapide 1By Wednesday last week everyone in our small New England town was talking about the big storm! The first I heard of it was at my ophthalmologist’s office where the nurses were all abuzz about the weekend weather forecast. I didn’t pay much attention since predictions here are so often incorrect, but as the day went on, and one television weather reporter after another promised that the upcoming event was going to be historic, I got nervous. Like most of Amherst it seems, I trekked to the market to stock up on food.

On the way there, I decided that I’d try a new recipe—a short version of cassoulet, that classic casserole of beans, sausages, meats, and poultry celebrated in southwestern France. Typically, cassoulet takes several days to make. The beans are prepared at one session, the duck, meats, and sausages at others. I had a recipe, however, for a quick version that my friend, Jacques Ableman, had shared with me when I was in Amsterdam recently. Continue reading