Lemon-rhubarb chicken

I seem to cook less as the days are getting warmer. Summer equals being lazy and not doing much and cooking somehow seems to require quite a bit of energy. It was my turn to cook Sunday dinner this week and before this week had started; I knew it was going to have to be something light. At one point I was contemplating making pizza but it was a no go however, I am determined to make it.

I challenged myself and decided to use rhubarb, an ingredient that I have never tasted nor held before. I found an amazing bon appétit lemon- rhubarb chicken recipe that was posted on epicurious.com and knew that it would be an interesting cooking adventure.  Do you ever notice that people always seem to use the same ingredients over and over again, why are we so hesitant to try something different?

This week I decided to make lemon-rhubarb chicken, jasmine rice (let me just say this up front – I cheated and bought the box kind), a side order of carrots & green beans and a quick and easy cheesecake (don’t get too excited because there is a twist and it’s not your average cheesecake). The recipe was split into two part; one being the stuffing and the other the sauce. Before I started cooking I took out all the ingredients and laid them on the counter so I wouldn’t forget anything. Chopping the rhubarb took up quite a bit of time and 30 minutes later I was ready to begin. I made the rhubarb stuffing first which consisted of 2 tablespoons of chopped shallots, 2 cups of rhubarb and lemon juice. In a pot I melted 2 tablespoons of butter, added all of the ingredients, sautéed it for approximately 5 minutes and seasoned it with salt and pepper. To those of you who don’t know me, I am a very vocal person and when I tasted the stuffing I screamed. It had the nastiest taste ever! It was extremely bitter and tangy and I hate bitter food with a passion and hoped that somehow the sauce would even out the taste.  

 

Next step was making the sauce. In a large pot I melted butter, added 2 cups of rhubarb, ¼ cup of shallots and ginger. Sautéed for about ten minutes and added some sugar and ¼ cup of brandy, chicken broth, star anise and a bay leaf. The sauce simmered over low heat for an hour. After an hour I discarded the solids in a strainer and added some of the stuffing into the sauce. When I think of a sauce, I picture something thick and this sauce wasn’t. It was more of a broth but boy was it delicious. It was sweet with a bit of tanginess and this is something I will have to make again. So damn good.  After the sauce was done, I preheated the oven and stuffed the chicken with the rest of the leftover stuffing.

While the chicken was baking in the oven, I stared making the rest my menu. I cooked the rice and by that I mean I just put two bags of rice in a boiling pot and ten minutes later it was done. I love rice and when I was younger I knew how to cook it but than I moved to America and got lazy and started buying the box kind and now have difficulties cooking rice. I realize how stupid it must sound, but it’s true. In a separate pot I boiled water and cooked some cut-up carrots and green beans which I later coated with butter and breadcrumbs and lightly fried it. This is a homemade recipe my mom used to make and it is tasty. While I was busy getting the vegetables and rice ready, I would ever now and then check on the chicken and glaze it with some of the sauce.

I know I have said this before and I will say it again – I am baker but I really wanted to make some kind of a dessert. In a wine glass I crumbled some ginger cookies, next came the cream (in a bowl I whipped some mascarpone cheese, vanilla extract, sugar and heavy cream. I thought the mascarpone would be sweet and took a big bite only to realize that it had no flavor and it was my second horrible surprise of the day which resulted in another scream), on top of the cream I added some good quality strawberry jam and fresh strawberries and that ladies and gentlemen is my version of a cheesecake.

Dinner was delicious; the sauce was the winner by far, the vegetables were crunchy and the dessert was oh so good that I more or less licked the bowl (not with my tongue but finger). The only downfall is that I might have overcooked the chicken by two/three minutes. Lovely light Sunday dinner.

Falafel Burgers

My food journey this week had me reminiscing my fabulous time in Sicily and just how much I miss it. A few years ago on a hot summer’s day, my friends and I were sitting in a café (but I think it was more of a “healthy” fast food place) in an alley enjoying each others company. I think our aim was to go to this place because it sold cheap beer and we all know how refreshing ice cold beer is on a hot day. It was a fabulous evening, not only did we have lots of beer but we also ordered food and smoked a hookah. For only 10 Euros one could order a big hookah delivered to your table with your choice of tea leaves. Is it possible to get high on tea leaves, because I’m sure nobody did? One of my friends had ordered a falafel burger and after taking a bite, I knew I needed to order one for myself. Who would have thought that vegetables and spices could make a burger taste so good. It was a priceless evening;  a bunch of us sitting outside somewhere in an alley, surrounded by tons of people going on about their own business, drinking beer, smoking and eating falafel burgers.

 

I was browsing the bbcgoodfood website this week and jumped with joy when I came across a falafel burger recipe and just knew that this would be the one to make. Friday morning after I finished teaching I quickly went to the store and bought all the ingredients that I needed. The main ingredient for a falafel burger is chickpeas. I am not a fan of beans regardless of how good they are for our bodies (and whenever I eat them, I feel bloated and it leaves me farting which is so embarrassing but true) but have come to love chickpeas.

I got home, took out all of my ingredients and “throw” them into a food processor. Oh the joy of a food processor, can you just imagine how difficult life would be if we have to stir, chop, mix, smash things ourselves?  A quick little note here, I do not own a food processor but my friend Shannon does and I promise that one day when I have my own place, I’ll be the owner of a fabulous funky looking food processor.  I took one can of chickpeas, a few garlic cloves, some fresh parsley, cumin, coriander, chili powder, flour and salt and the food processor did the rest. Once everything was blended smooth, I then shaped the mixture into four patties and fried them for approximately four minutes on each side.

 

The taste of these burgers was really good, the combination of all the spices worked well together but they kept falling apart. When you make a burger you usually add an egg or breadcrumbs to keep the mixture together, but the falafel recipe didn’t include any of that.

The recipe only called for adding two tbs of flour but that simply isn’t enough. I will make this recipe again, but will have to tweak it a bit and add something to keep it all together.

All is all a wonderful recipe.