By Lisa Golden Schroeder

I was inspired this weekend by a lovely Hmong farmer who makes the rounds of the local farmers markets with her gorgeous produce. Baby bok choy, Asian cabbages, slender Chinese eggplant, fat cucumbers, incendiary chiles, spicy radishes, and all nature of pungent herbs—peppery Thai basil, amazing bunches of lacy cilantro, a fragrant array of mints. Her table sat next to mine, where the children’s garden kids were selling their herbal vinegars. So we chatted about the growing season and how she cooks with her own harvest.

Because she’s a working mom, her kitchen repertoire relies on as little real cooking as possible this busy time of year.  And as the mercury has cleared 90˚F this past week—and the steamy weather promises to continue into this one—I’m all about avoiding the heat of the oven or stove.  Turning to the grill is easy, but so are quick marinated chicken thighs sautéed in a hot skillet. I’ve found that my kids will eat lots of tender fresh greens if they’re wrapped around a savory chicken filling, topped with crunchy raw veggies and toasted nuts. So here’s my take on refreshing lettuce-wrapped chicken, the answer to a “dog’s day in August” evening. Put out a platter of lettuce leaves, herbs, sprouts and carrots, along with a bowl of toasted nuts to sprinkle in. A little dab of additional condiments, like more chili garlic or Sriracha sauce, or even some sweet hoisin or toasted sesame seed would allow everyone to customize their wraps.

Lettuce-Wrapped Asian Chicken

Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons toasted dark sesame oil

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons tamari or low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon grated fresh gingerroot

1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce

1 package (20 ounces) Just BARE® Hand-Trimmed Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs

8 large leaves butter or Boston lettuce

1 cup mixed fresh mint and basil leaves

1/2  cup bean sprouts, rinsed

1/2  cup shredded carrot

1/3 cup toasted chopped cashews

1 large lime, cut into wedges

INSTRUCTIONS
•    Mix oils, vinegar, tamari, ginger, and chili garlic sauce in medium bowl; reserve 1/4 cup to use as a dipping sauce. Add chicken, turning to coat with marinade (or place marinade and chicken in large resealable plastic bag). Refrigerate at least one hour.

•    Heat grill to medium-high heat or a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from marinade; place on hot grill. Or sauté in hot skillet with 1 tablespoon of marinade (discard the rest). Cook about 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center and juices run clear, turning once.

•    Chop chicken; serve wrapped in lettuce leaves, garnished with herbs, sprouts, carrot, nuts, reserved dipping sauce and a squeeze of lime.

By Lisa Golden Schroeder

Our little band of novice gardeners stepped into the garden lab last week. They received an exciting invitation to have their own table at the new Mahtomedi Farmers Market in early August. But what should they sell? Our harvest to date has been a horde of beetles that love our cabbage and kohlrabi leaves (which the younger children fearlessly pick off the plants), a burst of colorful cherry tomatoes, a gorgeous handful of miniature sweet bell peppers, and the always reliable tangle of herbs—from peppermint and chocolate mint to tarragon, oregano and lavender. Oh, and a nice smattering of tiny hot Thai chile peppers, some still green while others have ripened to a cherry red.

So in my mind, the most logical “value added” product that the kids can produce is flavored vinegar—easy for small hands to make and bottle. Last week we snipped long stems of herbs to steep in huge jugs of distilled vinegar (nothing gourmet here!), along with plump cloves of fresh market garlic. We’ll stuff the herbs into the jugs and let them brew for the coming week. Meanwhile, the kids created their artistic magic, making labels for the vinegar bottles. Along with making a large banner to attach to their table—and we’ve got a dozen responsible 8 to 12-year-olds, who will man the booth in shifts. We’ve decided to donate all the profits to the Mahtomedi Food Shelf, a nice circle of community activity.

This week, the day before the market, we’ll harvest some more “beauty” sprigs of herbs and edible flowers, the hot chiles and fresh cloves of garlic. The kids will slip some decorative bits into each bottle, then we’ll decant the flavored vinegar into each one. The whimsical labels will be stuck on, hopefully straight, and we’ll be ready to head out for their first retail experience. I think I may need to be available to help make change!

By Lisa Golden Schroeder

Where has the summer gone? It’s already past mid-July, my deck still hasn’t been waterproofed, nor the new grill assembled. But we’re ready to start…the old grill is sitting under the deck now. Almost headed to Goodwill, but not quite yet. So tonight we’re pulling it back out onto the lawn (again) to grill a lovely bird with one of my summer favorites—dark, sweet plums.

The honey citrus glaze I usually make is flavored with chopped fresh rosemary, but if my lavender plants are blooming I’ll chop up a handful of leaves instead. And stir in some of the delicate lavender flower buds. The combination of floral honey, Mediterranean herbs, tangy citrus and peppery olive oil is what I imagine sunshine tastes like. Brushed on chicken near the end of grilling makes the skin crisp up into a golden mahogany, while the meat stays tender and juicy underneath. To speed up the cooking a bit I’ll cut the whole chicken in half, from head to tail, with heavy kitchen shears. You can remove the backbone so each half lies flatter, but it’s not necessary.

I love plums—and will always buy extra at the end of the summer to stew up in a large kettle with a splash of orange juice and cinnamon to freeze in small containers for a mid-winter compote. But other stonefruit, like fragrant peaches, nectarines or apricots, grill up as beautifully as plums—brush with a little melted butter before laying pitted halves over medium-hot coals. My boys like grilled peaches sprinkled with dark brown sugar—they taste like pie without the pastry! For tonight I’ll just brush some of the herbal honey glaze over the plums before laying them around the chicken halves, waiting until the last 10 minutes or so of cooking. A few chunks of fresh lime or lemon to squeeze over the finished bird and fruit, a pan of quick-cooking orzo pasta tossed with some crumbled feta cheese, and a bowl full of fresh arugula dressed in a vinaigrette is an ideal supper out on the unstained deck!

HERBAL HONEY-GLAZED CHICKEN with STONEFRUIT

Makes 4 servings

GLAZE

1/4 cup wildflower or lavender honey

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary or lavender leaves

2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice

2 teaspoons grainy Dijon mustard

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

CHICKEN

1 package (3 1/2  to 4 pounds) Just BARE® Whole Chicken

4 ripe plums, halved, pitted*

1 lime or small lemon, cut into wedges

INSTRUCTIONS

•    Lightly oil grill rack; heat grill to medium heat. Mix all glaze ingredients, reserving 1 tablespoon of oil, in a small bowl. Mix until well blended; set aside 1/4 cup to serve with chicken.
•    Cut chicken in half with kitchen shears, rinse and pat dry. Rub with reserved 1 tablespoon oil. Place chicken halves on grill, skin-side up. Cook, turning as needed, until juices run clear (40 to 50 minutes or until 180˚F in thigh meat).  Brush with honey mixture during the last 15 minutes of grilling.
•    Place fruit, cut-side down, on the grill during the last 6 to 8 minutes of grilling. Turn fruit once and brush with honey mixture.
•    Drizzle chicken and fruit with reserved 1/4 cup honey glaze and a squeeze of lime.

*Substitute small peaches or nectarines for plums.

By Lisa Golden Schroeder

My garden kids learned a hard lesson over the July 4th holiday break. They had proudly planted 10 large container gardens just outside their summer classroom a week prior to the long weekend. We had volunteers slated to drop over to give the plants a drink if it stayed hot and dry, but since it was a bit stormy, everyone decided not to worry about the garden since we got enough rain. So upon the return to school, a very rude surprise was waiting. A vandal (or two, we don’t know) decided that the containers were ripe for destruction. They tore the plants that were heavy with green cherry tomatoes and chiles apart and broke the stakes holding them up—a project that the children had just completed.

The sad faces that surrounded the smashed pots slowly became irate. Who would do this to OUR garden? Their teachers and those of us working with the gardens talked with them about respecting other’s work and property—and a palpable sense of ownership was established in spades. The kids even came up with a solution that seems to be working—they carefully replanted the vandalized containers (several parents came to the rescue, donating plants and additional pots) and moved them to an inner courtyard at the school. So now they have their own secret garden that they can tend and harvest as the summer wanes.

On Friday I spent time with the younger children, who are at the location that shares our community garden. They took a tour of the gorgeous squash blossoms blooming outside, with baby zucchini at their ends. Then tasted a zucchini chocolate spice bread I baked—the stuff of summer dreams! Then I scooted over to the older children, who helped me cut herbs from their secret garden. We escaped into the cooler school kitchen, where we whirled up a big batch of herb pesto (augmented by some spicy Thai basil from the farmers market). We mixed the herbal sauce with some freshly squeezed lemon juice, then tossed it into a huge bowl of pearl couscous, local cherry tomatoes, and chopped sugar snap peas. Not everyone was a fan, but another batch of zucchini bread sealed the garden meal deal!

This fragrant herbal pesto can easily be varied, depending on the herbs you have in your garden or on hand. I love to use it mixed into mayonnaise for grilled chicken sandwiches, tossed with whole grain penne pasta and chunks of sautéed chicken breast or boneless chicken thighs—and whatever fresh veggies are the star of the week at the farmers market. Double or triple the recipe if you’re overrun with herbs—and freeze pesto “ice cubes” to use in the dead of winter in a warming chicken noodle soup.

WILDWOOD HERB PESTO

Makes about 1 cup

INGREDIENTS

1-1/2 cups (lightly packed) torn fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup fresh tarragon or sage leaves

1/4 cup packed fresh Italian parsley leaves

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

2 cloves garlic, peeled, halved

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Coarse (kosher or sea) salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

• Combine basil, nuts, cheese, parsley, tarragon and garlic in food processor or blender container. Process until herbs are finely chopped.

• Add oil; process until mixture is a coarse puree. Season with salt and pepper.

• Refrigerate with plastic wrap pressed onto surface (to prevent browning), or freeze in ice cube trays (once frozen, place in a small resealable plastic bag.)

By Lisa Golden Schroeder

I’m deep into my family’s passion for roasted asparagus this past month. Plump bunches of lime green spears and bins of baby lettuce just scream to me when I enter the produce department—and soon my local farmer’s market will open, bursting with even more temptation. I found last year that my kids can gobble up an entire baking pan
of roasted asparagus, halved button mushrooms, and chopped garlic. So I’ve been parlaying that love into spring salad events, where even my youngest doesn’t turn up his nose if there’s a lettuce leaf in sight.

I think I’ll try this salad idea out on the grill in the next few months, but for now I’ve been turning the oven up to 425˚F, tossing asparagus, mushrooms, and boneless chicken thighs with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of coarse salt and a generous grind of garlic pepper, and roasting them until the chicken is tender and the vegetables are golden brown and a little crispy on the edges. I let the chicken cool a bit, then shred it into bite-size pieces that I spoon onto a bed of baby green lettuces, spinach, or spring watercress. The warm asparagus and mushrooms get plopped down alongside on the greens. I had a salad once that was topped with warm sautéed wild mushrooms and still love the contrast of their juicy meatiness with a crisp salad. So pairing them with the asparagus and chicken only makes it better. A good glug of balsamic vinegar and some crumbled blue cheese finish off the dish—super quick and definitely doable on a weeknight.

As more summer produce appears in the market or your garden, you can make this main dish salad with just about anything. Roast or grill quartered beets, halved Roma tomatoes, sliced eggplant, sweet bell peppers or long slices of zucchini…all taste lovely warm on greens with the richness of the chicken.

WARM CHICKEN SALAD with ROASTED ASPARAGUS

Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 package (20 ounces) Just BARE® Hand-trimmed Boneless Skinless Thighs

1 pound asparagus spears, trimmed

1 package (8 ounces) button or shiitake mushrooms, stems trimmed, halved

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons coarse salt

Freshly ground pepper

6 cups mixed baby lettuces

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese, if desired

INSTRUCTIONS

• Heat oven to 425˚F. Place chicken, asparagus, and mushrooms on large rimmed baking sheet. Evenly drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil; season with salt and pepper.
• Roast chicken and vegetables about 25 minutes, turning chicken once and stirring vegetables occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink in center and vegetables are very tender.
• Shred chicken in to bite-size pieces. Arrange on top of greens with warm asparagus and mushrooms. Mix vinegar with remaining 1 tablespoon oil; drizzle over salad. Top with blue cheese.