ArcaMax

Summer Bounty

I harvested my first tomato on Saturday.

There’s nothing particularly newsworthy about that except that I haven’t done that in several years. Way back when, I gave up on planting vegetables in my garden and decided to stick to flowers.

A couple of things factored in.

When we first built our house in Wisconsin I planted all kinds of things. I had strawberries around the ornamental pond. I had beans on the hill. I had raspberry bushes up by the end of the lot that faced the neighbor’s cornfield. I even planted some of my own corn. I had carrots, zucchini, onions and more.

Turns out I took care of all of those things just so the critters could have their fill.

I didn’t have a fence around my garden so as each item came up to harvest time some wild creature ate it. It got to be quite the joke. I’ll never forget the day I drove up in my car and witnessed a food fest. As I went to turn the car into the garage I spied a squirrel up in the apple tree. The squirrel’s cheeks were bulging so far out I thought he’d explode. That wasn’t bad enough. He proceeded to push strawberries out of his swollen face, one at a time, munching on them. He balanced them delicately between his paws and ate them like a cob of corn, methodically chewing bits and eventually the entire strawberry disappeared. Then he’d take out another one and repeat the process. I sat in my car watching this spectacle. I began to laugh and just decided to take pride in providing a meal for a wild creature. He continued to do this as each new batch of strawberries ripened. He was smart enough not to take the ones that were not ripe yet. He waited til they were perfectly juicy; right about the same time that I would want them.

And so it goes.

I’m sure I fed a lot of rabbits that summer too. Maybe even some raccoons (they ate the fish in my pond too) and deer. A coyote or two. You get the idea.

I decided that there were so many wonderful farmers’ markets that I didn’t need to do the planting, care and harvesting. I never got to eat it anyway. I’d just let the pros handle it. I’d buy my vegetables. That way I didn’t end up with too much of anything either. I had one year when I first started gardening where I had zucchini coming out of my ears! And they just kept getting bigger! It was a nightmare.

This year the only reason I have tomato plants is a friend gave them to me. There is one large tomato plant, one cherry tomato plant and one pepper plant. I put them in a pot but they are sort of crowded. I don’t think it’s going to be the best harvest going but I am sticking with it to see what happens. They got planted a bit late so even the cherry tomatoes are just starting to develop. We'll see. In the meantime, I have my one tomato I don't have to share with the wildlife.

I don’t see any future in my starting up a vegetable garden again. I like my flowers.

For today’s recipe I am offering up a delightful chicken dish. It tastes very French. Anything with tarragon tastes French. This is super easy to make and dieters are enjoying it all over the country. We have thousands of Plan Z dieters in 39 states now. They are enjoying the meals, eating healthy and losing weight.

French Chicken with Lemon-Tarragon Cream Sauce

Serves 6

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast pieces
Sea salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of organic chicken broth or stock
Juice of one lemon
1 cup of cream
3 Tbl of finely minced, fresh tarragon

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Spray large sauté pan with olive oil. Put the chicken in smooth side down. Saute on medium high for 5 minutes until chicken has a nice, golden crust.

Place the chicken in an oven-proof pan and put in your oven to roast at 375 for 30 minutes or until chicken has no more pink in the middle.

While the chicken roasts, make your sauce.

In a medium sauce pan add the chicken broth. Cook on a medium boil until the broth reduces in half. This makes the flavor richer. Add the lemon juice and the cream. Cook on low boil until the sauce begins to thicken. Don’t let it boil over. This process will likely take about 15 minutes. Hang around so you can keep an eye on it. The cream will thicken as the sauce cooks. Season with pepper if you want. When the sauce has thickened, add the tarragon and turn off the heat. Just let it sit until the chicken is done.

Serve the chicken with a drizzle of sauce over the top. Green beans and an optional salad will round this French meal out nicely.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola