late bloomer

That's me today. Had an early appointment two counties over and woke later than intended. Barely made it out of the house after feeding everyone but me! Had a chance while there to sneak into Whole Foods and grab an early lunch before heading to a second appointment. If only I had had time and $$ to shop! LOVE WHOLE FOODS!

Good news here is that the pups have now graduated to mush. And, now that they're no longer relocated from the pen in order to eat from my lap I need to figure out how to get into the pen to clean up and get fresh papers down. I'm sure I'll figure out something. I didn't go to graduate school for nothing, after all.

And another thing. The other night I attempted to roast some tomatoes from our garden before the whole lot turned to mush on me. This was a prelude to making tomato sauce that could go in the freezer. Alas, the oven runs hot and I forgot to check them halfway through and they burned up like nobody's business. I tried again last night, and here are the lovely 'maters sprinkled with herbs, onions and garlic before heading into the oven. This time they did not burn, but let me tell you that there's not much of a tomato left after they've been roasted for a couple of hours (this recipe is from Alton Brown, so who am I to quibble about the length of time?). The recipe calls for wine in the next step and it just so happens I'm fresh out, so will have to wait to complete the effort. But, I must say that I'm just more than slightly tickled that I have gotten this far using our plentiful harvest. Next year I hope we'll plant more plants and I can really put some sauce together!

In the meantime I concocted a recipe for dinner last night to use yet another tomato that was ripe and ready. OMG, was it fabulous! Let me share...

The Vicar's Chicken (serves 2--double as needed)
(I'm not a vicar but it has a ring to it)

Cook two strips of bacon in skillet (I used an 8" non-stick skillet. From Pampered Chef, just so you know). Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings. Set cooked bacon strips aside.
Add one large tomato, peeled and coarsely chopped, and one medium onion, coarsely chopped. Saute in bacon drippings on medium-low heat.
Top tomato and onion mixture with one large boneless, skinless chicken breast. Turn chicken breast after ten minutes. Stir tomato and onion mixture as needed.
When chicken breast is cooked through (total time 20 minutes?), remove from pan. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth to skillet and stir in.
Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and return to skillet. Crumble bacon and add to skillet. Stir to mix.
Serve over pasta. Grate fresh Parmesan cheese over dish.

Except for the bacon fat this is a very healthy meal (I use whole wheat pasta, as well), but the bacon is what makes this a standout. If you try it, let me know how you like it!

And that, friends, is a wrap for today. I'm heading to the store for wine. For the tomato sauce, of course!