Today was a very eventful day! We started out by putting the Chicken with Tarragon and Leeks into the crockpot and then made out way to the Howard County Fair to watch some draft horse events and visit the critters. While we were there, I was fortunate enough to meet a very nice Jersey Cow farmer who was kind enough to give me some of the milk from his cows. As a scientist I am a true advocate of pasteurization so in the next segment of this blog I will tell you how to pasteurize raw milk so that you are safe. This is by no way a reflection on Queen acres farms in Carrol County MD, its just about what I feel is right to do with all milk to keep me healthy. JW had the cleanest cows I'd seen all day, they were well taken care of and beautiful! The ladies were excellent milkers and I could tell he and his family take very good care of them. I also got a chance to snuggle with an adorable 4 month old calf.
 |
| Cow Kisses! |
 |
| Mmmmm, looks like hay, but tastes like coconut! OR - Me getting a cowlick, Arr arr arr! |
As you can see, me and this pretty young lady got along great! She was such a sweetie and so were the rest of the cows. I'm a big fan of this farm and although I've looked for a website, I haven't found one, so just take my word on it. These people had the best well mannered and socialized cows I'd ever met. Every cow was pretty willing to be pet and loved on and the owner, JW just kept repeating that they just really like breeding good cows. These are the producers I want to bring into the light. I want to share with all of you what it is like to get to know the farmers and producers who make our food and keep this country's bellies full! So, over the next couple days I'll probably put some stuff together after the recipes to share with everyone where our food comes from. Tomorrow's will be about milk vs meat cows and the milking process. But until then here is the link for today's recipe:
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/chicken-tarragon-leeks-00000000011463/index.html
Chicken with Tarragon and Leeks
Ingredients
1 1/2
pounds baby new potatoes ~ 16
1.5 lbs of skinnless chicken parts (I used legs)
3 leeks
1 c. dry white wine
Salt & pepper
1/2 a 10 oz package of frozen peas
1/3 c. Greek yogurt
1 Tbs. dried tarragon
Chop the tops off the leeks, leaving only the light green and white parts
Halve leeks and cut into 1.5" segments
Place the potatoes on the bottom of a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker.
Add the chicken, leeks, wine, and sprinkle with salt and pepper
Cook, covered, until the chicken and potatoes are tender, on high for 3 to 4 hours, or on low for 6 to 7 hours.
Transfer the chicken and all but 4 of the potatoes to plates.
Using a fork, smash the remaining potatoes into the cooking
liquid to thicken.
Add the peas tarragon and yogurt and cook until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes.
Spoon over the chicken and serve.
Doesn't look the best because the chicken fell right off the bone as soon as I stuck a fork in it but it was tasty. I'm not a big fan of peas so I will probably try to find an alternative (edamame?) next time. The other issue I had with this is that the sauce never thickened, so I'd say you'd have to add some cornstarch if you'd rather have a thicker "gravy." The dish was very mild but didn't have a big pop of flavor. I'd say it falls more into the comfort food range and was really easy to make, with probably 30 minutes of hands on time split between prep and the sauce making.
Happy Eating and I look forward to sharing all about milking with you all tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment