I happened upon a stand yesterday with some growers who boast no- chemicals and have these amazing Mexican herbs and wonderful assortments of greens and peppers. I found a huge bunch of  basil and close by was an herb so beautiful and enticing I knew right away I was going to make something to feature this herb.

Pipicha or pepecha is an herb from Oaxaca, Mexico. The flavor and aroma have elements of pine, citrus and mint.  I added this at the end of my soup- where I would’ve normally added cilantro-  it is likened to Cilantro- yet I did not think it was comparable  really- however, you want to use either pepicha OR cilantro. The man explained to me typically this herb is cooked with corn or zucchini. I took a hint and decided it was going to accent some soup- or should I say, the soup accented this bright herb I cant normally find everyday- that is the beauty of finding something within a season.

Tomatillos – about 6 or 7 quartered

white or yellow onion- 1 chopped roughly

5 or 6 lg cloves of garlic-smashed out of the skin

about tsp of mustard seeds

adobo peppers, 1 or 2 ( leave out to remove heat if making for kids)

chicken on bone- 2 chicken breasts or thighs combo

zucchini – 3 or 4 smaller young

1 cup kale or collard

bay leave, pepper, cumin, salt pepper

avocado , lime, corn tortillas, cheese

saute the onion, garlic, tomatillo, and mustard seed in your favorite oil- i make sure they are nice and  ”pan roasted” – with a nice hint of dark color and everything evenly cooked through- take all, scrape into a blender- zip with a cup or 2 of chicken broth-(and adobo pepper if you have it) throw in pan .

Chicken on bone- 2 big breasts or some thighs if you want- throw in broth with about 6-8 more cups of water, boil for 30 min with some salt (tsp or so) pepper , bay leaf and  1 .5 tsp cumin .  remove chicken to plate- Add 3 or 4 small sliced zucchini,  about 2 c of chopped kale, can black beans , test for seasoning- add salt as desired-

garnish with lime,  favorite cheese, sliced corn tortillas, and 1/4 avocado sliced,

my favorite touch is to toast the tortillas in pan meting cheese between and letting them cool off a bit before slicing them into strips- pan roasting a poblano pepper in strips is also nice- which i did in this version for the people who wanted heat in the soup.

Picked up lots of peppers of all kinds today and some beautiful squash. I also happened upon some fresh raw honey, local and added in a bag of bee Pollen. lots of inspiration today to jar, pickle, and make apple pies. The highlights are honeycrisp apples and delicious little pears. I am so heartened to see the natural organic slow food movement thriving and for sure plan to buy some fresh chicken and soup bones next time around.

Going to make some apple creations right now!

Chicken main dish-
Chicken breast-
rosemary thin sliced ham or other favorite
Chevre
basil leaves
-Beat the chicken breast thinly between some parchment paper, lightly bread and season to your liking- Italian or rosemary is nice. Brown breaded chicken in skillet with butter or oil- take ham and layer ham and cheese and basil leaves, roll and either pin together with toothpicks or your favorite method to keep it together- throw in 350 degree oven for about 25 min, checking for doneness after 20.

Chanterelle Mushrooms- approx 2 cups cleaned and chopped roughly
Spinach- about 1 bag organic baby spinach or I small bunch cleaned
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced
salt, pepper thyme red pepper
- Saute together mushrooms in butter, add garlic, seasoning in butter, add spinach toward end of cooking time- do NOT burn garlic, i add when my mushrooms are sweating-

I served with some simple brown rice cooked with my favorite veggie broth, ladled the veggie over the nicely sliced chicken over the rice- simple and good! i would have loved some wild rice to compliment the mushrooms!

Salmon Fillets-
(only wild )
tbs of honey
2 or 3 tbs of crushed cashews (raw, unsalted or do not add salt to fish if seasoned)
salt, pepper to taste

Simple as simple can be- drizzle honey over tops of fillets after you salt and pepper them to taste- i prefer sea salt and cracked blk pepper- coat with crushed cashews, bake at 350 until perfect…about 20 min give or take on your oven or bake off in your favorite way-
dont forget to serve with lemon juice squeezed on top-

note: I made this with left over crushed cashews, peas, garlic over pasta with red pepper and salt/pepper- little parm cheese and a plain green salad with lemon and olive oil.

2 chicken breasts (skinless)
8 or more peppercorns
1 bayleaf
1/4 lemon
enough water to almost cover chicken in a saucepan
-start all this to boil, then reduce to simmer – cover for 30 min or so

about 2 cups of broccoli- saute with 2 cloves of garlic, 2 inch piece of ginger -( diced)
then steam with some mirin, soy sauce or braggs, and add tbls of miso, tbls peanut buter and tbls of sesame oil with some broth off the chicken to make a small sauce-
- cook 2 bundles of Soba Noodles

make a bowl of noodles, add a bit of chicken broth, diced serving of the poached chicken- top with miso sauce, broccoli and red pepper flakes, drizzle small bit of sesame oil and serve!

one lb of chicken (white and dark or white meat)

seasoning rub for chicken, bbq style or some other combo with a kick

two stalks celery

half sweet onion

one ripe mango

2 tbls of mayo (give or take )

2 tbls of plain yogurt

1/4 tsp cayene pepper

salt pepper to taste

I baked off the bbq rubbed chicken breast at 350 for about 30 min

cool off and combine minced veggies- use the mayo and yogurt to your  taste- start with one tbl of mayo , add yogurt, then bump it up  more-

use as much cayenne as you can endure- the sweet, tangy yogurt mango goes delicious with the spicy depth of the rub and caynne

NEXT TIME-

i would add diced cilantro- and top with one spoonful of mango chutney for example- either on bread or a salad- would go great over arugala!

mashed potatoes

Mash potatoes simply with butter, cream, salt pepper and nutmeg-

saute 1 red onion diced, handful of dried figs diced, few sliced of some good  salami and fresh thyme in olive oil and a bit of butter – salt pepper, drizzle of honey and lemon- toss into potatoes slightly on top of each serving and add some crumbled cheese like maybe havarti- totally amazing combo I happened onto by making some green beans with above ingredients-

1 2/3 cup water

8 cardamon pods

1 cinnamon stick

4 peppercorns

2 star anise pods

1 tsp fresh ginger

1 bay leaf

2 tsp sugar ( more to taste)

2/3 c milk

2 tea bags of black tea- or 2 tsp of tea leaves

boil all ingredients in water except milk and tea bags- 2 min or so-

add milk and tea bags- boil for 3 or 4 more minutes

strain and serve- add more sugar if needed and  next time i will make with more peppercorns to have more kick

about 3/4 cup of Cacao paste

shake of cinnamon

1/4 tsp of cayenne

5 minced dates

1/4 cup of  ground golden flax

1/4 cup of raw pumpkin seeds

2 tbls Maca root

1 tbls mesquite

1/4 cup of  agave nectar / maple syrup

few hits of pink Himalayan  Sea salt

So, i took this to a double boiler to heat this slow and keep it low temp- melted this cacao paste- nice, silky, pretty- than wham! i added maple syrup and it seized up on me- when i realized it wasnt going back to that nice smooth format- i just threw everything i had into it above and pressed it into a fudge kind of form- i rolled it into balls and threw it into my candy foils and threw it in the fridge- and walla- i have chocolates thaat worked out despite the madness and they are a wee bit spicy for some- but they are high level nuggets of passion to be shared and taken as medicine…………….

            Morning  Sacred Cow

            I cup unsweetened almond milk

            one banana (froz would be best)

           1 tsp raw cacao

         1 tsp maca root

        dash cayenne

      dash or two of cinnamon

      1 plus scoop preferred protein powder

       zip it in a blender and go to heaven for a while- i am going to do some yoga now!