Brown Rice with Spiced Chicken, Tomato, and Zucchini

I used to make this recipe all the time. Then I forgot about it. I saw some beautiful zucchinis at Pat's Supermarket last week and searched out this recipe. It's from Leith's Cooking for One or Two (where they are called courgettes of course). I've revised the recipe so it feeds four. Quick, easy, tasty. Especially when winter returns in mid-April! Leftovers make great lunches.

Brown Rice with Spiced Chicken, Tomato, and Zucchini

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 oz brown rice
1 pint chicken stock
2 zucchinis, cut into 1 cm dice
2 tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1 cm dice
4-6 boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2.5 cm pieces
2 tsps cajun spice
2 tbsp butter
lemon juice
parsley

Toss chicken thighs with cajun seasoning and set aside.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in saucepan and fry onion until soft. Add rice, stir to coat. Pour in stock, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer 40-50 minutes until rice is tender, stirring occasionally.
When rice is almost cooked, heat remaining 1 tbsp oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan. Add butter. When foaming, fry chicken briskly until browned. Add zucchini and tomato and toss until hot but zucchini is still crunchy. 
Add cooked rice to chicken. Check seasoning. Add lemon juice to taste and garnish with chopped parsley.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chia Pudding (aka Breakfast)

This is THE BEST chia pudding I've ever had. Almost as good as a budino!

Thanks to cousin Jen for sending me to A Saucy Kitchen gluten free website where you can find the recipe here: https://www.asaucykitchen.com/peanut-butter-chocolate-chia-pudding/.

This is my (slightly modified) version:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chia Pudding

1 c unsweetened almond or coconut almond milk
1/4 c chia seeds
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter (all natural)
2 tbsp maple syrup

Combine ingredients, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Makes 4 servings.

Swedish Lemon Visiting Cake

I love baked goods with cardamom. They remind me of Sweden. I made this cake for the first time this week and we all loved it. It baked evenly and yielded a moist, dense, lemony loaf. The recipe was posted on the NYT website and attributed to Dorie Greenspan. I have made a couple minor tweaks based on my own ingredients. (The original recipe also had a marmalade glaze that I found unnecessary, but if that appeals you can get the original recipe online.) Best served with afternoon tea (or coffee)!

Swedish Lemon Visiting Cake

1 1/2 c flour

1 1/4 tsp b powder

1 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1 c sugar*

1 large lemon

4 large eggs, room temp

1/2 c greek yogurt**

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

5 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 350.

Butter 8 1/2 inch loaf pan, dust with flour, and place on baking sheet.

Whisk together flour, b power, cardamom, ginger and salt.

Put sugar in a large bowl. Grate zest of lemon over sugar. Rub sugar and zest together until mixture is moist and aromatic. 

Squeeze lemon to yield 3 tbsp juice and set aside.

Add eggs to sugar one at a time, whisking after each addition. Whisk in juice then yogurt. Using whisk, gently stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients in two additions.

Stir vanilla into melted butter then blend into batter.

Scrape batter into loaf pan.

Bake 70-75 minutes, covering loosely with foil if it browns too quickly. 

Transfer to a rack, let rest for 5 minutes, loosen with a knife and invert onto a rack.

Cool to room temperature.

* original recipe called for 1 1/4 cups

** can use heavy cream