Abundance and Transformation

You can feel it here.

Summer's grip slipping, like a setting sun.

In response, the abundance the earth is offering

is incredible

I have been crazily trying to transform 

all this beautiful abundance into lasting memories

This from Old Ackley Farm

 into this:

Corn ice cream with blueberry sauce

These beauties from Blue Zee

into something I can jar for winter

And these 

turned into an incredible supper one night,

over polenta with lentils and red onion

A friend and gardener asked me

 if I wanted some basil

!!! 

On Friday I headed to the freezer with 10 pints of pesto

She threw in a few quarts of sun golds

because I don't have any this year

and I slow roasted them to produce

little candy like jewels 

Which I served with local goat cheese on bread

and it was like a cream cheese and jelly sandwich on steroids

The best part of all of this bounty is sharing

 I am so grateful for all the lovely people in my life

 who choose to share it with me

Thank you everyone for your abundant desire to

 participate in my summer of

creativity

 and giving me the chance to share all the wonders

of this magical place and time.

 May there be more to come

I hope you are all eating well and happy

Kyra

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

These sandwiches were a hit yesterday and I thought I'd share what I did

to the chicken because it was DELICIOUS!!

I served the pulled chicken yesterday on a homemade bun toasted with herb butter

with melted raw cheddar cheese and caramelized onions.

First of all, I am privy to Old Ackley Farm chicken -

which is the best in the world and if you are anywhere

near here you should run, not walk, to a farmer's market

where they are

 to get yourself some!

Proof that there is no reason to be afraid of a whole chicken:

Put the sweet thing into a pot that is just a tiny bit

bigger than the chicken

Sprinkle it liberally with Ancho Chili Pepper, dried thyme 

 and Kosher Salt

Pour equal parts of white wine and apple cider/juice into the 

pot to create an inch of liquid in the bottom

(don't pour it over the chicken or you will lose your spices)

Slice the top off a whole head of garlic and throw that in as well

Cover the whole wonderous thing with parchment paper and then

a lid of some sort - none of my pots have lids that fit so I use foil-

Place it in a 325 degree oven and let it melt into perfection 

This might take up to 4 hours - I like it so the legs are almost falling off-

Remove from oven and let rest a good hour, with the lid on

When cool enough to handle easily, but still warm,

take the chicken from the pot and squeeze the now softened garlic

 into the broth in the bottom.

 Pull all the meat from the chicken - don't forget about the wings

and those two little nuggets under the breast bone connecting the thighs

and add it into the broth 

YUM!

This will also freeze well and you can pull it out some other time

for chicken tacos or a topping for polenta or.....

Enjoy!

Kyra

Here I am!

While visiting with a friend a few weeks back she described

a recent meal in a local restaurant as 

"adequate"

The word filled me with sadness for some reason and

I've been thinking about it ever since

My goal has always been 'Extraordinary!'

Even my failures have been spectacular

It means editing the adequate out

and rejoicing in things that make your heart sing

There have been so many of those moments this summer

both at Lily's and in my personal life;

The Oyster Fest! topping it all

 

The success of my Farmhouse Lunches

My extraordinary crew!

The private parties 

Betsy's Sunflower Shop wanting to sell my aprons after the craft show

Having time to experiment with technique

(After reading a Bon Appetite article I roasted my eggplant

directly on the coals - it produced an outrageously delicious

smoky flesh that I paired with greek yogurt and sumac over pasta)

My garden

Scoring these chairs at TJ Maxx

 Having time to nurture friendships

And the extraordinary passing of DOMA, giving me the

 right to legalize my partnership with

Renee, someone I have spent the last 17 years with,

creating all these spectacular successes and failures

Extraordinary doesn't have to be complicated

It is as simple as a smile, if your whole heart is in it.

Kyra