Autumn Chicken with Apples and Sweet Potatoes

Since last Saturday was the autumn equinox, I decided I'd be seasonal and make a healthy fall meal.

Here we go.  It was DELICIOUS!

First I coated chicken breasts with my favorite herb mix.

Then I cubed (more or less) some sweet potatoes and dumped them on top of the chicken.

Next was some chopped vidalia onion.





I let it cook a bit, then added in a mix of Granny Smith and Gala apples. The Granny Smith gave it a nice tartness.

I sealed it all in foil and parchment and baked.  (Apology: my oven is so unpredictable that I can't really offer times or temps, but you're all experienced enough cooks to figure out what works in your oven.)

The final verdict - YUM!

But before I say goodbye to summer, I wanted to show these flowers that have been growing wild down the block from me. I just love them. They started out really tiny in the summer, but they've grown so now they're almost waist high!. They close up at night and open again in the morning.

You can see they spread across the sidewalk.
You can also see Fenway's head!

Photos don't quite do it justice.

A Tale of Two Daughters - and some lentils

I've been trying to eat more fresh foods, mostly plant-based, for a couple of reasons related to health and optimal weight. So last night I made a delicious recipe I'll share below.


I messaged a photo to one daughter and she said - Oh, that looks delicious.

I sent it to the other one and she said, "I can't say it photographs well." So I sent another photo and got back, "Still not my kind of meal. I had chicken."

I raised them both!

The one who ate chicken - she lived on blueberries and green peppers during one childhood stage. She's now the carnivore. She was bragging about the chili she made the other night that was beef, beans, and cheese. 3 proteins  - nothing extra - and she loved it.

The other one became a vegan in college. Her food is healthy and wholesome, but so low in calories that it can't put weight on a bird.

Did I mention I raised them both?

On to the recipe -

Last time I was in Whole Foods I noticed something new to me - black lentils. They're called the 'caviar of lentils' probably more for their color than anything else.  It certainly wasn't price - the whole bag was just $2.99.

I looked over some recipes, but then I had an idea -

I baked a sweet potato.

I cooked the lentils separately (boil for 20 minutes)

I roasted and shredded a beet.

Then I layered - the way all the finest restaurants do, right?

A squeeze of fresh orange over the top was the perfect moisture and unifying flavor. Oh, and I added some strips of Swiss Chard.

So tell me about your families. Do the family members share the same taste in foods?

Welcome to Happy Healthy 2017

The Healthy Writer here is gleefully welcoming all of you who are ready to start fresh after indulging over the holidays.

A little indulgence now and then is good for our spirits. It's especially good when it inspires us to want to eat healthy in the aftermath.

I saw this Santa and thought he looks like he's had a pretty rough season. I guess he could use some healthy eating too.

Okay, on to healthy food.


I don't know about you, but as I get older, I find I just can't tolerate as much of the sweetness. I used to be a bottomless receptacle for all things holiday - cookies, candy, cake, repeat.

But this year, I only spent one evening baking, I indulged in one Junior's cheesecake given to us by a friend, and I ate a chocolate bar that had been hiding in my freezer since before Thanksgiving.

Not trying to be all virtuous here - just getting old, I fear.

On Monday, Jan said:

Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's all do a number on our eating habits, and every year at the beginning of January we decide that THIS is the year that we'll like our scale again. THIS is the year we will eat healthy. THIS is the year that we will learn to like healthy eating!

Let me give you an idea to try.

I was craving something colorful and nutritious last week, but I had no clear idea of what it was going to be. Then I remembered the can of black beans I'd been inspired to pick up at Whole Foods. And I had a sweet potato.

From there, I added things as I went.

Let me tell it in pictures.

First there was the sweet potato. I tried something different. I peeled it and then roasted it. So what you see here is about to be chopped up into bite-sized chunks.

I used Eden Organics Black Beans. I like them because they're packed in seaweed and contain no additional salt or preservatives. I added some Cippolini onions and my favorite freeze-dried garlic.

I wanted to add some sort of spices, but I wasn't exactly sure what.  I ended up adding the onion and garlic and then I threw in some cumin. Perfect!

Once everything had simmered a bit, I added in some frozen corn.

Stir and simmer a bit longer.

Drain thoroughly. You don't want soggy taco shells!

I had some delicious avocados, so I scooped them out.

Then it was time to add everything into the heated taco shells.

I broke this one open so you could see all the layered goodness.

A few notes:

I used one sweet potato and one can of beans because I was making it just for my daughter and myself. The rest of the ingredients can be added according to taste. I like a lot of garlic, but I only chopped up one Cippolini onion and it was enough. I didn't measure the cumin, just gave the jar a shake.

When it came time to assemble, I smashed the avocado and lined the shell with it and then alternated the chunks of roasted sweet potato and bean/corn mix.

I loved the taco shell because it added a crunchy texture. I've had similar recipes that used soft tortillas instead. They were delicious too.  If you're wondering about the green stuff, I had a bag of salad greens that were about to expire so I dry roasted them too and tossed them in. You could do that or not, not necessary though.


So, what healthy meals are you inspired to try this year?

Of Poldark and Veggie Burgers

Any POLDARK watchers here in the cafe?

I confess a large part of this post was conceived just as an excuse to talk about Poldark.

The season finale was this past Sunday, and although there were times during this past season when Ross was anything but heroic, I stuck with it and in the end I *almost* forgave him.

If you're interested, I found a really interesting podcast interviewing Ross about the whole situation. As a fan of the show, I enjoyed it, but as a writer, it had me thinking about how I create history for my characters. Lovely to listen to him really analyze his character and his relationships.

Poldark Podcast 

So the food connection (bear with me) -

In one of the last Season 2 episodes, Dr. Dwight tells Caroline's uncle that he suffers from the "sugar disease" which I assume is diabetes.

Watching that episode on the Sunday after Thanksgiving having eaten so many wonderful pies (and heading into Christmas cookie season), I was reminded how badly I needed something healthy to eat.

So I decided to play with some healthy foods.

First I baked some gorgeous sweet potatoes.

Then I added some sprouted lentils and toasted sunflower seeds

I had the idea to add in some greens.  At first it looked like I had created an impossible mess, but they actually mashed down quite well.

I baked them for about fifteen minutes.

They made a great lunch. 

I tried adding some dried cranberries for a different flavor.

So let's talk - food or Poldark????

Snow and Cold and Gloom vs. Sweet Potato Pomegranate Goodness

I can't believe I haven't shared this recipe here before. I really thought I did. It's sooooo delicious.
So, since pomegranate season is drawing to a close, today seems like the perfect time.

But first -

Just because it's been so gloomy and cold and I stumbled across these photos while I was looking for my sweet potato - pomegranate bake;

Spring will eventually come back.

And then summer. Ahhhhh, the warmth.

Early morning waves.

Okay, back to reality.
Snow. Cold. Gloom.

Maybe a touch of sun.

We can hope.

But in the meantime, does all that cold have you craving citrus?

Here's a great filling side dish that is sooooo good. Did I say that already.

My daughter found the recipe several years ago on this website - Keepin' It Kind.
I wouldn't want to steal credit for her recipe, so I'll just show you two quick photos of our batch in progress and then refer you  back to her for the glorious finished photos.

Ingredients:
 three large sweet potatoes cut into medallions, pomegranate arils, orange juice, maple syrup, sea salt, chopped pecans, coconut sugar or brown sugar, and ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

You may notice in the picture that my daughter chose an assortment of colored sweet potatoes. Who knew there were purple ones?

 Sprinkle with pomegranate arils and shopped pecans.

Bake.

Enjoy.

Okay, go on over to the site and look at the glorious after photos taken by her husband. Pomegranate Orange Sweet Potato Bake.   Kristy tells a lovely story too about getting recipes from her grandma. I love family stories like this, so I was sold even before I tasted the deliciousness.

But please come back. I'll give you more summer waves and flowers.

Fenway loves the beach.

So, how are you dealing with the cold? Snuggled up with a good book? So many releases this month - Jan's released yesterday and Ruthy has one on the shelf too.


















I spent a cozy weekend snuggled in on the sofa with the cute dog, hot tea, scones and a great story. It was perfectly fitting for the snowy cold weather.

So help yourself to a cup of coffee or tea and let's chat.