Chicken Stirfry and Peapods Recipe

Oregon Sugar Pod II

These are like candy! They're so sweet and delicious, I love using them in a stirfry or a salad or just eating them while picking!  I need to keep picking these so that they keep producing as long as possible, although this hot weather is not doing me any favors. Peapods are one of those things from the garden that just aren't the same when I try to preserve them. I've tried freezing them, but they thaw limp and soggy. They're at their absolute best when they're eaten just after picking.

One of my favorite recipes, that's always sitting on the tip of my brain, is a chicken stirfry - probably because I've made it hundreds of times.

Chicken Stirfry with Peapods, Recipe:
(yes, you've heard this all before, but it's such a great recipe for using these crisp, delicious peapods!)

Dice chicken breast.

Mince a clove of garlic

In a large skillet, saute the chicken breast and garlic in a little olive oil. I start the burner on high, but turn it down so that the chicken can spend more time on the stove and get a golden brown. It makes all the difference in taste.

Vegetables, cut and bagged ahead of time: (just because it makes prep time seem shorter)

Celery, onion, Carmen (or other red, sweet peppers,) 1/2 jalapeno (minced), lots and lots of peapods,
Mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

Sauce:

1/3 c. GF Organic chicken broth (Pacific)

1 T. corn starch

2 T. white wine

1 t. Bragg's liquid aminos (or just use sea salt)

1 t. honey

In a separate skillet, stirfry vegetables. When translucent, combine chicken and vegetables. Pour sauce over the top and toss til the sauce is a nice clear glaze. Put mushrooms in at nearly the last minute, then heat another couple minutes before serving. Sprinkle with sea salt, cayenne, and cashews! The peapods should still be a bit crunchy, but a darker, nearly translucent green.

The raspberries are just beginning.

It looks like we'll be picking all this next week.

What??! What on earth happened to my tomatoes?

For now, this seems to be the only plant affected. That lamb's quarters, although edible, is an intruder. I didn't notice it until I saw it in the photo! I'm counting on this tomato crop. Sure hope they hurry up and grow and ripen before blight sets in.

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Back From the Road Trip

We made it back from Indiana. While there, we spent quality time, although not a great quantity of time, with our daughter, her husband, and little Henry. So,  I had to post this photo of Henry. I just love the bows of the sunglasses over his ears. :-) Prior to that, he had them on upside down. Okay, maybe you have to be the grandma to think that's cute, but...

And of course the glasses have so many smudges from his little fingers that it's a wonder he can see through them at all!

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Here in NW Wisconsin the corn is over 8 feet tall in places, lush and green. But the crops in Indiana  are in desperate need of rain. In fact, in many places, it's too late. Even a good rain now couldn't save the crop. The corn is stunted and stressed, and yards are brown and crisp. The leaves of trees are curling. With storms and power outages in the eastern states, wildfires in the West, and drought in the middle of the country, this is proving to be a difficult year for many.

I heard on the news that we could expect the prices of meat and cereal to increase. Are they kidding?? Have they read labels lately? Corn is an ingredient in just about everything. So I would expect that prices on 'just about everything' will increase dramatically.

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It's good to be home, although the visit with 'the kids' was much too short (that's my opinion, not necessarily theirs) :-). Bridger and Misty, Lionel and Tuppence were very glad to see us! Our youngest son and his wife lived in the house for the four days we were gone and kept the garden watered and the animals fed. We could not have left if they'd not been willing to do that, so we are grateful to them.

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Kids living a day away (or more) is for the birds.

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 Alfalfa field north of the house

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer! The weather man tells me that we've had 17 days so far of high temps in the 90s. Hot and muggy, it's summer in Wisconsin.

By the way, I am so far behind in blogging and catching up with emails, that I'm hoping you'll understand if I just start from here. I look forward to reading your blogs this week!

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And by the way, what happened to those Northern Lights we were supposed to get??  I had heard they would be seen as far south as Alabama. They certainly missed Wisconsin. We haven't seen a nice display of the Aurora Borealis for quite a few years. I was looking forward to spectacular lights.

'Honey Oatmeal'

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