Grilled Jerk Chicken w Fresh Peach Salsa

We are having a heat wave here in Nebraska and I refuse to heat the house up with my oven or stove.  My go-to summer meals are always on the grill and tonight I decided on some delicious jerk chicken.  The origins of jerking can be traced back to the Cormantee Hunters of West Africa in the 1600s.  It is a traditional Jamaican dish in which meat (usually pork or chicken) is marinated in a spicy mixture and then smoked over pit fires.  Of course the ingredients and techniques have evolved over time as various cultures have added their influences.  In my own variation, I substituted the traditional Scotch Bonnet pepper for a Serrano to reduce the heat and added a few extra spices for some added pizazz.  I marinated the chicken breasts about 10-12 hours and then grilled them until juicy and tender.  To offset the spiciness  of the chicken, I topped it with a heap of fresh peach salsa using the peaches I purchased at the most amazing produce stand I stumbled upon right down the street from my house.  The result was a perfectly balanced summer meal.  So spice things up and enjoy!

In my husband Anthony's words, "Best Chicken Ever!"

Jamaican Jerk Marinade Ingredients:
1tbs minced garlic
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
1 serrano chili, seeded and chopped
2 limes, juiced
2tbs tamari (gluten free soy sauce)
3tbs extra virgin olive oil
2tsp salt
1tsp dried thyme
1tsp allspice
1tsp black pepper
1/2tsp cinnamon
1tbs fresh ginger, minced

5lb chicken breasts
(Hint: This would also be great with chicken thighs!)

Fresh Peach Salsa Ingredients:

4 large fresh ripe peaches (Hint:  Buy your peaches directly from farmers and you will NEVER buy them from the grocery store again!)
1 handful cilantro, chopped
a squeeze of fresh line
a pinch of sea salt

Directions:
1. In a food processor or a blender, combine all marinade ingredients and blend until smooth.  Place your chicken in a large gallon size ziplock bag and pour in the marinade.  Close the bag and toss gently until all the chicken breasts are evenly coated.  Place on a plate in the refridgerator and marinate for 10-24 hours, turning the bag over occasionally to ensure all of the marinade hits the chicken.
2. Heat your grill to medium high heat.  Grill your chicken until just done (when the juices run clear) or about 10 minutes per side depending on the size of your chicken breasts.
3. Meanwhile, make your salsa:  Chop your peaches and toss with cilantro, a squeeze of lime and a touch of salt.  Serve at room temp over the chicken breasts.  Enjoy!

Homemade All Natural Fruit Leathers

There's a few things I was dying to make when I got my Excalibur dehydrator in the mail last week.  One of them was homemade preservative free and all natural fruit leathers.  You can make them out of any combination of fruit you like, but I was always told they turn out best when you add banana.  I made three kinds:  mixed berry and banana, strawberry banana, and peach banana.  The perfect snack on the go!

These have the texture of fruit roll ups!

Mixed Berry & Banana Fruit Leather Ingredients:
1c frozen mixed berries, thawed (in season use fresh)
1 banana

Strawberry Banana Fruit Leather Ingredients:
1c frozen strawberries,  thawed (in season use fresh)
1 banana

Peach Banana Fruit Leather Ingredients:
1c frozen peaches, thawed (in season use fresh)
1 banana

Directions:
1. Place your desired combination of fruit in a blender until smooth.
2. Place plastic wrap or parchment paper over your dehydrator tray.
3. Pour fruit mixture on top of the wrap and spread evenly with a spatula (try to make the edges a bit thicker because they dry first).  Overall, it should be about 1/4" thick.
4. Turn your dehydrator on 135F.  Let cook 6-8 hours or until they are leathery.  Let cool, cut and enjoy!  Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken with Fresh Peach Salsa and Tomato Rice

This is my go-to marinade for everything.  It is mild enough that it goes with almost anything, but still adds a subtle hint of Mexican spices which pairs perfectly with the fresh cilantro and tangy lime.  Typically I use it on chicken or steak, but it is also great for fish.  The best part is that it doesn't have to marinate overnight.  It's a quick marinade that only needs 30 minutes to an hour (longer for a tough piece of meat).  To use up some fresh summer peaches and tomatoes, I made a quick pico de gallo and served it over tomato rice.  The result was a satisfying healthy summer meal put together in 30 minutes or less!

Fast and fresh summer meals are a cinch with a recipe like this!

Ingredients:
For the marinade: 
1 large handful cinlantro
3 limes, juiced
1/4c olive oil
1tsp fine sea salt
2tsp cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
2tsp ancho chile powder
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

 For the Peach Pico de Gallo:
2 large ripe peaches, diced
4 ripe summer tomatoes, diced (I used Spanish kumatos from Trader Joes)
1 small red onion, diced
1 handful cilantro, roughly chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 lime, juiced
Sea salt and garlic powder to taste

For the Tomato Rice:
2c white rice (feel free to use brown rice:  the cooking time will be about an hour)
2c chicken broth, gluten free (I use Rachael Ray)
2c tomato juice, fresh or bottled

Directions:
1. In a food processor, process all of the marinade ingredients.  Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.  Then in a large freezer bag, place marinade and chicken breasts and coat.  Place on a dish (in case something leaks!) and put in the refrigerator while you work on the salsa and rice.
2. To make the salsa, combine all ingredients and toss well.  Taste and season as needed.  Let marinate in the refrigerator to blend the flavors while the rice and chicken are cooking.
3. To make the rice, place all ingredients into a medium saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally until mixture comes to a rapid boil.  Cover and turn on low 15 minutes.  Then, stir the rice and cover again for another 5 minutes.  If the rice is too wet, leave the lid partly open and continue to cook on low until come of the liquid has evaporated.  The rice should be slightly wet, but should stick together in a nice ball when scooped.
4. Now you're ready to make the chicken:  Preheat your grill on medium high.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill until done (about 10 minutes per side).
5. Serve chicken over rice and topped with a very generous scoop of peach salsa.  Dinner is served!

End of Summer Cobbler Cake

We are at that point in the year  it's not quite cool enough to embrace fall but still warm enough that you aren't ready to let go of summer.  So, to embrace the end of summer I made a summer fruit cobbler cake.  This cake is soft, and moist with seasonal sun ripened fruit on top.  Because the cake is only slightly sweet, I always serve mine warm with vanilla ice cream. 

Don't give up on the fruits of summer just yet!

Rich moist cake with a caramelized fruit topping:  perfect end of summer dessert

Ingredients:
3/4c sorghum flour
1/2c millet flour
1/2c tapioca starch
1c packed brown sugar
1tsp baking powder
1/2tsp sea salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
4tbs butter, melted
2 eggs, room temperature
2/3c buttermilk, room temperature
1/4tsp white balsamic vinegar
1tbs vanilla extract
1tbs raw agave nectar
1c strawberries, stemmed and halved
1 peach, cored and sliced
Granulated sugar, to toss fruit in
Raw sugar, to sprinkle on top

Directions:

Fruit arranged and ready for the oven

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Using a 9" springform pan, line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. Mix together flours, starch, brown sugar, baking powder, sea salt and xanthan gum.
3. Add in butter, eggs, milk, vinegar, vanilla extract, and agave nectar.  Beat until smooth.
4. Pat fruit dry and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
5. Pour batter into the pan and spread evenly.  Arrange fruit on top.  Sprinkle with raw sugar (makes a nice crunchy topping).  Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (about 45 minutes).  Serve warm with ice cream.

Serve warm out of the oven with your favorite vanilla ice cream!

Coconut Chicken Curry with Peaches

I love curry.  Let me say it again:  I LOVE curry.  The blend of Indian spices with the richness of coconut milk and large chunks of chicken warms my heart.  I first ate curry while my husband was deployed in Curacao, an island in the Caribbean.  The curry I had there many times during my stay on that island was always my favorite meal and the highlight of my day.  Today, when I eat curry, I still think of that Caribbean island with it's brightly painted buildings, sandy shores and clear waters.  Perhaps that is why I love curry so much.  But it doesn't really matter.  The fact remains that curry is delicious when it's done right no matter where you eat it.  Here I have made a summer curry to highlight the use of fresh peaches.    Serve this with hot steamed rice to soak up the gravy. 

A warm bowl of this brings back wonderful memories and warms my heart

 Ingredients:
4tbs olive oil
2 medium red onions, thinly sliced
2 jalapenos, seeded and finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 2inch piece of ginger, minced
1/4c fresh lemon juice
4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-2" chunks
1/2tsp cayenne pepper
1/2tsp ground coriander
1/2tsp ground cumin
1/2tsp ground turmeric
1tsp curry powder
3 ripe peaches, coursely chopped
1c chicken stock (gluten free:  I use Rachael Ray)
1c coconut milk
1-2tbs white sugar, brown sugar, or agave nectar (optional, taste first and then add sweetness if needed)
White or brown rice, for serving

Directions:
1. Heat 2tbs olive oil in a large pan.  Add onions and cook 5 minutes.  Add jalapeno, garlic, ginger, and lemon juice and cook 5 minutes more.  The onions should be caramelized and limp.  Transfer to a plate.
2. Heat remaining 2tbs olive oil.  Add chicken.  Cook over medium-high until well-browned but not fully cooked.  Add cayenne, coriander, cumin, and 1tsp sea salt and stir fry for about 2 minutes. 
3. Add onions back into the pan with chicken broth and simmer about 10 minutes or until chicken is done and flavors have blended.  Add coconut milk and reduce heat.  Let cook 2 minutes to blend.  Add sweetener and salt to taste.  Serve over rice to sop up the gravy.
Leftover Note: [Made too much?  Freeze the leftovers!  Just leave out the rice and ladle it into freezer bags.  It's good for 3 months.  To reheat, defrost in the refrigerator and then heat over the stove onmedium-low for about 20 minutes or so]

Gluten Free Peach Coffee Cake

This recipe is a blend of a peach cobbler and a coffee cake:  delish!  Make this recipe when peaches are ripe and in season.  Serve this warm from the oven with vanilla ice cream on top.  A perfect summer dessert. 

Peach coffee cake begging for some vanilla ice cream

Ingredients:

1c sorghum flour
1c light brown sugar
3/4c almond meal
1/2c tapioca starch
2tsp baking powder
1tsp xanthan gum
1tsp ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4c extra virgin coconut oil
2tsp vanilla extract
5-6tbs milk or soy milk, as needed to think the batter
3 peaches, sliced

For the streusel topping:
1/3c light brown sugar
3tbs brown rice flour
3tbs extra virgin coconut oil
1/3c chopped pecans
1tsp ground cinnamon


Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350F.  Line the bottom of an 8 or 9" cake pan with parchment paper (I used a springform pan)
2. Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl: sorghum flour, sugar, almond meal, baking powder, xanthan gum, and cinnamon. 
3. Add in beaten eggs, oil, vanilla, and 2tbs milk/soy milk.  Beat to combine.  Add more milk a tbs at a time and beat after each addition until the batter becomes loose and smooth (will be thicker than normal batter!).
4. Press batter into the cake pan using damp hands.  Press peach slices on top.
5. Make streusel: Combine sugar, flour, coconut oil, pecans and cinnamon.  Mix until combined and sandy looking.  Sprinkle evenly on top of cake.
6. Bake in the center of the oven for about 40 minutes, or until cake is set and a wooden pick emerges clean.  If the top browns too quickly, cover it with foil and continue baking.  Served warm from the oven with some vanilla ice cream is my preference.  Enjoy!

Balsamic & Basil Chicken Kabobs with Grilled Peaches

I made this recipe on the grill before work and it was simple, quick, fresh and delicious.  We thoroughly enjoyed eating these while relaxing on a Saturday afternoon.

Fresh basil takes this dish from ordinary to extraordinary

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" chunks
3 green bell peppers, cut into 1" chunks
1 large red onion, but into 1" chunks
4 peaches, halved
1/2c balsamic vinegar
1/4c extra virgin olive oil
2tbs fresh basil, chopped
1tsp fresh garlic, minced
1tsp dijon mustard
1tbs honey
salt and pepper to taste

For walnut honey drizzle: 2tsp walnut oil, 3tbs honey, 1tsp fresh chopped basil, & a pinch of salt

Directions:
1. Place chicken and vegetables in separate bags.  Whisk together vinegar, oil, basil, garlic, dijon mustard and honey.  Pour 1/2 in each bag and coat well.  Marinade for 20 minutes.
2. Preaheat the grill to high.  Place chicken and veggies on the skewers, alternating chicken then pepper than onion until gone.  Grill the kabobs on high about 5 minutes per side or until chicken is done.  Cook the peaches about 7 minutes per side or until well grilled and softened.
3. Serve kabobs and peaches.  Drizzle the grilled peaches with the walnut honey drizzle and enjoy.