Kalamata-Lemon Chicken

I was born Italian, but  there is a little bit of Greek in me. So when I saw this dish had a Mediterranean style  flavor I couldn't resist. I liked the flavor. It's supposed to be served in a shallow bowl, and trust me, this dish is very easy. I found this recipe on Food.com.


Kalamata-Lemon Chicken
This is a very good Mediterranean style chicken dish that I love (lemon lover here). You just brown the chicken for a few mins and add the rest of the ingredients and place it in the oven while you go about making a salad (or whatever).
4 servings   45 min 10 min prep
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon olive oil
⅔ cup dried orzo pasta
½ cup drained pitted kalamata olives
½ lemon (cut into wedges or chunks)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon all purpose Greek seasoning
hot chicken broth (optional)
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth snipped fresh oregano (optional)
Preheat oven to 400°F.
In a 4-quart Dutch oven brown chicken in hot oil over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, turning once.
Stir in orzo, olives, the can of broth, lemon wedges, lemon juice, Greek Seasoning, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
Cover and bake for 35 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink.
Serve in shallow bowls with additional broth, if desired. Top with snipped oregano.

I also started reading the book, The Route to Family Wisdom by Joan F. Jenks.

The book contains recipes, Meditation, and ways to work with genealogy.
At this time of year, after the recent tragedy, it is good to think about family, past and present.

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• A Child's Christmas In Wales...Past And Presents

A Child’s Christmas In Wales…Past And Presents

Tis the season for Christmas Cheer...Come and attend A Child’s Christmas In Wales…Past And Presents at the Ivoryton Playhouse. The last show is on December 16.

The press release for this show which can also be found at this link


A Child’s Christmas in Wales…Past & Presents
A new adaptation by the National Theatre of the Deaf
at The Ivoryton Playhouse
December 6th –16th

Ivoryton: The National Theatre of the Deaf takes a nostalgic journey back into time through the eyes of poet Dylan Thomas. Based on Dylan’s classic poem of “A Child’s Christmas in Wales ,”this new adaptation has been expanded into a very special evening. Performed in both the beauty of American Sign Language and spoken word, it will prove to be “poetry for the eyes and heart.”

Holidays are filled with our childhood memories; family gatherings, games with friends, the excitement, the anticipation and the special quiet moments. Dylan Thomas captures the magic of the season in this beautiful story filled with crazy aunts and uncles, snowball fights and sibling rivalries and one very special gift that changed his life.

The evening will also include stories and songs of the season, games and a whole lot of family fun! Don’t miss this opportunity to see and hear this holiday classic in the historic Ivoryton Playhouse.

Directed by Brian Jennings and Betty Beekman, the cast includes Christina Stevens, Joey Caverly, Christina Cogswell and Taylor Curtis as well as a chorus of local singers. Production designed by Marcus Abbott.

A Child’s Christmas in Wales opens on Thursday, December 6th and runs thru December 16th for 2 weeks. Performance times are Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2pm. Evening performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm.

Tickets are $30 for adults, $28 for seniors, $20 for students and $15 for children and are available by calling the Playhouse box office at 860-767-7318 or by visiting our website at www.ivorytonplayhouse.org (Group rates are available by calling the box office for information.) The Playhouse is located at 103 Main Street in Ivoryton.

Sponsored by Citizens Bank.

Tickets for press are available – please call for details (860.767.9520)

Shrimp with Rice

I found this recipe in The New York Times Cookbook. The copy write date is 1961. Craig Clairborne edited the book. It is part of a 2-book collection.

Here is the book. It is definitely old. When I look in the cover I can see that the book has been taped to give it a little more support.

I have to be honest, I made this recipe with brown rice, and added the shrimp too soon, so the rice was only half cooked. The flavor was wonderful. I did not use water with this recipe, I used chicken stock. This recipe is worth trying if you love having shrimp and rice. If you use brown rice at Step 2 you should probably cook the rice covered for 20 minutes instead of 10 minutes.

So there was only one thing left to do. Put the rice back into a pan and cook it longer.

The dish the way it ought to be.

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Pacific Foods All Natural Vegetable Lentil and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

This is the second in my trial of Pacific Foods soups. I picked it up because  I have always loved eating lentil soup. I remember growing up and my Mother serving lentil soup. We would often have Progresso.

The description Pacific has for this particular soup is Our Vegetable Lentil and Roasted Red Pepper soup bursts with flavor.  We combine the rich flavors of fire-roasted red peppers with tender lentils, vine-ripened tomatoes and black beans, for a soup that's high in fiber and loaded with protein.  Healthy, hearty and delicious: you'll be more than satisfied.

Here is the soup. You can see the lentils, corn, roasted red pepper and black beans in the soup. It is a simple hearty soup as it is described. I would definately purchase this soup again. This soup reminds me of the soup I had growing up.

This soup, like the Thai Sweet Potato Soup I recently had comes in a 2-serving box. One serving of this soup is 150 calories.

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Pacific Natural Foods Thai Sweet Potato Soup

I am a big Butternut Squash Soup fan and have made it as well as purchased the soup. Sometimes the best way to find new things to make is to purchase the meal (whether at a restaurant or in the grocery store) and try it. This time I decided to try Pacific Natural Foods Thai Sweet Potato Soup.

According to the Pacific website this soup's description is Tasting our Thai Sweet Potato soup is like discovering the soul of Thai cooking.  Sweet potatoes and winter squash are combined with South Asian flavors of coconut, lemongrass, lime, red chili pepper and ginger for a mouthwatering treat that will not only awaken your tastebuds, but your sense of adventure.

This soup is very spicy and enjoyable. It has little bits of sweet potato and winter squash floating in the soup. You can also see bright little flecks of red which are the chili pepper. If you want to cool down the spiciness you can also add something such as oyster crackers.

Here is the nutritional information I found on the site

The one thing I would change about this particular soup is the size of the box. I personally feel the size of the carton is too small. I would rather have a larger box for 4 servings.

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