Auditioning Chicken

I auditioned a chicken this week. No, it didn't sing or dance. It all started because I bought chicken livers at the farmer's market. Gorgeous, fantastic chicken livers. My mother always said to throw away pale chicken livers because they were from a sick chicken. I don't know if that's true, but I do know that livers are supposed to be a rich reddish brown color, and that I often end up tossing half of the livers I buy at the grocery store.

 

The farmer who sells the livers also sells chickens. So it was time to test one. Since this was an audition, I wanted to cook it as plainly as possible so I could taste the chicken without any herbs or spices disguising the flavor. I roasted the chicken. But we all know that plain chicken can be a bit ho-hum. I turned to our garden.

 



While this has been the worst year in memory for tomatoes (they all seem to suffer from a blight, thanks to nonstop rain here in the new rain forest), our cucumbers have loved the rain. The basket in the picture is full of cucumbers on the bottom. Not to mention the ones in the fridge and on the kitchen counter. Happily, my dogs love cucumbers. They know where they grow and pull them off the vine to snack on. If I can't find the dogs, they're usually hanging out at the garden, trying to open the gate. Two of them have figured out how.


There aren't many exciting recipes for cucumbers, so I've been throwing them into everything. I had a couple of lovely white peaches and a red pepper so I made a salsa to go with the chicken. I added a little bit of fajita seasoning for zest. The blend of sweet peaches with the fajita kick and a little salt made for a really lovely flavor combination. Great for diets, too. Loads of fiber and not an ounce of fat.

And the audition results? I think we felt better eating a chicken that came from a local farm instead of one that was shrink-wrapped in the grocery store. But in a blind taste test, I'm not sure we would have known the difference.

Peach Cucumber Salsa

2 peaches
1 small cucumber
1 red bell pepper
1 shallot
1-2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon fajita seasoning (or to taste)
salt
black pepper

Peel the peaches and cut into small bite-sized pieces. Cut the cucumber and pepper into small bite-sized pieces. Slice the shallot in thin rings. Combine the peaches, cucumber, red pepper, and shallot in a bowl. Toss. Add lemon juice and toss. Add fajita seasoning, a dash of pepper, and about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Toss. Adjust seasonings to your taste. Serve with chicken or fish.