It is moving into short days, long nights and cold weather here down south. It is time for more substantial foods including some occasional white meat. In this picture poached free range chicken breast, a brown rice pumpkin medley with bok choy and shiitake mushrooms, homemade sourdough croutons, a short cabbage pickle and a tahini sauce. Almost all of it homegrown and in season.
Poaching chicken breast. It has a reputation as an invalid food but it is really an excellent way to prepare chicken. Use a heavy metal skillet. Fill with enough water to cover the chicken and a good pinch of quality sea salt. Bring to boil. Place in the chicken and set it to a low heat. Cover with a lid. Simmer very slowly. Don't bring it back to the boil since this will tend to make the meat tough. Use free range chicken - it's worth the extra cost.
A short pickle? It's what I (usually) call a short-term pressed salad. Slice a cup or two of cabbage, place in a bowl and cover with a mixture of brown vinegar and several teaspoons of quality salt. Place a plate and a heavy weight upon it and leave for anything from two hours to a few days. In this case it was 24 hours. Drain, rinse in running water, store in the refrigerator. A short pickle. Best to use brown rice vinegar, but otherwise any good quality brown malt vinegar will do, or perhaps an apple cider vinegar if you prefer.
The tahini sauce. Two tablespoons of unhulled tahini. Two tablespoons of soy sauce. Stir and moisten with the water from the shiitake mushrooms or any suitable stock. Keep adding liquid and stirring until you have a sauce/gravy consistency according to your preference.
Wholemeal sourdough croutons fried in corn oil (or olive oil if you prefer) add another texture and another grain to the meal. It's baking weather these days so I always have sourdough bread on hand. Croutons are a great addition to cold weather meals.
The bok choy is booming in the garden. It will start to bolt soon but is still tender and an excellent green to add to brown rice.
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