When I was in kindergarten, I had one line in a little play. I said, I am Patrick Potato and this is my cousin, Mrs. Tomato, and I heard laughter. I wanted to be an actress from that moment on.
~ Doris Roberts
Remember that Thanksgiving dinner, more than a week ago? And those tomatoes and various green things that made their way to the table for my Thanksgiving dinner friends? Well, there were a few luscious veges left over – which I crammed into the fridge amidst cheesecake*, pumpkin pie* and half-full bottles of wine* and promptly forgot about in the course of this busy week.
It was with a slight jolt that I suddenly thought of them yesterday.
I slowly approached the fridge, rubbish bag in hand, ready to collect brown wrinkled vegetables…
And… I was (nicely) surprised to see that the vegetables weren’t quite on the verge of death. The tomatoes were just beginning to feel a little softer, maybe, but they were still so good! The green things were still green too, but I have now popped the herbs into ziploc bags and into the freezer just to be safe.
Long live farmers’ markets and fresh produce!
Tonight, I preheated the oven to 180˚C and set two skillets on the stove. Into one pan went olive oil, chopped onions, garlic, rosemary, white wine, paprika and skinless chicken thighs. Into the other went more olive oil and some bright vermillion tomatoes.
Once the chicken looked more cooked than raw (really should’ve browned the chicken a little more, but never mind!), I poured everything from both skillets into a foil-lined oven-proof dish and baked it all for around 15 minutes. I then added in half a can of cannellini beans and popped it back into the oven for a few more minutes.
And that, with a loose handful of parsley, was dinner, which I started to eat, until a particular rendition of a Christmas carol made my feet itchy to dance. So dance I did, till a human and I locked eyes through the window… and I hastily sat down again to resume my dinner.
And on that note, here are some photos from last week’s trip to La Cigale, a picture of Saturday’s omelette and right near the bottom of this post are two photos of roses swaying in the sun. If only one could upload fragrances on blogs – I would post the smells from the market and the rose gardens… wouldn’t that be sweet!
* Some I ate, some I shared, some I regrettably had to bin.
La Cigale – 69 St Georges Bay Road, Parnell, Auckland – open Saturday and Sunday mornings [delicious bistro open Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays]
treehousekitchen 
Oh I LOVE that market, when I come home to visit next year you will see me there! GAWPING with delight. Your dinner looks lovely, and those roses darling, I love roses! c
With luck I can meet you at the market next year!
Your dinner looks fantastic Mel! I love the use of rosemary and white wine. Mmmmm. And I much prefer chicken thighs to breasts – even if they are a bit more unhealthy. They’re just so much tastier. :)
I am in agreement on that – don’t much like chicken breasts at all (too dry)!
Beautiful veggies. Great dish and what a wonderful market. Isn’t it impressive how much longer fresh veggies last.
Thanks Greg – and yes it’s pretty crazy…… I think sadly of all the $ I have wasted at supermarkets over the years ;-)
I really can’t relate to having half open bottles of wine that get forgotten. That is unheard of in my house ;) I do love a good farmers market though.
Meg – haha I know it sounds bonkers! But I have three half-open bottles of wine in the fridge still… and I am sure they are going more and more off even as I type. I think I’ll be cooking with it over the next few days!
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