Cooking a Mediterranean Dinner for two

James 3:17

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; 

then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, 

full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

So last week Riley had an appoint at the doctor. I knew this because they called to remind him of his appointment while he was at work, so I was the one who took the message. Well the appointment came and went and he never said a thing to me. I hadn't even known he was going to the doctor except for the reminder call. So on Saturday I asked him what he went to the doctor for. He was quite hesitant to say, but he finally got it out. The doctor said that he was pre-diabetic. Now I must say I wasn't surprised. He'd been waiting for the right moment to tell me. Of late he's been not eating and drinking quite as I'd think was the best way, but you can't easily get a husband to listen. But not eating right is of his own choosing, and that is the most workable way.

The doctor - who by the way should be on a diet himself - recommended the Mediterranean diet. So we went to Powells and bought three books on the subject. Then after reading the books, and with ideas in our heads about what we would like to eat, we headed off to Winco's to buy the needed food items. We bought lots of vegetables, and dried beans, and things for falafel and hummus, etc. And when we got home we carefully put it all away, making not of where we put things.

So last night we had our first Mediterranean meal, and it was wonderful. We made "tarragon chicken", microwaved potatoes, an a Greek salad.

Tarragon Chicken for two

1 chicken breast, in two halves
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon olive oil

1 tablespoon tarragon vinegar
3 tablespoons dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream
a good pinch of sea salt, or any salt you have
some freshly ground black pepper
fresh tarragon, or in my case I used several dashes of a Parisian seasoning mix which contained tarragon (Parisien Bonnes Herbes from Penzeys)

Turn the oven to 375 degrees.
Fry the chicken pieces in the butter and olive oil for about five minutes.
Place the pieces into a small baking dish and put into the oven for 15 minutes.
Keep the pan just as it is still on the stove, waiting for later use.

When the chicken is done, take out of oven and pour the liquids in the dish into the pan that you had fried the chicken in. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until reduced to about half. Pour the sauce over the chicken to serve.


Greek Salad

1 tomato, cut into small wedges
1/3 cucumber, in large dices
1/4 red pepper, in medium dices
1/4 green pepper, in medium dices
about 3 tablespoons worth of cut up red onion, big enough to be able to spear with a fork
2 to 4 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
4 to 8 kalamata olives, cut in half
a good sprinkling of Country French Vinaigrette, or dried oregano
salt and pepper (sea salt is good)
about 1 to 2 tablespoons of good olive oil

I put all these things into a large soup plate, and then I carefully toss it with two soup spoons.

"A person who never made a mistake 

never tried anything new."

Albert Einstein