"Lite" chicken pot pie

What toothsome fare is that? Ye gods, it's a Gourmet Magazine "on the light side" Chicken Pot Pie. Those are mashed potatoes for topping, by the way, potatoes mashed with 2% Greek yogurt, water, and chives. The pie itself has chicken breast, onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, peas, spices and broth. I went the long route and made my own chicken broth from the water I cooked the chicken in. I added a few green beans from the garden. Some wine in the sauce and a tablespoon of sherry made for some very good "light' sauce.

The only problem was that the recipe called for 19 (nineteen, count 'em) ingredients and the green beans made twenty. I made the potatoes from scratch (we frequently used the boxed around our house) and altogther this was fairly high on the labor side, but we ate for two nights and it did not seem like diet fare

Chives from the garden in the potatoes. The dish was colorful and had plenty of eye appeal. I cooked up the rest of the cranberries from 2008 today and also served a side dish of fresh broccoli. Can't ever get enough of those healthful veggies, don't cha know?

Tonight, at seventh inning stretch, we'll break out the apricot bars I made for my Toastmasters meeting today. Pretty good, with apricots from the 'cot king, grown in the flavor zone in California's central valley. http://www.apricotking/. The apricot syrup is incredible on pancakes and waffles. Don't apricots have vitamin A? Ya gotta keep eating them.

Tomorrow, we're back to salad, with a main dish of tuna, artichoke hearts, red onion and white beans. What's not to like?

Then more soup.

That's all.

More Open Salts

I do love these beautiful silver salt cellars, and it's hard to part with them, it really is. I saved a few for my special little girl, and kept a few of the tiny spoons that are so precious.

I bought a set that I had often admired in my in-laws home town which were never part of the collection, and I'm saving those. Doesn't seem fair to keep lovely things in boxes when someone perhaps has a collection she displays. I hope.

Off to the resale shop and then I will bake a delicous apricot tart using dried apricots and a crust with cornmeal. I hope this is good. The apricots are from the 'cot king in California. All his 'cots are divine, including the hot pepper jelly and the syrup. www.apricotking.com/

My 75 pages of Festival Madness have been tweaked until they just hum, and S.O. has offered two good suggestions. He's becoming a useful editor, having sat through a zillion hours of writing discussions and panels. Who knew?

Onward, onward and onward.

Grapeshot