recipes: lemon chicken and chard salad

here are a couple of recipes from our picnic the other day. these worked well as they were quick to prepare before we left to go swimming (i made the salad while the chicken was in the oven), and since the chard needs to sit and wilt a bit anyway, we didn't have to worry about it getting yucky the way a regular lettuce salad would.

apparently chard salad is a "thing" now. i was looking for chard salad recipes simply because we had a bunch in our veg box and i didn't want to cook, but apparently it is trendy according to some blogs at least!

quick baked lemon chicken and potatoes

1 lemon
1 tbs dried tarragon
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tbs olive oil
3 chicken legs, skin on
4 small new potatoes

zest and juice the lemon into a shallow baking dish. add herbs and oil, stir to combine.

cut chicken legs into thighs and drums. remove any clumps of chicken fat and set aside. slash the skin on the thighs. add to the lemon and herbs, toss to coat. set aside.

wash potatoes and cut into wedges.

remove chicken from marinade and place on a rack that will fit over the baking dish. add the potatoes to the marinade, toss to coat. add the reserved chicken fat. place rack on top of dish of potatoes.

bake at 425 for 40 minutes, turning potatoes twice.

chard salad

1 bunch swiss chard
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs lemon juice
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup roasted sunflower seeds
salt to taste

tear the chard leaves from stems, rinse well. cut into ribbons and rinse again. spin dry.

combine chard with oil and lemon in salad bowl. work the oil and lemon into the greens with your hands. cover with a damp paper towel and let rest 30 minutes or more.

when ready to serve, toss with seeds, berries, and salt.

Oh, weather!

The weather has been crazy here lately—massively muggy, torrential rains. Our street turned into a river, and we were without power on a few occasions! The weather problem is two-fold: I find it difficult to exercise when it’s too hot and humid, and I find it very difficult to breathe. I feel like I am constantly short of breath! And sometimes get a sharp pain through my chest.

All of which reminds me of all the appointments I had a few years ago, when I was on inhalers, and going for pulmonary function tests, and all of that. I do not want to do that again! In part because the whole adventure seemed largely useless—the humidity seems to trigger the breathing problems, but if I went to my doctor about it now, I’d probably end up with an appointment in the fall when my breathing wouldn’t be so bad anyway. So I really can’t be bothered.

In any case, a cold front moved in the night before last, so the air is a little fresher now. I went swimming last night for an hour, and this morning did 20 situps and had a brisk walk to work! I hope the weather stays just as it is right now. This is what I call perfect.