this morning on my way home from yoga, i stopped at the store for a few ingredients for some cake recipes i am testing later this week. i walked out of the store with three of the four ingredients i went in for (of course i forgot the almond milk), bobby pins, a giant bag of blood oranges and a giant bag of pink zebra lemons. you know, just in case they run out before i get back in there again. 

the woman had to ask me what most of my items were (not uncommon). what i'm rambling on about is that i think i have a citrus addiction. i just can't get enough citrus in all it's many shapes, sizes and colors. lately, my favorite use is for meat marinades. this chicken marinade is quick to whip up and packs a lot of flavor. grilling the chicken is quick, easy, healthy and it adds even more delicious flavor. i'm usually in some sort of a hurry so i usually eat it over some sort of bed of greens with a dressing, but you could serve it over rice, roasted vegetable or mashed potatoes. whatever your little heart desires. 

sweet citrus grilled chicken
serves: 4
prep time: 5 minutes
inactive time: 1-24 hours
cook time: 20 minutes
total time: 1 hour 20 minutes
ingredients: 1.5 lbs chicken breast tenders (they cook more quickly and evenly, otherwise use thinly pounded chicken breasts). 1 tbs citrus zest. 1 cup citrus juice (depending on your preference, but i used orange juice, lime juice and blood orange juice). 5 garlic cloves, smashed. .5 cup olive oil. 3 green onions, chopped. 2 tbs brown sugar. 1 tbs whole grain mustard. 1 tbs salt. 1 tsp pepper. optional: .5 cup white wine for marinade reduction. 4 cups mixed greens (i used half radicchio, half arugula) for serving. 

start by prepping your chicken. pat your chicken dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with half the salt and pepper. set it aside. 

then in a medium bowl, combine the citrus zest, juice, sugar, olive oil, garlic, green onion, mustard and the rest of the salt and pepper. 

whisk the marinade together. 

drizzle the marinade over the chicken, cover and set aside. let the chicken marinade for at least an hour, up to overnight. when you are ready to grill, warm your grill to a medium high (or cook it over a medium spot if you have a coal grill). 

place the chicken on the hot grill and allow it to cook until grill marks develop on each side, flipping once. about 4 minutes a side (longer if you are not using tenders). 

once your chicken is done grilling, remove it from the heat and cover it with foil. allow it to rest for 5-7 minutes. 

if you are making the optional marinade reduction, while the chicken is cooking, pour the marinade into a saucepan. bring the liquid to a boil over medium high heat. allow the marinade to boil for a minute or two until it is very bubbly and thickening (you want to make sure you cook out any bad chicken bits as well). pour in the white wine and allow the liquid to come back to a boil allowing the alcohol to cook off. about 2 minutes. turn off the heat and allow the sauce to just stay warm. 

serve over your mixed greens, drizzled with the marinade reduction. 

xo, a
sweet citrus grilled chicken
serves: 4
prep time: 5 minutes
inactive time: 1-24 hours
cook time: 20 minutes
total time: 1 hour 20 minutes
ingredients: 1.5 lbs chicken breast tenders (they cook more quickly and evenly, otherwise use thinly pounded chicken breasts). 1 tbs citrus zest. 1 cup citrus juice (depending on your preference, but i used orange juice, lime juice and blood orange juice). 5 garlic cloves, smashed. .5 cup olive oil. 3 green onions, chopped. 2 tbs brown sugar. 1 tbs whole grain mustard. 1 tbs salt. 1 tsp pepper. optional: .5 cup white wine for marinade reduction. 4 cups mixed greens (i used half radicchio, half arugula) for serving.
start by prepping your chicken. pat your chicken dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with half the salt and pepper. set it aside. then in a medium bowl, combine the citrus zest, juice, sugar, olive oil, garlic, green onion, mustard and the rest of the salt and pepper. whisk the marinade together. drizzle the marinade over the chicken, cover and set aside. let the chicken marinade for at least an hour, up to overnight. when you are ready to grill, warm your grill to a medium high (or cook it over a medium spot if you have a coal grill). place the chicken on the hot grill and allow it to cook until grill marks develop on each side, flipping once. about 4 minutes a side (longer if you are not using tenders). if you are making the optional marinade reduction, while the chicken is cooking, pour the marinade into a saucepan. bring the liquid to a boil over medium high heat. allow the marinade to boil for a minute or two until it is very bubbly and thickening (you want to make sure you cook out any bad chicken bits as well). pour in the white wine and allow the liquid to come back to a boil allowing the alcohol to cook off. about 2 minutes. turn off the heat and allow the sauce to just stay warm. once your chicken is done grilling, remove it from the heat and cover it with foil. allow it to rest for 5-7 minutes. serve over your mixed greens, drizzled with the marinade reduction.

my thirty first birthday is this thursday and it has me feeling particularly reflective. as the new year approaches, in between fruit platter deliveries and baking a dozen cakes, i've been taking stock of where i'm at in my life and preparing mentally for where i want to go. and i've come to a great conclusion. i'm content. sure, i have a long way to go till i've accomplished all my dreams, but my life is beautiful and i have so much to be grateful for. i changed my entire life and somehow managed to land on my feet. 

last year was such an emotional roller coaster. starting two new career paths was physically and mentally challenging. as i look back, starting a catering business and teaching again at the exact same time was a bit aggressive. but hey, i've always been a bit aggressive. but now, things are feeling very settled. comfortable. i'm living the life i dreamt of living and it feels even better than i thought it would.

one of the best moments i've had over the last few weeks was a trip to my friends jackie & scott's home where they have a fantastic organic garden growing. we spent the twilight hours talking about organic gardening, the process of how we grow and look at food as a society and the struggles and triumphs of growing your own. i came home with baskets of the most beautiful lemons, beets, sage, oregano, cilantro, basil, jalapeno, red & romaine lettuce, chives, green onions and radish. i can't wait to see what their spring and summer harvests bring. 

in the mean time, i'm working my way through my stockpile of fresh produce. after weeks of consistent catering and delivery, i have a lot of odds and ends i need to use up before they go bad. i'm always looking for things i can make and keep on hand for a few days. and i love soup no matter the season. with all the fresh herbs i have in my arsenal now, i knew a delicious veggie soup was the way to go. you can always doctor this soup up with what you have on hand. and if you needed to make it a bit hardier, you could always add some chopped up chicken or turkey or even some noodles. 

kitchen sink veggie soup
serves: 6-8
prep time: 15 minutes
active time: 40 minutes
total time: 55 minutes
ingredients: 1 brown onion, diced into .25 inch pieces. 2 carrots, diced into .25 inch pieces. 2 celery stalks, diced into .25 inch pieces. 2 tbs olive oil. 2 cups potatoes, diced into .5 inch pieces (i used small boiling potatoes but you can use what you have on hand, smaller potatoes work great). 1 cup chopped beet greens or chard (swiss or rainbow). 1 cup tomatoes, diced .5 inch pieces. 3 garlic cloves minced. 2 green onions, finely chopped. 1 tbs fresh sage, finely chopped (1 tsp dried sage if you don't have fresh). .5 tbs oregano, finely chopped (.5 tsp dried oregano if you don't have fresh). .5 tbs thyme, finely chopped (.5 tsp dried thyme if you don't have fresh). .5 cup dry white wine. 6 cups good quality chicken stock (you could easily make this vegan by using veggie stock). 1 tbs kosher salt. .5 tbs freshly ground black pepper. 

start by combining your carrot, celery and onion in a large pot over medium heat. 

drizzle your veggies with your olive oil and season with a few pinches of your salt and a pinch of pepper. 

cook until the onions are translucent. about 7-10 minutes, stirring every couple minutes. 

add in your tomato, green onion and garlic. season with another couple pinches of salt and a pinch of pepper. cook until the garlic is fragrant. about 1-2 minutes. 

add in the potatoes, herbs and greens. season with another couple pinches of salt and a pinch of pepper. stir well to combine.

pour in the wine and cook until the liquid has reduced by half and the alcohol has burnt off. about 5-7 minutes. 

pour in the chicken stock and season with the remaining salt and pepper. bring the soup to a boil. once the liquid boils, reduce it to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender. about 15-20 minutes.

serve hot, or cool completely and store in the fridge for 3-5 days.

xo, a

kitchen sink veggie soup
serves: 6-8
prep time: 15 minutes
active time: 40 minutes
total time: 55 minutes
ingredients: 1 brown onion, diced into .25 inch pieces. 2 carrots, diced into .25 inch pieces. 2 celery stalks, diced into .25 inch pieces. 2 tbs olive oil. 2 cups potatoes, diced into .5 inch pieces (i used small boiling potatoes but you can use what you have on hand, smaller potatoes work great). 1 cup chopped beet greens or chard (swiss or rainbow). 1 cup tomatoes, diced .5 inch pieces. 3 garlic cloves minced. 2 green onions, finely chopped. 1 tbs fresh sage, finely chopped (1 tsp dried sage if you don't have fresh). .5 tbs oregano, finely chopped (.5 tsp dried oregano if you don't have fresh). .5 tbs thyme, finely chopped (.5 tsp dried thyme if you don't have fresh). .5 cup dry white wine. 6 cups good quality chicken stock (you could easily make this vegan by using veggie stock). 1 tbs kosher salt. .5 tbs freshly ground black pepper.
start by combining your carrot, celery and onion in a large pot over medium heat. drizzle your veggies with your olive oil and season with a few pinches of your salt and a pinch of pepper. cook until the onions are translucent. about 7-10 minutes, stirring every couple minutes. add in your tomato, green onion and garlic. season with another couple pinches of salt and a pinch of pepper. cook until the garlic is fragrant. about 1-2 minutes. add in the potatoes, herbs and greens. season with another couple pinches of salt and a pinch of pepper. stir well to combine. pour in the wine and cook until the liquid has reduced by half and the alcohol has burnt off. about 5-7 minutes. pour in the chicken stock and season with the remaining salt and pepper. bring the soup to a boil. once the liquid boils, reduce it to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender. about 15-20 minutes. serve hot, or cool completely and store in the fridge for 3-5 days.