Preheat Kitchen to 350 °F

It's great to see some awesome suggestions in response to the last two posts. Keep it up!

Thankfully the worst of the heat wave in Boston is over. It makes me think back to growing up in Yakima where the summer temperature would regularly creep up into the high 90's. When I'd ask my mom "What's for dinner?" she'd often reply, "it's too hot to cook!" I share that sentiment but seeing as I don't want to eat out, I've modified her maxim to "It's too hot to cook every night." The solution, is to cook a batch of chicken breasts then eat them chilled over a bed of greens during the week. Since assembling a salad requires only minimal time and no open flame, it seemed like a good solution.

To prepare chicken breasts, remove from package and rinse well. Pat dry. Lightly coat with dry herbs (I use equal parts basil and oregano with a pinch of garlic salt). Bake at 350 °F 17-20 minutes or till done. Remove and let cool slightly (10-15 min). Bag any chicken breasts you're not going to use immediately and refrigerate. Slice the remaining one and set aside.

This recipe features a chilled chicken breast served over fresh greens and topped with marinated red onion. You can leave out the onions if you'd like but I find that the marinating process gives them a nice tangy flavor which balances well with the sweet bell pepper. I really like Annie's Papaya Poppy Seed dressing (available in the natural foods section of most stores) with this dish, but any light vinaigrette will work well. Remember, it's called a "dressing" because it's supposed to lightly coat the lettuce, it's not called a "smothering."


Chilled Chicken Salad with Marinated Red Onion

1 sliced chicken breast (see above)
1 1/2 c. mixed greens
1/2 c. red bell pepper, sliced into 1/2 in wide strips
1/3 c. marinated red onion (see below)
vinagrette dressing to coat

Combine all ingredients on a plate...yep, it's that easy.

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Marinated Red Onion Recipe

1 c. red onion sliced thin (as thin as possible with your knives!!)
3 tbsp. rice vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
juice from 1/2 a lime

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate at least 8 hours (but preferably 12-24 hours). Remove onions from marinade (which should have turned pink by this point) and store in airtight container.


This will the the only post for a while as I'll be attending the Bioorganic Gordon Research Conference in Andover, NH through Friday of next week. Wish me luck!