SF Civic Center Goes Country

The downtown San Francisco Civic Center has done something pretty amazing. They are using grow food! All food products harvested from the site will go into the SF Food Bank to help feed those in need.

I think this is very forward thinking. Its received a lot of good attention and was the backdrop for the recent Labor Day Slow Food Nation fair.

I walked through it the other day to see what they were growing. There's squash, broccoli, onions, lots of lettuce, tomatoes, green beans, corn, and herbs. Its a real treat for this city dweller to see a bit of "country" nearby. It is also proving nice for the pollenators. I noticed a lot of butterfly's and bees at work.

As a Chef in Training, this is my Eye Candy. I'm proud of the Mayor of San Francisco for allowing this opportunity. More Cities should follow suit. Its all volunteer staffed by people who want to make a difference. I'm all for that. You Rock, San Fran!

My Daughters Favorite Chicken Dish

I cooked dinner for the family last night. Its easier to cook for more than myself. I didn't bring any recipes so I did old time favorites from my dusty brain. I'm sure many of you have a similar recipe since this one is so universal so don't expect anything exotic, just delicious.

I take a pint of sour cream, a cup of dry sherry and 1 can of cream of golden mushroom soup. (the store didn't have it so we sub'd with cream of chicken with roasted garlic). I mix these all together in a separate bowl. I take chicken thighs, (depends on who you're feeding but I used 6 for 4 servings here) and season them with marjoram, rosemary salt and pepper, then I place them on a warmed skillet sprayed with pam and with some olive oil added, just a bit so things don't stick. I brown them about 4-6 minutes over medium (we have electric here) turn them and brown the other side.

Once they are sufficiently browned, not fully cooked, I drain out the fat, add a bit of sherry to deglaze the pan then add the sauce and chicken back to the skillet and cover and cook for 30 minutes over medium. I don't walk away and ignore them or they will stick to the skillet so you have to turn them occasionally and baste them with the sauce. They're done when you poke them and no more red surfaces add another 5 minutes and serve over rice with some steamed broccoli for bright green color.

This morning I had the leftover rice with sauce - heated it up and put two over medium eggs on top for breakfast! It was really satisfying with my cup of tea.

No photo here as I thought the camera would get sauced and eaten once I plated it!! LOL