The Zen of Cooking- Lucille Naimer

I found this wonderful gem thrift shopping today.  Creative cooking with and without recipes.  I can’t wait to savor every word.It’s filled with wonderful Zen quotes, cooking tips and recipes. Here’s a quote from the books jacket

“Cooking can be one of the most sensual and transcendent activities we experience—every combination of ingredients yields a new gastronomic result for our senses of taste, touch, smell, sight, and even hearing to enjoy. The Zen of cooking means entering a creative “flow” and gaining a complete focus on the activity of cooking”

What I love most is that it gives you some fabulous recipes but encourages you to make them your own. That’s my kind of cooking!

I tried a couple of new recipes tonight. (Not from the Zen cookbook)They were a big hit with the boys.  I made a balsamic chicken and mushrooms and served it with a Pommes Anna and Green-beans with Roasted Red Peppers. The pictures don’t do them justice – but I would encourage you to try this one. And taking a Zen tip from the cookbook – make it your own. I think next time I will use white balsamic vinegar and bell peppers in place of mushrooms- YUM!

Balsamic Chicken and Mushrooms

4 chicken breasts
1lb mushrooms, sliced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
balsamic vinegar
Chicken Broth
Thyme
Bay Leaf
salt, pepper, flour and olive oil

Season the chicken breast with salt and pepper, dredge in flour and brown in a skillet with oil. Once the chicken is nice and brown add the rest of the ingredients, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or until chicken is done. I removed the chicken and thickened the sauce with a cornstarch and cold water and then poured over the chicken. (BTW- if you are going to freeze the sauce omit the cornstarch)