It’s a cold, rainy day here, prompting the first fire of the season. The smell of wood smoke is comforting, and leads a menu planner to thoughts of comfort food. I’m thinking the boneless chicken thighs I’ve got defrosting could be cut into bite sized pieces, and would be happy to share a sauté pan with some sweet onions, garlic and herbs.
A lot of herbs are pretty tough and are still going strong here in zone 6, although tender leaves like basil are not an option today. We’ll try a mince of parsley, rosemary and lemon thyme and see where that takes us, with salt and pepper as indicated if I need more punch.

I’ve still got chives, which are a must for the canned new potatoes my wife still prefers over anything I can grow. Go figure. I picked what is likely to be the last of the New Zealand spinach, which will stand alone briefly cooked in a bit of olive oil, and there’s a chunk of cabbage I need to use up in the fridge, which should pair nicely with marjoram. My stevia is almost gone, but the handful I picked today should sweeten some acorn squash. That’s about as close to a meal plan as I ever get, the details will come out in the final cooking.