Breakfast in bed.

Our picnic lunch platter.

Italian Chicken salad.

There are few rules at our house. We aren’t clean freaks, don’t use coasters except for cute table décor, and scoff at the idea of shoes off at the door. We don’t have a set dinner time, as a life with no kids allows us to be flexible and spontaneous, and selfish, of course. There are no restrictions about food or drinks beyond the kitchen–in fact, we recently placed a coffee maker about ten steps from the bed. I’m not a stellar morning person, so the proximity of Chai Latte certainly helps me meet the day. This is all to say, we don’t discriminate against breakfast (or lunch) in bed, but lately it has been mandatory.

See–we have this little predicament with our air conditioner, and I’ll spare you the details except to say that we have had intermittent air (everywhere except our bedroom) since we bought the place on April 14th. That said, contractor number 2 was here on Monday to replace the unit and I was ecstatic at the idea of reclaiming the remainder of my house, primarily the kitchen. Needless to say, the one day project turned into two, and yesterday I decided to sweat it out in the kitchen anyway, prepared a yummy breakfast and lunch and served it up in bed. Breakfast was pretty ordinary–potato rosemary hash, boiled eggs, mixed fruit and a couple of farmer’s market cheeses, but I wanted to share a recipe from lunch.

Nicholas typically doesn’t do chicken salad (especially if it has fruit in it) and I had already cooked some chicken in tarragon in order to make my favorite chicken salad with grapes and celery. I had planned to serve this when my girlfriend came over for our peach and strawberry jam session, but alas, we weren’t going to have a marathon jam day with no air. I needed to change my chicken salad plan, and figured the only way he might eat it is if I served it up Italian style. So, I essentially made a pesto mayonnaise (with fresh basil and rosemary) and added the chicken. It was super easy and…drumroll…he ate to his heart’s content and has round two packed in his lunch for work today. 🙂 Here’s the basic idea and approximate amounts, as I kind of pulled a Grandma Rocke with the measurements (next time, I’ll measure everything out so it is more precise):

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breast (I buy in bulk at Costco for 2.99 a lb)
1 T balsamic vinegar
2/3 C mayonnaise–enough to moisten the chicken entirely (we like Hellmann’s)
8-10 fresh basil leaves, minced
1 sprig fresh rosemary, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Boil the chicken lightly (I left it on medium-low for about 15 minutes) in chicken broth and any type of Italian seasoning (in my case, I had already done it in tarragon). Dice the chicken after it has cooled and add the remaining ingredients. Stir with a fork, as it helps to break up the chicken a bit more. Ready to enjoy! (I served it with the new rosemary olive oil saltines http://www.facebook.com/PremiumSaltines)

Tip: run your fingers down a sprig of rosemary, and the needle-leaves will fall right off. Minced them until they are almost dust-like, and that way you have the flavor without getting them stuck in your teeth. As for basil, if you stack the leaves and kind of roll them up, you can mince it with the back of a sharp knife.

Our picnic in bed added a little magic to the otherwise sweaty day, and by dinner time, we were able to reclaim the kitchen in time to create a new recipe together: Pan seared chicken breast filled with herbed Brebis cheese, wrapped in prosciutto, and topped with homemade pepper jelly. Recipe and pictures coming!