I get it now. I’m now in the mix with all the rest of the parents who are bustling children to and from activities and attempting to make dinner time possible. In the last week I’ve tried serving dinner around 4:30 in order to sit at the table before a 5:30 practice and I’ve also left dinner linger on the table for Baron to come home to around 8:00. Neither of which felt particularly natural but we got the job done.

While the kids were still babes I naively told Gabe, “We’ll never be like that.” I meant the sort who rushes from place to place just moving each child from point a to point b. Just like all the other “we’ll never” statements this one quickly became, “ohhhhh now I get it.” Our ideals and “we’ll nevers” are no match for reality. And I don’t mean that in a self-defeating way, there is simply no way of knowing what reality looks like or feels like until we are living in it. Then when you are in it you adjust the plan and reconfigure to what makes sense for you and your family.

The truth is that reality is often so much better once you relieve yourself of the “we’ll never”. When I said “we’ll never be like that” to Gabe in reference to the families who raced their kids from place to place I couldn’t see the sweet moments. Like the times in the car where conversation can flutter more freely than it often does in our home where we all get tied up in our own activities. I also never knew how much I adore being a baseball mom. I’m reworking my schedule, moving things around and saying no to otherwise very much “yes!” opportunities just to watch my boys stand tall on that pitcher’s mound. Seriously you guys I have zero cool at these games. I scream and holler, roll my eyes in the direction of the ump and pace back and forth when my boys are up to bat. I embarrass myself and love every moment of it.

I’m a very stubborn person so I don’t take my “I’ll never” statements lightly but I’m continually taught that reality and relationship are far more important than what I once deemed my ideals.

In light of this new season it’s no surprise then the the first recipe that caught my eye in Sarah Waldman’s new book, Feeding a Family, was one that required the use of a slow cooker. A recipe that practically takes care of itself with a bit of chopping on your part; Slow Cooker Greek Chicken Gyros. But here’s the thing. I don’t have a slow cooker what I do have is an Instant Pot which works better for my lack of planning abilities. You see this recipe would have required me to know what I wanted to have for dinner at the start of the day. I didn’t and very rarely do. But with my Instant Pot I went from frozen chicken to tender shredded chicken in about thirty minutes. As much as this sounds like an infomercial it’s really not, I just think we can all benefit from sharing with one another the real practical tips that we’ve found to make life a bit easier. The point here is a speedy, no fuss dinner with a good bit of health and one with very few complaints. My family really loves the sort of dinner where they can custom make their plate. Ivy now asks at dinner “can I serve myself? because she knows that mama likes to really pile on those vegetables. So here she can add extra olives, a few green things and a good bit of chicken.

For those who do have and use a slow cooker I’ll write the recipe as Sarah intended and I’ll give some instructions for those who are like me and need the use of a pressure cooker to get things really moving.

Now to all the parents out there where my judgmental “I nevers” were directed I am so sorry and also, why didn’t you tell me that baseball games were so stressful? We are all better off if we are in this together and I’ll never, excuse me, I will try do my best to go and judge no more.

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Slow Cooker Greek Chicken Gyro

Author Sarah Waldman

Yield 8 gyros

I’ve added the recipe here just as Sarah wrote it with a brief mention of my cooking time using the Instant Pot. I also served mine with hummus and leftovers were combined with more arugula to make a lovely salad. I have quite a bit of chicken leftover and for that I am very thankful. 

Ingredients

CHICKEN

2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces

Juice of 2 lemons

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano

3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

LEMON YOGURT SAUCE

1 cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt

Juice of 1 lemon

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

TO ASSEMBLE

Lavash or pita bread, warmed (1 per person)

Chopped tomatoes

Chopped cucumber

Minced yellow onion

Pitted Kalamata olives

Baby arugula

Lemon slices, for serving (optional)

Instructions

In a 6-quart slow cooker, combine the onions, chicken, lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, dill, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, until chicken can be easily shredded with a fork. Before serving taste and add more salt, pepper, fresh dill, or lemon juice as needed.

In an Insta-pot combine all the same ingredients, hit poultry then up the time to 30 minutes.

To make the sauce, whisk together the yogurt, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Sauce can be made ahead and kept, covered in the fridge, for up to 3 days.

To assemble the gyros, spread some of the lemon-yogurt sauce onto each piece of lavash or pita, add a few forkfuls of chicken, and top with chopped tomatoes, cucumber, onion olives, and baby arugula. Squirt with more lemon juice if you like.

“You are actually the granddaughter of two dairy farmers.” My dad said in an email after he saw my post about the visit to the dairy farm. I had forgotten that his dad ran a small dairy until my my dad was 5 years old. In fact my grandfather went to Ag school in Holland before he moved to America when he was 18 years old. So even more than I remembered the love of dairy runs deep in this family.

Which may explain why I’ve been so eager to try this particular recipe for so long. The one in which chicken shimmies into a dutch oven and makes friends with bacon (who wouldn’t be friends with bacon?), lemon peel (which makes your hands smell of the best perfume), rosemary (plucked from my newly planted herb garden), nutmeg (because it felt right) and milk.

It’s my take on a recipe that I credit Jamie Oliver for because that’s where I first heard about Chicken Braised in Milk. Jamie uses lemon, sage and cinnamon which sounds fine too, in fact there are so many herb and spice combinations that I think would do quite nicely here but let us agree to never, not ever, never leave out the lemon because that is what makes the sauce curdle.

No wait, don’t run away screaming, curdling is a good thing in this case. Unless you want your food to be purely aesthetically pleasing and not just plain delicious? Because I’ll tell you what, this dish may not win any beauty pageants but based on ease and flavor alone, we have ourselves a winner.

Be sure to use whole milk here. I personally would think of no other, it’s what we always have in our fridge, right next to the cream and butter. But I remember when my mom would gush about her whole milk childhood and I would cringe at the thought as I crunched on my cereal doused in 2%. Now anything other than whole just seems silly. I think both of my grandfathers would be proud.

Here especially we need that extra bit of fat. What happens in the pot is a bit of food magic when the lemon meets the milk and then they become fast friends and that friendship leaves you with a sauce that is yes, indeed broken, but broken like ricotta is broken: Meaning we make curds and those curds are flavored with chicken drippings and all the other fragrant and wonderful things we put into that pot (remember the bacon!)

Also, let’s remember the last post where we talked about quality and I introduced you to the Werkhoven family. The family who spends their days making sure they have barns filled with happy cows. So there are fans and fresh beds of sand, little bits of corn candy (not actual candy – the cows just love corn kernels that much) that the cows love to dig for because happy cows make the best and most milk. So we honor and value the work families like this do by buying great quality milk which we then cover our chicken with to get the most tender, flavorful and simple roast. And because I am the granddaughter of two DUTCH dairy farmers there are also potatoes along with my chicken cooked in milk.

Chicken Braised in Milk with Lemon, Rosemary and Bacon

Serves 4

One 3-pound (1 1/2-kilogram) chicken

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons butter or olive oil

5 pieces of bacon, thinly sliced

1 large shallot, roughly chopped

1/4 cup fresh rosemary leaves

Zest of 2 lemons, peeled in thick strips with a vegetable peeler

10 garlic cloves, skins left on

pinch freshly grated nutmeg

2 cups whole milk

1 - 2 pounds baby new potatoes

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Add the butter or olive oil to a large dutch oven set over high heat. Sear the chicken, getting the skin good and crisp and deep golden all over.

To the pot add the bacon, shallots, rosemary, lemon peels, garlic, a pinch of nutmeg along with the milk. I added some potatoes to the top of the pot too because why dirty two pots when I can just dirty one? Throw in another pinch of salt for those potatoes.

Slide the pot into the preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours. Baste the chicken with the juices occasionally throughout the cooking. If you find the liquid evaporating too quickly you can add the lid.

Carefully remove the chicken and potatoes from the pot and onto a platter. Spoon the now separated sauce all over. Sure, it’s not too pretty but one doesn’t mind after the first bite. If you like a pop of green you can garnish with fresh herbs.

What does one do when your garden is rampant with sage (and sadly, very little else)? Well, you make pesto of course.

Before the brilliance of sage pesto, I had relegated sage to merely a Thanksgiving herb, getting neatly tucked under turkey skin just prior to roasting. Or casually stirred into sauteed mushrooms before the box of Stove Top gets dumped on top (yes, Stove Top. No matter how hard I try, my family can not deviate from the box). No longer saved for November, we’re eating sage year-round.

Handfuls of pine-y and eucalyptus scented sage get thrown into a food processor with a bit of parsley and mint. These additional herbs help to calm the sage, as does the walnuts, Parmesan and lemon. What you are left with is just the right amount of wondering-through-the woods-after-a-good-rain taste, but not so much so that you feel as if you are eating the forest.

Because of our bountiful bush I was able to whip up a hefty batch leaving me an ample supply in the fridge. So I ate it, marinated with it, turned it into an appetizer, and whisked it into pleasantly biting dressing.

It is sort of reminiscent of the Fall, but with the mass of gray days we’ve been having in Seattle, it seems only fitting.

In order to enjoy this recipe you must be a fan of pungent herbs and not afraid of sage. If you, like me, revel in their floral aroma and not only enjoy eating them but also drinking herb flavored beverages, then you are in the right place. I suggest you start toasting your walnuts. Don’t worry about the sage, I have plenty to share.

Sage, Ricotta, Pickled Cherry Crostini

One a hearty slice of crusty bread (toasted or not) add a mound of ricotta with a sprinkle of salt. On top of that a smaller heap of sage pesto and finally, a few slices of pickled cherries.

Pickled Cherries

10 oz (roughly 3 cups) Bing cherries (I left the pits in)

3/4 cup (5 1/2 oz) white vinegar

1/4 cup sugar (more if you want more sweetness)

4 cardamom pods, crushed

1 teaspoon peppercorns

1 teaspoon whole coriander

pinch chili flakes (optional)

Combine everything in an airtight container. Shake to mix. Refrigerate. These can be enjoyed a couple hours after mixing and up to one week after. The longer they sit the more pickled they taste. My favorite is 24 hours after they’ve been sitting in their pickle bath. After that I start to add a bit more sugar to balance the tang.

Sage Walnut Pesto

¼ cup Italian parsley

¼ cup tablespoons mint

1 cup (2 ½ oz.) sage, packed

2 garlic cloves

½ cup (2 oz.) walnuts, toasted

½ cup (1/2 oz.) grated Parmesan

½ cup (3 ¾ oz.) extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

salt

Combine first six ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blend to a rough puree. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the machine running stream in the olive oil. Add the zest, lemon juice, then taste and add salt to taste. Adjust seasonings to your preference.

Sage Pesto Roasted Chicken

adapted from Zuni Cafe, via Molly (Orangette)

serves 4

1 medium-size whole chicken (about 4 pounds)

salt and pepper (about ¾ teaspoon kosher salt per pound)

½ cup sage pesto

A day or two before roasting generously apply salt and pepper all over the chicken - inside and out. I’ve done this a few hours before and it’s been fine but if you are a better planner than me, I highly recommend salting the bird at least a day in advance. The salt has a chance to permeate the bird replacing the awkward mess of a wet brine.

Cover the chicken with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to roast. Make sure the chicken is in a pan with sides so the juices don’t leak on to anything in the fridge.

When ready to roast pre-heat the oven to 450* for at least 30 minutes prior to roasting. Cover the chicken with the sage pesto and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Place the chicken in a shallow roasting pan breast side up. Place in the oven then roast for 30 minutes. Carefully flip the bird over and roast another 15-20 minutes. Carefully flip over once again and finish breast side up for another 5-10 minutes. Total roasting time should be 50-60 minutes.

Remove from the roasting pan and lest rest for 15-20 minutes before cutting.

Sage Pesto Vinaigrette

¼ cup sage pesto

2 teaspoons champagne vinegar

3 tablespoons olive oil

Combine the pesto and vinegar in a small bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil while continually stirring. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.

Dressing can be well covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.