Friday Favorites

“The woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those who sang the best.” 

John James Audubon

The Carolina Parrot

John James Audubon was an American ornithologist, artist and naturalist known for his studies, drawings and paintings of North American birds. His birthday is April 26th. 

Nancy Plain's book This Strange Wilderness The Life and Art of John James Audubon is a work of art. The first thing you'll notice is the quality of paper used to print this book. It's  further enhanced by Audubon’s beautiful watercolor reproductions. Nancy noted that Audubon’s birds glow with life and look real enough to hop off the page and fly away. This high quality volume combined with Nancy’s mesmerizing prose elevates this book above many on the same subject.
Her book is well researched and meticulously documented with appendix, glossary, source notes, bibliography, and illustration credits included in the back of the book. Nancy effectively captures the essence of Audubon’s personal journey to uncharted places where no one had seen, drawn, or written so much about the animals and birds of this young country. In Audubon’s words, “My whole mind was ever filled with my passion for rambling.”

Healthy Southwestern Chicken Taco Wraps

Cook's notes: The wraps are an easy party appetizer or make them for a fast, fun, and healthy dinner or lunch. They’re ready in 15 minutes and sure to be a crowd favorite. Soft butter lettuce (you could also use romaine) holds taco-seasoned chicken, juicy tomatoes and corn, crisp bell peppers, and cheese. You can customize the wraps by incorporating ingredients like black beans, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, or your favorite taco fixings. The recipe comes from averiecooks.com and serves 4. 

Kitchen tip: To make assembly easier prep all the ingredients ahead.

Ingredients:

• 2 TB. olive oil
• 1 LB. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
• 1-2 TB. taco seasoning mix (look for a low sodium package)
• Southwest chunky salsa
• 1 head butter lettuce or romaine
• 1 medium tomato, diced small (I used Roma, vine-ripened or cherry tomatoes may be substituted)
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced small
• 1/2 cup corn (I used frozen, fresh could be substituted)
• 1 cup shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend of cheese)
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely minced
• 1/2 cup seasoned low fat tortilla chips, crushed
• 1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed, optional
• 1 cup red onion diced, optional
• 1 medium Hass avocado, peeled and diced or make into guacamole, optional
• salsa and low fat sour cream for garnishing

Directions:

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook for about 5 minutes, flipping and stirring so all sides cook evenly. After the chicken has cooked through, evenly sprinkle chicken with taco seasoning and a few tablespoons of salsa. Stir to evenly coat. Cooking time will vary based on thickness of chicken breasts and sizes of pieces. Allow chicken to rest in pan off the heat while you prep the remaining ingredients.
• Peel off the leaves of the butter lettuce from the core and stack them on a plate.
• Place 2 leaves of butter lettuce on a separate plate (I like to double up the leaves so the wraps are sturdier) and add about 3 tablespoons chicken mixture, 1 tablespoon tomatoes, 1 tablespoon bell peppers, 1 tablespoon corn, 2 tablespoons cheese, a pinch of cilantro, and sprinkle with tortilla chips to taste. Optional items include: black beans, avocado or guacamole, salsa and lite sour cream for garnishing. Repeat until chicken and remaining ingredients are gone. Wraps are best served fresh.