HI Neighbor!
For the past two years or so, I have shared page 13 of Positively Naperville (in the print version) with Sommelier Tim Penick. As I read this publication, I linger over Tim’s articles and often clip them out and post on my refrigerator.
Most months I try his suggestions for beverages or try his occasional recipes. Sometimes my husband, Kent, will include Tim’s suggestions on his trip to the liquor store.
I was delighted last month when Kent, who loves to cook, made Tim’s “Slowly Roasted Chicken Perched on a Nest of Aromatic Vegetables and Herbs” (aka “Slow Roasted Chicken”). The recipe was written in a style that was very easy to understand and follow, but included a few terms and words that elevated making that night’s dinner to something special.
With the unseasonably warm weather, Kent was able to go to our garden and clip fresh parsley- as green as could be in an otherwise sleeping garden. The other fresh herbs were purchased in the produce section of our local grocery store. The store-bought herbs were a distant second compared to our garden-fresh parsley.
And so, Tim, I officially am introducing myself as your neighbor on page 13 (see the print edition of PN), thanking you for your informative and seasonably appropriate articles. My family and I love to barbecue and again look forward to your ideas for summer eating and drinking.
As I am planning my summer garden, I am reminded to look over the herb selection at the garden centers in order to add some new flavors to my salads and cooking. It was so wonderful to have fresh parsley from my garden in March that I am now growing other herbs in my kitchen until it is time to put them in the garden. In the fall I will figure out where and how to have herbs growing indoors until next spring. My family and I thank you for your contribution to our dinnertime.
