honey and herb chicken

It seems that every year I am counting down the weeks until the farmer’s markets begin, and every year, when I get there, I’m not as good about shopping as I wish I could be.  I want to be the person who buys the tomatoes and the beautiful leafy greens.  I want to be the person who buys berries by the quart and snacks on them constantly throughout the week.  I want to always have farmer’s market vegetables in the fridge and I want to use them all before they go to waste.  But the truth is, somehow there is still broccoli in our fridge that I bought at the grocery store last week that still hasn’t been used.

I’m having to accept this summer that I am not that person, and perhaps I never will be.  I don’t like leafy greens and I don’t like berries.  And to be honest there are often vegetables that I buy with good intentions, and then somehow throughout the week our meals get taken up by other things, invitations to eat with other people or nights when we are suddenly busier than we had expected, and my meaning to, there is unused produce in our fridge quickly going to waste.

So far, my farmer’s market purchases have included zucchini, an expensive and small carton of goat cheese, a half loaf of homemade bread whose sample was apparently irresistible, a jar of honey, and some strawberries that Gerrit has been putting on his cereal.  I’m trying to make myself feel better by convincing myself that that I’ll do better once we have baskets of okra and corn to buy, but the truth is I’m not sure I will.  I suppose we all have things we wish we were better at taking advantage of, the fleeting events of seasons that seem to pass us by sometimes and then we’re on to fall or winter and realize that we didn’t act when we should have.

But if I’m honest with myself, I also have to realize that I’m better about the farmer’s market and better about vegetables than I use to be.  I’m better about being adventurous in the vegetables and fruits I buy, even if it means they get pushed along to Gerrit after I try to make something of them.  And I think, in general, this is something we all probably do, struggling to recognize our progress when we are still striving to be better.

When I bought honey at the farmer’s market a couple of weeks ago, I knew immediately that I wanted to use it for this chicken, because when honey is one of the main flavors of a dish, I think you want to make sure it’s really good honey.  And the honey, mixed with the herbs, made for a lovely light feeling summer meal.  And these are the kinds of things that, in a small way, mean I have succeeded.

Honey and Herb Chicken
adapted from Little Paris Kitchen

This was one of those recipes that I had to pause the DVR and rewind again and again so that I could write down what I could because apparently this recipe is not online.  The original recipe is lavender honey chicken, but I could not find dried lavender.  So herbes de provence was a nice substitute (which generally has some lavender in it), or use any combination of dried herbs you would like.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Wait Time: 4 hours
Bake Time: 40 minutes

Serve 3-4

1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 to 2 teaspoons herbes de provence
Kosher salt
4 bone-in pieces of chicken

1. In a medium sized bowl, combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, honey, herbes de provence (slightly crushing them between your fingers as you add them), and a pinch of salt.  Whisk together.  Add the chicken and turn to make sure that each piece gets coated.  Marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours (but at the very least, 30 minutes).
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place the chicken in a baking dish and pour the marinade over it.  Bake for 40 minutes.  Serve warm.