Sunshine on a Snowy Day

Last week was filled with snow and ice and mittens and boots.  The food blogs and magazines shared ideas for hearty winter dishes but I was craving beach weather and sunshine and no root vegetable stew or squash soup was going to fit the bill.

I was at Whole Foods when some Cara Cara oranges caught my eye and I brought them home for a snack along with chicken breasts, local greenhouse tomatoes, and a box of couscous for dinner.  As I unpacked my groceries it struck me that the oranges would make a delicious addition to my dinner.  I squeezed the juice of one of the oranges and cut the other in sections.  I coated the chicken breasts in seasoned flour and sautéed them in olive oil.  When both sides were seared, I threw some capers into the pan along with a splash of white wine and the sweet and tart Cara Cara juice.  While the chicken finished cooking inside, a lovely glaze formed and at the last minute of cooking I added the orange sections and a touch of butter.

Meanwhile the couscous was cooked simply in chicken broth and was going to look rather of plain next to the bright splash of the orange chicken.  I quickly toasted some walnuts and mixed them with a handful of dried cranberries into my couscous.

I made a salad of fresh greenhouse grown greens and tomatoes and set the table with a basket of colorful primeroses and lemon yellow placemats.  Suddenly, it was summer, well, at least until we looked out the window.