August Honey Chicken & Succotash

Growing up in Texas with Jamaican parents was an experience. One of the best lessons I've ever learned is to understand and to appreciate people's ethnic differences and cultures -- and one of the easiest ways to do this is to be fearless of food. We were always in our "normal" supermarket, but as kids, we always found ourselves trailing behind my mom as she felt, squeezed, and even smelled peppers in the nearest halal market, searching for the perfect one. My mother knew that in order to find ethnic, you had to go ethnic (I'm talkin a lamb hanging upside down in the front window.) She was so fearless, yet when I was little, I hated these trips. Why are we wasting our time when I could be at home playing Roller Coaster Tycoon? Now, I catch myself wandering into hispanic markets in Upper Columbia Heights, poring for fresh produce and rare finds the way I remember those outings to be.

Last week as I wandered into Pan-Am Grocery on 14th Street -- the setting was the same -- lots of families congregated outside, ready to pack their bounty into their vehicles, Spanish words flying. I was so excited. As I made my way inside, I found the best summer produce I've ever seen at prices that would put the Giant down the street to shame. This succotash was born. Adapted from a Women's Health magazine I had read that day at the hair salon, I subbed the white wine vinegar for balsamic for that extra savory/salty kick. Delicious on its own, you can top the succotash with any meat -- I chose a simple baked chicken with honey.

Servings: Four

For the Chicken:

• 4 small chicken breast cutlets
• 2 tablespoons honey
• Salt/Pepper
• 1 tablespoon water

Stir together honey & water. Add salt & pepper and transfer to a plastic bag. Throw in chicken, zip bag, and make sure the chicken is coated with the honey mixture (shake bag if you must.) Refrigerate anywhere from an hour to overnight before baking it in an oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

For the Succotash:

• 4 ears of corn
• A red bell pepper
• 1 cup frozen edamame beans (check frozen section of grocery store!)
• 1/2 a peeled yellow onion, sliced into thick slices
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Cooking Spray
• Salt/Pepper
• Optional: Grill Pan & Basil

I used a grill pan to prepare the vegetables -- I found a low cost one at Target here. If you do not have a grill pan, no worries -- you can simply roast the vegetables in the oven instead and it will still be delish. Chop them up and put in a pan -- 20 min at 450 degrees.

If you are using a grill pan, spray with cooking spray and let heat on the stove for 5 min. Starting with the corn, grill for about 3 min at a time, then use tongs to rotate them. If you rotate then let sit, you'll get those beautiful grill marks. When you've cooked the corn on all sides, remove from heat and keep warm. Do the same with the red pepper and onion slices, being sure to respray the cooking spray when needed.

Cook the edamame beans in a small pot of boiling water for 5 min. While this is cooking, chop the grilled vegetables and cut the corn kernels from their cob's. Throw everything together in a bowl, and drain/add the edamame beans when they're done. Add the tablespoons of balsamic and olive oil, then a pinch of salt and pepper, and stir the succotash together. Voila!

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It's discoveries like Pan-Am that I'm grateful for. All the produce used for this succotash cost me less than $5, not to mention the satisfying feeling from the cultural curiosity my parents would be proud of. With fall coming up, I can't wait to scrounge around to see what I find! Who knows, maybe I'll even blog a lamb dish :)

xoxo n
Picture by N.Neilson