Chicken and Peaches- Local Production meets Local Consumption!

We’ve got chickens in the brooder, tomato starts indoors and buds on our peach trees. Barring a severe cold streak between now and June, there will be a copious amounts of these ingredients available here in East Tennessee fresh and ready for our tummies. If you have the slightest green thumb or backyard chicken bone in your body, it is about to be the most spectacular time of year. Not to mention all the fantastic fun that comes from watching the children interact with our animals and the daily tasks that come with their care and preparing the garden.

Nothing beats fresh and seasonal fruit. Peaches, strawberries and blueberries are coming soon. We have a variety of tomatoes awaiting the last frost before we take them outdoors. Our chickens are the Cornish Cross industry bird, raised on pasture and non-GMO feed. These birds are ready to eat in 8 weeks (kind of nutso). It’s a little insane watching them outgrow our laying hens (now nearly 26 weeks old) in two months.

Chicken with Peaches, Basil, and Tomatoes

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 shallot, sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
3 peaches, pitted and sliced
2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
6 to 8 ounces arugula

Directions:
1. Heat a large cast iron or stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat and add the coconut oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper. When fat is shimmering, add the chicken and sear, undisturbed, on the first side until golden brown, 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove chicken to plate.
2. Reduce heat to medium and add the shallot to the pan. Saute until slightly softened, then mis in the garlic and ginger and saute a minute more.
3. Stir in the peaches, tomatoes, chicken stock and 1 tablespoon of basil. Return the chicken to the pan, spooning some of the juices over the chicken.
4. Cover and simmer the chicken until cooked through, about 10-15 minutes.
5 Serve over arugula, with the sauce poured over like a dressing, and garnish with the remaining basil.

PaleoComfort

Julie and Charles Mayfield are the co-authors of Paleo Comfort Foods, Quick and Easy Paleo Comfort Foods and the e-book The Paleo Summer Survival Guide. They live in Athens TN with their two children, Scott and Adelyn.

Charles spends much of his day helping his customers manage risk at Athens Insurance Agency and weekends running Mayfield Pastures, a startup regenerative farming enterprise on his family's farm. Julie is a stay at home mother and manages the day to day tasks of their Paleo Comfort Foods cookbook line.

They both enjoy the outdoors, gardening and helping others in their community find a clear path to a healthy lifestyle.