Sauteed chicken

Absolutely the easiest way to cook chicken, and one of the most delicious :)

1. Heat a non-stick pan for a few minutes.
2. Put one boneless chicken fillet skin side DOWN, into the center of the pan.
3. Sprinkle over some freshly chopped herbs and black pepper.
4. Cook on medium heat until the skin is golden and crunchy.
5. Turn over and cook the meat side for a few minutes.
6. Take out of the pan and leave it to sit on a warm plate for a few minutes.

NOTES:
1. Please use a non-toxic pan. If you don't have one, don't heat your regular teflon pan to high heat.
2. You MUST put the skin side down first. This way you don't need any oil at all and the skin will be crunchy.
3. You can skip the herbs, or change them for grated lemon rind, etc.
4. & 5. Don't cover the pan or the skin won't be crunchy. That means it is better to choose a flat fillet, not a thick one. Flat fillets will cook quickly and evenly.
6. Resting meat at the end is very important.

In this photo I'm serving the meat with mango chutney. It is breaking three of my rules: imported, unhealthy, and processed :(  But the ingredients are only spices, mango and sugar. Sometimes it is okay to be bad if the main dish is very good!

This chicken is very nice cold or in a lunch box.

Pumpkin with sage

Here is another easy recipe for you. It can be for any meal, and even to pack into your lunch box. Roasted pumpkin is great but this is much faster.

1. Cut a small pumpkin in half, and scoop out the seeds. Rinse with water. 

2. Wrap with damp kitchen paper, microwave for 3 minutes.

3. While it is cooking, put a tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick pan.

4. Add fresh chopped sage and thyme to the oil. (Dry herbs are ok.)

5. Heat the oil gently until the herbs are fragrant.

6. Cut the pumpkin into 1.5cm wedges. Add to the pan.

7. Cook the pumpkin until it is golden on both sides. Remove from the pan.

8. If you would like to cook meat, such as chicken or pork, add it to the herb oil.

NOTES:

1. It is easy to microwave pumpkin a little before you cut it, so it is a little softer. It will also cook faster. Japanese people eat the skin, which has a lot of fiber and tastes okay. If you prefer, after microwaving you can easily peel the pumpkin.

3. I always use my non-toxic pan from Cuisinart, but you can use another pan or even grill.

4. Sage is great with pumpkin! Fresh herbs are really easy to grow in a pot. Sage is a bigger bush so you can plant thyme around it in the one pot. They won't die in winter if you keep them out of the frost. If you don't have fresh herbs, buy some bunches from the supermarket. Wash and dry them, and put small amounts into very small ziplock bags from the 100yen shop, then put them in the freezer. 1 bag = for one time

7. The pumpkin will stay warm for a while, or you can keep it under a fish grill set to low, or in a toaster oven.

8. Thinly sliced pork cooked in the pan is nice with the pumpkin.

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

A "one vegetable" side dish that can easily be cooked while you are making the mains.

1. Wash one punnet of cherry tomatoes. Drain.
2. Shape a piece of foil into a shallow dish.
(Or you can use an aluminium tray, baking dish or glass dish.)
3. Put the tomatoes into the dish.
4. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil over the tomatoes.
5. Season with a little black pepper.
6. Sprinkle on some herbs if you have any - thyme, oregano, rosemary.
7. Bake in a toaster oven or in the fish grill for about 5 minutes.
8. Finished!

They will be very sweet. If you want to, you can season them with salt, but I never do.

Alternative ideas:
1. Add a few pieces of Japanese negi leek. Just the green part will give a nice flavor and fragrance.
2. Roast some garlic the same way, and add it to the tomatoes.
3. Don't use the oil, but put chopped bacon on the top.

How to eat them:
1. Simply - just as a side vegetable.
2. As a topping sauce - mash them a little and put them on top of sauteed chicken.
3. As a pasta sauce - put them in a pan, mash them, and toss with pasta.
4. On toast - mash a little and eat on French bread toast. Just tomatoes or with anchovies.
5. As pizza topping.