seared chicken thighs, pene

I could well be addicted to these Bell & Evans chicken thighs. The W.F. near my house carries the Rosie and Rocky brands of organic and free range chicken at their meat counter, but not the B&E whole chickens and parts like the W.F. at Cherry Creek,  but they do have these packages in the chiller situated near to the meat counter. I'm glad I found them there. I could cook up the package and eat the whole thing on the spot, but I try to control myself. These are great just seared in olive oil. Very paleo, but I dolled them up a bit to stretch them out and to be a little civilized. 

Mayonnaise was made with olive oil, not recommended by pros because it tends to cause the oil to go bitter, I did not find that, but for the first time I used the whisk attachment to the immersion blender instead of the blender attachment and held back on the aggressive whipping. I added all the zest of a medium size orange along with 1/2 teaspoon raw cane sugar.  Raw. As if. It's still refined to crystalline form, just a little brown. 

I have on hand mint and basil so both were used. If I had something else, say fresh sage and tarragon, I would have used that. I wouldn't hesitate to include cilantro. 

I had ginger ready but decided at the last minute not to include it. I do not know why. 

I also considered but did not use:

*  cranberries

*  grapes

*  apple

*  pineapple

*  mango

*  pecans

*  walnuts

*  pistachios

*  shallots

*  scallions

*  cinnamon

I sense a change stirring within me, a tendency toward simplicity. Maybe its laziness. Maybe it's the summer heat. Maybe this is what maturity feels like.