It is the first day of autumn and there is nothing better than to fill the kitchen with warm spices and fresh bounty of fall vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 2 – 2 1/2 pounds of skinned chicken breasts
• 3 large potatoes quartered or 9 – 12 whole baby potatoes
• 2 medium turnips peeled and cut into eighths
• 3 – 6 carrots peeled and cut into large bites
• 6 – 9 shallots cloves separated and cut in half *
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup whole dijon mustard
• 2 – 3 tbsp water
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp crushed dried chiles

Directions:

Place all vegetables in a steamer and steam for about 15 – 20 minutes (you can also boil in a large pot in you prefer).  While vegetables are cooking preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small saucepan, add honey, water, mustard, garlic, butter, chiles, curry, salt & gingers and bring to a slow boil stirring constantly. Remove from heat and set aside.  

Trim any excess fat off the chicken breasts.  Spray a shallow pyrex roasting pan with cooking spray and lay breasts evenly.  Add steamed root vegetables and fill any open gaps.  Pour 1/2 of the curry honey mixture over the chicken and with a basting brush, spread sauce over the chicken and vegetables.  Bake uncovered for 35 – 40 minutes basting the remaining sauce every 10 – 15 minutes until no more mixture remains.

Serve hot.

* If you do not have shallots, you can substitute quarter chipolini onions or even add 2 tbsp dried minced onions to the sauce instead.

We all know that we really should buy organic as much as possible (it’s healthier for us and it supports the small scale farmer).  But there are times when one simply cannot afford to totally go organic.  Thankfully research has been done from the Environmental Working Group and below in ranking order of fruits and vegetables from worst with pesticide residue (buy organic at all costs) to the best with the least amount of residue (OK to buy non-organic). Detailed data sheet can be found here.

Rank (worst to best)

Buy Organic At All Costs

1 Peaches 
2 Apples 
3 Sweet Bell Peppers 
4 Celery 
5 Nectarines 
6 Strawberries 
7 Cherries 
8 Lettuce 
9 Grapes – Imported 
10 Pears 
11 Spinach 
12 Potatoes 

Try To Buy Organic If You Can
13 Carrots 
14 Green Beans 
15 Hot Peppers 
16 Cucumbers 
17 Raspberries 
18 Plums 
19 Oranges 
20 Grapes – Domestic 
21 Cauliflower 
22 Tangerines 
23 Mushrooms 
24 Cantaloupe 
25 Lemon 
26 Honeydew Melon 
27 Grapefruit 
28 Winter Squash 
29 Tomatoes 
30 Sweet Potatoes 
31 Watermelons 
32 Blueberries 
33 Papaya 

OK To Buy Non-Organic

34 Eggplant 
35 Broccoli 
36 Cabbage 
37 Bananas 
38 Kiwi 
39 Asparagus 
40 Sweet Peas – Frozen 
41 Mango 
42 Pineapples 
43 Sweet Corn – Frozen 
44 Avocado 
45 Onions