At the moment, Mr J is enjoying some sunshine in beautiful California without Mrs J. This is entirely fair considering the fact that Mrs J has been enjoying multiple weeks of sunshine in the south while Mr J was taking care of business at home.

Also, Mr J gets paid to go to California. And actually does work. Which is good for him AND Mrs J.

Being a solo chick this week means a number of dinners-for-one are on the agenda for Mrs J.  Here’s a particularly comforting one. It’s kind of autumn-y (it’s October, y’all, if we don’t get around to autumn-ing, we’ll have no time before Christmas to get all that good stuff in) and will also keep any lurking sugar demons satisfied.

There’s always tomorrow to get those trainers on.

First stop, cut some carrots, shallots, red onion and apples in chunks.

Precook in the oven for something like 20 minutes with a small amount of olive oil and some water if you like them really soft at the end, or if you’re using breast or other cuts of chicken that are really thin later. Add chicken on top.

You get more taste if you score the chicken, just remember it also makes it thinner, which means it goes dry more quickly. Depends again on your desired ratio of soft or crunchy veg vs well-done-ness of chicken. Mrs J doesn’t mind some crunch in her veg. Also, stick some bay leaves under the chicken.

Mix more or less equal parts apple cider vinegar, olive oil and good maple sirup in a bowl. Add some freshly grated black pepper and salt. Pour mixture over chicken and veg.

Cook in the oven at 200° for another 20-30 minutes. If you’re using chicken breast (like Mrs J did, cause that’s what she had in the fridge), get it browned but don’t cook it too long. It needs to be cooked through, but you don’t want it stringy and chewy. If in doubt, give it a poke to check. Also, baste with the liquid several times during the cooking time for maximum taste.

Mrs J serves this on a pretty plate straight up with some radicchio salad to break a bit of the sweetness, and because it looks marvelous. We all eat with out eyes, in particular when we’re on our own with nothing to distract us, no? So treat yourself to some colour! And don’t forget to spoon some of the liquid on top.

This dish is great because of the colours but also because of the taste. Shades of summer but with richness in the apples and caramel… perfect for October!