Month: March 2016

Chicken to the Rescue Part 1:Roast

~ Nancy ~ Leave a comment

  
I love to cook and eat healthy, homemade food. But with four kids and lots of other interests, I often fall back on frozen Trader Joe’s options or way-too-easy and less balanced choices (baguette with butter and salami for dinner, anyone?). Lately I’ve been working on strategies to make eating nourishing, delicious, from-scratch food a little easier and less time consuming. 

The first step is our weekly roasted chicken dinner. I buy a good sized free range organic chicken (they really do have a better flavor, not to mention being healthier and more humane), plus whatever root vegetables look good- I like fennel, turnips, parsnips etc. and of course carrots! 

Roasted Chicken & Veg

  1. A good whole chicken(4-6 lbs)
  2. Root vegetables
  3. Two onions
  4. Celery
  5. Olive oil
  6. Salt & pepper

Heat oven to 425. Line a small roasting pan with heavy weight aluminum foil. Chop one onion and root veggies into similar sized chunks, reserving any tops, fronds etc(you’ll see why later). Place chopped veg in lined pan, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Remove chicken from wrapping and discard any giblets(you can cook them later if you like, but I don’t care for them!). Pat very dry(skin won’t crisp up if it is damp). Salt and pepper chicken cavity, halve your second onion and place inside cavity with a few chopped stalks of celery. Nestle chicken among veg in roasting pan and salt and pepper generously.  

 Leave in oven for 2 hours. 

After 2 hours, remove from oven and place chicken on a cutting board with a well, or a rimmed platter(to catch juices), and allow to rest for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, reserve accumulated juices in roasting pan and put veggies back in oven to brown further while your chicken rests(if they look brown enough you can just cover with foil to keep warm).

Carve up your chicken, and serve with veggies, and a green salad or rice. Pick the carcass clean of meat and set meat aside for a future meal(part 3 of this chicken series!). Separately save all the bones, and cleaned carcass with vegetables inside- tune in to part 2 for what’s next with those!

For The Birds

~ Nancy ~ Leave a comment

With spring comes a renewed interest in the creatures that populate our garden. I finally got my act together to set up two bird-friendly projects I’ve been wanting to do for years. First, making nectar and hanging the beautiful hummingbird feeder my mother-in-law bought us years ago. 

 I followed the directions here. It is very important to be a responsible feeder, as any sort of contamination in the feeder can be fatal for the birds, and the nectar must be changed frequently. My animal-loving middle daughter has taken on the task of reminding me to check it daily. Hope someone finds it soon…

 

Next, a window-mounted nest box! I would love to join the children watching a pair of birds safely build their nest, lay eggs, and care for their hatchlings. The kids helped set it up 

 And we chose a quiet, warm window to mount it on upstairs 

Hopefully a house-hunting bird couple will find it a good fit and we’ll have bird family updates for you!

 

Mom’s Asparagus Soup

~ Nancy ~ Leave a comment

  
My mother is an excellent, healthy cook. She also doesn’t like to eat the same thing too often, so sometimes she shares a recipe with me, and by the time I cook it for her she’s forgotten it even came from her recipe box! This asparagus soup is one of those- a springtime favorite in our house. It has very few ingredients so I always wait until asparagus is really in season and doesn’t travel too far to get to us, to let the rich, juicy green flavor the soup.

Mom’s Asparagus Soup

  1. 2 bunches asparagus
  2. 1 small onion, diced
  3. 2 cloves garlic, sliced
  4. 4T butter, divided
  5. 2T olive oil
  6. 2-4 cups chicken stock(depending on how thick you like your soup)
  7. Salt & pepper

Snap the woody ends off your asparagus, then cut off and reserve tips. Chop stalks into 1″ ish pieces. Heat olive oil with 2T butter in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté onions until soft, then add asparagus stems and garlic.  

 Season with salt and pepper and sauté until asparagus are al dente(test one). Add 2 cups stock, bring to a boil then lower to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. 

  Allow to cool, then blend until smooth-add extra stock while blending if it is too thick for your tastes- it is equally good a bit chunky or thin like a bisque! When ready to serve, melt remaining 2T butter in a small skillet and sauté asparagus tips until browned, salting as you go. 

 Ladle soup into bowls and scatter a few buttery tips on top. 

 Enjoy!