How to roast a chicken

How boring is that? How to roast a chicken. Is she kidding? Everyone knows how to roast a chicken. Who wants to roast a chicken? We want beef! Or veal- yeah, how about a nice veal recipe? Or some cookies. We’d rather have cookies, wouldn’t we?

Oh you think so, do you? Well, can your cookies do this?

Kapow! Blam! Whoosh!

Whoosh? Roast chicken doesn’t go “whoosh”. But it does go pretty fast and easily, and makes a wonderful meal, leftovers, broth, sauces, sandwiches, chicken parmesan and pot pie!

Did she say chicken parmesan? Yes, she did. But that’s a post for another day. Right now, let’s get to the recipe, shall we? Turn the oven on to 375 degrees, then go get washed up.

Step one- get a chicken and take out it’s gizzards. I like to rinse it off with icy cold water. Now place in a pan. I use a cookie sheet lined with foil, but anything big enough to set the bird in will do. Make sure it has raised sides- we don’t want those lovely juices getting away from us. Place the bird on its back with its wings folded underneath it.

Step two- squeeze a lemon over said bird, and place the two halves (you washed them first, right?) into the cavity of the bird. Now drizzle some olive oil all over the bird. I use about two tablespoons, maybe three if I’m feeling generous. Then sprinkle it with dried oregano, thyme and freshly cracked pepper. If you put the herbs on first, the liquids will just rinse them all off the bird.

Step three- put the bird in the oven and pour a cup of liquid into the roasting pan- that way you won’t spill it all over your floor when you put it into the oven. Yes, I speak from experience. I use water, but use whatever you like: wine, water, broth, etc.

Step four- Roast it! Ok, ok- baste it every half an hour with the juices from the pan, and make sure they don’t burn away. You can put another half cup or so of liquid in there if you didn’t get enough in it to make a nice juicy broth to baste it with in the beginning. (But you did remember to put some liquid in there in the beginning, right?) Wiggle the leg bone when you think it’s done, and look at the juices collecting in the cavity. Red juices= undone chicken, put it back in the oven to finish cooking. Otherwise, the leg should move freely in its socket and the skin should be really crisp and a golden burnished brown colour. It will take anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours- so plan the rest of your dinner accordingly. Those pan juices are perfect just the way they are, but skim the fat off the top of them before serving. I don’t make gravy, just serve them as is in a gravy boat, or poured over the chicken and potatoes in the kitchen while plating up dinner.

There you have it!. Yes, there are faster ways of cooking chicken and yes, there are more complicated recipes that take a lot more ingredients and steps. But, this is the chicken I have made for about 15 years, so I know it’s good. And it makes for a lip-smacking, finger-licking, husband-pleasing good meal.

That’s my roast chicken.

Geraniums

When my family moved back to California in the ‘80’s, my mom planted a small red geranium in the back yard, right on the edge of the back patio. By the time I had graduated high school, it had grown into a monster bush covering half of the patio and blocking the entire view of the yard from the patio door!. Ever since I’ve had geraniums in my various gardens, but until now I haven’t had the sun exposure they like to flourish.

Now I have a pink one- she started out quiet and small, kinda sickly honestly. Now she blooms all the time, and has the most beautiful flowers of the two that are in my garden right now.

My red geranium, from back in August. She hasn’t had very large blooms since I first brought her home last summer, but she has been plucking along, putting out blooms bravely despite the heat and the wind out there on that balcony.
So, I repotted both of them when I split my monster oregano earlier this month. I gave them both a good feeding at the time, too and make sure to give them both a good drink ever few days. The air out here is so dry, what with the drier climate, 3rd floor balcony and no shade. But they appear to like their Christmas present, late as it was, so we’ll see how they do this next month.
Most of my plants have grown so much since we moved in back in June. The tarragon didn’t make it, so I pulled that one out. Then I decided to try my hand at some lettuces, so I pulled everything out of the low round planter and gave them their own pots- the thyme is growing lush again, but the sage is spindly and refuses to raise her head. I let the Basil bolt, and am glad I did because his flowers are so pretty! I will just chop him down when it gets closer to a true spring out here, and buy another plant in the meantime- one plant didn’t give me near enough basil last summer any way, so another plant or two will supply us nicely this next year I think.
So, right now I have parsley and chives putting up their teeny little sprouts (yaay! fresh herbs are lovely), a new rosebush I got bareroot late last month that is refusing to green up- I am a little worried about it. I chose an Iceberg this time around, for a white flower, but it’s not looking good at the moment. The Faeries are camped out around her, giving her pep talks and extra love, so we’ll see how she does. My other rose, an Our lady of Guadalupe ever-blooming floribunda, is working on two rosehips at the moment- I’m so excited! She also had a sucker (? is that the right term) that I let go for a few weeks until it bloomed this last weekend that turned out to be true to her regular flower crop yaay! I hate trimming my roses, it rips my heart out to cut my plants, even the suckers (speaking of suckers, it turns out that the tomato plant from last year needed a lot more attention than I gave it- I have been reading a lot about gardening this winter and learned a lot about what I did wrong with that plant. Oh well. You live and learn, right?).
Anyway, roses and geraniums, herbs and lettuces. What else can I stuff onto my balcony this year? Ahhh. . . lots more, I’m hoping. So far, so good- I’m learning, and planting and fertilizing, pruning and harvesting- it gives me such joy and comfort to have my plants again! I’ve waited so long. Love my garden, and so does Tasha- she got a catnip plant this weekend, and is loving being about to go out and pick a leaf or two whenever she gets a craving! Kitties are good teachers, aren’t they?

Friday Musings

She loves her sunshine. . .

It’s just a little harder to come by these days.

Menu planning and stocking up

I’m taking some time this week to work on my menus and recipe lists for February. This basic maintenance has kept us sane and the budget under control for the past four years. This is what my meal planning area looked like in our last home:

I also used the front of the refrigerator to hold things like recipes, coupons, calendars, schedules, etc. That was to the immediate right in this picture. Alas, the kitchen I have now is too small for this setup, so I’ve been “auditioning” new ideas for my new planning center ever since we moved last summer. The only thing I’ve succeeded in doing is to get more and more frustrated with my kitchen, cooking, the meals I have cooked, and even the grocery shopping (which I love to do!) as the months have gone by. We were eating out more and more, not liking anything we were eating, and not understanding why we were getting so grumpy and feeling sick all the time.

Enough was enough! I finally sat down last week and the first half of this week to really look at my old menus, collection of recipes and cookbooks, and the blogs and websites I like to get my ideas from. The more I read, the worse it looked. I had thrown out all our favorite recipes in favor of “trying something new”! All our comfort foods, reliable meals and yummy snacks had disappeared from my repertoire.

No wonder we’ve been eating out most every week this winter!

In my research, I discovered that it also turns out that we have seen a huge improvement our personal and financial resources , so I had to do something about the quality of our meals at home, and fast! That’s when I figured out what I had been doing wrong for the last seven months- I had stopped using my meal planning skills! So today I am stopping everything (but the laundry!) and designing a plan for February. I am halfway done, and already I feel happier and calmer than I have for ages. Well, ok- maybe a month or two, but you get the idea. I just needed a plan. Nothing drastic, or too complex. let me show you what I do-

I make a list of my husbands favorite dishes, and mine, too.  Then I pare that down to seven main dishes.

Then I make a list of all the vegetables we like to eat- that actually worked out to be 14 items- perfect!

When I go to make my meals, I will double the recipes, and put the extras in the freezer. Voila! 14 meals. The vegetable dishes I make for sides are generally easy enough to make the day I serve them, but things like broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and spinach I will make a bulk batch to keep in the fridge for a few days worth of dinners and lunches. ( For example- I’ll steam a couple heads of broccoli and stash them in the fridge, and peel, slice and steam a whole pound or two of carrots plain and doctor them up later for different dishes.)

Now when I have a day or two during the week, I’ll make a batch of my magical vegetable broth, white beans (I still have some black beans in the freezer I need to use up), marinara sauce (for spaghetti, pizza and lasagna sauces, and in minestrone soup), a few different cookie dough's, and various scone, biscuit and bread recipes I like to keep on hand to make dinner special, or to whip out for lunchtime on the weekend.

Okay- 14 meals does not a month make, I know. But I only have two mouths to feed- so it’s easy to make a meal stretch into two nights of dinner or a few lunches, maybe even a weekend meal (if I’m lucky, or if we really liked it!). It also leaves room for one of my favorite hobbies- experimenting in the kitchen.

By taking the time to prepare for the upcoming month, I know I will save time, money and maybe even a little of my sanity!

Now, where did these little footprints on the counter come fro. . . hey! you faeries get outta that cookie jar! Those are for dessert!

Buttermilk Bread

Oh how quickly these winter weekends go by! Hanging out with friends, shopping at Ikea (Ikea! Finally!), hitting our favorite Mexican restaurant, and making a library run for my weekly load of books- this month it’s all gardening, all the time. Grocery shopping, too. I love the first few days of new groceries, when my possibilities seem endless, and the veggies are still fresh and green. I’m loving the purple grapes in the stores right now- although I did pick up another bag of Cuties. . .
But today, it’s time to focus on the work of the week, and I finally noticed that there is no bread in this house!
and so, without further ado- My favorite Buttermilk Bread recipe:

1 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk 

3 cups flour

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoons honey

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons yeast

This is a recipe from my favorite bread book “Bread Machine Magic” by Linda Rehberg and Lois Conway. I give this book to anyone who says they are getting a bread machine. ( I have found my extra copies at the used bookstore! They are worth their weight in gold. I always buy them when I find them, to give as gifts, too.) I also like the basic white bread recipe in James Beard’s “Beard on Bread” but that’s a post for another day.
So, you place all the wet stuff in the bread pan first, then place the dry on top, then you hit the start button, and go do something else for a few hours. I always make dough, then knead it a little, shape it then,  let it rise again for an hour (sometimes I can only give it a half an hour, but it’s good no matter how long it gets!) then pop it in the oven at 350* for 30 minutes. Then I usually decide I want a really crusty loaf, so I pop it back in for 15 more minutes. Generally, you lean it out of it’s pan and knock on the bottom of the loaf to check if it’s done- a nice firm crust with a hollow knock is perfect. Let it cool and then prepare to fight against the temptation to eat the entire loaf. No no- I am serious. Put the knife down and back away slowly, and you might make it out of there with just a quarter of the loaf, but don’t go thinking you can eat just a thin little slice and sneer at the rest of us. You are playing with fire here, missy. Oh, you think you can do it, eh? Well, you just go right ahead and make it then! Just remember, I warned you. Don’t come crying to me when you have nothing to show for that amazing smell wafting through your house but a plate of crumbs!
hey- you faeries get outta that bread tin! And what’s with the jelly smeared all over the counter. . .

Friday musings

There is a place in San Diego that is beautiful, no matter when I go, or what the weather is like:

Casa De Estudillo in Historic Old Town San Diego.

skimming the light fantastic. . .

Do you read? Do you have time to read?

I do. And lately, I’ve had even more time on my hands than I have books to read. I’ve been sicker lately than I’ve been in a loong time: I’ve had the flu, a common cold, then sick again from the antibiotics they saw fit to proscribe me when I’d had enough of the coughing/no sleep/throwing up/headaches etc. that have plagued me since Thanksgiving.

But I digress. I have been reading lately. So much time spent just lying in bed, sitting on the couch, struggling to keep my eyes open through one more chapter.

So, what have I been reading?

I read and enjoyed Mercedes Lackey’s new Beauty and the Werewolf- anything that has a fairy godmother, herb women, stillrooms, invisible servants and heroines who would much rather wear plain-and-sturdy-but-pretty-workclothes than frothy dance dresses is a must read for me. Loved it! and the story had some cool plot twists, too.

Seanan Mcguire’s One Salt Sea was completely devoured in a day and a half, it was so good. Her writing style- that familiar tone, dry humour, and clever twists on stereotypical-noir-archetypes-as-mythological-creatures is still just as fresh as her first October Daye novel. Makes me want to head up to San Francisco to find a knowe for myself!

Tanya Huff’s The Wild Ways however- that’s the first fantasy book I’ve given up on in a long time. I really enjoyed The Enchantment Emporium, but not this one- it is built on too much inside information, too many sly references to what, I still can’t say. I liked the characters, the writing is solid, but the storyline is just too full of references that I can’t follow. I’ll return to it later, after I’ve had a chance to do some research into her other books- maybe it’s an offshoot of some other series? hmm. . .

Then there’s the research I've been doing. A little architecture/design school- basically just two books on the Prairie School, but so far I’m not liking what I see about it.One is a very dry book published in the ‘70’s, and the other one is a coffee table book from 2008. But it’s been enough to make me realize that I’m more an Arts & Crafts, William Morris kind of girl at heart. I’ve also been doing lots of research on gardening, in general and also container gardens, patio and balcony gardens, herb gardens- the local librarians are sure there’s a commercial enterprise starting up in the neighborhood somewhere, I’ve ordered so many books! Nothing too special here so far, I just like looking at the pretty pictures and plot schematics . . .

Speaking of Herbs, I’ve been looking at Herbals like Rosemary Gladstone’s Family Herbal, Lesley Tierra’s Kid’s Herb Book, and Raleigh Briggs’ Make Your Place: Affordable & Sustainable Nesting Skills. All of them are lovely to look at and read, lots of good solid information, and are a wonderful choice if your interested in either medicinal use or gardening info.

Yup, it’s been all books, all the time around the ol’ homestead! Let’s see if I can rustle up some sewing projects for next weeks’ post, shall we?

Happy New Year!

Whew- what a whirlwind December was! It was even crazier this year because it started in November, heehee. Disneyland on Black Friday, How the Grinch Stole Christmas on Sunday, and the whole thing got started with a week-long vacation from work for the hubby! Then, a 4-week-long-cold/flu for me! aww, you shouldn’t have, Santa- really. oh well. I did get some crafting/sewing/decorating done though. Presents for the parents, cookies for hubby’s co-workers, and even some gaming thrown in for good measure. Here’s the breakdown:

The Holidays in Balboa Park!

Walnut shell gift boxes! tricky work . . .

New family stockings, finally! (been meaning to do this for years. . . )

zipper bags for gamer gifts!

then thankfully spending New Year’s Day meaningfully out in the fresh air.

 

Thank you, for spending 2011 with me. And a big hearty Happy New Year from Magickwyrd’s to all of you!