Coming Home to Roast

Now that the seasons are starting to change, I move more toward the comfort foods that fill the home with warmth and intoxicating smells. Nothing pleases me more than something as simple as a roasted chicken. To me it’s one of those basic meals that come from the heart of nurturing that you prepare for those you love. It speaks of family Sunday dinners and the kind of time and patience you practice when you prepare a meal rather than fix a dinner.

Ingredients

1 (3 1/2 to 4 pound) chicken
1 small yellow onion, quartered
1 lemon thinly sliced
1/2 cup celery leaves
One carrot, chopped to fit in the cavity
5 whole garlic cloves
Fresh rosemary and parsley
Salt and black pepper
Butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary, thyme, and/or parsley
2 cups chicken broth

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Wash the chicken in hot water and dry thoroughly. Season the cavity with salt and black pepper and stuff with the onion, lemon, celery leaves, carrot, garlic, rosemary and parsley. Rub the chicken lightly with softened butter and season all over with salt and pepper. Tie the drumsticks ends together and set the chicken, breast side up, in an oiled v-shaped rack or on an oiled roasting pan in the oven.

Roast for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees, baste the chicken, and roast for 15 minutes. Add the chopped onion and carrot to the pan, basting them and the chicken. Continue roasting the chicken until the juices run clear, for a total of 45 minutes plus an additional 7 minutes for each pound. (In other words, a 3 1/2 pound chicken would take a basic 45 minutes plus an additional 25 minutes, for a total 70 minutes or 1 hour and 10 minutes of cooking time.)

Remove the chicken and spoon the fat out of the roasting pan. Into the pan, stir in the herbs and blend in the broth and, stirring constantly, boil for several minutes on the stovetop to concentrate the flavor. Correct the seasoning and strain the sauce into a warm sauceboat. Carve the chicken and serve with the warm sauce

As Requested

As anyone can see….I have been highly neglectful of my blog. I blame it all on Facebook. When it comes right down to it, I can only claim plain old laziness. However, in using Facebook as my vehicle to share parts of my life, photos, and food, I have been asked several times for recipes of things I have made that I have posted to my page. So, for my next few posts, I will be providing those requested recipes.


Poached Salmon with Fresh Tomato-Basil Sauce

1/3-1/2 cup of dry white wine
1 green onion chopped
2 6-ounce, 1 inch thick skinless salmon fillet
Pinch of lemon zest
Half a clove of garlic finely chopped.

Prepare the fresh Tomato-Basil Sauce (recipe below) prior to poaching the salmon
Bring wine, onion, lemon zest and garlic to a simmer in a heavy-gauged large skillet. Add fish, cover and simmer until salmon is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer to plates and season lightly with sea salt to taste. Spoon the sauce over the fish.

Fresh Tomato-Basil Sauce

2 very ripe roma tomatoes, diced
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
¼ cup of fresh basil chopped (to prevent basil from darkening, sprinkle lightly with a little olive oil prior to chopping)
1/8 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
A splash of Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and Pepper.

Combine the tomatoes, garlic and basil in a bowl. Add the olive oil and the vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

1 pound of brussel sprouts trimmed and halved.
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 TB of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450⁰

Toss together the brussel sprouts, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper on a sheet pan. Roast in the upper third of the oven stirring once halfway through until sprouts are brown on the edges and tender. About 25 minutes total.

Seeds of Change

So a couple of months ago, my friend Chris had just seen a movie and had what I could only call an epiphany. The movie was Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Much like the man in the movie, Chris’ health was at an all time low and he really couldn’t see how, when or where he would make a change. In the last couple of years he had been handling a tremendous amount of stress and it had physically manifested itself and taken his body prisoner. He was unsure how to get it back… And then he saw this movie. And then he watched it again. And then he bought a juicer. And then he quite literally committed himself to 60 days of a pure juice fast. Due to our busy schedules, I hadn’t actually really seen him in weeks, 6 to be exact. To say that I was astonished would be an understatement. It wasn’t just that he had dropped a serious amount of weight, more importantly; he had a sparkle in his eyes that I hadn’t seen before. It’s like he had his life handed back to him. He was energetic, engaging and happy. And, it has been utterly contagious. From that get together, he’s inspired not just me, but other friends of ours on juice journeys. All of us have different goals and committed days, but he has initiated change in each and every one of us. From this little seed of inspiration, four of us will be meeting the man who started this phenomenon, Joe Cross; the man from the movie. On Friday we are heading to Benicia for a screening and Q&A with our Juice Gandhi. That day will be Chris’ 59th day of juicing; a significant day just on its own, but he will get to meet the man who help him get his health, and with it, his life back again. It’s just a reminder that anyone of us can be the inspiration for change.

On Monday, I will be beginning my 10 day pure juice fast. I have been juicing for my breakfasts and the occasional lunch, but this will be a pure juice fast. I seriously cannot wait.

Of course, there are some negative aspects to a juice fast…body odor and frequent trips to the restroom. The price we pay for better bodies; I’ll take it!

My Juicing Station