This week's bag contents are...
1 Whole Chicken, approx 5 lbs
2# bag fingerling potatoes
1 bulb garlic
1 candy onion
1 bunch swiss chard
1 bag mixed baby lettuce, 0.5 lbs
1 bunch beets with tops
1 bunch celery
1 bag purple filet beans
1 head broccoli
1 quart baby sweet peppers
1 bunch carrots with tops
1 dozen eggs
1 quarter peck gala apples
4 oz pumpkin quark (a spreadable cream cheese)
I washed, prepped and stored the ingredients on Friday. The broccoli and beans went into the freezer since they likely wouldn't be used within a few days. The whole chicken came frozen, I put that into the fridge to thaw.
Then, girls night out to dinner since the boys are freezing their asses off at Indian Guides camp!
I am officially obsessed with the pumpkin quark - best bagel and cream cheese I've ever had.
The mixed baby lettuce looked so fresh - it made a great salad for lunch. I'll try not to let the rest go to waste, but a half pound of lettuce is a lot!
We had a pot-luck sort of dinner with my sister and friends. My contribution was a beet appetizer (Thanks to my brother, Jamie for the recipe! It's a bonus to have a chef in the family). The beets were roasted in foil for about 2 hours, then sliced and topped with a mixture of cottage cheese (was supposed to be ricotta, oops!) and lemon zest/juice, orange zest garnished the cheese, drizzled this with honey (local from last years fresh fork truck) and finally a sprinkle of slivered, toasted almonds. It sounds a little gross but is so yum!
Needed from the store:
Ricotta
Lemon
Orange
Almonds
The beets:
Sunday:
The eggs for breakfast - bright orange yolks, fried in bacon fat, eaten on top of a slice of toast. So simple and so good.
Traveled out to the country for a clam bake. Euclid fish puts together an incredible spread. I promised to bring something - one of my favorite side dishes is greens and this was a great opportunity to use what was in the bag before it wilted. I combined the broccoli greens, chard and beet greens - sauteed with garlic in bacon fat (yes, I travel with my own little jar), added a little white wine, salt and red pepper flake. Our Georgia friends would have approved!
Nothing needed from the store for this one!
Monday:
Hello roast chicken tonight!
Other ingredients needed:
2 leeks
2 turnips
2 parsnips
thyme - from my garden
If you've never roasted a chicken before, or even if you have...you MUST try Thomas Keller's roast chicken on root veggies (from Ad Hoc at Home). He is all about the details, and that's what makes his recipes so fool proof and fabulous.
I absolutely love parsnips, they are even sweeter than carrots when roasted. So I substitute these for the rutabaga's, because who likes rutabagas?
Adapted recipe:
one 4/12 pound chicken
6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
6 thyme sprigs
2 large leeks
2-3 parsnips, peeled, trimmed and cut in half
2 tennis-ball sized turnips
4 medium carrots, peeled, trim and cut in half
1 small yellow onion, trimmed, leaving root ends intact, cut into quarters
10 fingerling potatoes
1/2 cup canola oil
4 TBSP unsalted butter at room temp
Remove chicken from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 1/2 hours.
Preheat oven to 475 F
Remove neck and innards. Generously season cavity of chicken with salt and pepper. Add 3 of the garlic cloves and 5 sprigs of thyme. Truss the chicken. (I love this cook book because he has step by step photo instructions for this step and many other techniques)
Cut dark green leaves from top of leeks. Trim off and discard any darkened outer layers. Trim the root ends, cutting around them on a 45 degree angle. Slit the leeks lengthwise almost in half, starting 1/2 inch above the root ends. Rinse the leeks well under warm water.
Cut off both ends of turnips. Stand on one end and cut away the skin. Cut into 3/4 inch wedges.
Combine all vegetables and remaining garlic cloves and thyme sprig in a large bowl. Toss with 1/4 cup of the oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread veggies in a large cast iron skillet or roasting pan.
Rub remaining oil over the chicken. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Place the chicken in the center of the veggies.
Cut butter in 4 or 5 pieces and place over the chicken breast.
Put in the oven and roast for 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to 400 and roast for an additional 45 minutes or until the temperature registers 160 F in the meatiest portion of the bird and the juices run clear.
Transfer chicken to a carving board and let rest for 20 mins.
Let veggies cook longer if necessary.
Carve chicken and serve over vegetables.
My finished product:
If you've never roasted a chicken before, or even if you have...you MUST try Thomas Keller's roast chicken on root veggies (from Ad Hoc at Home). He is all about the details, and that's what makes his recipes so fool proof and fabulous.
I absolutely love parsnips, they are even sweeter than carrots when roasted. So I substitute these for the rutabaga's, because who likes rutabagas?
Adapted recipe:
one 4/12 pound chicken
6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
6 thyme sprigs
2 large leeks
2-3 parsnips, peeled, trimmed and cut in half
2 tennis-ball sized turnips
4 medium carrots, peeled, trim and cut in half
1 small yellow onion, trimmed, leaving root ends intact, cut into quarters
10 fingerling potatoes
1/2 cup canola oil
4 TBSP unsalted butter at room temp
Remove chicken from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 1/2 hours.
Preheat oven to 475 F
Remove neck and innards. Generously season cavity of chicken with salt and pepper. Add 3 of the garlic cloves and 5 sprigs of thyme. Truss the chicken. (I love this cook book because he has step by step photo instructions for this step and many other techniques)
Cut dark green leaves from top of leeks. Trim off and discard any darkened outer layers. Trim the root ends, cutting around them on a 45 degree angle. Slit the leeks lengthwise almost in half, starting 1/2 inch above the root ends. Rinse the leeks well under warm water.
Cut off both ends of turnips. Stand on one end and cut away the skin. Cut into 3/4 inch wedges.
Combine all vegetables and remaining garlic cloves and thyme sprig in a large bowl. Toss with 1/4 cup of the oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread veggies in a large cast iron skillet or roasting pan.
Rub remaining oil over the chicken. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Place the chicken in the center of the veggies.
Cut butter in 4 or 5 pieces and place over the chicken breast.
Put in the oven and roast for 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to 400 and roast for an additional 45 minutes or until the temperature registers 160 F in the meatiest portion of the bird and the juices run clear.
Transfer chicken to a carving board and let rest for 20 mins.
Let veggies cook longer if necessary.
Carve chicken and serve over vegetables.
My finished product:
Tuesday:
Chicken stock. The leftover chicken bones and roasted veggies make the best chicken stock. I added some of the fresh fork celery, thyme and parsley from my garden, a bay leaf and a few peppercorns. It's simmering as I type and the house smells amazing!
I'll cool it and freeze it for soup another time. I recently read a good way to freeze cooked chicken is to shred it and add a bit of chicken stock - we'll see how this turns out when it thaws for use later.
Tonight, pierogies. We haven't had these in so long...and it kind of reminds me of college - we ate them A LOT). I don't know about you, but my college diet included unhealthy amounts of pizza rolls, pierogies and Stouffer's mac and cheese.
I hope to make a stir fry with remaining frozen veggies, sweet peppers and chicken later this week.
I think we did pretty well! We love apples, those were gone pretty quickly. The only things left in the fridge = some lettuce, eggs and the pumpkin cream cheese (which will be gone by the end of the week).
Can't wait to pick up the next delivery on Thursday...
Chicken stock. The leftover chicken bones and roasted veggies make the best chicken stock. I added some of the fresh fork celery, thyme and parsley from my garden, a bay leaf and a few peppercorns. It's simmering as I type and the house smells amazing!
I'll cool it and freeze it for soup another time. I recently read a good way to freeze cooked chicken is to shred it and add a bit of chicken stock - we'll see how this turns out when it thaws for use later.
Tonight, pierogies. We haven't had these in so long...and it kind of reminds me of college - we ate them A LOT). I don't know about you, but my college diet included unhealthy amounts of pizza rolls, pierogies and Stouffer's mac and cheese.
I hope to make a stir fry with remaining frozen veggies, sweet peppers and chicken later this week.
I think we did pretty well! We love apples, those were gone pretty quickly. The only things left in the fridge = some lettuce, eggs and the pumpkin cream cheese (which will be gone by the end of the week).
Can't wait to pick up the next delivery on Thursday...
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