Well, it's a new year and 3 weeks in there are a few changes... and they're still changed, so so far so good. I graduated with my BSN. I know, I never actually posted that I was in nursing school... but that's just a testament to how busy I was. No time for self reflection! I got a job. It starts in March. Soon I'll get to work in Labor & Delivery at St. Francis!! I'm very excited. I didn't think I'd get this chance right out of school. We're moving. In fact, the day after I take the NCLEX we'll load up a truck and move from an apartment in Cordova to a house in Memphis, complete with porch swing and yard. But the biggest change, the one that requires actual continued work on my part, is actually the most cliche. I've changed my diet and started to exercise. Surprise, surprise! ;) Well, it's new for me! I'm not sure I've ever made the "lose weight" resolution and that wasn't specifically the resolution this year either (so there).
I don't know what possessed me to do it, but after attending the nutrition seminar at Crossfit I decided to take the plunge. Wally & I are eating paleo and I've joined him at the gym. I've been learning how to do all sorts of crazy things I thought only football players and wrestlers would bother with: dead lifts, cleans, jerks, overhead presses, front squat, back squat, ring rows, pull ups, sit ups, push ups, knees to elbows (or maybe MAYBE to my bellybutton... still working on that one). I come home tired, worn out, and accomplished. I always do something that I haven't done before. It's pretty cool.
I'm also learning a lot in the nutritional part of my life. Eating paleo involves eating real food, making it yourself, very few shortcuts. It's been a fun, but messy, journey. Today I decided to roast my first ever chicken. This is something I feel like I should have done at some point in my 5 years of married life... never happened. Let me tell you, raw whole chicken is so much grosser than raw whole turkey. I thought I'd cleaned out all the innards (ya know, gibblets and neck and who knows what) when I started rinsing out the inside. But every time I turned it over to drain what I'd put in more mystery pieces came tumbling out. It's almost enough to make me a vegetarian! Normally that would have been enough to cancel those dinner plans. Not tonight. Tonight I found it very helpful to just shout out how gross it all was and continue on. Also, disposable gloves. I'm a wuss but I couldn't stick my hand in there without them.
Once I got all the cleaning done and popped it in the oven I felt pretty good about myself. Healthy meal, perfectly timed, coming right up! Well, not so much. A. I don't think I checked the size of my bird and I underestimated how long it would take (by A LOT). B. Walter's meeting was a half hour before we thought it was (no time for supper... at all). and C. i made a slight change to recipe and brushed olive oil over the skin without adjusting the temperature I cooked it at.... Although there were no flames there was a lot of smoke. Two alarms. One dog practically under the bed. No supper before heading to Crossfit. And a beautiful bird (AMAZING) sitting on the stove uneaten.
While making supper I felt very grown up. Here I was making a staple. A simple meal that I should have made years ago. I wasn't eating out. My food didn't come from a box. I felt healthy and self sufficient. As I ran around, comforting the dog, scrounging for food, climbing the ladder, failing to find the off button on the smoke detector, and racing out the door to try not to be late I didn't really have time to think about any of that. Life is still life. Despite my changes. Despite my attempts to make it picture perfect. And it still is pretty darn good. In any case, there's some amazing roast chicken and homemade chicken stock in my very near future. That's something I'm looking forward to!
P.S. Since I'm not advertising this blog it seems a little silly to post recipes I already have. But you never know what might happen to the paper copy or the original website. And someone may stumble upon this and want to make the most amazing roast chicken in the world themselves (a long shot... but still possible). Anyway, I'm going to post it anyway. It really is delicious!
Roast Chicken
1 free range/farm raised 4-5 lb chicken
Sea salt
Preheat oven to 450. Wash chicken and thoroughly dry the chicken inside the cavity and out with paper towels. Place the chicken in a roasting pan and generously sprinkle the entire chicken with sea salt (inside the cavity as well). The recipe on epicurious said to “rain” the salt down on the chicken, maybe that’s the secret…. I did not tress it, add any butter, thyme, or even pepper, just the salt, and after about an hour in the oven, the chicken was crispy golden brown on the outside and incredibly tender, juicy, flavorful and delicious on the inside! The best parts of the chicken is what we could pick right off the bones – my two year old ate most of his dinner before we even got the chicken to the table…
I served the chicken with mashed cauliflower that I seasoned with garlic powder and black pepper as well as a fresh arugula and spring mix salad with diced apples, olive oil, and lemon juice.
Enjoy!!
(and
here's where I found it)
