7 A. M. Chicken Molestation

Me, bleary-eyed and re-re at 7 a.m.: rubbing down a fleshy roaster from Mayflower Poultry with lemon zest, garlic, butter, olive oil, salt and Cubeb pepper--and shoving the lemon up its ass--the idea being it would soak up all this lovely flavor in preparation for the trial run of roasting in the Breville oven (my friend Anna likes to call it my Easy Bake).

This was slightly reminiscent of many Thanksgiving mornings where I (with my mom, Anna, or alone) wrestled with a defenseless looking bird before breakfast and general conscious thought.





Mmmmmmmmmmmm, chicken ass.


When I received the Breville, I was mostly soothed by the fact I would still be able to roast a whole chicken. I do a chicken once a month of so--it's healthy, versatile, allows for feeding friends cheaply, and I can use the bones to make stock.





Breville performed amazingly, even thought I was a dumbass and lowered the heat 20 minutes in, and even though I cooked it upside down (I do this to keep breast moist). Next time I will turn the bird halfway through, keep heat @ 425.

Other dinner items: my buttermilk biscuits, steamed broccoli, and cucumber-tomato salad with shallot, white balsamic, and sumac (courtesy of Eyal, straight from Israel). I had my first table-set dinner, with the lovely company of Tindallator, Adriene, and Katie. Twas a late night.

A word about chicken. I can't bring myself to buy the terrifying, hormone-laded crap available at most grocery stores anymore, and I can't afford Whole Paycheck's prices.

I get my chickens (and hearts and livers to supplement my cat's diet with raw food) at Mayflower Poultry, located in East Cambridge. My friend Sarah says their chicken (available whole or in any cut you might want) is the most "chickeny" chicken she's tasted, and she's right. The stuff is dead fresh, due to the fact that they slaughter ON SITE, I believe about 3x a week. According to the very helpful guys who work there, the chickens are hormone and antibiotic free (I'm assuming NOT free range). If you live in Cambridge or Somerville, get your ass over there and pick some up. If parking is a problem, you can call 10 minutes ahead and they'll have it ready for you to drop in and pick up in flash. Oh, and their prices? CHEAP.

Bugkok!

Smaller and Healthier

I’ve been in my new apartment for roughly 2 1/2 weeks, and while I still have piles of clothes (NEAT piles, I might add), my kitchen has been set up and I’m actually cooking with the hot plate and the Breville oven. I’m not sure where to start with this--cause I’ve noticed a few major changes in my shopping and eating patterns--but I’ll use tonight as an example.

Menu @ Chez Talcott: Trader Jihad’s Mini Cheese Ravioli with Roasted Grape Tomatoes and Green Olive Tapenade. (A side note about the Mini Cheese Ravioli--initially I thought the idea of dried, filled pasta to be about as appetizing as dehydrated Olive Garden crap--but they are really good, particularly used in pasta salads. Trick is to cook them enough).



Aight. So, I knew I was going to have the pasta--purchased this tapenade--though I want to make my own soon--they are so versatile. When I was putting away my groceries, I noticed that I had some slowly-shrinking grape tomatoes. F***. I hate forgetting about produce and wasting it. Make me feel very un-American. What to do-- a quick bit of research--roast tomatoes that are ugly, shriveled, or just plain tasteless and vile. A new staple for me. They are popping and toasting in the Breville as I write this.

So, the Smaller: I have so little space in my fridge that I really really know what I have (oh, and what a lovely virgin fridge it is). Leftovers, half-used produce and other items that like to hide in dark corners and sprout mold--they can’t hide from me anymore.

Healthier: Goes hand and hand with the smaller, so far--I’m eating everything and eating more simple food--veggies prepared simply, and not much meat at all. Sadly, I’m reluctant to cook bacon in my place to avoid making everything smell like it for days. I’ll probably give in when I make buttermilk green chile cornbread in the cast iron skillet.

Also--I love pasta, and it loves to make my ass expand. Very nice of it to do so, but I have to reign it in (the expansion, that is). So, the deal with myself is that I can eat it in reasonable portions, as long there is lots of protein or extra veggies mixed in.

Another note--I’m really thinking about what I buy and if I’ll eat it, etc. I used to do huge shopping trips whenever Sarah could take me--being more than a 25 minute from a crapola grocery store made me overstock. Now I have the luxury of being a quick bike ride or walk to the Harvest Coop, Whole Paycheck, Market Basket, just to name a few.

Must stir pasta. Verdict on tomatoes roasted tomatoes in a bit.








Tomatoes: Very good. A little charred, and some juiced cooked out. Mixed the whole mess together with pasta and tapenade, and some Romano. Sweetness of tomatoes offset the bitter green olives. SCORE!

IPA PTSD

Why, IPAs, why? Why must you be so good going down, and so bad the next day? Can't we stop this dysfunctional cycle? Really, if we can't work this out, we're going to have to to couples' therapy.

ANYWAY.

Now installed in ma hood; moving and settling sucked all time and motivation away from me these last few weeks (with the exception of chillin' in Maine w / Meks and Bove). But I'm back with a vengeance, MF.

Apples and Oranges. Let me give you a visual of the 16 x 20 kitchen I once had in Dorchestah:


Note: Dishwasher, copious amounts of counterspace and cabinets, windows, pot rack, room for a table, etc. And people. And a STOVE / OVEN combo.

Hobbit hole kitchen:

Hobbit Hole Dining:

Hobbit Hole "STOVE":

The following have been vanquished to The Mexican's basement:



12 Muffin pan
Quarter Sheet Pans
Springform Pans
Imitation Le Creuset POS IKEA thing that I hate anyway
Turkey Roaster (used mostly for beef tenderloins overnighted to me from Nebraska--thanks Dad!)
9 x 11 Baking pans
Stockpot Colander
Monster Cooling Rack
Tortilla Press (sorry Kezia)
Egg Poacher
16" Nonstick Skillet
Spaceship-looking Cake Saver Necessary Evil Thing


RIP, guys.

And eggs DO help an IPA morning.