a year of blogging and some sticky lemon and balsamic chicken

A year ago, almost to the day, I started on the monkey trail with absolutely no pomp and circumstance whatsoever.  No photos, no facebook, no sharing, just notes about what I’d cooked – inspired by Nigel Slater’s Kitchen Diaries I had no idea what a food blog was supposed to look like, and had in fact never read a single other food blog before starting my own. I’m not very good at keeping things to myself so  inevitably after a few months I told friends about the blog, started a facebook page and began the journey towards being something of an over-sharer. In those early months, despite being utterly sleep deprived and generally run ragged by life, I had endless blogenergy. I posted almost daily, I pinned things to pinterest, I read other blogs, I even introduced myself and the blog to people I thought might be interested. In short, I started to put myself out there. But just as keeping myself to myself isn’t me, then neither is putting myself out there.  I wrote this post about why I’m a lazy blogger, which kind of says it all. Now I’ve settled into a rhythm of writing to my own rules, without thinking about blogging, and suddenly I’m at the one year anniversary.

We’re also at the end of the year. Which isn’t really that much of a profound co-incidence when you consider the fact I began the blog on New Year’s Eve 2011.  And so for reflections and resolutions; 2012… it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. At times it nearly crushed me, and yet somehow I proved to be a surprisingly tough cookie. There was cake, cake, more cake. Chocolate consumption dramatically dropped, but was never ditched. The kids thrived, delighted, drove me to the edges of crazy on numerous occasions, and generally presented as ‘hungry’ at all times.

I will be sad to see the end of 2012,  the highlights were more than bright enough to carry us through the tougher times. That said, the last few months have been difficult and the optimism that comes with  the ushering in of a new year will be welcome.

And now, for yet another simple chicken dinner, perfect for the night before, the night before New Year’s Eve.

Ingredients 

Around 1kg of chicken pieces ( I used thighs and nibbles)

1 lemon

Several cloves of garlic (around 6) peeled and crushed

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Turmeric

Splash of balsamic vinegar

Handful of flat leaf parsley

Method

Put the chicken and garlic in a casserole dish, squeeze over the lemon and add to the dish, coat in a good shake of turmeric and slug of olive oil, salt and pepper. Cover and roast at around 180 for 40 mins – 1 hour. Bring onto the stovetop, uncover, and add a little balsamic vinegar,  reduce any excess liquid so you have a thick sticky sauce.

(Inspired by Nigel Slater’s Lemon / Basil / Garlic chicken from Real Food)

why I’m a lazy blogger and some good simple food we’ve eaten this week

I have a confession to make. I’m a lazy blogger and I don’t plan on changing. I don’t do any of the things you’re supposed to do.  I don’t comment on other blogs very often at all. I don’t proof test my recipes. Sometimes I don’t even write the recipes very clearly. My grammar is patchy.  I waffle on about random things. I don’t style the food. I don’t style anything actually. I’m not consistent. I don’t index my photos so they can be picked up by search engines. I don’t send witty and original tweets. I don’t link up very often. I am still baffled by widgets (possibly why I don’t link up much). The thing is, that all the ‘blog’ side of the writing feels like a bit too much like work. I really just like messing around with food, and messing around with words.

My mother had (and still has) numerous postcards on the wall of the downstairs loo. They made a big impression on all of us (my two brothers and I). I know this to be true, because we still reference them. One of them said ‘Life’s too short to iron your underpants’. I’ve always vaguely had that in my mind, but the last couple of weeks have really reinforced it. Another one said, ‘Women need men like a fish needs a bicycle’. That one I’m not sold on. I like a man around. In fact I like having five of them around (and I count myself beyond lucky that I have all my boys .. big and small, in my life).

Why am I writing this post? Because a few things have happened recently. Big things. Things that make you realise that every second is precious. That it’s OK to carve your own way. To please yourself. There is no formula. No right or wrong. It’s just putting one foot in front of the other the best way you know how.

Enough waffle for you? Ready for some actual food.

How about some creamy, spicy, roast pumpkin, chicken and corn soup with fresh parsley.

Pop a whole chicken in a pot covered in water and simmer slowly for a couple of hours with some salt and pepper, a little turmeric (why not) and perhaps a stalk of celery, a carrot, and some fresh herbs if you have them to hand.

Roast some small chunks of pumpkin. Take the chicken out and shred it. Strain the stock. Chop some onion and garlic and fry with chilli powder (to taste, I used about 1/4 teaspoon). Add some shredded chicken, the pumpkin and the chicken stock. Throw in some corn and cook for a few minutes. Stir in a couple of spoons of sour cream and chop over fresh parsley.  Perfect for an autumn day – It’s spring here of course, but I sometimes find myself eating for the English seasons rather than the NZ ones. I’m a little weird like that.

And now for a salad.

Buttery pan fried sweet potato chunks, raw raddish, pear, raw courgette, a few garden greens (baby spinach and parsley). Dressed with olive oil mixed with pomegranate molasses and a little apple cider vinegar.

The final offering of the day is this. Excellent with simple roast chicken.

A couple of cloves of chopped garlic, a little chili powder and turmeric, 2 fat shaved courgettes, a handful of bean sprouts, a cup of frozen peas, the juice of a lemon and some crumbled feta cheese.

Just before you go, here’s another little ‘thought for the day’. My six year old has a sweater that has ‘think of your own ideas’ printed across the front. I hope he grows up to realise you don’t need to run with the herd. Being your own person is the biggest favour you can do yourself.

ginger chicken drumsticks with pumpkin

Of course, writing about sleep deprivation earlier in the week has totally jinxed me on a number of levels.  J has plunged me into a new level of exhaustion by waking up even more regularly …and  it appears that no amount of bone broth is going  to have me skipping round the block this week. Today, I couldn’t even be bothered to unscrew the lids from the spice jars. Tonight’s dinner was therefore very simple. Chicken drumsticks, pumpkin, grated ginger, garlic, onion, bay leave a little turmeric slow cooked in a low oven for a few hours. Added some frozen peas at the last minute just to get something green into the meal and had with a side of lacto-fermented ginger carrots (and some rice)

monday night risotto

Full Sunday roast last night ..which means a jug of fresh stock.

I do get the idea that you’re supposed to gently cook risotto, stirring, adding stock, and stirring some more. Preferably with a cold glass of wine and some decent music playing (ideally something from Snow Patrol or maybe some early Coldplay…perhaps The Killers). There’s not time for that kind of carry-on around here. I use the cheats version and it comes out just fine. In fact, this is one of the most popular family meals that everyone will happily scoff down without requiring it to be deconstructed or messed around with – result.

Cook onion, garlic and bacon in butter, add any leftover roast chicken, a mug of risotto rice, throw on a jug (about a litre) of stock, cover and simmer for half an hour until the stock is absorbed. Add spme frozen peas, maybe some spinach. Great for a rainy night. Even better with a serious covering of parmesan cheese.

chicken, chili, corn chowder with bacon, red lentils, leeks and celery

Chopping vegetables in the relative calm of the early afternoon when at least some of the kids are out of the house has benefits that go beyond the obvious. The most important from a nutrition perspective is that garlic activates if it’s given time to sit at room temperature after it’s chopped. I don’t know about the science but if you’re interested in you can google it. I heard it from the naturopath I work with (Nourish-ed). Also , on a more frivolous note, if you preparing some of the food in a calm environment rather than the chaos that is often as known as ‘witching hour’ the pre-dinner hour in a house full of small children then you can just enjoy it a little more and that kind of makes it all a bit more of a positive vibe. If you’re a frustrated artist you can even put your veg into colour contrasting bowls and take a moment just to marvel at how beautiful they look.

For the soup I used a base of garlic, chili, celery, leeks and bacon, then added leftover roast chicken from last night, chicken stock, chopped potatoes , cup of red lentils and quite a bit more water because I cooked it long and slow and lentils kind of dissolve but absorb a lot of water. Add the corn closer to the end of cooking and also some sour cream and parsley if you like that kind of stuff.

(Inspired by Nigel Slater’s Chicken and Smoked Sausage Chowder in Real Food)

ginger poached chicken noodle salad (with honey roast beetroot, broccoli and mango and toasted sesame, mint and honey dressing)

Poached a whole chicken with some lemon and slices of fresh ginger (which I seem to remember seeing Donna Hay do). Bonus – got a couple of batches of chicken stock!

Roasted up a tray of beetroot coated in olive oil and honey with a few gloves of garlic. Steamed some broccoli, chopped up a nice ripe mango, cooked some thick rice noodles and rinsed them in cold water. Shredded the chicken, mixed everything up (except the garlic which I crushed into a dressing with olive oil, sesame oil, honey and mint)

chicken, chickpea, kumara curry

Made this in such a crazy hurry at lunchtime today but it turned out really well – the star ingredient being was cardamon. Cooked onion, garlic, in coconut oil with fresh grated ginger, tumeric, cumin, little bit of chili powder, star anaise – added 12 chicken thighs, can of chickpeas, kumara, carrots, cardamon pods – covered with water and slow cooked in the oven for 4 hours – stirred in a little yogurt before we ate it.

lemon roast chicken with olive oil roasted oven chips and salad (zucchini, carrot, celery, grape and blue cheese)

The salad was the star tonight. Put a couple of carrots and a couple of zucchini through the twirly whirly grater machine , chopped up celery , grapes and crumbled in some blue cheese. Dressed with olive oil, red wine vinegar and runny honey.

Chicken roasted with a lemon shoved up it and a little salt and pepper – nothing else.

Chips roasted in olive oil and salt.

Tuesday night feast of roast chicken, feta and parsley mash, honey rosemary roast pumpkin and beetroot, broccoli and peas

First day of term. Difficult dance class. Fractious kids. Colds popping up all over the place. Wind starting to get up. Big dinner required.

Roast chicken. Mashed potatoes with crumbled feta and parsley from the garden. Roasted chunks of pumpkin and beetroot in a mix of honey and olive oil with rosemary leaves. Broccoli and peas and some of the lovely red pepper sauce that Mike gave us at the weekend on the side.

sticky chicken with rosemary roast kumara and beetroot

The sticky chicken was so successful last week (thanks Jaime Oliver) decided to make another version. This time just used breasts (3 big ones skin on) roasted for about 40 mins with a lemon (cut in two and squeezed over) and 4- 5 garlic bulbs. Meanwhile cut 2 big orange kumara and 2 beetroot into chunks, sloshed over some olive oil , salt, rosemary leaves from the garden and but them into roast too.

Cut the chicken into chunks , squeezed the garlic out of the skin and mashed it into the cooking juice, scooped out the lemon and chucked away the skins, added a couple of big spoons of honey and mixed the whole lot so the chicken chunks coated. Put back in the oven for another 10 mins to go brown and sticky. Kids had theirs on sticks and we had ours mixed with the kumara and beets and some crumbled feta. Greens on the side.