I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn
as it was taught, and if not how shall
I correct it?
Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?
Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it and I am, well,
hopeless.
Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism,
lockjaw, dementia?
Finally I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang.
I Worried
by Mary Oliver
If there’s a poem to summon to the surface the realization that worry is of no use this would be it. Not that I’ve fully grasped that concept yet, it seems still there is always something to fret over.
Whether my taurean moon is stirring worry over money and bills or I leave the house certain I left the stove on. The eyes of many may close when we rest our heads at night, but the minds are another story. My head hits the pillow and that is where the real fun begins, the continual thought stream until the sandman’s magic dust forms a crust so thick I can’t help but drift away.
There is a light, a reprieve, sleep arrives and worries melt away and wander around our dreams. A new day, and a chance to let it all go, brush it off. As I meander through my mind, I wonder, is there any purpose to imagining the worst, focusing on the bad? I’ve never been one to ignore the gritty, less appealing details of life. Life is messy. Plants don’t grow in sunshine and rainbows, they grow in shit and darkness. Yet there is a balance, a line we walk along which crossed too often into fears allure causes dis-ease. Especially when fears bubble up in a selfish hungry manner. Stepping into the world beyond our thoughts takes courage, but more than that it takes connection. Living in our heads is boring after some time, there’s a whole big wild world out there beckoning us to just release and be vulnerable.
I’m happy when my mouth is on fire, when my heart is on fire, when my soul is alight. One worry has at least been squandered and that is not having any hot sauce. I’m slightly ashamed to say this bugs me, there’s something fundamental about always having hot sauce on hand. This recipe makes sooooooo much, you can give it away, hoard it for months or a little of both. It also makes a great marinade for pork or chicken, but be warned, very very spicy.
In a large pot melt the coconut oil, add whole garlic cloves and brown on all sides.
Add the diced onion and cook until translucent.
Using a mortar and pestle or an electric spice grinder, combine allspice, cloves,peppercorns,coriander seeds and thyme, if using a mortar and pestle smash the ginger with the spices, if not, throw it in the pot.
Add carrots, habaneros, salt, sugar, vinegar, water and lime juice. Cook until carrots are tender and puree until super smooth. Adjust thickness by adding more water until desired consistency is achieved.
Makes a large amount (10 C) of hot sauce and lasts in the fridge for a long time.
Do you worry about potentially undercooking it and having to put the whole lot back in the oven?
Or maybe overcooking it and ruining all that effort?
But a whole roast chicken is also alluring, the whole house smells intoxicating and it’s easier to find free range whole chickens for a good price.
Around here I usually make a whole roast chicken once a week, and then boil the carcass for homemade stock to add to soups and sauces. Often I save the fat to cook with, you could also make gravy if you wanted to go all out.
Chicken fat or schmaltz is really really yummy, it makes everything you cook it in taste amazing. Especially when infused with the red hot spices the chicken was cooked in. The schmaltz from this particular recipe was bright orange from the paprika. To separate the schmaltz from the juices, pour off the liquid and allow to cool in the fridge. When cool the chicken fat will form a layer on top of the now gelatinous chicken juices and you can just scrape that off. The jelly is nutrient dense and you can make gravy with it or add it to stocks.
Making gravy from the pan juices is really simple too and an added bonus to top your chicken with. For paleo gravy I like to thicken with tapioca starch or arrowroot flour, for the drippings from one chicken I typically mix 2 Tbs flour with 2 Tbs cold water. Simmer the chicken drippings/juices on low and stir in the flour until desired thickness is achieved.
Homemade chicken broth is super nourishing and makes everything more delicious. If I cook rice I usually do it in chicken stock and even just drinking it by itself is so satisfying. But our families favourite standby is leftover roast chicken soup, loaded with flavour, packed with veggies and a bit of satisfying rice to top it all off.
So today, in a bid to convince you to make roast chickens part of your kitchen repertoire, I’m going to share with you the recipe for this delicious chicken AND the recipe for the best ever leftover roast chicken soup.
Cooking whole roast chickens doesn’t have to be scary and intimidating. It’s really simple once you have the technique down. There are a million and one variations and ways to flavour your chicken but today I wanted to share with you one of my favourites, red hot roast chicken. This fiery rendition has a bit of smoky sweet and spicy, its also a brilliant golden-red hue, which makes a roast chicken look all the more delectable.
Now here’s are the keys to the perfectly moist, delicious roast chicken every time…
This is the easy chefs way of cooking a whole chicken, there are further steps one could take to get to the next level like brining and trussing but for simplicities sake here’s my take.
– Let your chicken come to room temp. before popping it in the oven.
– Thoroughly dry the skin before adding seasonings, this helps the chicken to get a crispy skin.
– Lay the chicken on a bed of large chunks of sliced onion, this raises it just slightly so the air can circulate underneath and the skin doesn’t stick to the bottom.
– I find cooking the breast side down produces a more moist breast, normally the legs take longer to cook than the breasts and they end up being dry but this way they stay tender.
– Don’t be shy with the spices, we’re only able to season the exterior so make up for that by liberal amounts of good salt, pepper and whatever others herbs and spices you want to add. For a classic roast chicken, stuff the cavity with fresh thyme, a punctured lemon and plenty of garlic and onion.
-The internal temperature of a cooked chicken is 180F at the breast and 190F at the thigh. However, if you are like me and you don’t own a meat thermometer- the chicken is cooked when the juices run clear. Normally I puncture the crevasse at the thigh to check. An average roasting chicken (5-6lbs) will typically take 1 hr 2o minutes at 400F.
– Let it rest. It’s tempting to serve it up as soon as the chicken is out of the oven, but waiting allows the juices to seal and makes for more tender fall off the bone meat. Allow the chicken to rest for 10-15 minutes before digging in.
Red Hot Roast Chicken Spice Blend
1/2 Tbs sea salt
1 Tbs smoked paprika
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp coriander seeds, ground
1 tsp cumin seeds, ground
1 tsp red chile flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ancho chile powder (or you can use regular)
Combine all the spices and sprinkle liberally over the whole chicken on all sides. Add fresh garlic, onion to the roasting pan and stuff a punctured lemon into the crevasse of the bird.
This is the best tea to give your immune system a pick me up. The immune boosting, anti-inflammatory benefits of turmeric are endless, I’m a little bit obsessed with this root. All the research done on turmeric and its main medicinal polyphenol curcumin makes me want to shout from a mountain top the amazing benefits of this substance. Plus the brilliant bright yellow of the turmeric root brings on a cheery mentality, which helps us get well even faster.
Can you imagine if antibiotics could differentiate between good bacteria and bad bacteria? Or if chemotherapy drugs differentiated between cancer cells and healthy cells?
Well, turmeric may be able to do just that, an example of plant intelligence at its finest (1). Inflammation is linked to every known health ailment, including immune health (2). I just wrote an in depth article on all the amazing benefits of turmeric and curcumin over at root and sprouts. The research really blew me away, over 5000 studies have been done on turmeric. Mainly it’s power resides in curcumins potent anti inflammatory properties.
It’s interesting to note that India has the highest national consumption of turmeric worldwide and also the lowest rates of alzheimers (3).
Alzheimer’s patients symptoms were found to improve after just one dose of curcumin, and taken long term it can protect against a myriad of inflammatory diseases. Another great way to consume turmeric is in golden milk, this is a more chai like and creamy drink, but still a great way to indulge in this medicinal root.
Now be warned my friends, this is a potent concoction, only to be consumed by those who really want to get better. There’s no half-assing it with this elixir. If your feeling extra hardcore about getting rid of a cold or flu, you’ll add raw garlic. Surprisingly it tastes absolutely delicious, and does wonders to alleviate sore throats.
Turmeric stains everything, so it’s best to store your tea in glass or stainless steal, it’ll even dye plastic a bright yellow hue.
Oh God, I gave my baby sugar, have I created a monster?
I was enjoying one of these delicious cookies and he was screaming his face of with jealousy, I just had to give him some, and after that he was as content as could be.
Truth is, no one can resist cookies like these, there’s no measuring, no dough sitting in the fridge for an hour before you can use it. Literally you just throw 4 or 5 ingredients together (depends whether you want chocolate or not) and presto, chewy, rich and moist cookies. I’m not much of a traditionalist baker so these types of cookies are totally my thang.
Making almond butter is really easy, and can save quite a bit of money considering how expensive it can be, especially organic. I always buy raw nuts in bulk quantities to make things more affordable. Good food can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. You can easily make any nut butters in a good food processor, but I’ve got a vita-mix so that’s what I’m going off, the trick to making smooth almond butter in the vitamix is to not process too many almonds at one time. Around a cup of roasted almonds is usually all I do in the blender or it tends to overheat and shut down.
Spread raw almonds on a baking tray and roast until golden and fragrant, about 15 minutes. Toss them around the pan at the midpoint so they don't burn.
When the almonds have cooled, add half to the vitamix and blend until you achieve a coarse mealy texture. Add salt.
Next you'll want to keep the vitamix on just below medium speed and use your plunger to push the almond meal down the sides until you start to get a really smooth butter. The longer you blend the smoother your butter will be. Repeat as many times as needed for however many batches you want to make. Roughly 2 cups raw almonds will equate to about a cup of almond butter.
There you have it, pretty easy and definitely better than store-bought. Isn’t it the worst when you buy almond butter and you can tell its been sitting on the shelves for a little too long, major bummer. Plus the smell of roasted nuts is almost as great as the smell of freshly baked cookies.
How to make almond butter in a vitamix and cookies!
Author: Chantelle
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 18
Ingredients
1 C almond butter
2 eggs
1 Tbs coconut flour
½ C coconut sugar or raw cane sugar
½ C chocolate chips or a chopped chocolate bar
pinch of salt
½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F
Mix all ingredients together until a very sticky dough is formed,top with a piece of chocolate if skipping the chocolate chips.
Drop by the Tbs onto a parchment lined baking tray and bake for 15 minutes, allow to cool for 20 minutes before transferring onto a plate.
3.2.2885
Hey I'm Chantelle, my alter ego would be a mermaid if I wasn't such a terrible swimmer. I love writing authentically and cooking in my pyjamas. My favourite pastimes include eating avocados, travelling the world and hanging out with a toddler.
