Real Food is Good!
I've started roasting a whole chicken once a week. I have several spice rubs that I like to use. I try to change it up depending on what fresh veggies I have to go with it. Tonight, I did a Greek spice rub with oregano, dill, garlic, kosher salt and coarse black pepper. I stuffed half of a lemon into the cavity, rubbed the bird with olive oil and then patted a thick crust of herbs all over. It roasted for an hour and a half, getting perfectly crispy, juicy and delicious. I made some fabulous Jasmati rice to go with it and steamed some fresh French green beans. I got out the good china and put the bird on a big serving platter for carving. It was incredible. The entire house smells like a very good Greek restaurant. I don't always have two hours to make dinner, but the chicken was just roasting away for a lot of that time. Cooking like this takes some planning and shopping, but it's really worth it. I'll make my own chicken stock with the leftover carcass and I'll make chicken salad with the leftover meat (with my own homemade mayo).
I wasn't always like this. I hated to cook almost as much as I still hate to clean and do laundry. I viewed cooking as a necessary evil and I would get out of it as often as I could by ordering delivery or asking my husband to stop for takeout on his way home from work. Then, when I was pregnant with Kieran last summer, I suddenly got the urge to really learn how to cook and bake. I found a book, which became a huge inspiration. It's called, Dinner: A Love Story. I highly, highly recommend that anyone and everyone read this book. It's funny, anecdotal and has amazing recipes. It completely changed my perspective on cooking and food.
I took some time off from cooking when Kieran was born. It's hard to cook every night when you're nursing an infant and taking care of a three-year-old. My husband was understanding, but we both really started to miss the home-cooked 'real' food. Eventually, I got my energy back and started cooking again. I actually discovered that I missed it. This time, I've taken it one step further. We've made the switch to mostly whole, organic food and even shop at the local farmer's market when we can. Everything tastes better and I'm already feeling better. I've lost seventeen pounds in the last two months. My skin looks better and I have more energy than I have in years. Real food is better. It's more expensive, but totally worth it. We're talking about the health of our family, so how do you put a price on that. Besides, if our government weren't making it almost impossible for small farmers to do their thing, it wouldn't have to be so expensive. That's right, I don't think the government should be involved in our food, either. But I digress.
Do yourself a favor. Read 'Dinner: A Love Story' by Jenny Rosenstrach, and make a few of her meals. Your family will thank you and I bet you'll enjoy the process. Now, if she would just write 'Laundry: A Love Story' or 'Falling in Love with Cleaning', I'd be all set...
I wasn't always like this. I hated to cook almost as much as I still hate to clean and do laundry. I viewed cooking as a necessary evil and I would get out of it as often as I could by ordering delivery or asking my husband to stop for takeout on his way home from work. Then, when I was pregnant with Kieran last summer, I suddenly got the urge to really learn how to cook and bake. I found a book, which became a huge inspiration. It's called, Dinner: A Love Story. I highly, highly recommend that anyone and everyone read this book. It's funny, anecdotal and has amazing recipes. It completely changed my perspective on cooking and food.
I took some time off from cooking when Kieran was born. It's hard to cook every night when you're nursing an infant and taking care of a three-year-old. My husband was understanding, but we both really started to miss the home-cooked 'real' food. Eventually, I got my energy back and started cooking again. I actually discovered that I missed it. This time, I've taken it one step further. We've made the switch to mostly whole, organic food and even shop at the local farmer's market when we can. Everything tastes better and I'm already feeling better. I've lost seventeen pounds in the last two months. My skin looks better and I have more energy than I have in years. Real food is better. It's more expensive, but totally worth it. We're talking about the health of our family, so how do you put a price on that. Besides, if our government weren't making it almost impossible for small farmers to do their thing, it wouldn't have to be so expensive. That's right, I don't think the government should be involved in our food, either. But I digress.
Do yourself a favor. Read 'Dinner: A Love Story' by Jenny Rosenstrach, and make a few of her meals. Your family will thank you and I bet you'll enjoy the process. Now, if she would just write 'Laundry: A Love Story' or 'Falling in Love with Cleaning', I'd be all set...
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