In the middle of July, I wake up early one Saturday morning. SALM snores softly next to me, but I am more restless than I've been in months. I feel excited, and I don't know why. Maybe it's the sunshine, finally getting to me.
I nudge SALM. "Hey, I'm going to get a head start on the market today. I want to make sure I get a chicken from the Ranch of Happy Meat."
I nudge SALM. "Hey, I'm going to get a head start on the market today. I want to make sure I get a chicken from the Ranch of Happy Meat."
He burrows deeper into the covers and mumbles, "Have fun with that." I bounce out of bed and steal one of his grandmother's giant shopping bags (formerly used for quilting supplies).
The market is almost quivering with abundance. So many things are making their way into the stands - basil, tomatoes and baby beets and carrots are saying hello, while scapes and asparagus have their farewell signs up. I find a good little chicken from the Ranch of Happy Meat, some scapes, greens, a few jewel-like tomatoes, a bunch of palm-sized onions, two small bags of basil.
I consider buying an olive-and-herb fougasse for SALM, but as I'm deciding, my phone buzzes. SALM is on his way, and wants fish and milk. I stop by the fish guys to make sure there's plenty of SALM's favorite sockeye lox, make a mental note to pick up their fresh salmon roe next week, and reserve a bottle of milk from the Farm Across The Water. Then I stop by the Apple Guys for a treat - a big glass of fresh cider blended with nothing but ice. I park myself in the shade and wait for SALM.
And this, my darlings, is what happened to all of it:
Pesto, enough for four meals. I never freeze pesto; it's just not worth the loss of flavor. I'd rather savor it when it's in season and eat all I can.
Fingerling potatoes, garlic scapes, and those little onions go under the chicken. See my pretty new pot?
The finished chicken - trussed with dental floss, for lack of anything else!
And with the leftovers - chicken salad, of course, using the green tops of the baby onions!
3 comments:
sooo yummy sounding and looking... recipes please?
LYVLM
The chicken was really basic - I just gave it a dry rub with salt, pepper and smoked paprika, and stuffed it with half a lemon, a baby onion, and some scapes.
The pesto was all by eye. You know the ingredients.
The chicken salad included a carcass's worth of shredded chicken (to be fair, we hadn't eaten one of the breasts, so there was extra), a spoonful of mayo, lots of weak dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and a fistful of chopped scallions. Really basic - I would go with a curry next time.
I did also drizzle some olive oil on top of the chicken before putting it in the oven. the veggies underneath got tossed with a tiny bit, too - one thin stream around the pan, plus salt and pepper.
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