What's for Dinner, Tues., March 31, 2015

[NJCher]

I'm roasting a chicken, putting sage leaves and garlic under the skin. Stuffing with a lemon or two and some garlic. Slow roast; will make the house smell wonderful.

Don't have to work until 7:10 tonight, so I also am going to get some raised bed raking in! Yay, it's garden season!!




Cher

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. Garlic bread is the only part I know for sure so far.

I've turned off the heat and opened up windows, pulled up a lot of the straw I had over the garlic bed so that the sun can heat up the soil more, and set the miniature tea rose we were given after the death of our male dog this winter outside to get some direct light, since a lot of it was starting to yellow.

I've got spaghetti squash to use, as well as an onion, so it'll probably be an Italian night to go along with that garlic bread.

[Galileo126]

2. French dip steak sangwich

with sauteed onions and mushrooms.

Not sure what else, but that sangwich has been on my mind for days.

[NJCher]

3. I got some advice from the RG

I was lucky he'd talk to me, since he's camped out with his CPA doing his taxes, but he did give me some good advice on the roast chicken. First, he told me to salt the daylights out of the cavity, put a layer of garlic in, then my lemons.

In addition, since I was using a rack to roast it, he told me to put some water or broth underneath in the pan, along with vegetables. He said it will make a nice broth. I put celery, carrots, onion, bay leaf, and peppercorns with a few cups of water.

I'm using convection roast at 250, and I must say that I am getting a beautiful brown crust.

Now I will have something wonderful to come home to late tonight!


Cher

[greatauntoftriplets]

4. Cornish hen!

Broccoli on the side.

[pinto]

5. Mmm. That's my kind of plate. Have a good one!

Rice, potato, stuffing?

[greatauntoftriplets]

6. No starch tonight.

The hen and the broccoli will be enough.

[pinto]

7. Sounds good. I love the smell of a slow cooked roast, of any kind.

Kudos on the raised bed. I can't believe I haven't gotten anything in in my spots around the house. Here, I should be picking greens, radishes, scallions, kale, etc. etc. by now. Slacking...

[NJCher]

8. the aromas are wonderful

But I've found I have to keep adding water, as it evaporates, but presumably some of it evaporates up into the roast chicken.

Regarding my raised beds, I got two more raked today. I have 15, including two solar beds. Lotta' work, but I put in tons of work on them last season, and it really shows this year. I am so excited about gardening season. I have already planted (indoors) peppers, herbs, and something else I forgot. Outdoors, I put in arugula and lettuce, but nothing is up yet, and it was March 8 that I did this.

Still, it is fun to see what is coming up naturally. For example, yesterday was beautiful, feathery ferns of achillea filipendula. I transplanted all of them and then the damn squirrel came over and dug some of them up. And after I gave him some corn, too!

I just plant like a nut because it's so much fun to see what comes up! Go out and throw seeds around; it's a small investment for so much fun later on.

I've read your posts about gardening before, and you seem amazing at what you're able to do with the space you have.


Cher

[japple]

9. Leftovers: Roasted sweet/white potatoes with onions. Braised mixed greens with garlic. Yellow squash

sauteed with red pepper, onion, cumin and smoked paprika. Pintos with onions. Broccoli tomato salad.

[cbayer]

10. Pasta w/pesto and a salad.

[grasswire]

11. chicken caesar salad..

...and some rhubarb crisp. That's the last of the frozen rhubarb. Now I need to clear out the frozen blueberries. Gotta empty the freezer for farmers market season!

[bif]

12. A simple tomato and Northern bean soup.

[Chellee]

13. Well, this was the inspiration.

I changed the green to Swiss Chard because that looked the best at the store, and I added some farro, because I had some. Also, I used a maple balsamic dressing because I already had that made. Credit to Gena Hamshaw, who is brilliant.