This is another recipe from the wedding present cookbook I made for my friend Jessica, sent to me by Julia Wade.  A good roast chicken recipe like this is great because it’s delicious but actually pretty simple, and looks much fancier than it is.  And if you add some root vegetables nestled around it like we did, they become wonderfully infused with all the juices from the chicken, and make it a one-pot meal.  Thanks for sharing, Julia!

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John’s Roasted Chicken
Adapted from Julia Wade

1 roasting chicken, gutted and thoroughly washed
1 onion, quartered
1 lemon, quartered
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 carrots
8 or so fingerling potatoes
12 or so Brussels sprouts
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Herbes de Provence (or other combination of herbs such as rosemary, thyme, parsley, sage, or lavender)
4 Tablespoons butter, melted

Peel carrots and cut into chunks. Halve potatoes and Brussels sprouts. Sprinkle with Herbes de Provence and 2 minced cloves of garlic. Toss with olive oil, and arrange vegetables around the edge of a roasting pan big enough to hold the chicken.

After washing chicken, pat dry with paper towels. Salt and pepper inside of chicken generously. Place quartered onion and lemon, along with remaining garlic inside of the chicken cavity. Tie legs together with butcher twine.

Coat outside of chicken with olive oil and rub thoroughly into the skin. Salt and pepper generously. Crush Herbs de Provence to release essential oils, and sprinkle on outside. Nestle chicken among the vegetables.

Roast at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.

Turn oven down to 375 degrees. After another 15 minutes, baste with butter. Baste again with chicken juice from pan every 20 minutes until chicken is done.

Chicken will be done when drumsticks jiggle, and feel ready to separate from the rest of the bird. When done, let bird sit for 10 minutes before carving.

To carve, use a sharp knife and separate wings and thigh from the body. Cut the joint only. Then slice breast and rest of bird. ENJOY!!

I found out recently that David Lebovitz has an iPhone app that has different/additional recipes that the ones on his blog. I told my mom about it, too, and she started making these chocolate chip scones from one of his recipes. I’ve recently been making these cranberry scones from Smitten Kitchen, and they are delicious (and for Thanksgiving breakfast I made her apple cheddar scones, which are great, too). But one morning recently I found myself both egg-less and scone-less. So I decided to try a batch of these chocolate chip scones, which don’t require any eggs. The original recipe calls for a bit of cinnamon and orange zest, but I had neither, so I added some ground ginger instead. Having eaten the original version when my mom made them, I can advocate for either flavoring combination. I also added some cocoa nibs since I had some on hand. They add a nice crunch, but are certainly optional.

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Chocolate Chip Cherry Scones

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1/4 cup sugar (I used vanilla sugar since I had some on hand)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
8 Tablespoons butter, cut into chunks
2/3 cup dried cherries
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup cocoa nibs (optional)
1/2 cup buttermilk

For topping:
1/4 cup coarse sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 375 F. Whisk together dry ingredients (flour through ginger). Cut in butter until it’s the consistency of coarse meal. Stir in cherries, chocolate chips, and nibs, if using. Stir in buttermilk until sticky dough barely comes together; do not overwork.

Press into a circle about 1″ thick. Cut into 8 wedges. Combine coarse sugar and ground ginger. Press each wedge into the sugar topping before placing, sugar side up, on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 375 F for 15-20 minutes, until lightly golden.

I like them best warm, but Matt thought they were better later in the day. So either way you serve them should be good, as long as you make these scones!

Matt and I went in with 2 other couples to share a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box this year. Every week, Blue House Farm delivers a big box of vegetables to Valley Presbyterian, and we get to take some of them home with us. Our subscription started this past spring, and this was the last week. I have loved it since it allowed us to try some vegetables that we aren’t that familiar with, and because it forced us to be a little more creative, while also basically doing our meal planning for us. Instead of starting from scratch trying to come up with menu ideas, each week we’d check out what was in the box, and think about how we could plan our meals for the week around that. The only downside for me is that we didn’t make it to the farmer’s markets as often, since we already had our vegetables, so I do miss that a bit. Overall it’s been a really good experience though, and one I heartily recommend if it’s an option in your area.

If you’ve ever talked to someone with a CSA subscription though, you have almost certainly heard that they get a lot of leafy greens. I love greens, so that’s been fine with me, but I admit it can sometimes be a challenge to come up with new ideas for ways to use them. This recipe for Greens with Coconut Milk and Bacon, adapted from Steamy Kitchen has become a real staple for us this year. It’s apparently based on a Caribbean dish called Callaloo, which Wikipedia says is traditionally made with either amaranth or taro greens. We like it because it’s fast, easy, and delicious, and it can be made with things we usually keep on hand, so it’s great when we don’t know what else to make. Jaden‘s original used kale, but we’ve adapted it for whatever greens arrived in our box that week, including swiss chard, kale, and radish, turnip, and collard greens. And even if the greens are a bit wilty and past their prime, it is no problem in this dish.

The original recipe called for 1 cup coconut milk and 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth. We did that at first, but lately have been ditching the broth and just using the whole can of coconut milk, so we’re not left with half of an opened can. We’ve sometimes served it, as in the picture, with red beans and rice (I admit, from a box — remember, this is our last minute emergency meal!). But if you make a big pot, it’s really plenty hearty as a one dish meal. Just don’t forget the cornbread!

Greens with Coconut Milk and Bacon

It is pretty much essential to serve this with cornbread, which cooks in about the same time it takes to get this on the table. Or if you’re skipping the cornbread, at least serve it with some kind of bread to soak up all that delicious pot likker.

We usually use the whole can of coconut milk, but you can lighten it up somewhat by using half coconut milk and half broth.

4 slices of bacon, chopped into 1″ pieces
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 or more large bunches leafy greens (e.g. kale, chard, collard greens), at least 8 cups, chopped
1 13.5 oz can coconut milk, or 1 c coconut milk and 1 c vegetable broth

In a large dutch oven or saute pan, cook the bacon until it begins to crisp. Add the onion and cook until it softens, about 5 minutes. Add the greens and allow them to cook down for a few minutes, just until you can stir things around again. Stir in the coconut milk (and broth if using) and simmer about 5-10 more minutes, until it thickens slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.