Yesterday was a very full, busy day in the city that involved a lot of wind, rain, walking, carrying excessive quantities of bags and raw dairy (and toddlers it seemed!), umbrellas being blown inside out, and of course seeing lots of interesting people. Not much eating happened (except in Oliver's case) so Hugo and I were pretty hungry by the time we got home. The normal thing to do in this situation would be to hit speed dial for our favorite local Thai restaurant -- but we are sticking to a very strict budget so this was not an option. Instead I made a roast chicken that we had just picked up (fresh that week from an Amish farm in PA -- not even frozen).
Said chicken must have weighed just over 6 lbs. (how could that be?!) and took an accordingly long time to cook (about 1.75 hours). By 9:00, when it was finished, along with the short-grain brown rice I love, Hugo had already passed out on the living room rug from exhaustion and hunger. He had to be forced to the table, but we enjoyed that chicken a lot (I for one had much more than my fair share of crispy skin -- but less than half a juicy chicken breast as this bird was giant!). Oliver just wanted to nurse and go to bed.
On days like these I am reminded how much time and dedication it takes to eat home-cooked food of the variety that we enjoy: local, seasonal, all from hard-to-reach locations that requires a true hunter/gatherer mentality. At one point as we were unpacking our booty from the buyers' club I made an off-hand comment about how nice it was to have chicken again, and had a startling realization: at any hour of the day I could walk out my door and purchase a hot, already-roasted chicken for a fraction of the price within 5 minutes!
So am I just insane? Does flavor really matter this much? Is supporting local farms really worth all this effort? Does it really make a difference in our family's health and quality of life?
I think you know my answer to that. But I can't speak for Hugo.
Were there no snacks or appetizers to tide the weary, famished family until the chicken cooked?!
ReplyDeletewhat a happy story.
ReplyDeleteI also love the testimonials on your earthbodybalance website.
RE Heidi's comment: this is my problem! i snack while cooking, and by the time i eat i'm only hungry for half a meal. drives me crazy...
ReplyDeleteI must confess, we enjoy very good, wholesome food in our house, but in the snack department we are much less well provisioned. I used to constantly eat snacks when I was hypoglycemic all the time -- I was a big-time grazer. Now I rarely eat a snack, maybe a small bowl of yogurt now and then, or a glass of milk -- sometimes a slice of sourdough toast with butter and raw honey. Those snacks don't work for Hugo, though. When he gets home from a long day he needs food right away, but there are many days when I disappoint. I am trying -really!- to be better about keeping snacks on hand.... Personally I think a few leaves of kale, chopped fine and sauteed with a little butter with sea salt makes a delicious snack -- but Hugo sees things a bit differently.
ReplyDeleteLoved this story as well.
ReplyDeleteWhat about nuts? We're big nut fans around here - my boys love buttery cashews especially. We use those (plus slices of cheese -- now raw! ;) -- with crackers or bread) to tide us over while waiting for dinner to finish...