How was everyone's weekend? Ours was nice and relaxing with a nice shot of rain Saturday. We went to Central Market and actually contained ourselves! We did, however, find The Prisoner, a wine from Orin Swift Cellars in California. Gary and I first had this wine at Ruth's Chris a few months ago and loved it. We were so excited to see it at Central Market. Even better - they were giving samples of another Orin Swift wine, Abstract. OMG - freaking unbelievable!!!! We bought three bottles of it, a bottle of The Prisoner and a bottle of Brachetto. We stole one of Courtney's bottles to put in our six pack and get a 10% discount, too. We're smart like that :)
Lots of yummy, yummy stuff at Central Market. It was packed; they were having a cheese event and it was a madhouse. We tried quite a few goat, cheddar and blue cheeses. Latte Da Dairy was there and they always produce a fantastic goat cheese. There was another vendor there with a goat cheese and I just didn't care for it; neither did Courtney. We thought it was too sharp. Goat cheese should be mild and creamy and this had a really strong aftertaste. Besides, the woman with the yucky cheese was rude to my child, so she immediately lost favor with me :)!! Gary was his typical uncontrollable self in there and I had to reign him in over the wine and these pretty bad ass chocolate cookies that he somehow snuck in the basket. Anyways, we ended up with a great selection of cheese and wine for our pre dinner snack yesterday prior to the main event: Herb Roasted Chicken with Root Veggies!! I also bought Kale for the first time, but ended up not using it since there were so many veggies with the chicken. I'm going to saute it tonight with garlic.
I also planted my mums. I've been waiting for it to cool off and it sort of did, until today, so I went ahead and got them put out. The house is clean, laundry done, toyhauler packed and we are getting everything ready for Terlingua. Maybe this year won't be such a cluster you know what! It's just such a long ass trip...that's what I hate about it.
"Mommy, did you know that I'm half bat and half girl? That's why I'm so tired during the day. I fly around all night when I'm a bat."
That was a one liner from Paige last night. Instead of leaving it alone, I pursued the conversation. And you're wondering...who's the adult here, right? Me, too....
So I asked her if she watches TV at night as a bat or a girl. That question threw her for a loop, but it didn't stop her from rambling on about being a bat....how she flies around listening for an echo to tell her if she can keep going that direction, and that she turns back into a girl when she's hungry so that she doesn't have to eat bugs, rats and "mices" and that she has half breed friends as well. I don't know if we're at the point where I should seek psychological help for her or if I should just chalk it up to a very creative mind. She hasn't tried to bite anyone, shown signs or rabies or tried to sleep hanging upside down. I guess we'll just play it by ear.
Moments after that conversation she asked me if I knew how lucky I was to have her as a kid. Right?! She also told me that she considered a lot of different potential mommies, but that I seemed like the best one at the time. Not just the "best one", but the "best one at the time". WTF?????
Alright, here is the chicken recipe:
Cadillac Cowgirl Herb Roasted Chicken with Root Vegetables
1 Whole Chicken, rinsed and patted dry; giblets removed
2 Oranges, quartered
2 Lemons, quartered
1 Butternut Squash, peeled and diced
1 lb Turnips, diced
1 lb Baby Carrots, left whole
1 Red Onion, quartered
1 1/2 lbs New Potatoes, quartered
6 Garlic Cloves, peeled and left whole
1 Tbsp Each Fresh Rosemary, Thyme and Sage, chopped
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Butter, softened, but not melted
Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large roasting pan, drizzle the olive oil and swirl it around the pan to coat it. Add the squash, turnips, baby carrots, red onion, new potatoes and garlic cloves. Stir them around in the pan to distribute the oil over them - this will help keep them from sticking and help them roast evenly. Squeeze one of the quartered lemons and oranges over the veggies. Place the used lemon and orange quarters inside the chicken and nestle it among the veggies. (Doesn't that sound cozy...LMAO!) Take the two tablespoons of softened butter and rub it all over the chicken. Squeeze the juice from the remaining lemon and orange quarters over the buttered chicken. It will probably run off, but enough of it will stick to the chicken. Place the used quarters in the pan with the veggies. Sprinkle the chicken with the chopped herbs and any leftover amount over the veggies. Sprinkle a good amount of salt and ground black pepper over the chicken and veggies as well. Roast on the middle rack in the oven for 30 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 400 and continue to cook until the veggies are tender and the chicken is cooked through - about another hour. You can always use a meat thermometer to make sure the chicken is cooked through. Let the chicken rest for about five minutes before you slice it up. Serve it with warm rolls for a one pan meal. You can always add another vegetable and/or salad as a side dish depending on how many you are feeding. Enjoy!!
I just have one more thing to add and I hope I properly convey my meaning. Sponsors are vitally important to CASI - no if, ands, or buts about it. The sponsors that have chosen CASI as their "charity" so to speak and the sponsors Jim Ezell has been able to procure on CASI's behalf absolutely make it easier for all of us to cook chili at a pretty affordable rate. What gets under my skin, though, is to see an ad in the Trails that declares without the sponsors, there would be no cook offs. Really? I thought you had to have cooks to have a cook off and that comes across as arrogant to me. I am a sponsor of CASI, both as a "Sponsor" and as a cook and I am proud to be able to help out CASI from a sponsorship level and help out charities as a cook. I would hope that the ad placed in the Trails for that particular cook off was just worded wrong and not meant as a slap in the face to all of the cooks and promoters who bust their butts to get out there and run cook offs, sanction cook offs, and cook chili for charity without a sponsor in sight. I am grateful to the sponsors that generously give to CASI so that I can drive 10 hours to the desert every November and have a great time with my friends. I don't think any of us would be able to have as good of a time as we do if it weren't for the sponsors who have given to CASI so that they may make the Ranch that much more fun for all of us. Still, it's the COOKS who make sure there are cook offs. Just ask anyone who's ever been one of four cooks at 11 am at a cook off with a 2 pm turn in. I seriously doubt those four were jumping up and down if a sponsor drove up; but you know they'd probably hump the legs of everyone who showed up to cook and made sure that cook off was sanctioned. Just my humble opinion.........
Have a wonderful afternoon. I've got lots of kindness and joy to spread this week.
Keepin it real in Ellis Co.
Kelly
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