Taking it easy

Being at home sick isn't fun for anyone. I have been eating tons of junk and traveling. I now have a sore throat and a general feeling of my immune system being down. Wanting to give my body a little break I am eating clean and simple foods with hopes that any extra energy will be used towards fighting off any sickness. Along with the below two recipes I am eating brown rice and fruit. This is in no way a diet but more of an approach to simple nourishment when you just want to take it easy for a day or so.


Pink Miso and Veggies
6 cups of water or vegetable broth
shitake mushrooms
zucchini
carrot
miso paste
beet greens
swiss chard
spinach
scallions

Bring water or vegetable broth to boil add sliced shitake mushrooms thinly sliced carrots and zucchini to the pot. Simmer for about five minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Take the pot of the stove and stir in about 4- 5 tablespoons of miso paste, you can always add more or less to suit your taste. Lastly thrown in all the greens spinach, beet greens, swiss chard and chopped scallions. These greens will cook perfectly when just left to steep in the hot broth. The color in the stems of the beet greens will turn your soup a pink-ish color.


Amrit Tonic
This has been my go to beverage since I was a little girl. Whenever I feel a cold or sore throat coming on make a big batch of this and sip it through out the day. My theory is that the cayenne pepper gets into your body and heats things up to burn out the bad guys. And no, this is not a master cleanse thing.

Water
Cayenne, dash or two
Ginger, large piece
Lemons, aprox 6 or about 1 cup of fresh lemon juice
Honey, 1 cup

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a dash or two cayenne pepper. I would err on the side of caution and not add too much as it can get pretty spicy.
Peel and slice a whole large piece of ginger and add to the pot. Cover, reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for about 15 minutes. While your waiting juice the lemons. Remove the ginger cayenne water from the heat and pour in the lemon juice and stir in the honey.
Drink warm.
For the vegan version of this just substitute agave for honey.

Thai Night

I have a friend who used to live in Thailand, he's a chef, a scuba diving instructor, currently studying as a med student, and list goes on. We have begged him for years to cook for whenever he comes to visit New York City. Being that this is New York City most visitors would rather eat out since there are so many great restaurants. This most recent time he visited we were able to get him to do a little cooking for us and it was really special. I have no idea what these two dishes are called but they were both quite delicious. The above is more of a street snack and involves a little of each of the following ingredients lime rind, fresh grated coconut, finely chopped ginger, finely diced onion, dried shrimps, chili, peanuts, and honey syrup.



We also had a Thai coconut shrimp soup. This soup was so flavorful and still very light, it had the perfect hint of coconut and lime and the shrimp were subtly sweet.
My boyfriend also made a Thai chicken green coconut curry that is the best chicken curry I have ever had. For this particular recipe we have to travel down to a specific store in Chinatown that imports a special small round Thai eggplant. And for desert we had sweet sticky rice with mango. This meal was total perfection from start to finish!

One of these days I'll be sure to post the recipe for how to make the chicken curry.

Tuna Tuesday

Serves two

Oven Roasted Asparagus
1 bundle of asparagus, trimmed and rinsed
Olive oil
Salt/pepper
Parmesan
Lemon

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees
Toss the asparagus in a little bit olive oil. Add a little sprinkle of salt and some fresh fresh ground pepper. Lay asparagus on a baking sheet and cook for about 10-12 minute.
Plate and serve with some fresh slices of Parmesan cheese and a lemon wedge.

Tuna Salad

Romaine lettuce
Ortiz tuna in olive oil
Garbanzo beans
Corn kernels
Grape tomatoes
Cucumber
Avocado
Balsamic vinegar
Dijon mustard
Lemon juice, fresh
Salt/pepper

Slice tomatoes in half and place in bowl. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt over the tomatoes and a couple grinds of fresh pepper. Add the juice of half a lemon followed by 2 teaspoons of mustard and 1-2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine and taste the dressing. Add more of anything you like until your happy with it. Then add about 2/3 of the jar of tuna to the bowl, this is just about 4 oz. Since the tuna comes packed in olive oil there is really any need to add extra olive oil. If you want to add more oil you can pour a little more in from the jar of tuna. Stir together or mix with your hands so the tuna breaks up into smaller pieces.

In a separate bowl combine lettuce and all other salad toppings add in tuna and tomato mixture, toss and serve.

Beans, greens & grains...Oh my!

For a Veggie/Vegan friendly variation use vegetable stock and and your favorite meat-free sausage.

Serves 4

1 tbs oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 cup quinoa, dry
3-4 cups chicken stock (depending on how soupy you like it)
5 leaves swiss chard, roughly chopped
1/2 cup red kidney beans, canned
1 scallion, chopped
4 sausage links (one per person)
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in pot and add garlic, cook for about a minute then add quinoa and stir over heat for another minute. Add one cup of chicken stock, bring to boil then cover and reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in swiss chard until gently wilted and mixed with the quinoa. Next add beans, scallions and 2-3 more cups of chicken stock, depending on the consistency you like. More broth equals more soup and less broth makes for more of a stew like consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat for another 5-10 minutes or until beans are warmed through. Remove from heat and squeeze in a little fresh lemon juice and give it one last stir.
In a pan cook the sausages until they are nicely browned then remove from heat and slice into pieces and serve over stew.

For this recipe I used Bilinski's pesto romano chicken sausages, but of course you can use whatever sausages you like.

Potage

Not sure what the weathers like where you are today but here in NYC it's another cold and grey day. You know the kind that makes you long for something hearty and warm in your belly.
Not feeling like doing much of anything, especially not grocery shopping, I made do with whatever I already had in the fridge and pantry. Served by itself or with a leafy green salad and chicken sausage (which is how I had it) it was just what the Dr. ordered!

Quinoa Potage
4 small new potatoes, diced
3 cups of chicken broth (or bullion)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small brown onion, finely chopped
1 large leeks (or 2 small), chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
½ cup quinoa
1 medium zucchini, diced
2 large white mushroom caps, diced
Salt and pepper

Bring 1 cup of broth to a boil add all of the diced potatoes along with a pinch of salt and pepper and simmer for five minutes. Then with a slotted spoon remove half of the potatoes and set aside. Keep the remaining potatoes and broth boiling for another five minutes. Remove from heat and blend the contents of this pot so that you have a smooth opaque liquid. Set aside.

Heat one teaspoon of olive oil over medium heat in a large sized pot. Add the onion and cook for a couple of minutes until translucent. Next add the leeks and again cook for a couple of minutes until they have softened a little and become green. Now add the garlic, bay leaf, carrot, celery, ½ cup of quinoa, ¼ teaspoon of salt and couple of grinds from your pepper mill. Give this a couple of minutes to cook together and stir it a couple of times.
Next add the blended potato broth liquid followed by the two cups of plain broth. Lastly toss in the reserved par-boiled diced potatoes that you saved in the beginning along with the diced zucchini and mushrooms. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Mexican Lasagna

This recipe might appear a little intimidating but I assure you that after you have made it once you’ll see it’s not that difficult. Essentially you are preparing each layer separately and then you can begin to build your Mexican lasagna. For the vegan version omit the chicken and use soy cheese instead.

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into arpox ½ inch thick pieces
1 red onion, medium sized, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch cilantro chopped
1 lime, juice and zest of
1 green jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
2 Tbs taco seasoning
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs orange juice
2/3 cup yellow bell pepper, chopped
2/3 cups green bell pepper, chopped
2/3 cup frozen corn kernels
14.5 oz canned diced tomatoes, liquid drained and reserved
16 oz can of fat free refried beans
6 Tbs salsa
4 scallions, chopped, trim and discard 2-3 inches of the green ends
6 oz grated part skim mozzarella
4 small corn tortillas, cut into 1/8’s
salt and pepper for seasoning throughout
8” square baking dish


To marinate the chicken combine the following ingredients together in a bowl.
½ of the chopped red onion, 1 clove of minced garlic, ½ of the chopped cilantro, the juice and zest of 1 lime, 1/2 of a chopped jalapeño, 2 Tbs orange juice, 1 Tbs taco seasoning, 1 Tbs olive oil, salt and pepper.

Pour this mixture into a Ziploc bag, add the pieces of chicken to the bag and seal it. Once sealed give the bag a little shake to make sure the marinade is mixed and has evenly coated the chicken. Allow the chicken to marinate in the refrigerator for anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours or overnight if you have time. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking and allow the chicken to come to room temperature.

Heat non-stick pan over medium flame. To the pan add ½ Tbs of olive oil, the remaining half of the chopped red onion and 1 clove of minced garlic, sauté for about one minute. Next add all of the yellow and the green peppers, the corn and the tomatoes to the pan. Lightly season with a little salt and pepper and cook all together for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and place cooked veggies into a bowl and set aside.

Using the same non-stick pan heat again over a medium flame. To the pan add the remaining ½ Tbs of olive oil, the remaining 1 clove of minced garlic and the remaining ½ of the chopped jalapeño. Cook together for about a minute then add all of the refried beans and the salsa. Stir together and cook for about five minutes. Remove from heat and place refried beans into a new bowl, stir in remaining half bunch of chopped cilantro and all of the chopped green onions. Set the bowl aside for later.

Again using the same non-stick pan heat over a medium flame. Spray the pan with cooking spray and add the marinated pieces of chicken to pan. Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of taco seasoning over the chicken and a splash of the liquid you reserved from the tomatoes. Cook the chicken for about 2mins each side. You want the chicken to be cooked through but just barely, remember it’s going into the oven and will continue to cook in there. Once cooked remove from the pan and let it cool for about 5-10 minutes. Then shred or chop the chicken into smaller pieces and set aside in a new bowl.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spray the bottom of a baking dish with cooking spray.
Layer corn tortilla down in the baking dish, next spread a layer of refried beans followed by a layer of vegetable mix, then add a layer of shredded chicken followed by a layer of cheese. Repeat once more only this time leave off the last layer of cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and cook in the oven for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

I wait to add that last layer of cheese until the very end. When the cooking time has ended remove and discard the aluminum foil. Scatter the remaining cheese across the top of the dish and place it under the broiler for about a minute or two so that it gets a little bubbly and gets a little browned and crispy.

Let it cool for a couple of minutes and then cut into squares and serve.

GIN GINS WIN

I am having a little bit of a love affair with ginger at the moment. Last night I made a bunch of triple ginger cookies and today I was introduced to these lovely little bites called Gin Gins Boost. They are soft and chewy and taste like ginger infused caramel. I like them because they have a nice clean taste and are quite satisfying for that perfect after meal sweet that I am constantly searching for. Their catch phrase is "little potion for the motion" because it's supposed to help with motion sickness.

GET YOURS

Wick Fowler's

I am a big fan of spices, rubs and seasoning mixes. It's the easiest way to add flavor with out extra fat and calories. Last week I went on a hunt for a Mexican type seasoning mix that wasn't full of all kinds of weird hard to pronounce ingredients. There aren't many out there but luckily I did end up stumbling upon this one and it wasn't at a specialty food store either.
I think they have made some recent changes to the design on their package because the one I just bought didn't look like this.

Ingredients: Ground Chili Peppers, Salt, Onion, Comino, Garlic, Oregano

Wondering what comino is? It's just a fancy way of saying cumin in Spanish.

GET YOURS

Chocolate Almond Coconut Bites

I love Let's Do Organic reduced fat shredded unsweetened coconut.

I add it to my oatmeal in the morning, use it when cooking Indian inspired soups, and of course in macaroons. It's 40% less fat than regular unsweetened shredded coconut. They reduce the fat though a process of steam evaporation. For cooking purposes you can always use this as a substitute. In doing so you'll cut a few calories and fat with out sacrificing the flavor. But, when it come to a fresh piece of coconut meat that's eaten bite by bite all on it's lonesome, well there's just no replacing that.

When I am feeling lazy and want something sweet after dinner I make chocolate almond coconut bites. They literally take less than five minutes from start to finish. There's no measuring going on here just eye ball it. For all intents and purposes the chocolate is the "glue" in this recipe so make sure there is enough chocolate to coat everything.

Here's what you'll need...

Chocolate Almond Coconut Bites

chocolate chips, dark or milk whatever you like

shredded unsweetened coconut

sliced natural almonds, roughly crushed up

piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper

Throw some dark baking chocolate in a bowl and put it into the microwave for about a minute or two. You don't want it completely melted, just about half melted. Give it a stir and the heat will melt the rest of the chocolate pieces. Once it's all smooth and melted stir in a handful of crushed up sliced almonds and pour in a good amount of shredded coconut. Stir all of this together until thoroughly mixed. Place a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper onto a dinner plate and use a spoon to portion out the chocolate mixture into blobs on the plate. Place in the fridge or freezer for a couple of minutes so that it has a chance to harden up. Eat and enjoy!

You can always stir in other things too like raisins, dried cranberries, etc..

Shake Shack

These shakes are not exactly the nutritional path I long to follow but every now and then you just have to say what the heck. I have not been to shake shack before today but have only ever heard great things from those who have. I happened to be in the neighborhood with my boyfriend this afternoon so we decided to hit it up. Though it was insanely cold here in New York City today we decided to go for the frozen treats. He ordered a vanilla malt shake and I opted for the "healthy" shake called the vitamin creamsicle. Danny Meyer, the owner of this joint, is one of the city's greatest restaurateurs. He is also a devotee of well-known celebrity fitness trainer David Kirsch. This shake combines frozen vanilla custard with David Kirsch vitamin-mineral orange super juice. It tasted just like an orange creamsicle should but as an added benefit was in some way good for me too. The shake shack is a green operation. They also have a well edited wine selection including half bottles of stags leap, frogs leap and opus one to name a few. I plan on returning when the weather gets a bit warmer.

Ike & Sam

These two little guys make my favorite popcorn. I am generally not a fan of pre-bagged popcorn because it usually has a sorta stale taste. Maybe it's because they are based in Brooklyn that it's so fresh? They make a few different flavors but original sweet and salty is my personal fave. It's not too sweet not too salty, it's light and well it's just perfection! I like that there are a few ingredients. If ever you see this at the store (and I am seeing it all over the place lately) buy some and give it a try.
Most people think that kettlecorn means that the popcorn will be that sweet and salt flavor. In the case of Ike & Sam kettlecorn actually refers to how they cook the popcorn, similar to kettle potato chips. Each bag of Ike and Sam's says kettlecorn followed by the specific flavor.
To my knowledge they have only four flavors.
Light and fluffy = naked popcorn with a touch of salt
Sweet and salty = "kettle corn"
Crunchy caramel = exactly what it sounds like, yum
Kickin' cayenne = I haven't tried it yet, if anyone has please let me know your thoughts

A case of the Monday's

I am going to put this out there with the hopes that having done so will give me even more reason to stay on track. As of Monday I am making a greater effort to cut out the crap. I have to be honest, I have been on a bit of bender since around thanksgiving. Don't worry I am not going full fledged macrobiotic or anything. I will still be eating poultry, eggs, yogurt, goats cheese and the occasional steak along with the obvious staples; grains, beans, fruits and vegetables. I am doing this not only for myself but also hopefully with my boyfriend. I am figuring that if I make more effort to cook and eat this way on a regular basis maybe he will too? He knows it would be a good idea since fried and fatty foods aren't exactly playing nice with his gallbladder these days. Either way, I have had my fill and am I ready to get off the sugar train, with or without him. Wish me luck and of course I will be posting any tasty new recipes I come across. All of that said.... I am very much looking forward to lunch at Blue Hill tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited that it's not Monday yet!

Current favorite sandwich in NYC

Alidoro
105 Sullivan St.
Monday-Saturday
11:30am-5:30pm (though by that time of day they usually don't have any bread left)

Home of Italian specialty sandwiches. Don't bother to ask for anything else, anything extra or any modifications. What you see is what you get and boy is it good! They are usually swamped during lunch hours so I suggest getting there around 3pm-ish. All the ingredients are really fresh and while your sandwich might be a little bit more expensive they are quite large and can easily be for two people.

MENU

NOT Just Veggies

Do you ever find that a whole day goes by and not a single fruit or vegetable has passed your lips? And when you were a kid didn't you always want to be an astronaut?
Just Tomatoes, Etc.! solves the first question and temporarily satiates the second. This company dehydrates, packages and sells pretty much any fruit or vegetable you can think of . My favorite is HOT JUST VEGGIES, it's the same veggie mix as above but with jalapeno added. Keep a tub in your drawer at work and save your quarters for laundry, not for the vending machine.

GET YOURS

lip smackin'

I live for this stuff. Seriously you could be a total numbnut when it comes to cooking and still pull out a dish that will taste so good you'll surprise yourself!
I put it in soups, grains, marinades, salad dressings, dips, and use as a dry rub on fish and meat.
You can literally use it on just about anything. It's also great because its all natural, no fat, no MSG, no calories, and most importantly low in sodium.
GET YOURS

just...

I am aware of the fact that we are in a "financial crisis". It seems charities are and will continue to suffer due to the fact that no one wants to spend an extra cent these days.
Even still I have decided to make this the year that I make monthly donations to the things that are important to me. If you only donate five dollars a month to one charity it's better than nothing and you are helping something or someone somewhere. Here are two food related charities I think are important.

Whole Planet Foundation
I am all for eating locally and supporting our own neighborhood farmers but lets be honest, we do not only buy what is local and in season every time we do our grocery shopping. The micro loans are offered to the poorest of the poor, with a focus on women, wanting to finance self-employment projects that will generate income. 100% of your donation goes to the mirco lending programing.

Help the Honey Bees
For some reason our honey bees are disappearing.
People this is not good. You really would be surprised to learn how important bees are in the pollination of our fruits and vegetables. We need them to do their job. Should they disappear entirely I am sure scientists will find a way to artificially pollinate our plants, however, I imagine this would raise the cost of our produce not to mention it's just not what nature intended.

I have also found two websites that can help assist you in finding and donating to charities. One is called Charity Navigator and the other is called Network for Good.
Charity Navigator is a guide to help donors make intelligent charitable giving decisions. Offers financial ratings of thousands of American nonprofit organizations and charities.
Network for Good allows you to keep all your donations organized and under one roof so to speak. For a small fee or percentage they take care of making any distributions to the organizations of your choice whether they're a one time or a monthly donation.

JUNK MAIL = WASTEFUL SPENDING
Best stated by Charity Navigator...
Spreading your money among multiple organizations not only results in your mail box filling up with more appeals, it also diminishes the possibility of any of those groups bringing about substantive change as each charity is wasting a large percentage of your gift on fund raising and overhead expenses.

Other charities I like....
PRASAD www.prasad.org
KIVA www.kiva.org
WWF www.worldwildlife.org
HUMANE SOCIETY www.hsus.org
HEIFER www.heifer.org
CANCER RESEARCH www.cancerresearch.org

P-I-N-K-B-E-R-R-Y

I can seriously do without the Lady Tigra remix on Pinkberry's homepage where she spells out pinkberry about a million times, it's wicked stupid and annoying.
Now that I got that outta my system I would like to rejoice in the fact that they ditched that nasty coffee flavor they used to have and replaced it with pomegranate which is oh so tasty.
This is going to be a problem in the summer. I will totally walk out of my way to get this everyday probably. Who am I kidding, it's already a problem and it's the middle of winter. I guess that's a testament to just how yummy I think it is. I mean look how cute and happy that little guys is.

The good word

I haven't tried this yet and well quite frankly, I am a little scared too. The last thing I need is a new nut butter in my life. I have it on good word that this is some rockin' stuff. I will of course have my fingers in a jar of this before the end of the weekend.

1/24/09 UPDATE
I tried this today and It's good. Thankfully, I can't see myself eating this by the fingerful right out of the jar but I would definitely spread this on a warm piece of toast or dip some apple or banana slices into this tasty concoction.

Truvia

This is the newest "natural sweeter" out on the market.
With the masses becoming more aware of their health and well being people are making more of an effort to look at the ingredients in the foods they are eating. Many people are beginning to consciously replace overly refined food items in their diet with more natural and whole foods. In turn food companies are being forced to create foods that are seemingly more natural and less refined. I feel it’s important to do a little research on these new foods that are being offered to us as healthier alternatives. Being a former user of Equal and a current user of stevia I decided to take a look into Truvia. What I discovered is that Truvia is not stevia, it's a new sweetener using stevia.

Stevia has been a battleground for the sugar and artificial sweetener industry for sometime now. Many of the big sugar and sweetener companies have spent a number of years and a lot of money lobbying against the likes of stevia. Imagine what would it do to business if a completely natural no calorie sweetener were readily available? But what if they could find a way to get in on it? This past December (as in last month) the FDA approved the use of a stevia byproduct that was created jointly by companies Cargill (America's second largest private corporation) and Coca-Cola. Stevia, as in the whole plant, continues to be labeled as a dietary supplement and it remains unapproved by the FDA.

Truvia's claims
1) It's not made in a lab like other no calorie artificial sweeteners
2) It's made from plants

Yes there are stevia plants involved. They use a process of steeping the leaves that produces what they have coined rebiana, which allows them to isolate best tasting part of the plant leaving behind the crude unnecessary parts like fiber for example. They further "purify" the isolated rebiana AKA refine it. Technically table sugar is also made from a plant but it’s the refining process that complicates matters and makes it nutritionally undesirable.

Truvia's other main ingredient is a sweet flavored bulking agent called Erythritol, which is a sugar alcohol. Erythritol is made by breaking down food starch into glucose. Then a yeast called Moniliella pollinis is added to the glucose. By way of fermentation, the glucose is broken down into erythritol. The erythritol is then purified into 99.5% pure erythritol.* It does appear to be less harmful than saccharin and aspartame, but it's not exactly what I would call naturally occurring and as far as I am concerned saying this ingredient wasn't made in a lab would be a lie.

Lastly Truvia contains "natural flavors" aka MSG and other things, which if used in certain amounts do not need to be listed according to the FDA. Overall I think it’s certainly a better choice than Equal, Sweet'n'low and Splenda but why not just use stevia it's pure form?



*http://abouterythritol.homestead.com

Perfectly poached pears

One of my favorite deserts or breakfasts

2 Bosc pears
2 cinnamon sticks
5 cloves
Apple cider
Small baking dish that fits both pears

Preheat 400 degrees. Slice off the bottom of the pears making it flat and place them in the oven safe dish. Add cloves, cinnamon sticks and about 1’’ of apple cider. Bake in the oven for about 50-60 minutes.

Serve by its self or with ice cream, whip cream, crème fraiche or yogurt.

Since this was today’s breakfast I had it with Old Chatham maple sheep’s milk yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Holy chicken sausages

There's good reason for the rays of light shinning from behind these sausages. It's because they are heavenly! I haven't tried the beef franks yet but any of the chicken sausages are pretty darn tasty. What really won me over while I was deciding whether or not to add these links to my shopping cart was that they don't use pork casing better known as pig intestines. Ick! I think you'd be surprised to know how many chicken sausages come nicely packaged in pork intestines. For some reason that just kinda irks me.
Both natural and organic chicken sausages are made from antibiotic-free, hormone-free, %100 vegetarian fed chickens, preservative-free - no nitrates, no nitrites, no sodium lactate (whatever that is), they are gluten-free and wheat-free, casing- free, and made from skinless chicken leg and thigh meat- no chicken skins, ever! All I can say is that whatever is in them is wonderful.
The only real difference I can see between the natural and the organic sausages is that the organic sausages use organic organic vegetables, herbs and spices.

I think I got these at WholeFoods. You can check Bilinski's website to see where else they are sold.

Two other interesting things I have recently learned about chicken.
1. The leg and thigh meat are as lean as the breast meat. It's is just darker in color because they move those parts and therefore there is more blood circulating in that area.
2. All chicken in the U.S. must be hormone-free and steroid-free as per the USDA. What you want to look out for is antibiotic- free.

Easy does it

Two of my favorite cookbooks from Jenny White are now available together as one! Seriously, this actually is the best ever. There are pictures for all 400 recipes and each recipe is no more than three or four ingredients not including salt, pepper and olive oil.

Delicious meals don't have to be complicated. Simplicity is key here and each ingredient really has the chance to shine. No matter if you are out to impress others or just yourself now anyone can make a great tasting meal, and I mean anyone!

GET YOURS

Easy oven roasted chicken

1 free range organic chicken
3 onions
6 small carrots
2 yams
1 lemon
Fresh thyme
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Preheat oven 400 degrees. Chicken should be room temperate. Chicken can be out of the fridge for up to 3 hours and remain safe to eat. Anything longer than this is potentially unsafe.

Chop the onions into quarters, the carrots approximately one and half inch long pieces and the yams into approximately two inch cubes. Toss all vegetables plus 8-10 sprigs of thyme together in olive oil, salt and pepper.
Rub 1-2 tbs of thyme leaves underneath the skin covering the chicken breasts.
Rub olive oil all over the outside of the chicken and then place chicken in roasting or large baking dish. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze over the chicken, then sprinkle on salt and fresh ground pepper. Add vegetables along with the sprigs of thyme to your pan then place in the oven. Cook for about an hour and 15 minutes.

Your chicken is done when the liquid inside the chicken is clear. You can tell this by holding the chicken upright. If the juices run clear you are most likely done, if the juice is pink (with blood) you have a ways to go. Another thing I suggest is that you check the meat between the leg and breast. If this meat is at all pink then your chicken is not done yet. Leave it in the oven and check on it every 5-8 minutes.

Once the chicken is done remove it from the oven. The legs should be very easily pulled away from the body. If the vegetables aren't yet completely tender in the middle and crispy on the outside then you can put the vegetables back into the oven for about another 15 minutes.

Fon-DO!

Cheese fondue is a must in Switzerland. Soooo good! I like to give my cubes of bread a good soak in the pot and then fish them out.