Roast Chicken--yum.

Rosemary Lemon chicken from Saveur (see below for recipe link)

You know why I love roasted chicken? Because it is so damn tasty....and simple and economical. I've decided that it's the most affordable way for my family to eat organic chicken. Seriously. I sometimes pay over $8 for boneless skinless organic chicken breasts. I can buy a 3-4 lb organic chicken for around $11 and I get multiple meals out of it plus about 4 quarts of chicken stock in the freezer.
Ever since we began playing around with the GAPS diet 5 months ago (see previous posts here and here) which is kind of like the paleo diet (no/low grains), I've been cooking a whole chicken almost every week. One night we'll eat straight chicken with vegetables and then I'll use the leftovers in something like chicken tacos or with pesto on pizza. Plus we'll get a few lunches of 'crunchy chicken' for me and Finn which is leftover bits fried up in virgin coconut oil, salted and served with avocado. If we're feeling over-chickened, I just shred it up and throw it in the freezer.

Thanks to Desi, tonight I found "20 Ways to Cook a Whole Chicken" on Saveur's website. I am so excited about trying one of these each week-- Butter chicken? Bacon fried chicken? Yes, please.
Tonight we had Lemon and Rosemary chicken and it was delicious.
This recipe calls for cutting up the chicken before roasting. Here is my favorite quick tutorial for how to cut up a whole chicken quickly and easily.

 In the past I have followed Alice Water's roast chicken instructions in The Art of Simple Food (pgs 108-110) and it never fails to be perfect:

• Season the the whole bird--inside and out 1 or 2 days in advance if possible (I usually forget to do this --but it makes a huge difference. Even a few hours is helpful) Use celtic sea salt & pepper.
• Cover loosely and refrigerate. At least one hour before cooking remove from the fridge, place in lightly oiled pan (I never oil the pan) and let sit, breast side up.
• Slip sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme under the skin of the breast and thighs and then stuff the cavity of the bird with herbs
• Thinly slice garlic and slip it under the skin as well. I also throw a few quartered cloves in the cavity.
• Roast at 400 degrees F. for 20 minutes then turn breast side down for 20, then back up until done-- you can tell by looking at the chicken and if the drumsticks don't bounce away when touched-- or about 165 degrees in the deepest part of the thigh.

 That's all for now. I'll post about chicken stock & bone broth another day.... I've got some simmering on the stove right now.