Best Ever Roast Chicken

Oh yes! This is the best ever roast chicken. Not only did I start with a plump, beautiful organic bird from Rusty Gate Farm in the Comox Valley, I used a foolproof Jamie Oliver recipe to roast this mouthwatering fowl. Along with being easy and delicious, I got to use some of the hardy herbs that are battling their way through November and hanging sturdily on in my garden. In this case, thyme and rosemary (I have to admit, rosemary is my favourite garden herb – don’t tell the parsely!)

(Uncooked chickens always look so naked & chilly. I want to cover their little thighs with my oven mitts!)

The recipe was so simple and the result so tasty. Juicy. Rich. Chicken-y. Jamie Oliver offers brilliant cookery advice – his recipes really are my one weakness. Is it his mischevious boyish twinkle? The great hair that curls this way and that? His “Aw-shucks, luv, anybody can do this” handsome way about the kitchen and garden? Well, of course!

And his recipes are just plain good. I think he is a maestro of roll-up-your-sleeves cooking with an unerring instinct for flavour-matching. I’ve never had a recipe of his fail. His cookbooks are pleasure to read, filled with great tips and wonderful pictures. And he is on a mission to promote fresh real food. Plus he is boyishly good-looking.

I served the chicken for Sunday dinner and there were plenty of leftovers for the rest of the week. (Such joy!) The organic roasters are really savoury and generous. Speaking of generosity, my aunt purchased a quantity of birds and most generously passed one on to us. Needless to say, the next time I am in Courtenay BC, I will be finding my way to Rusty Gate to fill up my cooler and return the favour! Definitely worth a 4-hr trip for these bosomy beauties (I am, of course, speaking of the chickens).

In keeping with my rich fantasy life, I am already planning out my imaginary chicken coop. Eating Rusty Gate poultry has given me an aspirational goal for hen-keeping – even the pretend version.

I served our roast chicken with a side of oven-roasted rutabaga, brussels sprouts and pecans and a cranberry-almond couscous.  Lipsmackingly good. Like Jamie. (Did I menion how cute he is?)

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/perfect-roast-chicken

Cunning Cannisters

I love happy little projects. The kind of activities where I find myself humming along while I dream them up, or while I start to put them together.

For many years I have had a beautiful set of pottery canisters. They were made by Betty Warren of Texada Island, a potter who was a dear theatre friend of my mothers. My mom had the cannisters for years and when I moved out she passed three of them on to me. One had been broken along the way, and of the three that remained, one had a chipped lid. I loved them and used them in all my kitchens right up until this year. Another lid is chipped and the set is looking weary. I still use them in my cupboards to store dried beans and back-up sugar for jam-making, but they have become decidedly shabby *sigh*.

First, I replaced them with a second-hand set of copper ones from the local Value Village. They worked well enough but were a bit ‘kitschy’ for me. I’ve got my eyes open for a perfect set, but in the meantime, I decided that I’d like glass. This summer, while out stocking up on new jam jars (how is it these jars never really make it back? I know they are being lovingly reused somewhere…), I came across large glass canning jars from Bernardin. Now as most of you know, I have an imaginary French Country kitchen, so these jars gave me a little frisson of excitement.

And, I suppose, since I acquired my first set of cannisters when I was 17, I reverted back to my broker-than-broke, first-out-on-my-own days and came up with a happy little decoration project to make a temporary set of glass cannisters to hold my day-to-day staples. This is a perfect simple fall project and a great idea for cash-strapped students or others who might be on a budget. And I offer it here, as November really settles in and we are well and truly in deep autumn.

Select a fabric you love. (Mine is 100% cotton gingham that I purchased in a market in Provence). Measure according to the canning jar lids. Use pinking shears to cut.

Trace a circle around the lid with a pencil. Trim along line with pinking shears. Using an old craft paintbrush (one you don’t mind throwing away) coat the lid with Mod Podge (I LOVE this stuff – it’s my one weakness – you can use it for all kinds of craft projects) and while still wet, attach the fabric circle. Coat with another layer of Mod Podge. Let dry and and add rings and lids to jars. Voila!

 

Another side benefit of this project is that when I finally do find my perfect replacement cannisters, I can re-use the jars to preserve some kind of delicious monster foodstuff. Next year’s squash, perhaps?

And as an extra fall bonus, here are a couple of links to some great canning sites. Dreaming up next year’s harvest!

http://www.bernardin.ca/pages/home/1.php

http://www.punkdomestics.com/

 

A Perfect Sunday: Visiting Fort Langley

On a recent weekend, my hubby promised me a blog-worthy outing that would allow me to indulge in some of my favourite idle pursuits. Walking, daydreaming, picture-taking…all at the contented slow-mo pace that suits me best when chores are done, work is tucked safely away for the weekend and the pantry is stocked with endless possibilities for meal-making. Yes, I’m talking Sunday. A sunny one at that!

So, on a beautiful October Sunday we crossed to South side of the Fraser River and meandered throught the countryside to the Salmon River Trail. A modest walk along the riverbank through grassy fields, scrubby bushes and cottonwoods that leads to historic Fort Langley. Fort Langley is a dreamy little village chock-a-block with heritage buildings, antique stores, tea shops, galleries and, of course, a 19th century fort – one of the first on the Canadian west coast.

On this particular Sunday, we didn’t visit the fort itself (well worth a Sunday afternoon of it’s own and a great spot to take visitors). Our first stop was at a roadside stand to buy some tiny sugar pumpkins. Oh, I love these pumpkins! So cute, so round, so jolly! They are my one weakness, and I emptied my wallet of loonies and bundled an armful into the car.

Our next stop was the Salmon River Trail, where we stood and watched the water snake toward the Fraser. A truly idyllic little waterway, and easy to imagine long-ago picnics on its banks or berry-picking children splashing among the bushes.

The trail took us to the banks of the Fraser – it forks around McMillan Island, and we followed the South Fork – greeting other couples, annoying the cyclists and generally dawdling and stopping to discuss and photograph whatever caught our imaginations.

A boat lazily navigates the Fraser.

The church on McMillan Island Cottonwoods against the blue, blue, sky.

Once we got into Fort Langley proper we browsed through gift shops, admired antiques and stopped to read plaques and markers. Time stretched in such a luxurious way on this particular afternoon that we were not surprised to find ourselves at the perfect time in the perfect place – teatime at Tracycakes! We stopped for tea, cranberry scones and cucumber sandwiches – Tracycakes is a sweet little cupcake house where our bill was presented on a silver tray accompanied by inspirational sayings for us to take home. Tea, cupcakes, and inspiration. My kind of place! (not to mention the very clever black & white decor).

Antiques and collectibles line the sidewalks.







A plaque commemorating…something. (It was really interesting at the time!)

 

A classy touch at Tracycakes.



Pumpkin, bench, pig.

Fully satisfied by our afternoon tea, we took to the other side of the main street, peeked in a few more windows, bought some cozy early Christmas pajamas for me and then wandered back along the trail to our waiting car. On the way home we spotted a shameless cranberry bog displaying its redness in the almost-twilight. I wasn’t the only picture-taker gobsmacked by the scene.

Cranberries are a many-splendoured thing… Patience on the bog…

We arrived home full of fresh air, happy weariness and Devon cream. Some time later, I snuggled into my new PJs, warmed up a most delicious mushroom tart and turned on an episode of Doc Martin. Our perfect Sunday turned into a perfectly contented Sunday night. All within twenty minutes of home. *Sigh*

Visit them online:

Historic Fort Langley
Tracycakes
Doc Martin on Wikipedia