Daffodils and Lemon Chicken

My mom used to make a turkey breast from julia that she roasted under a piece of parchment paper. And it was good. So I have taken this idea and re-arranged it. I love the lemon chicken out of my Rao's cookbook, but he uses pieces of chicken. I like roasting a chicken that has had the backbone removed and has been flattened out. And right here is where i wonder if i should take a pass on getting the backyard brown hens this spring and naming them. do you know where i am going on this? i think you do. anyway, i went and got a good kosher chicken this morning and while i was at the market i scored and got some Meyer lemons. i have a ton of italian flat leaf parsely coming up all over my garden from where it reseeded itself from last summer.so i thought about getting the chicken and doing the rao's marinade, flattening it like i like, and roasting it on the parchment paper. The marinade is simple. just the Meyer lemon juice, the good olive oil from my friends ellis and susie bassetti, it is from their olive trees up in paso robles, the variety of olive is called "taggiasca". it was a gift from them at christmas and it truely is pedestal worthy. along with the lemon juice and olive oil i just add some chopped italian parsley and some pink sea salt. i am hooked on this sea salt. you can get it at trader jo's. my real favorite salt is the flaked one from wiliams-sonoma called Maldons..but at 16 bucks for a tiny box...well,that stuff is reserved for special occassions.so i came home and worked over that chicken and have it marinating right now. at supper i will turn the oven on to a pretty high heat..400 degrees i think and let it roast till it's brown and done..about 45 to 50 minutes. bbqing it would be even better...but we are waiting for rain...so no bbq . not tonight anyway.... and the daffodils are in my kitchen window...still in the bud. the little cream bottle says 'morning,noon and night'...how much do you love that?

I Never Left

We never left home. I really don't know what to say...I just hope that most of my dear friends have pets...cause the reason we never left was Buddy. Problem number 1. As some of you know back in December he was diagnosed with a collapsed trachea.And most of the time he is just fine. But he started coughing...and to be perfectly honest with you, I couldn't leave him.My brother Mark and his wife Julie were coming to stay..they have done it before and they do a great job, but this was different. I just would have been too worried. Problem number 2 was our destination. We had decided on Lake Tahoe...but a huge storm is due to blow in the day we were due to leave and to make it home it would mean driving on Interstate 5...known as The Grapevine in California and it is no fun. It runs up and down the center of the state and it is a very dangerous road even in good weather....so now I am laying awake at 3 in the morning wondering what would happen to Buddy and Whiskey and Dande and Pixie and Mumbie, not to mention my hummingbirds, doves,goldfinches,Tony the blue jay and all the other assorted critters that depend on me. What if we crashed...oh, I have to tell you I was making myself crazy. So we skipped the trip. We'll wait for another time.It just didn't feel right. I did not want to go. So instead, I went to the yarn shop here in downtown San Luis and am taking a knitting class. I am so excited about it. The lady, Anne got me started yesterday afternoon, but the class is tomorrow at 10. It is for making a pair of pretty fingerless gloves. You use 4 needles, number 2, very tiny... Anne got me going ...and I think I am getting it. Buddy is fine, it was just a scare,but I couldn't leave him behind. There was no way. So we're home, knitting, waiting for rain and holding Buddy close.
I am gonna say it.....I really did miss all of you and our visits and am I glad to be HOME.