Roast chicken

This is a recent favourite at our house.  It's my take on someone else's take of a blog post based on a restaurant dish from San Francisco - not a restaurant I've ever tried, mind you.

So here's my vaguely Zuni-esque roast chicken!

Start with a small chicken.  They're difficult to find, at least for me, around here - the shops all have 4 or 5 pounders.  So I just get the smallest I can and don't worry to much about it.  I also prefer a fresh (not frozen) one, just to cut down on thawing time.  Take it out of the package and put it on a plate, then salt and pepper liberally, in and out.   If you like, put some herbs under the skin - tarragon, rosemary, marjoram, or whatever.  Don't cover it, and put it in the fridge for a day or two.  Or three.

Preheat the oven to 475F, and bung in a cast iron pan that your chook will fit in to preheat too.  Put the chicken in breast side up for 30ish minutes, until the skin becomes light golden all over.  Then use a flat spatula to reach under and flip over the bird; cook the other side up for 15ish minutes, again til golden.  Flip back for the last 10 minutes or so to recrisp the skin on top.

Lovely moist chicken, lovely crisp skin!  I like to rest for 10 minutes while I make a salad with lots of croutons (I keep all the bread heels in the freezer), pine nuts, currants, green onions or shallots, and whatever greens are in the fridge, with a tangy vinaigrette.  My latest combo was rocket (arugula), mint and cabbage, delish.  Then carve the chook and put pieces on top of the salad.  

Also, make sure to reserve the drippings, delicious to cook potatoes in!

Photos - Don Edwards NWR Alviso

 Jackrabbits are awesome.  This one has that ripped up ear tip, so you know he's tough.

Black crowned night heron

A wind-ruffled song sparrow.

Peregrine falcon blowing by.  I took this photo without really LOOKING at the bird, so wasn't sure of the ID until I got home, and not even really then!

Bread

I've been baking most of our bread for a while now.  (Well, when I say "our"... Alex doesn't eat much of it.)  I like the long rise and depth of flavour from the no-knead bread recipes, as well as the crispy crust of baking in a preheated Dutch oven.

Here's my base recipe:

3 cups flour/grains - this is usually at least 1 cup of wholemeal wheat, and I've also added to various loaves: rye flour, rolled oats, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, cornmeal, etc.
2-3 Tbs wheat gluten (more if there's non-wheat grains, less if it's got lots of flour)
1.5 tsp salt
.5 tsp sugar 
1 tsp yeast
2 cups lukewarm water

I combine this with a butter knife to a wet dough, then cover with clingfilm and let rise in the oven, turned off but with the light switched on.  This gives me excellent rising conditions.  I aim to let it rise once, then press out the air, shape the dough and let it rise again on parchment paper.

Then I preheat the oven and cast iron pot to 450F, drop the parchment paper into the pot and cover with the lid, for 30 min.  Then take off the lid for an additional 10 minutes.  

This recipe is very forgiving.  I've had some spectacular results, and some not quite as good, but still certainly edible bread, especially toasted.

A dilemma

Well, I've been offered a job:  Equestrian Director at a Girl Scout camp this summer, for 3 months.  I am very torn about what to do.

You see, I taught summer day camp for the last three years, and HATED it.   I also worked on a cruise ship, back in the day, which I feel would be a pretty similar work environment.  I think I haven't properly unpacked exactly what I disliked about these experiences.

I emailed the previous ED, who was overwhelmingly positive about the experience.  She offered to answer any questions I might have.

Here's the big clincher.  I've also been applying for proper, grown-up jobs -- you know, full time, ongoing.  I have an interview next Friday for one that I am very well qualified for.

I wonder how long I can string along the camp...?

Preserving without canning

I made some nice sweet mustard pickles, a sandwich spread, last week.  I am still not very good with US units, so I made more than I intended -- the two whole bags of onions in the recipe should have been a clue.

Some American friends have expressed horror that I didn't process or pressure can the pickle.  My method, taught to me by my mother, included sterilizing repurposed jars, filling while hot, then turning the jars upside down to seal them.

This is safe!  There's several reasons.

- The pickles were thoroughly cooked - I boiled them for around an hour.
- The preserving liquid included lots of cider vinegar.  Acid environments prohibit bacterial growth.
- There was also a bunch of sugar and salt in the pickles!  This makes the pickles osmotically extreme. If any bacteria were to end up in the jars, the water in their cells would be drawn out by osmotic pressure.

I've opened, and have been enjoying, the first jar.  Alex isn't so sure, must be an acquired taste.  And, so far, no botulism, hooray!

Photographs from today

I went for a walk with the dogs today by the bay.  We started at Sunnyvale Water Treatment plant, and took the Bay Trail north.  The first pond we passed was full of interesting critters.

Carp - a detrimental invasive species.

Cinnamon teal - not the most common of duck species (that would be the mallard!)

A great blue heron - I saw one catch and eat a ground squirrel once, it was AWESOME!

Canada geese - on the hillside of the landfill.  Someone who should have known better once told me they're called "Canada" not "Canadian" because they're named after someone called Mr. Canada.  FALSE.

A male Northern Harrier - a very common raptor of wetlands and grasslands.

Muskrat - at first I thought it was a baby beaver, until I saw the tail.

I was quite surprised to see him swimming about in broad daylight (it was around noon) - I would have expected this species to be crepuscular or nocturnal.

Pied-billed grebe - adorbz.

Red-eared slider, another introduced species.  This pest species is now found worldwide thanks to the pet trade, and unscrupulous pet owners dumping them once they stop being so tiny and cute.

Nuttall's woodpecker - from the back patio!  I'm always excited to see woodpeckers.

He caught something!