magic, healing chicken

the other day when i went to the butcher and larder to pick up our order of fat i saw the whole chicken in the case and had to get one. jana and i were both feeling the effects of a cold, her worse than i, and i thought this chicken could help us get well. the chicken had the added quality of being fresh, not frozen, as the butcher and larder provides all their meat.

i went to two events before making my way home. at the Green City Market i dug a little hole in a snow bank and tucked the bag of fat and chicken in there to stay cool. i didn't buy anything there. i asked the guy making donuts from locally grown grain what kind of frying oil he was using. canola. "i'd buy some if it was an animal fat", i told him, but gave them props for using local grain. i asked the gals at the one local bakery stand how fresh the flour in their bread is. they didn't know even how often the flour is delivered to the bakery. i said, "that would be a good thing for you to know."

at the WAPF chapter meeting i left the bag to stay cold outside, tucked under the stairway. it was above freezing that day so no worries about not having it insulated. see the post about the meeting.

anyway that evening i got home just before jana. once she was home i realized that i would like to roast root vegetables with the chicken. so i went over to the co-op and got some goods: purple potato, rutabaga, carrot, parsnip, and brussels sprouts. leftover rice and sprigs of sage, thyme, and basil were stuffed in the cavity of the bird. while the chicken was in the 450 degree oven for about twenty minutes (as per the butcher and larder's instructions) we chopped the vegetables into large chunks. then we stuffed them in with the chicken, added some salt, put the lid on, and turned the oven down to 350. it was done after another forty minutes. the meat was delicious and tender, but the skin was not delectably crispy since we had cooked it with moisture.
our neighbor levon joined us for dinner and brought wine and a stack of sliced "fluffy" bread for jana, which she accepted politely. it was really nice sharing this special, healing meal with a pleasant friend such as lev. our housemate lauren was also invited, but had to leave before the chicken was done. too bad for her.
























some of the meat was set aside for later and the rest of the carcass was put back in the pot with some veggie scraps we had been saving in the freezer for broth. with the addition of a little apple cider vinegar it cooked overnight. we seasoned it and cooked it a little longer after straining everything out. that day this was received by both of us in a couple doses. the effect was as miraculous as i had hoped it would be.