Fall Feast for Carly: Grilled Salmon, Grilled Carrots, Beet Salad, Baked Sweet Potato

September arrived and it felt like fall came overnight. Carly came over for dinner last night and asked,"What can I do?" 

"Caden has been waiting all day to see you," I replied.

She sat with him while he built with blocks, recounting to her in detail the routine for starting his day at preschool. She played with my son in the sandbox, rocked out with him on his drums, held his hand while he gave thanks before dinner, and read him a story while we all curled up on his bed, my eyes inching closed, drowsy from my small glass of red wine (metered out from my 2-3 drinks/week limit). Ideally I wouldn’t be drinking any alcohol. Or eating any sugar, or having my caffeinated tea, or eating much dairy, but I don’t have it in me right now. While keeping up with my three year old, putting healthy food on the table and practicing moderation is going to have to be enough. Which prompts the question that Carly asks once my son is safely asleep in his bed,

“Do you have the energy for another kid?”

“Yes,” I say without pause. But at 40, this is the question that scares me the most. Will I have enough energy? Can I do it again? And what if we have twins? Twins. It gives me a shiver, a little thrill. We could put two embryos in at once. Maybe I could have my dream of three children. But at what cost? A twin pregnancy is risky. Caring for two new babies would be hard, and my husband does not share this dream of three children.  It is hard for me, however, to stomach the thought of being so conservative and reducing our chances of pregnancy so greatly. I do not want to drag out this process any longer than necessary- I am ready to move on one way or another. 

On my gratitude list for the day:

Thankful that Friday was my last birth control pill.

Thankful for the longevity of my friendship with Carly.

Thankful for the delicious salmon.

And always, thankful for my whirlwind spitfire child.

Beet and Arugula Salad with Candied Walnuts

Ingredients:

Dressing:

5 tbsp oilive oil

1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp orange juice

¼ tsp.salt

Salad:

½ head lettuce

3 cups arugula

4 medium sized beets

1 pear

2 cups walnuts

2 tbsp. maple syrup

goat cheese log

serves 4

Directions:

Place the beets whole, with skins on, in water to boil. Make sure the skin is a complete package- do not trim off the little tails or too much of the stems. Alice Waters suggests that this makes the beets retain their juiciness, and I have to agree. Make sure the beets are completely covered with water and boil until they can be pierced easily with a fork. Time will vary depending on the size of the beet, but should take around 20 min. Once tender, drain beets and place in refrigerator to cool.

While all of this is going on, turn your attention to the walnuts. In a heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) toast the walnuts on medium heat. You are looking to reduce the bitter flavor at the end of the walnut, and to soften the texture just a bit. Once they are warm through and through, reduce the heat and drizzle on the maple syrup. Keep stirring and cook until the walnuts are coated and delicious.

Wash and tear your greens into bite sized bits. Arrange in bowls.

Pull out those beets. Remove the skins by hand. They should come off quite easily. Slice into quarter inch thick rounds. Slice off medallions of goat cheese, and place in between beet slices, making little sandwiches. Cut these in quarters and lay atop the greens.

Add walnuts.

Slice your pear into thin slices. leaving on the skin. Arrange pear slices around the outer edge of the greens. Mix up dressing in blender and drizzle it on each Salad. Yum.

Roast a Chicken, Build a Geodome

After shooting myself up with fertility drugs that sent my hormones through the roof, you'd think that I'd be in the clear when they put me back on birth control pills. Not so! I was a quaking paranoid mess for a few days there and it wasn't until Cameron took me by the shoulders Sunday and said "It is the birth control pills, call the doctor right now," that I considered this a serious explanation for the headaches, dizziness, nausea, and true depression. They switched me to a different kind with less than progesterone and, voila! Normal. In the three days since I have emerged from the cascade of weird physical shit I have endured in the last month, I managed to put together a climbing dome made out of pvc pipe that we inherited from a friend, open up all of the plum mess that was my first attempt at plum jelly, doctor it up and can it again, and now I have plum jelly! For real! I also made it back to my beloved Zumba class, came up with a recipe for pesto macaroni and cheese that was ok and roasted a chicken. At the request of my brother in law, here is how I roast chicken.

How to Roast a Chicken 
(Inspired by Alice Waters)

I like to use free range organic chickens, between four and six pounds.

Step 1: The rub
24 hours to 1.5 hours before cooking, rub that puppy down. I generally put in a bowl 2 tablespoons salt and one tablespoon garlic pepper. Massage that little chicken like you are rubbing lotion into its skin. The closer to cooking time you are, the more salt you can use. Place it into the pan in which it will cook. You want the pan to be about the size of the chicken so that it's wings can stay sort of tucked in and the whole chicken can keeps it's juice closer to it's body. If you are planning to tuck any potatoes around the chicken, you can use a larger pan. If you are less than two hours away from cooking time,  just leave the chicken out.

Step 2: Bring chicken to room temperature
You want the chicken to be room temperature when it goes into the oven, which means it needs to sit our for an hour or so before it cooks.  Keep the chicken lightly covered, with a clean dish towel, paper towel, or loose saran wrap.

Step 3: Cook
Preheat the oven to 400. If you are going to surround the bird with any vegetables, now is the time to arrange that. Once the oven is hot, place your chicken in there, chest down and let cook for 20 minutes. After that, flip the bird chest side up and cook for another 20. After that, check the temperature with an internal meat thermometer. The breast should be 165. if the bird is not cooked enough, flip back over so the chest is down, and check the temperature every 10 or fifteen minutes. In my oven on aero bake, which is a convection setting, it takes just about 45 minutes to roast a bird.