still wondering: thoughtful insights & insightful thoughts

It’s not in my style to pick a favorite season. This is true mainly because I manage to convince myself that every season is my favorite at the first respective sign of blossoming, snowfall, etc.

Tonight I cooked dinner for myself and my roomate. I served a meal that I test-ran just a few days prior in the company of my friend, Michael. Michael gets to be the guinea pig during my bouts of culinary exploration because he’s a critical eater with a discernible palette and a healthy appetite.

The dinner was Roasted Chicken, with parsley-thyme compound butter tucked between the skin and seasoned with paprika; Roasted Potatoes, red creamer and dutch gold; Apple & Beet Salad, with walnuts, red onion and a honey vinaigrette. (Tonight I also made boxed couscous at the last minute just to give the chicken something to rest against.)

Roasted Chicken and Potatoes with Apple & Beet Salad

The picture quality is terrible. My digital camera wasn’t charged and I had to resort to the one on my cellphone.

The chicken skin was crispier and more delicious tonight than the first time around. The salad is my mother’s recipe which I updated by using honey instead of sugar. I steamed fresh beets for the salad on Friday but tonight I used canned beets. No matter how you cook beets, the red juice will run when you cut into them, leaving your countertop a criminal shade of rouge. The canned beets saved me time and cleanup, and since I couldn’t taste any difference, I’ll be keeping a few cans of beets in the pantry from now on.