this post is what's for dinner

I am not a cook. I am an unskilled food consumer who dreams of bigger, better meals. The last three years have seen a LOT of quinoa, beans, and the rogue green vegetable. But I do love the process of cooking, and I especially love the feeling that I'm doing something right. And dinner feels...right. Like if I'm able to get it together to make a meal with multiple food groups, chances are I can get it together to do other things too.

SO. A few days ago I made a roast chicken, roasted rosemary potatoes, and acorn squash. A fall meal for what was a convincingly fall-like evening. 

Because I am a totally inexperienced cook, I have very little to offer in terms of modifications. But I might be useful in pointing towards foods that offer some dietary reward and are sufficiently simple to prepare. Rosemary potatoes are like the most intuitive thing you can put in an oven. And acorn squash basically requires that you are able to cut it in half, (which was, admittedly, kind of difficult. For me.) The roast chicken was a little more intimidating due to the fact that it was an animal carcass. But I took the necessary seconds to confirm that this one was "without giblets" in the store, which definitely saved me panicky moments in the kitchen. 

The recipe I used was lifted directly from Mark Bittman's book 'How To Cook Everything.' It was exceptionally simple, and resulted in a totally satisfying roast chicken. 

For The Most Basic Roast Chicken Ever, you'll need:

1 whole chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, trimmed of excess fat
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a few sprigs of tarragon, rosemary or thyme (optional) (*I used rosemary*)
5 or 6 gloves of garlic, peeled
chopped fresh herbs for garnish

-Heat oven to 450 F. About five minutes after turning on the oven, put in a cast iron skillet or other heavy oven proof pan on a rack set low in the oven. Rub the chicken with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and put on the herb sprigs if you're using them.

-When the oven and pan are both hot, carefully place the chicken into the pan breast side up, (it sputters a bit because of the heat,) and scatter the garlic around the bird in the pan. Roast for 40-50 minutes or until an instant read thermometer inserted into the meaty part of the thigh reads 155-165 F.

*If you're afraid to cook meat, like I am, I really recommend getting one of these thermometers. They're like 5 dollars, and substantially alleviate anxiety about undercooking.*

-Tip the pan to let juices flow out of the bird. If they're red, cook for another 5 minutes. Transfer the bird to a platter and let it rest. Pour the pan juices into a clear measuring cup and spoon off some of the fat. Garnish the bird and serve with the pan juices.

For the potatoes: 

I used baby red potatoes. Cut into quarters and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary to your taste preference. I cooked them at 450 alongside the chicken and they were crispy in about 40 minutes.

For the acorn squash: 

Half it lengthwise, spoon out the seeds, and put 1/2ish tbsp butter and as much brown sugar as you want into each half. (I did about 1 tsp.) Roast them like little bowls...squashy parts facing up. 450 was a fine temperature for these as well. They were ready in about an hour.




And then, wow! Thanksgiving for one in September. Weird. But nice. This meal prep experience pairs well with a Lucinda Williams album and 1-3 beers.

(thank you dear chicken for nourishing my body, even though you didn't have any say in the matter.)

-heather

this post reveals some basic things about my heart

There are a few things that I can find out about someone that help me skip straight to loving them. One of them is an appreciation of Joni Mitchell. Another is a disdain for the hierarchy of the entertainment industry. If a person alludes to either of these things in the first moments of our interaction I am immediately trusting, loving, smitten.

Joni Mitchell is, to me, the answer to the question most of the time. My mom listened to her when I was little. I wrote an essay altogether lacking in objectivity about the album 'Blue' in college. In the long term I am honestly aiming for a life along the lines of 'Ladies of the Canyon.' I appreciate and enjoy all kinds of music, but I do think that deep down, my truest, bluest self just wants to listen to folk music all of the time. 

A few songs in that mode that I've been playing a lot as we move into fall:

                                       

These women! I could walk and walk and listen forever. 

-heather

this post is the table where you drop your keys

I remember when I encountered my first lifestyle blog. It was sometime in 2011, so I think I was pretty late to the phenomena.  It was a simultaneously crushing and enthralling moment when I realized that trolling through blogs satisfied the same compulsion as scrolling through facebook, but with subjects who were busier and more talented than my own facebook friends. 

In my defense, because I am totally defensive about my lifestyle-blog-reading-habit, I read a lot of things. Different things, varied things.  I try to keep myself somewhat up on the broadest of news pieces and pretty up on music that everyone else is listening to and detrimentally up on coats I want to buy.  But when it comes to blogs, I am BASIC.  I prefer extremely dull blogs, those that tell me exactly how to make ginger snaps, and lift the recipe directly from Mark Bittman.  Or those that go into grave and serious detail about their favorite non-chain running shoe boutique in a town where I do not live.

I realized I wanted my own space to talk about shin splints. My very own boring blog.  Focused on activities that everyone else is doing, probably better, definitely first.  But nonetheless, a way to track and admire my own vague and small accomplishments, and celebrate those of others!  Most importantly, with Heather.  I didn’t really want it to be my own.

Last night I made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip bread, with Emily’s help.  I almost didn’t make this bread, because Emily and I almost went to see Prisoners at Williamsburg Cinemas, but then we decided we wanted to go to bed before 11, preferably nauseous from 1000 calories of pumpkin loaf.

During the baking of this bread, I also removed my old nail polish.  I left the top off of the nail polish remover bottle for upwards of 45 minutes next to the cooling loaves.  I was tempting Emily, fate, and myself to spill the nail polish remover on the loaves and completely ruin the night.

The recipe for this bread can be found here.  It was recommended by my mother, who should probably start her own blog, because she’s really great at lifestyle.  

this bit is for Raymond and Paula, proprietors of said railroad

-fran

this post is like a welcome mat.

Tonight my best friend Frannie suggested we start a blog called Railroad where we post whatever we wanted. So I made it. I live in a room which is inside of Frannie's room which is inside of our apartment which we share with our other roommate, Emily. Emily is also welcome to contribute to this blog if she wishes. Did you hear that Emily?  

My guess is that there will be some themes on this blog.

RUNNING. Might be one.

"COOKING." might be another. We're trying to learn. Emily makes a ton of Kale chips. Hey Em!

MUSIC? We all like music.

DECORATING. could come up. I've been advocating for some paint in the living room.

NEW YORK ACTIVITIES. definitely.

and I will probably talk about trying to exact POSITIVE CHANGE in my personal life. 

we just renewed our lease. year two of railroad living. no secrets and no getting up to pee after 1 am. onward! 

--heather