The Rare Chef

The Rare Chef.  That’s me.  And by “rare”, I mean rareLY, not as in uncooked food!

I am great at defrosting, sticking things into the microwave or oven, making one pot meals or meals that are partially prepared already.  My goal is to not spend more than 30 minutes in the kitchen for each meal prep.

As a mom of a toddler and a preschooler and who is also self-employed, I can’t afford to spend hours in the kitchen!  Plus, I’ve learned early on that the longer the meal takes to prepare, most likely it is directly related to the amount of time needed to clean up after the meal!  Eek.

But over this past holiday, I don’t know what happened!  I spent quite a lot of time in the kitchen… cooking!  It is so unlike me, that one night, I even took photos because even I couldn’t believe it!

“Homey Chicken”

I made a roasted chicken and vegetables dish, called Homey Chicken — a recipe I cut out of a food magazine back in the ’80s.  Yes, that’s right.  1980s!  (The recipe article is sooooo old that it has discolored into a lovely shade of yellowish-brown.  It actually cracks me up when I see it!)

Lots of fresh veggies went into this dish.  Yum.

The Secret is in the Sauce

This sauce was what took the longest to prepare.  So many good things went into it.  Prep time for Homey Chicken was 1 hour in total!

Ready to Roast

I basted the chicken and vegetables with the special sauce before it went into the oven, then about 3 or 4 times during the roasting process for a super juicy and tender chicken.  That’s tarragon and orange zest you see on the chicken.

Then I cut up some mushrooms to saute and put in rice pilaf. Mmmmm…

Voila!

My Homey Chicken is out of the oven and ready to serve.  It only took 2 hours to make!  TWO hours.  =:O

Was It Worth It?

Surprisingly, I didn’t mind cooking for 2 hours.  But I don’t know how some people do that every day.  Kudos to all you parents who can juggle taking care of your family, keeping your house tidy and clean, having your own business (or just working for The Man – aka, in the Corporate World), AND can cook meals from scratch every night!

If that sounds like you, please feel free to invite me over for dinner!  I’d like to meet you… and eat your food, of course! 

**Note**

All the photos in this blog were taken with the Nikon 50mm f/1.8.  People swear by the 50mm — both this one and the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 — so much that it is nicknamed “The Nifty Fifty”!  (And check this out:  the 1.8 version is just slightly over $100!  It is the best lens for that price range fo-sho!)

So all the photos taken today was with my 50.  And I’d have to say… it was a whole lotta fun!

Posted in Personal, Photography Tips

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