It was cold. I had guilt about wanting to turn on the heat in July. I wanted leftovers.

The Good Life Market a block away on Cortland has had big roasting chickens lately, so I got this one.

Seven and a half pounds! Yay! I went outside to the garden and picked a fistful of all the herbs we have. (Rosemary, sage, thyme, oregano, Italian parsley and mint– I was verrrry sparing with the mint.) I chopped all those up and mixed with olive oil, some ground medium-heat New Mexico chilis and ground mild mustard powder. Oh, and black pepper. Rubbed it all over the chicken, inside and out. Into the chickenhole went a quartered lemon and some onion hunks. I roasted it at 400, breast down for an hour and fifteen minutes, and then breast up (having flipped the bird) for about 45.

Meanwhile, I roasted purple potatoes with butter and rosemary and black pepper in foil. (For the last half hour of chicken roasting time, which gave them about 45 minutes to cook once I took the chicken out to rest.)

To finish off our hearty wint… errrr, light summer meal, I quartered a bunch of big brussels sprouts and coarsely chopped a red onion, tossed with olive oil and roasted them in a baking pan covered in foil. (For about the same time as the potatoes. They got super creamy, nutty and sweet, and the onions just caramelized.)

I always eat some dark meat parts while the skin is still crispy, and then use the breast meat for salads, sandwiches, general snacking.