Day 2 - Lots of Chicken and Yogurt

Stupid little yogurts

Day 2 of the intro diet. I have to say, I'm liking the homemade yogurt a little more this time around, although making it is my least favorite part of the SCD. BORING! So tedious with the tiny glass jars I have. Glad I bought a second set of them. I screwed up and got non-fat yogurt for the starter, which is not advised because of the bacteria or something, but I hate to throw it out so I'll just make due. The only thing I've eaten that is not SCD legal is mayo, and I'm going to tackle making my own this evening. Since the intro diet is so boring, there isn't much to share as of now.


I did roast a chicken however, and I think I came up with the perfect formula after doing several of them. The key to a delicious chicken is brining it. This is simply soaking it in cold salt water for at least an hour. Overnight is best, but I usually only have time for an hour. Here's what I did today:

4-5 Pound Fryer Chicken
1/2 Cup Kosher salt plus some for sprinkling
3-5 sprigs chopped fresh Thyme
1-2 sprigs chopped fresh Sage
3-4 sprigs chopped fresh Rosemary
5 cloves garlic, pressed
1 stick soft butter
Salt and Ground pepper to taste

Rinse chicken and remove neck and giblets if needed. Dissolve salt into large pot or container with a small amount of warm water, put the chicken in, then fill the pot with cold water until chicken is covered. Store in refrigerator at least one hour. Remove from water, pat dry with paper towels, and let air dry for as long as possible. The drier the chicken, the more moist the meat. Put a generous amount of salt and pepper in the cavity. An optional step is to slice a lemon or an orange in half and fill the cavity. Some say it ads to the moisture, I'm not sure about this. I do like that it keeps the chicken from collapsing and makes it look nice and cook evenly throughout.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Add remaining ingredients together in small bowl and mix into garlic herb butter. Rub this butter underneath the skin of the chicken, saving just a little for the outside. I like to take a sharp knife and separate the skin from the flesh and really get in there with the herbs, making sure they are as evenly spread as possible. Once your chicken is all stuffed and buttery, sprinkle it with salt & pepper lay it breast up in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish and roast for 45-55 min, or until temp at the thickest part of the leg reads 165.

Stupid me forgot to take a picture of the final product before I devoured the skin and the oysters which made it ugly. It's my favorite part! But, here is the little guy all buttery and ready to go!

That is a beautiful and tasty bird. Here's a tip: Never throw away the carcass! Once I carve it all up I like to take all the bones, drippings, extra fat, giblets, and throw them in a large pot with 2 roughly chopped onions, 4 or 5 carrots, the tops of a bunch of celery, extra herbs, salt, pepper, 1 bay leaf and tons of fresh garlic. I cover that with filtered water and boil it for several hours, adding more and more water as it boils down to the point where I can see the chicken. I then strain and discard everything except the broth, which I freeze in little 1 cup bags. This makes excellent starter for any soup, and is great to heat up when you're sick.

Yummy!

So, back to eating chicken, broth, SCD Cheesecake, apple cider and eggs for the next few days. I did spice up my fried egg today by frying half a sliced onion until it was super brown and crispy, something I learned from a Suzanne Sommers book. Really tasty, and gives you the crunch that you miss when there is no toast. I think I'll try sherried mushrooms on them tomorrow and report back on how it goes!