Well things have certainly changed since I last wrote a blog post. I am now the proud mother of a 6 month old baby girl (hence the lack of blogging – forgive me) and now we are all in quarantine with a Coronavirus lingering around. What a strange time!

There are so many things to say about what is happening in the world right now. But I find the best thing to do is keep positive and cook. Cooking is therapeutic to me and many others. Even though now I find it incredibly hard to spend time in the kitchen as my little one keeps me very busy, I try my best where I can. So now I am all about easy recipes, or batch cooking to make my life easier.

I don’t know about you but staying at home has made me a lot hungrier. Or maybe it’s the vast amount of time and energy it takes to look after a baby? Who knows. Either way, I feel like I am eating way more than I need to.

So this week I was fed up and decided to change things up. Every day I would eat bread because it was fast and an easy grab. A quick sandwich in one hand and the baby in the other will do, I thought. But then I started to think nobody needs to eat this much bread. And with bread comes crisps! I needed to make better choices.

Therefore I decided to roast a chicken at the beginning of the week, make a large salad bowl (undressed so it doesn’t go soggy) and have a chicken salad for lunch for a few days. This way it was ready in the fridge and all I had to do was whack it on a plate. Easy!

But this time I decided to spatchcock the chicken. And before you think what on earth did I do to that poor bird, its simply a quicker way of roasting a whole chicken. I cut away the backbone and opened it out like a book. This way there is more surface area for the heat to get into faster and more exposure for crispy skin!

Everyone knows how to marinate a chicken so go ahead and use whatever you like. I marinated mine with lots of garlic, fresh herbs (rosemary and parsley), spices (smoked paprika, chilli flakes) and a squeeze of lemon juice. Drizzle with olive oil or butter, salt and pepper and pop it in the oven at 180 degrees C for 50 minutes to an hour, or until cooked through. I also like to roast my chicken on a wire rack with a tray underneath so the heat can circulate all around.

It was absolutely delicious and the meat was moist and juicy all the way through. I highly recommend trying this method!

Staying at home definitely opens up the kitchen to more and more temptations. It is so easy to get carried away with snacks and comfort food. I believe in balance. I am all for comfort food and treats (who isn’t?) but as long as we eat enough fruit and veg and generally healthy meals then why not have a treat now and again.

I hope that you are all well and safe and let’s hope this strange period ends soon and we can get back to normality. In the mean time lets enjoy this rare down time with our families and be thankful for what we are blessed with.

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