Monday, April 15, 2013

Spring Cleaning and Perfect Potatoes



It seems spring has officially arrived in Kentucky, although who really knows, because the weather here is pretty whack - it changes all the time.  Things have really started warming up and blooming though, and I think it might be here to stay.  Apparently it was unseasonably chilly this year, and the first weekend where I could comfortably open the windows, I decided to do a real spring cleaning, which I don't think I've ever done in any of my other apartments.  It is such an amazing ritual!  Every item of clothing, sheets, towels, was freshly washed, all surfaces dusted and scrubbed, every dish clean, the refrigerator wiped down and organized, sinks gleamed, fresh air blew through...ahhh.  It felt so nice and I'm already thinking about it a little wistfully, as since that weekend there have been multiple mouse sightings, a couple ant attacks, the dust is returning, and I desperately need to do laundry.  Oh well, everything in life is cyclical.

That weekend also happened to be Easter weekend, and I celebrated by sharing a meal with some friends, where I roasted a whole, little chicken a la Julia Child (which I've always wanted to try) and we ate springy vegetables like asparagus and peas.  I also unexpectedly made the best roast potatoes of my life by accident.  I cut them into bite-sized pieces about 1/4 inch thick, and marinated them in olive oil, lemon, and salt and pepper, and then forgot about them for awhile.  So they were sitting in a bowl on the counter for about 30 minutes, and when I finally returned to them, a ton of liquid from the potatoes had drained out.  I put them in to oven and roasted them for awhile at 350, and bumped them up to 400 for a quick blast at the end, and they were perfectly cooked and had a nice crisp skin, which I've always had trouble getting.  Perfection!!  Try it!

I hope you're having weather you can enjoy, wherever you are :)
xomo






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