Photo by Ms. Glaze

I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard a foodie proclaim that roasting a chicken is the easiest thing in the world and the perfect place for new cooks to start.

Please.

I can think of at least a hundred things easier to cook than roasted chicken, with salad being the undisputed champion (and eggs being the runner up).

Buying and cooking a whole chicken requires a number of steps that can make a new cook uncomfortable. First you have to know where to get the chicken—and if you want a pasture-raised, antibiotic-free bird (as you should) this isn’t always straight forward. To make the purchase you must also be comfortable talking to the butcher even though there’s a good chance you have no idea what you’re talking about. You also have to be willing and able to deal with raw meat, which makes many people queasy in and of itself. Lastly, cooking meat requires special equipment such as a meat thermometer and roasting pan, which newbies might not have access to.

So no, roasting chicken is not the easiest thing on earth. But if you can get over all those things, it really isn’t that hard either.

Being a food writer, I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I roasted my first chicken last month, and my second last night. I have a zillion excuses for why I hadn’t done it before. I think the main one is that a whole chicken just sounds so big, like too much work and too much food. But I was inspired by Ruth Reichl’s recipe in her book Garlic and Sapphires, so I finally built up the courage to make it happen.

I’m happy to report that both birds turned out amazing. The difference in flavor between a real farm fresh chicken and the massive “boneless skinless” breasts I grew up eating is truly phenomenal. That alone is reason enough to try the recipe, in my opinion.

I don’t want to poach Ruth’s entire recipe for chicken and roasted potatoes, but for the bird you basically just preheat your oven to 400 degrees, put the excess fat under the skin on top of the breast meat, put a fork-punctured lemon into the cavity, coat the skin with salt, pepper and olive oil and cook for one hour or until the temperature is 170 degrees in the thigh. I improvised a little since there wasn’t much excess fat on my first chicken and added a pad of butter on each side as well. I also chopped some fresh rosemary and rubbed it under the skin. The second time I forgot the lemon and it turned out fine.

Sure it’s simple, but I know I’m not the only one intimidated by the idea of buying and cooking an entire chicken. I was at the park last night when I decided to run to the store and pick up something for dinner. When a friend asked me what I was planning to make, her response was pure shock, “You’re going to cook a WHOLE chicken! Darya, can I please take cooking lessons from you?”

She seemed so impressed I couldn’t bring myself to admit it was only my second attempt and I had no idea if I could pull it off again. Then I realized she would probably like to know.

Thanks Elle for the reminder that even the “easy” stuff takes some courage if you’ve never done it before.

UPDATE: Since writing this post in 2011 I’ve roasted at least 50 chickens and used the bones to make stock. The first step really is the hardest.

What “simple” dish intimidates you in the kitchen?

Originally posted July 6, 2011.

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

I’m sad I had to leave so many great stories out this week. Below you can find an awesome explanation of why you should be chewing more, the sad truth about the most popular brands of bottled coconut water and a great hack for getting the most satisfaction out of your healthy meals.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Digg. I also share links on Twitter (@summertomato) and the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• How Chewing Affects Nutrition <<Want to lose weight and fart less? Start chewing your food more. (Nutrition Diva)
• Coconut Water Is Just Sugary Water <<That is, the bottled stuff. If you want all the health benefits (not to mention WAY better taste) try a real coconut. I’ve seen them at most grocery stores. (Gawker)
• Antioxidant Spices, Like Turmeric and Cinnamon, Reduce Negative Effects of High-Fat Meal <<BS of the week. Someone please tell me how “chicken curry, Italian herb bread and a cinnamon biscuit” is a “high-fat” meal and not a “high-carb”  meal. Cheers to the spices though. (ScienceDaily)
• The French Are Getting Fatter, Too <<My favorite line from this piece, “Dr. Jean Marc Catheline, an obesity specialist, says the French obsession with food is exactly what has protected them against obesity.” (NPR)
• Did you hear the one about kids who eat candy being thinner? <<I was skeptical about this study too. Thanks to Yoni for debunking the debunking. (Weighty Matters)
• Feel Full Faster by Pretending the Food You’re Eating Is Indulgent <<This goes to show how much your own perception can influence what and how much you eat. This is why it’s so important to find healthy foods that you love. (Lifehacker)
• Baby’s Palate And Food Memories Shaped Before Birth <<Really cool experiment demonstrating that a mom’s food choices during pregnancy influence baby’s preferences. (NPR)
• Not your grandma’s strawberries <<Depressing data that our lovely industrial fruits and vegetables aren’t as healthy as they used to be. (Grist)
• Organic Poultry Farms Have Fewer Drug-Resistant Bacteria, Study Finds <<This isn’t too surprising, but the magnitude of the differences is remarkable. (NPR)
• Grilled Swordfish Bruschetta with Thai Basil Cherry Tomato Salad – The End of a Great Recipe <<This video recipe looks awesome and easy. Yes, swordfish has more mercury than most fish, but if you aren’t pregnant or a young child you can eat it safely every now and then. (Food Wishes)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week the new “Dirty Dozen” list of foods with the most pesticides was released, as did the new sunscreen guidelines (which may or may not be useful, depending on how you interpret the data). We also have a double dose of BS this week, one from KFC and one from Buenos Aires of all places.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Digg. I also share links at Twitter (@summertomato) and the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• Apples may top pesticide list, but everyone agrees on one point <<Pesticides are really scary, but if you can’t afford organic or don’t have access, not eating fruits and vegetables should scare you even more. (Los Angeles Times)
• Is There an Optimal Ratio of PUFAs, MUFAs, and Saturated Fats? <<I love this analysis on how you should choose fats in your diet. (Nutrition Over Easy)
• Buy a half-gallon of sugar water at KFC, give a dollar to diabetes research <<BS of the week. This is one of the most epic marketing FAILs ever. KFC appears to have no idea what causes diabetes. (Grist)
• Salt shakers disappear from Buenos Aires tables <<BS of the week II. It’s an interesting decision to do an experiment on an entire country. We’ll see how it turns out, but I suspect there will be a little if any benefit. (CNN)
• New sunscreen labels not just for the beach, as skin cancer rates show <<The sunniest states have some of the lowest rates of melanoma. Some argue that people there use more sunscreen, but I think it’s more likely that vitamin D is playing a protective role. Thoughts? (Los Angeles Times)
• I Don’t Want to Get Big and Bulky: Fitness Marketing and its Effect on Women <<I love this article on the myths of women and weight lifting. My physique completely changed for the better when I added free weights and cut down on cardio. (JCD Fitness)
• U.S. food politics in action <<If you’re interested in the politics of why we eat so poorly, this map makes it pretty clear where the money is flowing and why change is hard. (Food Politics)
• Life expectancy for women is slipping overall; your results may vary <<Great source of information on health in the U.S. Data geeks, enjoy. (Los Angeles Times)
• No-Cook Recipes <<New to cooking? Scared of the stove? Recipes that don’t require any actual cooking are a great way to start in the kitchen. (Food52)
• New Potato & Pea Salad from Melissa Clark <<A celebration of the spring pea. Enjoy! (White On Rice)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

The USDA release a new “Nutrition Plate,” cell phones might cause cancer (but probably don’t), the uselessness of genetically modified salmon and more. A great week for food and health reading.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Digg. I also share links at Twitter (@summertomato) and the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• Nutrition Plate Unveiled, Replacing Food Pyramid <<Not bad, though I’m sad there’s no emphasis on healthy fats. (New York Times)
• If cellphones cause cancer, how do they do it? No one knows (i.e. don’t panic) <<A rare dose of critical thinking and rational reporting from a major news source. (Los Angeles Times)
• MSG linked to weight gain <<BS of the week. Is MSG actually causing weight gain, or does fattening processed food tend to be full of MSG? Let’s not jump to conclusions. (Medline)
• Connecting Dots: Fruit is Real Food; Eat It <<Love this post for many reasons. It always makes me cringe when people tell me they avoid fruit because of sugar. Fructose ≠ fruit. (Free The Animal)
• Eating Fat, Staying Lean <<A little more evidence that dietary fat won’t kill you. (New York Times)
• Ten ways to get kids to eat their veggies <<These tips for kids (foreign to me) are much more creative than I expected them to be. Thx to the reader who sent it my way. (CNN)
• Genetically Engineered Salmon’s Empty Promises <<Awesome analysis of the uselessness of GMO salmon. (Gilt Taste)
• Scientists Discover ‘Ultra-Bad’ Cholesterol <<We’re learning that heart disease is more nuanced than a simple cholesterol measurement can tell us. (Medline)
• Where Food Is God <<I found this article about how health food was invented by religious cults to be very entertaining and well worth a read. (Slate)
• spring salad with new potatoes <<A beautiful spring recipe by one of my favorite blogs. (Smitten Kitchen)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week I found a surprisingly in depth and thoughtful piece on genetically modified foods, an even more impressive food commitment by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and a few good signs that the politics of food labels are headed in the right direction—truth.

Also, for you geeks my thesis work is finally published. Here’s the deets.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Digg. I also share links at Twitter (@summertomato) and the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• With no labeling, few realize they are eating genetically modified foods <<Excellent analysis of the politics of GMO. Of course labeling is a good idea. (Los Angeles Times)
• Mark Zuckerberg’s new challenge: Eating only what he kills (and yes, we do mean literally…) <<I’m really impressed with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg‘s commitment to own his food choices this year. As someone who has killed many animals (lab research), I think the experience is invaluable for appreciating our modern food chain. (CNN)
• Study Questions Treatment Used in Heart Disease <<Turns out drugs that raise HDL cholesterol aren’t as valuable as everyone hoped. But HDL is still an excellent predictor of heart disease. Seems like you’ll have to raise it the old fashioned way, with diet and exercise. (New York Times)
• Red Meat and Colon Cancer: Beyond the Headlines <<Insightful analysis of the latest news about red meat and colon cancer. Read before you eat. (Nutrition Over Easy)
• Groups Sue FDA Over Use of Certain Antibiotics in Animal Feed <<This is awesome, and I hope it forces some action from our government to fight the dangerous antibiotic resistant bacteria that are being bred in industrial farms. (Wall Street Journal)
• Is That “Organic” Egg A Good Egg? <<I always struggle to convey the degrees of “healthy” in different eggs. Now there’s a handy scorecard to help out. (Consumerist)
• POM Wonderful Health Claims for Juice Lack Scientific Support, U.S. Says <<And this is why I always take immediate action whenever a POM ad happens to slip onto this site pretending to be healthy. I’m not cool with that. (Bloomberg)
• Loading up on calcium won’t eliminate osteoporosis risk, study says <<It also raises risk of heart disease and prostate cancer. Please don’t go nuts with the supplements. (Los Angeles Times)
• Quinoa with Currants, Dill, and Zucchini Recipe <<I only recently discovered how well dill and grains go together. Very much looking forward to trying this recipe. (101 Cookbooks)
• Food Is Political Says Outspoken Chef Alice Waters <<Alice Waters sometimes biffs it for the food movement, but this time she nails it. Definitely worth a watch. (Wall Street Journal)

http://s.wsj.net/media/swf/VideoPlayerMain.swf

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

Disheartening news this week from the Nutrition Diva about the accuracy of nutrition labels; and from the meat industry regarding their nasty anti-biotic resistant bacteria problem. Also, The New York Times has a fantastic series on exercise that is the perfect inspiration for your spring fitness plan.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Digg. I also share links at Twitter (@summertomato) and the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• Can You Trust the Nutrition Facts? <<Short answer: no. But if you’re counting on nutrition labels to keep you healthy, you probably aren’t having much success anyway. Concentrate on the ingredients, and stick to the real ones. (Nutrition Over Easy)
• Is Sitting a Lethal Activity? <<Attention computer geeks! Fascinating article on the problems with sedentary behavior, even in relatively active people. (New York Times)
• Multi-Drug Resistant Staph in 1 in 4 Meat Samples <<This is BS of the week not because it isn’t true, but because we tolerate it. (Wired)
• Dieters find ‘healthy’ food labels can be tricky <<Need another reason to stop dieting? Turns out dieters are more easily fooled by health claims on packages than non-dieters. (Los Angeles Times)
• Bacteria Divide People Into 3 Types, Scientists Say <<I predict the field of gut microflora will take off in the coming decades. Lots of interesting research around this subject. (New York Times)
• Pregnant women exposed to pesticides have children with slightly lower IQ, studies show <<Three new studies indicate that traces of pesticides in pregnant mothers correlated to decreased IQ scores in children 7 years later. Though the mechanism is unclear, even a hint that pesticides can impact cognitive development should concern expectant mothers. (Los Angeles Times)
• For an Exercise Afterburn, Intensity May Be the Key <<Hard workouts seem to be the most effective at burning extra calories after you stop sweating. (New York Times)
• Trying to stop food cravings? Not eating the foods you crave may help, a study finds <<I find this interesting because I’ve definitely noticed that people of all diet camps claim to have gotten in touch with their “true” bodily needs once they changed their diets. Well, it looks like this truth may be somewhat subjective. (Los Angeles Times)
• What’s the Single Best Exercise? <<There’s not one answer, but the top 12 answers are all probably pretty good. (New York Times)
• White bean tuna salad for a picnic in the park <<Such a lovely, simple spring recipe. (Jenn Cuisine)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

In case you missed it, be sure to check out the first episode of Summer Tomato Live and vote on our next show topic. Voting closes tonight at midnight, PST.

(BTW, Summer Tomato Live is now on iTunes. If you have time to leave a review I’d be deeply grateful.)

This week: why vegans have more heart risks, McDonald’s new “healthy-food” chain, what Donald Rumsfeld has to do with Diet Coke, and more bad news for people who think exercise will solve their weight problems.

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For a complete list of my favorite stories check out my links on Digg. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• How to Master the Art of Seasoning: 5 Tips for Reinventing the Slow-Carb Diet <<Trying to make those beans and veggies more interesting? Here’s a great primer on seasoning. (Tim Ferriss)
• Vegans’ Elevated Heart Risk Requires Omega-3s and B12, Study Suggests <<I’ve mentioned before that I think a vegan diet can be healthy, it just requires more work than it does for an omnivore. Seems most vegans are getting it wrong. (ScienceDaily)
• Former McDonald’s Executives to Open a New Healthy-Food Chain <<Hahahahaha! McDonald’s execs are the first people I’d trust to offer a healthy diet. Nice one guys. BS of the week. (Time)
• Just how bad is aspartame? <<Great question. Sadly the politics around it are so twisted it’s hard to uncover the truth. (Grist)
• US group calls for FDA ban of soda ‘caramel’ <<Seems aspartame may not be the only thing in soda that can cause cancer. (Reuters)
• Think the gym’s gonna make you slim? Think again. <<This new study matches my experience very well. But Yoni explains why you should exercise anyway. (Weighty Matters)
• 10 Fresh, In-Season Vegetables the East Coast Should be Eating Now <<I frequently get complaints from East Coasters that my farmers market posts don’t reflect their reality. This one’s for you guys (and it’s not that different). (Treehugger)
• Obesity Alone Raises Risk of Fatal Heart Attack, Study Finds <<I’ve heard some people argue that obesity itself does not cause disease, it’s just a symptom of deeper metabolic problems or not a problem at all. This new study suggests otherwise. (Medline)
• Diet High in Fiber Might Lengthen Your Life <<Especially grains, they say. There are plenty of confounds in this study, but it’s not out of line with other research I’ve seen. (Medline)
• Rainbow Wheat Berry Salad <<And since we’re having a grain lovefest day, here’s a delicious looking recipe for a colorful wheat berry salad. Intact grains FTW! (Macheesmo)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

If you haven’t yet, please vote at Quirky to help us pick the final look of my farmers market bag. We’re almost done!

Great reading this week about why the case against saturated fat isn’t as strong as you thought, the role of fish in vision maintenance and the importance of childhood nutrition.

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For a complete list of my favorite stories check out my links on Digg. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• The New USDA Dietary Guidelines: Total Hogwash, and Here’s Why <<Please read this. It’s really more about why saturated fat isn’t bad for you, and other nutrition myths promoted by health experts. It’s long and sciencey, but important. (Raw Food SOS)
• If you want lasting vision, eat those omega-3s <<We spoke this week about the importance of eating green leafy vegetables for vision. A reader pointed out fish is also important, and it seems he’s right. (MSNBC)
• GM alfalfa: the politics explained <<I’ve had a lot of questions about the genetically modified alfalfa ruling last week, here’s some of the details on what went wrong. (Food Politics)
• Diet soda and heart, stroke risk: A link doesn’t prove cause and effect <<Great identification of BS of the week by LA Times. Be careful with your science.
• Processed Food Diet in Early Childhood May Lower Subsequent IQ <<Isn’t this lovely? You are what you eat as a child. (ScienceDaily)
• Exercise Helps Overweight Children Think Better, Do Better in Math <<Hmmm, it’s starting to sound like eating right and exercise is healthy for children. Go figure. (ScienceDaily)
• The difference between fructose and glucose: it’s not all in your mind <<Interesting new data about how differences in sugar type effect brain activity. (Los Angels Times)
• The 21 Funniest Menu Fails EVER (PHOTOS) <<High-quality childish humor up in here. (Huffington Post)
• Prenatal Exposure to Pesticides May Harm Kids’ Development <<Stuff like this really scares me. How about you? (Medline)
• Everyday Chickpea Salad <<This recipe looks absolutely amazing. Can’t wait to try it. (ShutterBean)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

In case you missed it, I shared my thoughts on the new USDA Dietary Guidelines over at my personal blog (and on MSNBC, kinda). Also this week fake sugars find themselves in the spotlight, along with dark meat chicken and the culinary crack pipe. And if you were wondering, we here at Summer Tomato have plenty of reasons to believe breakfast is still important.

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For a complete list of my favorite stories check out my links on Digg. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• The Geek’s Guide to Rebooting Your Kitchen <<Pretty clever way to make your kitchen a more pleasant place to be. (Lifehacker)
• Do Artificial Sweeteners Cause an Insulin Spike? <<Good question. They certainly don’t appear to be good for you. (Mark’s Daily Apple)
• Diet Coke supports American Hearth Month despite soda’s link to increased risk of heart disease <<Insulin response isn’t the only factor important in health. Diet sodas are not a neutral drink. (Los Angeles Times)
• Food is Now Huffable <<BS of the week. Finally we can all stop eating and just free-base our food. Oh wait, that’s a horrible idea. (NBC Bay Area)
• Chicken: Get Over White Meat. Join the Dark Side! <<Chicken breasts are the worst. Seriously. Thighs FTW! (Time)
• Why I still think breakfast’s part of weight management. <<I was frustrated with a recent report that breakfast just “adds calories” to your day. Thanks Yoni for explaining why this study is crap. (Weighty Matters)
• Weight Loss & Breakfast: Eggs are Better <<And adding to that argument, here’s a handful of studies that show choosing eggs in the morning is a great way to go. (Health Habits)
• VitaminWater’s health claims scoffed at by consumer group <<They are also scoffed at by me. (Los Angeles Times)
• Roasting Coffee Beans a Dark Brown Produces Valued Antioxidants, Scientists Find <<To the chagrin of raw foodists, sometimes cooking actually improves the nutritional value of foods. Coffee is no exception. (ScienceDaily)
• Three Teacup Chicken <<As noted above, do yourself a favor and use thighs in this recipe. (Simply Recipes)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

Junk food got even more bad press than usual this week. I love it! I’m not too happy about the GM alfalfa though. I also found a fantastic article about sustainable seafood and some interesting research on meditation.

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For a complete list of my favorite stories check out my links on Digg. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• The new school of fish <<Must read exposé of the sustainable fishing market. It’s both scary and fascinating. (San Francisco Magazine)
• Lawsuit to Taco Bell: Where’s the beef? <<I hear Taco Bell isn’t very happy with this. Ha! (SFGate)
• Girl Scout Cookies and other sweets offer confusing labeling on trans fats <<BS of the week. I always suspected the Girl Scouts were evil. Looks like they’re still using trans fats in their most popular cookies. (Chicago Tribune)
• Why the Happy Meal is a crime—and not just a culinary one <<More on poisonous children’s food, Michele Simon makes a good case that Happy Meals really are illegal already. (Grist)
• What the Deregulation of Genetically Engineered Alfalfa Means for Organic Consumers <This makes me really nervous. What are your thoughts? (Treehugger)
• Long and Short of Calcium and Vitamin D <<A good overview. (New York Times)
• The Minimalist Chooses 25 of His Favorites <<Sadness! Mark Bittman’s Minimalist food column in the New York Times came to an end this week. Here he compiled his 25 favorite dishes over the years. (New York Times)
• How Meditation May Change the Brain <<Interesting info on the science behind one of my latest hobbies, meditation. (New York Times)
• Quick Beef Stew with Mushrooms and White Beans <<Doesn’t this look yummy? I think so. (Simply Recipes)

What inspired you this week?