beat the heat

The other day the temps here in Memphis dipped into the upper eighties. The carnivore and I looked at the forecast the day before and remarked on how nice it was going to be outside. Just imagine how pleasant it is going to feel we thought...but, after an hour or two of working in the yard the next day the carnivore looked at me and said, "Just cuz it feels moderately cool doesn't mean it isn't actually hot. It is still in the upper eighties." True.

And if you are like me (and many southerners out there) having a steamy hot kitchen on an already muggy day is no fun. This really is why we quick fry just about anything. So, when presented with a half of a chicken in our recent meat CSA, I weighed the options of either baking it in the oven for an hour or so (and thus also heating my house several degrees) or tossing it in the crock pot. No brainer. I'll take the cooler and set-it-and forget-it version any day.

Simply drizzle the bottom of the pot with olive oil. Then add in in half a diced white onion. Season your chicken with a mixture of salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and celery salt (just a dusting of each. Place the chicken in the pot skin side up so the fat from the skin can flavor everything as it cooks. Surround the bird with carrots and top with a few sprigs of fresh rosemary. Cover and cook on low four 4-6 hours. The chicken should easily pull apart for serving along side the veggies.

I wish I had a picture of the finished product for you, but the carnivore was ravenous from his yard work and got to it before I could even think to grab the camera. He usually knows better, having lived with a food blogger for awhile now. What can I say? Maybe the heat got to his brain...or maybe the chicken just smelled too good.

menu ideas:

On the night the carnivore had this, I also had carrots that I steamed separately and we shared buttered english peas as well. I had a fake chicken patty for my main course.