Happy New Year Everyone! I hope you are all recovering from the holidays and working on those New Years Resolutions. It is such a fresh feeling time of the year that often makes me pause to think about life, love and the pursuit of happiness (or where I am doing shitty and how to improve). I am excited to start off this year as a CTB girl and am even more excited to begin the year with Ruth Reichl’s Garlic & Sapphires. This book is way more food focused than story focused (compared to our beloved Giulia)  but  in general Ruth is a Food Critic for the NY Times, In order to keep her anonymity she uses different characters and disguises to critic each restaurant.

I was amused by this concept but I am not going to lie, I wasn’t in love with the book for the first few characters. Ruth is an AWESOME food writer. The woman can make frog legs and Sea Urchins sound absolutely delicious, however I just prefer my novels with a wee bit more plot (i.e. romance, sex, and a murder every now and then). So I was breezing along and then I met Ruth’s Character, Betty. Betty is an older plump woman who is essentially invisible to everyone that she comes across. She does little to take care of herself and you kind of get the feeling she’s like a cat lady. It reminded me of myself at various points in my life. I found my heart move a little slower and I felt sad as I thought about individuals around the world that are so often unseen and then I thought of myself. A few years ago I gained a ton of weight…directly after a wonderful bout with an eating disorder. I essentially went from skinny to fat in less than a year. What amazed me bout this time, was that in both bodies, I was completely and totally like Betty. It was easy to hide behind. I like to think it is all behind me, but as Ruth realized in putting on a costume, these characters stay inside of us, waiting for their time in the light, or just slowly dancing with each other as we go through life. I was pondering this and turning the pages quickly when I met Emily. Emily is essentially a bitch. There are no two ways around it. She is the girl we all hate. She is the girl that I hate. Ruth easily fit into this role so well that it scared her and to be honest it scared me. Emily was the opposite of Betty, and I did not like her at all. Yet, I realized, she is somewhere in me too. There are more than a few occasions I can think of where I have been too short, too rude, too emotionally turned off to realize the Betty’s of the world. And I did not like it one bit.

Each of these women met at a particularly interesting time during the month too. I was pondering my place of work, my place in my work, and my place in the world in general. Needless to say it was all a bit overwhelming. So I turned to the most obvious coping skill I could manage…I went on a diet. Vegan to be precise. It is always so much easier to cut out sugar, or fat, or meat than it is to really look at your life. As I read through these characters that Ruth was playing, especially Betty and Emily I decided to throw my hand in the air, leave it to She-Gods that are out there, and just have a little faith. In doing so I think I allowed some of my many characters to come together and somewhat integrate into themselves. As a symbol of my appreciation for Betty and Emily and Fat me Skinny me and Totally Clueless about life Me…I made dinner. Roast Chicken with roasted vegetables for Betty (a la Ruth), Arugula with White Beans (for skinny bitches everywhere) and then some “Vanilla Cake”…kind of healthy for Betty and Emily. I forgot to take pics of the chicken but here are some pics of the Invisible me’s and the Vanilla Cake!

“Nicky’s Vanilla Cake” Below is the original recipe. I actually don’t care for cake too much, and (Marilla Cover your ears)…I dont really like cupcakes to omuch either…not that I dislike them, I just prefer the denseness of cookies and brownies. But I really wanted to make something from Ruth’s book so I thought I would make this cupcake style. I should definately keep my day job but they tasted great! I put my changes in ().
• 1 cup (250mL) unsalted butter (I used Earth Balance Vegan, the dough was a bit curdled looking but it came together once I added the flour)
• 1 cup (250mL) sugar (3/4 C. Agave Negtar)
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups (500mL) all-purpose flour (I used 1 C. self rising and I sifted both of these)
• 2 tsp (10mL) baking powder
• 1 tsp (5mL) baking soda
• 1 tsp (5mL) salt
• 1 cup (250mL) sour cream (low fat)
• 2 tbsp (25mL) pure vanilla
1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition.
2. Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture until combined. Add sour cream. Add vanilla. The batter will be thick.
3. Spoon batter into a buttered and floured bundt pan or angel food cake pan.
4. Bake in a preheated 350F (180C) oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until golden and a cake tester comes out dry. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes. Turn cake out of pan and cool completely on rack. Makes one tube cake

Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Onions, and Garlic
Serves 4

1 farm-raised chicken, about 3 1/2 pounds
1 lemon
Olive oil
3 to 4 small Yukon Gold potatoes (or any other variety except russet), each peeled and cut into 8 pieces
1 large onion, cut into 6 pieces
3 to 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Wash the chicken under running water and pat it dry. Remove and reserve the extra fat from the inside of the chicken. Very gently run your fingers between the breast and the skin, beginning from the neck end, loosening the skin from the breast on both sides. Being careful not to puncture the skin, place the excess fat beneath the skin (the chicken will then baste itself).

Puncture the lemon a few times with a fork, and place it inside the chicken.

Pour enough olive oil into a roasting pan to make a thin film over the bottom. Toss the potatoes, onion, and garlic into the pan and turn until they are covered with olive oil.

Pour a little olive oil over the chicken, and salt and pepper everything in the pan.

Roast for about 1 hour, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into a thigh reads 170 degrees F. Remove the pan from the oven and let the chicken rest for 10 minutes.

Carve the chicken into serving pieces, surround them with the potatoes, onions, and garlic, and squeeze the lemon over the top.