Living in the land of giants

Giant zucchini and cucumbers, that is. Honestly, I was just out in the garden picking two days before and look what I found yesterday. How is it possible for things to grow this big, so fast? I suppose I must have overlooked these, and we have had two days of rain (finally), so they just exploded. You're looking at chicken treats here. The next few mornings, when I feed the chickens, I'll cut these into big chunks and they will literally jump all over it (and I won't feel wasteful).

The green beans are in the picture for scale. There are many more beans to pick and they will need my attention soon. These were for dinner last night, along with some potatoes, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers (all veggies from the garden) and a roasted chicken (not from our flock). I've been using this roast chicken recipe for many, many years. It originally came from "At Home in the Country", a book written by Mary Emmerling (remember her from American Country fame?). It makes the best chicken and is so easy to prepare. Once you put the chicken in the oven, you have an hour and a half to get the rest of your meal together. I love it when everything doesn't have to be done at the last minute and at the same time.

ROAST CHICKEN-

Ingredients-1 4-5 lb whole chicken - 2 cloves of garlic - kosher salt - pepper - juice of 2 lemons

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking pan with foil (or you'll be sorry!). Rinse chicken and pat dry. Salt and pepper the inside. Rub the halved garlic cloves over the skin, then place them inside the cavity. Pour lemon juice over the chicken and sprinkle kosher salt liberally over the skin. I usually tie the legs together with cotton twine. Roast uncovered for 1 hour and 15 minutes (or use a meat thermometer if you are unsure). Remove from oven, cover with foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes. The skin will be crispy and the inside juicy and tender. Hope you like it!