This is a post about chicken.

I'm pretty convinced that after the last few days five weeks, my brain has been reduced to mush. Around the clock nursing sessions + Etsy orders + trying to get out of the house + trying to put a sentence together after being awake half the night... it all leads me to do weird things. Like write blog posts about chicken.

This chicken deserves a post on its own. It's Ina Garten's recipe, and that alone should tell you something. Ina Garten is a culinary genius, yet she makes cooking look so delightfully simple. Like you stepped into your grandmother's kitchen and watched her work.

So when I woke up a few days ago craving roasted chicken (a first for me), I had to find her recipe. It did not disappoint, and in the breaths we took between bites, you could find me and Shawn singing Ina Garten's praises. It was that good. It also made an exquisite broth.

via Instagram @whitneynewby

Ina Garten's Perfect Roast Chicken 

(via foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients: 
1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
1 lemon, halved
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges
Olive oil

Directions: 
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top. Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.