We are still going strong in our organic, locavore diet. We spent a few days in Asheville, NC after the wedding and were a little worried how we would fare with eating out. Dear Internet, did you know Asheville, NC is one of the leading, progressive communities in the local, sustainable, organic movement? Food, furniture, clothes, you name it. They were there making it and making it organically.
On the first day, Michael finds The Green Sage Cafe. We walk in and are hit with the mission statement of organic, free trade, sustainability, ecologically friendly practices. We danced and then ate there every day.
I would like to have a moment of silence to reminisce on the delectableness that is the buttermilk biscuits with portabello gravy.
It's a wonder I ever returned to Atlanta. But I did. So we move on...
The week after the wedding, I made my first trek back to pick up my CSA basket. It just so happens my pick up day and location coincides with a farmer's market. I was going to bypass the market this day. It was rainy, I was cranky and I didn't really need anything. But I decided at the last minute to check and see what sort of fresh breads were there.
I turn the corner and there are very literally 4 tents set up. No bread man for sure. I'm about to leave when two words catch my eye. THE two words. The two words I've been waiting to read at the farmer's market since I started this lifestyle back in August. PASTURED POULTRY.
I ran to the tent...OK, I really did one of those skip, jog, walk fast things when you want to get somewhere quick, but you don't want everyone to watch you run because there's really no reason to be running in the first place. Losing all manners I ever learned, I interrupted the conversation the man behind the table was having with his friend, "do you actually have chicken here?"
He thought I was crazy. Wasn't the sign plain enough? I went on to explain how I've been seeking out pastured chicken for months and had yet to find it and then here it was. Right where I was. At the same time even. He laughed and handed me a chicken. Angels sang.
He went on to explain exactly what his chickens ate and how he rotated them around the farm and blah, blah, blah...I couldn't really hear him over all the recipes screaming in my head to be made. Chinese chicken in garlic sauce, Chicken Tikka, Chicken Enchiladas, Chicken Mole...but ultimately I wanted my first time trying pastured poultry to be uninterrupted by spices and noise...
Simple butter roasted chicken with roasted potatoes, carrots, peppers and mushrooms. And it was delicious. The texture was a lot nicer than the chicken we're used to and the flavor is just more chicken-y and buttery (but that may have been because I was basting the chicken in butter). Michael and I both are non-dark meat eaters, but the dark meat on the pastured poultry has a great texture and flavor. We both ate it happily.
The next day I made a chicken tortilla soup. Equally delightful. I'll post the recipe soon--something I'll be doing a lot more of as we get back up and running here.
I can't really say enough about finding pastured poultry. It makes all the difference in the world: to your meal, to the environment and to the chicken.
Our next post...Quinoa: a Samoan King, a rapper or a superfood?
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