It officially feels like winter in Chicago, which means I am now entering hibernation. Cook. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. You'll see me in four months...with some winter weight gained.

I woke up this morning without an alarm buzzing in my ear. It felt amazing, and I wanted to lay in bed all day. But the best thing about having a dog is that she has to go out first thing in the morning. And by "best", I mean "worst". It's as though my dog was sent to me to make me a more productive person. It's working.

On Sundays, I like to meal prep. I enter a zen-like state. I use all my senses and am fully in the present moment of cooking. Today, I made a roast chicken (I only recently discovered how easy it is to roast a chicken), fried up some plantains, and stir-fried a container of leftover rice. Voila! Dinner is served for the week.

How I roast chicken:

I buy a whole chicken from Whole Foods (I've found Whole Foods to use the least amount of plastic when packaging the chicken for me).
I rub ghee and spices all over the chicken.
I preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
I slice up a lemon and lay the slices on the bottom of an oven-safe pan.
I place the ghee-covered chicken on top of the lemon slices.
I put the chicken in the oven for about an hour, using the meat thermometer to tell me when it's done.

When the chicken is done, I pull the meat off the bones with two forks and store it in the fridge to use throughout the week for soups, salads, and whatnot. I then boil the bones in water to make my own broth.

Having homemade broth on hand has been super handy. I use a little bit of broth when I cook vegetables now, which cuts my need for ghee or oil in half.