Perfect fall Sunday afternoon, and dinner

I had a lovely Sunday, enjoying fall weather and eating. I'd already bought a chicken on Saturday and today walked up to the local groceries for veg and wine. Got a nice red - although I was expecting to drink white, it was this red that caught my eye. So I got that and went in search of beets, sweet potatoes and onions.

I came home with pearl onions, a couple of sweet yellows, two beets, a white and an orange sweet potato, green beans, oyster mushrooms, and a parsnip.

I salted the chicken, rubbing coarse salt into the skin creating a bit of a crust on the breasts and legs. (Not too much or it gets salty). Sprinkled dried herbs such as herbes de province and ground cumin. I placed several garlic cloves in body cavity and put the whole thing in a pot in the fridge.

Washed and chopped the veg - beet, carrot, potato, sweet potato, turnip, green beans, pearl onions, sweet onion, and mushroom - placing it in a roasting pan with a bit of salt. Let it sit on the counter, loosely covered with saran wrap, while I went outside and raked leaves.

I raked the front yard and then came in. After opening the wine to let it breathe, I pre-heated the oven to 425f, then started a fire in the living room fireplace.

As the fire built, I drained the bit of water from the vegetables, added two tablespoons of red rice, about half a cup of chicken stock and then drizzled them with olive oil and salt. I threw about a dozen hazelnuts on the chicken. Placed the chicken on top of the veg, then covered it loosely in tinfoil and popped it in the oven.

Pour a glass of wine, plop down in front of the roaring fire, with the Sunday Times. Ahh.

After 25 minutes, I removed the foil, and let it cook for another 25 minutes. Finally, I dropped the temp to 395f for the final 25 minutes.

Wow - it was so juicy! And flavorful. The beets were sweet, the carrot and potato were soft without being mushy. The beans were still a little crunchy. The rice was still hard inside but had a cooked quality to it, and because there was so little it was like a ground nut garnish. Very pleasant.