A Rare Sight
Aside


Last night at our favourite table by the fish tank we were enjoying our duck (not Peking – the fish’s eyes are quite enough) my own eyes kept wandering to a table by the door. There were seven young men – quite ordinary in appearance – they could have been a lifeboat crew, dressed in uncoordinated jeans and sweaters. As the evening wore on we were having fun and eating and drinking and my interest in the young men grew. They also were eating and drinking but they were talking quietly amongst themselves. In other words their behaviour was impeccable- no yobbishness. no noise or raucous laughter and there were seven of them. The magnificent seven my son dubbed them.
After a glass or two of wine – I determined to have a word on my way out, but – to the family’s relief, they left before us.


You can’t have too many good, tried and trusted recipes at this time of year so – although I may have mentioned this one before – it bears repeating.

Roast chicken with lemon, garlic and thyme.

Chicken 1.5 kg
2 lemons quartered
2 heads of garlic, broken into unpeeled cloves
A bunch of fresh thyme
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper


Rinse chicken well, removing any giblets. Pat dry with kitchen paper and place in non stick roasting tin. (Mine stick so I added a little olive oil).
Push the lemons, garlic and thyme in to the chest side of the chicken. Not as easy as it sounds, but persevere. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the chicken and rub it in with your fingers. Roast for 1 hour 25 minutes.

My French Grandson say even his Maman can’t do chicken like Grandma. It is really moist and tasty and because the garlic cloves are not peeled they just impart a subtle flavour. We had it for lunch today.