out of the roasting pan

last night i roasted a chicken a la greque. this means, i made a fast basting sauce/ marinade from olive oil, lemon juice, lots of garlic, oregano, rosemary and thyme ( all herbs still putting out in the garden) . i roasted it at 450 degrees for a half hour, then turned oven down to 350 for another hour. it smelled delicious, it tasted delicious. i served it with a brown rice pilaf and sauteed spinach. i had visions of feta cheese and greek yogurt, both of which were in my refrigerator, but we were too hungry to garnish. tonight is cold and rainy, so i made a fast chicken stock from the carcass, sauteed onions, carrots, garlic, green pepper, jalapenos in olive oil . i added a bit of quickly crushed plum tomatoes and a dash of cumin and oregano and chili powder. strained my chicken stock into soup pan, added black beans, diced zucchini and potatoes. when all of this smelled heavenly, i threw in shredded chicken from last night, and more salt and pepper. then, i cut up homemade ( by someone trader joe's knows) tortillas into strips, crisped them up in hot oil, drained then salted. dished up soup, added tortilla strips and freshly grated cheese. i felt very cared for.