Good morning friends, and thanks so much for your visit! I am so happy to have you here this Tuesday as I start again one of my favorite projects—
Tasha Tuesday! Now, if you’ve never heard of my Tasha Tuesday blog series— you can read a ton more
here. Its something I’ve done from time to time for many years now. Basically, its a series of posts having to do with the art, lifestyle, heirloom crafts etc. of someone who inspires me daily in my life and work– Tasha Tudor.
When I stumbled upon a biography of Tasha, called
“The Private World of Tasha Tudor” many years ago as a college student, it really lit up a place inside my imagination. Because here was a woman and artist who loved all the same things I loved— and not only made a life for herself with them, but
flourished. As a student, I had been told many times that the things I loved and enjoyed were no way to make a life or even a meager living. And Tasha was someone I could use as a reference point, a small whisper that said,
“it’s possible.” And since then, as years have passed, I worked myself slowly towards the life of an artist who embraces old fashioned things, that sees beauty and richness in the past that is worthwhile in our present. In small increments I was able to find work that was more and more creative, until a bit over a decade out— here I am— working full time as an artist, with a family, in my old house brimming with old things and animals. And I credit Tasha with giving me the fortitude to go after those things.
And so— thus was born
“Tasha Tuesday” as I wanted to share all the things that fascinated me about her life and work!
But this series is a little different! My daughter and I have decided that it would be fun to go through all the cook books either written by or collaborated with Tasha Tudor and try some new recipes. A few recipes are old favorites. Still more, I just needed that nudge to try, and this seemed like the perfect excuse to do it!
This is our first week then, of
‘Cooking with Tasha Tudor!’ And we started off with an amazing meal— Tasha’s roast chicken with her mashed potatoes. It was amazing. Lets chat about it!~….
I have made roast chicken many times and it is a family favorite. But I dont think I’ve ever followed Tasha’s recipe specifically. The recipe for her roasted chicken can be found in “The Tasha Tudor Cookbook: Recipes and Reminiscences from Corgi Cottage”, a must-have for any Tasha Tudor lover. The recipe– or ‘receipt’ as Tasha calls them– is full of the freshest ingredients and I made sure to collect my herbs fresh out of the back garden, and paired the chicken with fresh carrots, yellow squash and onion. For Tasha, the freshest ingredients are essential, and all are very sumptuous treats.
This is a shot of our done-up bird going into the oven. And I’m a little bashful feeling to tell you— that when the bird came out two hours later, looking like heaven, it was carved up in no time and I had forgotten to take a photo of the finished product! I know….what am I going to do with myself? Just trust me, it was wonderful….and tasted divine! A wonderful dinner to start on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and then have ready for a weekend feast with family or any guests! I’ve also found that I can stretch a roast chicken into two meals, plus make stock, so one bird goes a long way!
A great compliment to the chicken was Tasha’s amazing mashed potatoes which are….heaven. They are also found in
“The Tasha Tudor Cookbook” and are very easy to make, especially if you’ve made standard mashed potatoes before. I always seem to come out with more mashed potatoes than I planned, which is fine because they reheat the next day wonderfully, or could be cooked into potato cakes.
And after the beautiful bird has been carved up and all the good meat picked off (I usually pick it clean and then use the leftover bits to use in a pasta dish the next night!) you can use the carcass and any left over veggies or vegetable cuttings to make homemade chicken stock!
My method of making chicken stock is pretty easy because I do it in a Crockpot. Basically I put the chicken bones and veggie remnants in my standard size crock pot (Or any slow cooker you have), cover with about 8 cups of water, and cook it on low over night the evening after we’ve had the roast chicken.
The next day, I strain our the bones and spent vegetables (They’ve lost their flavor and nutritional content to the stock by this time, so can be thrown out) and then strain the stock that’s been created into jars.
You can use traditional canning jars to store your stock in for your pantry (or butt’ry, as Tasha would say! Lets just go full-on down the Tasha-speak rabbit holes, shall we!?!) , or just use heat-safe containers you have on hand to keep the stock handy in your fridge for the next week or two. This stock can be used in nearly anything else you cook through the week to give meals a more savory taste. Anything from pasts to chili to soups, etc.
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| Cozy kitchen illustration by Tasha Tudor! Life goals! |
And so— that is my first endeavor in this Tasha cooking project! I highly recommend her cookbook if you’re interested in old fashioned cooking. These aren’t diet recipes— but they’re full or real, wholesome ingredients and I love that these are recipes that have been handed down for generations. And all the recipes start with a little story or remembrance. Its lovely!~
Well, I am off to start a busy day! If you’d like to learn more about Tasha Tudor, you can visit her family’s website HERE. There are many Tasha items, including art, garden seeds, scarves, etc. that can be found there!
Thanks for stopping by, and please come again! We’re gonna keep on cookin’!~
Take Joy,
H
PS– I’ve had some people tell me they’re having trouble being able to comment! Some trouble shooting suggestions (to the best I can figure out, lol!) is to make sure you scroll down to the VERY BOTTOM of the post to see the box for your comment. It should be able to take your comment in multiple ways, but you might have to enter your email, name etc. You also might make sure you are logged into your google account if you have one, as blogger is now linked into google. Hope that helps!!
Sleightholm Folk Art 
What a scrumptious meal to start off Tasha Tuesday cooking! By coincidence, I too baked a whole chicken this past Sunday because it is easy and always delicious! Thank-you for the great idea of making stock for future recipes! How easy and a terrific way to get better tasting chicken stock! Next chicken dinner, I will pull out my crockpot and do the same as I am always using chicken stock for something or another. Tonight I am using the left over chicken to make old fashion chicken pot pie. While I have always loved chicken pot pie, I learned from Yankee Magazine about chicken pot pie suppers at the church in the Fall. I loved that tradition they had and wanted to celebrate fall with the tradition being at home. So, for the past 15 years, every Fall, when I make roast chicken, I make leftovers into chicken pot pie with a homemade crust. Having extra stock like you suggested will make future pies better because they won't have grocery store stock!!
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Oh Heather, I so enjoyed this 🙂 I am making Goose egg custard using her cook book receipt tonight 🙂
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Your home will smell amazing! I love to cook from her book as well. It's just too hot yet to use oven. I wish you a happy day & happy cooking
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Thank you so much! Yes, it did smell divine!
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Now that sounds intriguing!~
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That's the perfect plan! Chicken pot pie, chicken noodle soup….those are fantastic 'day after roasting a chicken' meals! Let me know how you like your stock when you do it!
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Oh thank you for the information, that one can make, stock in the crock pot. I'm so happy to learn that. We got some \”happy beef\” bones, from the butcher and are going to make beef stock. Now we know how!\”Happy Beef\” = Grass fed…. They have a good, natural life. So I say \”happy beef\”… The same with \”Happy Chickens.\” Not raised, stuffed in horrible cages. -sigh-There are only 2 of us, and so, we can afford to eat carefully. Organic and etc.Autumn hugs,A 'Nana'✨🍁🎃🍁✨
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