The thyme in my garden is abundant and fragrant and begging to be picked. I have two varieties growing there and I'm delighting in using it in my kitchen. Our favorite use for thyme right now is Grilled Herb Chicken. This is a variation on a recipe my friend Barbara shared with me. First, I pick some thyme from the garden,a couple of hands full will do. And I grab some basil, too. I clean the herbs and put them in the food processor bowl. Add olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and sprinkle of cayenne pepper. Throw in five or six cloves of garlic. Whir it all around until it's well blended. It shouldn't be too pasty--you want it pretty pourable. 
I use two whole roasters and clean them. Barbara pulls out the backbone and butterflies hers, but after I discovered that someone had used my poultry shears to prune the roses, I stopped doing that. Now I just leave them whole.Separate the skin from the flesh of the chicken, leaving the skin intact over the whole bird. Liberally rub the oil and herbs over the entire chicken between the skin and the flesh. 
Then rub more oil and herbs around the outside. Plop the chickens in a heavy roasting pan and grill on low for about 2 1/2 hours or until the pop-up timers pops up or until a meat thermometer in the breast area measure 170-175 degrees. Turn off the grill:-). Let the chicken sit for about fifteen minutes before slicing. It should be tender enough to fall off the bone.
Hi Elizabeth, This summer menu looks yummy! I can't believe I hadn't thought about doing this. I assumed that my family would get tired of the same menu every week, but wow, it's so simple. Not only do you get really good at 5 or 6 dishes, you don't have to make a new shopping list each week. I'm going to do this and I'll let you know how it works. I'm already seeing a huge burden being lifted even though I really like cooking and cookbooks. Thanks, Carmen
Posted by: Carmen M. Liffengren | July 09, 2007 at 10:26 AM
Hi Elizabeth, This summer menu looks yummy! I can't believe I hadn't thought about doing this. I assumed that my family would get tired of the same menu every week, but wow, it's so simple. Not only do you get really good at 5 or 6 dishes, you don't have to make a new shopping list each week. I'm going to do this and I'll let you know how it works. I'm already seeing a huge burden being lifted even though I really like cooking and cookbooks. Thanks, Carmen
Posted by: Carmen M. Liffengren | July 09, 2007 at 10:26 AM
This looks good, I am going to try this recipe, Roasted Chicken.
Posted by: Niama Perrotte | November 28, 2009 at 09:07 PM