These are the dog days in the kitchen. The holidays are a memory, and the promise of fresh local produce, the reward for enduring a long winter, seems faint.  Occasional gatherings puncture the gloom.  A great stew, a chili with roasted winter vegetables, a classic boeuf bourginon or a coq au vin can go a long way towards taking the edge off things.  The slow simmer warms the kitchen and house, and create a air of comfort and belonging.

This is a time for imagining.  February, which I always think of as the ‘fulcrum’ of the year, the short transition between the gloom of winter and the promise of spring, is behind us now.  We are free to dream about the future, thinking of better days.  It’s a time to plan the garden, buy some herb pots for the sunny windowsill, gather outside with neighbors newly liberated from these housebound days.  Though never fully free from what is, we can think about what can be, and it seems closer than ever.

To imagine the future and bring it within our grasp requires an open and balanced 2^nd chakra (emotional feelings, the locus of male and female energies) and the 6^th (our imagination, perception and capacity for visualization).  There are numerous dishes that are healthy for each, but sometimes its great to find things that address both at once.  Think about foods, tastes and textures whose collision with one another surprise.  Make a risotto—easy and always hearty—but instead of the usual mushroom or shrimp, try adding a cup of dried cranberries for the last ten minutes of cooking, and garnish with a handful of toasted pine nuts before serving.  The contrast of the aromatic garlic and onion with the tart cranberries is as marvelous as it is unexpected.  Or, grill some fresh plums, halved, pitted and brushed with a little melted butter, until just soft and brown.  They’re a wonderful compliment to a pan-grilled steak or roast filet, their juices mingling with the caramelized beef.  Surprise yourself.

I served the following a couple of weeks back, and it was a great hit.  The mixture of raspberries and vinegar lend a wonderful taste to the roast chicken, and garnished with a few fresh raspberries and some sprigs of mint, makes for a wonderful presentation.  Unexpected ingredients and flavors—imagination and emotion fused on the plate.  Worth a try

ROAST CHICKEN WITH RASPBERRIES

Marinade

• 1 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 Tbs dark soy sauce
• ¼ cup raspberry vinegar
• 1/3  cup port wine
• 1 Tbs chopped fresh mint
• fresh raspberries and mint sprigs for garnish

Mix all ingredients except the mint in a blender until smooth.  Stir in the fresh mint at the end, so as not to bruise it and discolor the mixture.

1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces (I like to cut the breasts in half cross-ways, so all the pieces are more or less the same size, and will finish cooking at the same time.)

Place the chicken in a large non-reactive bowl.  Pour ½ the marinade over the chicken parts, mix well, cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, but preferably overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly oil a baking pan large enough to hold all the chicken parts in a single layer.

Place the chicken in the pan, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for 30 minute.  Remove the foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until the chicken is browned and reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

Remove from the oven, and let sit for at least 10 minutes.  The temperature will continue to rise during this time.

Strain the remaining marinade through a fine-mesh strainer, into a small saucepan.  Reduce the sauce slightly over medium heat, until it has thickened a bit.

Remove the chicken from the roasting pan to a large platter, and drizzle the reserved marinade over it.  Garnish with a few sprigs of fresh mint, and a handful of fresh raspberries.