This weekend I found myself in a pinch, while elbow deep in a cooking project.  Not only was I lacking the lemon I needed for my roasted chicken, but I was also completely out of several other herbs I had planned to use.  As I started digging through my spices to see what I could use as a replacement for the missing items, my eyes fell on several of the empty amber bottles that had held essential oils.

I stopped digging, washed my hands, and headed to the table in my dining room that holds my essential oils.  As I began to run my fingers over the bottles, I realized that all of the missing ingredients were right in front of my face:

Lemon, sage, cilantro, and thyme.  Finally! I was face to face with a way to use these oils in my cooking.  I found a small ramekin and measured a heaping tablespoon of french sea salt, a teaspoon of fresh ground pepper, and several tablespoons of olive oil.  I then added 4 drops of lemon oil, 3 drops of sage, 3 drops of thyme, and 2 drops of cilantro.  I mixed everything together and then began to rub my concoction all over the chicken– both between the skin and the flesh and on top of the skin.  I stuffed the cavity with an onion and an apple cut into pieces and placed it in the oven to bake.

The results?  AMAZING!  Moist, flavorful, and delicious.  The flavors even carried over into the stock I made with the bones 🙂

I have an entirely new world to explore 🙂