Heat wave cookin'

We are having a heat wave in our area. The temperatures are close to 100 degrees and the dewpoints are in the upper 70s. It's stinkin' tropical outside.

Before going gluten and casein free, the plan to keep the kitchen cool would have been to order pizza, pick up a bucket of chicken, or live on sandwiches on days like this. It isn't that simple anymore, but what we're doing is making us all feel better so I'm not really complaining. This is what I did today to beat the heat.

I am no longer buying those Pamela Anderson breasted chickens that can't possibly be "real". It costs a bit more but I am now buying chicken that hasn't been pumped up with antibiotics and growth hormones.
Buying a whole chicken cuts down on the cost a little. It also makes it very easy to just toss the little clucker into the crockpot.
I made a rub out of sea salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, thyme, paprika, onion powder and garlic powder.

Then I gave this little guy a massage with olive oil.

I rubbed the spices on him and put him in a bag so I could refrigerate him overnight.

This morning I got up early and put the little clucker in the crockpot where he cooked on low for 6- 7 hours until we were ready for lunch.

Last night I made potato salad and cut up watermelon so the rest of the meal was ready to go.

The chicken was moist and delicious and the kitchen stayed cool.

I want the broth from the cooked chicken so I put the bones back in the crockpot and added several cups of water.

Then I added a splash of vinegar because it helps extract minerals from the bones to make a richer, more nutritious broth.

I'll let this cook all day on low and I'll strain out the bones before going to bed tonight. The broth will be poured into several containers and put in the refrigerator. In the morning I can skim off the fat from each container and put them in the freezer.

We'll enjoy this broth when it gets cool enough outside to eat soup. This is Minnesota. That could be next week.