Well, I love my lodge oven but it has two issues. One, I don't roast whole chickens and probably won't anytime in the near future and I don't tend to make that large of quantities unless I'm doing a batch of chili or something like that. Two, it's HEAVY and awkward and I've already dinged it and random things around my kitchen by dropping it. So, I decided that I would splurge and buy something smaller that I could use every day since I do love cooking in a french oven. Le Creuset just came out with their new fennel color and I LOVE green so it was just too much to resist! So now I have the big lodge oven for the occasions I need it but something more practical for everyday use.
I had a great time breaking it in today with this amazing sweet potato and kale 'soup' - I say 'soup' because my version really came out to more of a thick stew but it tasted great anyway! It's a little more decadent than I'd make for everyday consumption with a fair amount of calories (~450) for the volume (a small bowl) and quite a bit of fat due to the coconut milk but it was a nice little splurge and still pretty healthy. I'm feeling bad for featuring so many katheats re-creations on here but I just really have found her recipes to be a perfect mix of tasty and simple. I promise to branch out more though!
