Counting my Blessings

I spent last night counting things I'm thankful for instead of sheep (like the song Count my Blessings Instead of Sheep" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgZJGl101KE ). It actually helped me fall back to sleep at 4 when the puppy woke me to go outside. She's been sleeping well, but I think the growth spurt is forcing her to eat more and with more food, comes more emptying.

Everyone here survived Thanksgiving once again. Although the boys came screaming to me at 7 pm that they were starving and needed food, because they couldn't eat their other grandmothers Thanksgiving dinner. Overcooked jerky turkey that was too dry to chew, "gravy" that was just grease with no thickening agent, green beans that tasted like water, and sweet potatoes that were just cooked and barely smashed (not mashed). The only edible things were the garlic mashed potatoes and corn souffle that my DD made and the store bought pies. We filled up on that.

I had to feed the boys, because their parents went off to stand in line for black Friday deals to buy them gifts that are too nice at prices they could afford. Those boys are spoiled, but when you consider that they politely  thanked their other grandmother for the horribly prepared food, they might have deserved it.

Luna want shopping with them, because she still can't be separated from her mom at night. They took her stroller for her to sleep in, because the last deal was at 5 am. But DD couldn't make it and her FIL came to rescue her and Luna at 11 pm while Luna's dad stayed for the final deal.




Some of the things I am thankful for.

The health of my family, including my son who finally got his heart patched up and ticking in a way that will make it last longer before more surgery.

A roof over my head, small and tight, but warm, and food in my stomach.

The ability to think and work and earn an income, no matter how small it is.

All of the lovely friends and customers have because of my journey into the online retail business.

The fact that anonymous posts to this blog are blocked :)

Hope you all had a joyous Thanksgiving and can count your blessings instead of sheep too.

What's Cooking - Turkey Two Ways - Reheated

Now that life has settled down a bit for us (crazy Halloween season over, Christmas not yet started) I can give you my recipe for Turkey a little early this year. Last year for Thanksgiving we cooked two turkeys. One our own traditional way and the other a new and different way. If we cook only one turkey, we would cook it the traditional way, but if we ever cook 2 turkeys again I would definitely try the fruit stuffed turkey.

Here is a link to the recipe from my original post last year TALKING TURKEY it's my most popular post. Apparently people all over the world want to know how to cook turkey.

If you want something delicious, easy and different, try the citrus stuffed turkey cooked in a brown paper bag slathered with butter. It is easy, moist and has a delicate citrus flavor. If it's not your thing for Thanksgiving, buy one of those cheap birds and make it another day. You won't be sorry you did.

Life on Mars - Family Dinners and Black Friday Shopping

So we decided we were going to have the Thanksgiving dinner ourselves and not go over to Poppy's in laws because - well their house and cleaning habits are - well - I'm not going to say really. Lets just say I don't like sitting an barely wiped off cat barf, drinking out of greasy glasses, or having their huge dogs nose in my crotch while I'm trying to pretend I'm eating somewhere else.

While our house is not the greatest, our cats will not jump on the table while we are eating and we can manage to keep the room we're eating in clean for at least a day. Although we do have a lot of clutter, it's clean clutter.

Then, on Wednesday, boy child #1 says "Grandma is swearing and having a fit because our house is filthy and she doesn't want to have dinner over at our house." So I immediately take over some extra food we had for them and trip over the junk in the hall and say, "Wow this hall is really a mess" and look in the living room and say "Good thing we're having dinner. Looks like you wouldn't have had time to clean up everything anyway." All in a very pleasant tone with a big smile on my face.

Poppy and I were busy with the baby, cleaning and setting up everything for dinner. Poppy spent a little time next door and came back stating that MIL won't be coming to dinner, because she's had runs for 4 days. Well I happen to know that's not true, because the first day she was helping us with the baby, the second day I took her up to the church, and the third day she was just bitching about our house and never said a word about being sick.

Poppy told her that if she was sick for so long, that maybe she should go to the hospital and maybe if it's that bad Luna better go to the doctor and get checked too. Later that day MIL came over and said she wasn't sick when she was watching Luna and she could probably come to dinner because she hadn't been sick all day, even though she just said she was a few hours earlier.

Even though it was an insane and crazy morning and afternoon, when it came time for dinner, the house was beautiful, the food was fantastic and everyone had a great time. No fights, no fuss. MIL said grace, because we don't know any, FIL said the house seemed bigger that theirs (even though it's half the size, it's just cleaner) and the kids actually sat quietly for a minute and enjoyed their meal. A perfect end to a crazy week.

Poppy and Luna took a nap before they went out shopping with Daddy at 10 PM to 3 AM. They want to several stores to price match the Best Buy ads. She only got a few things and some of the stores didn't give them all the matched prices.

At 9 AM I went online and found almost everything she wanted at Best Buy. She ordered there and now she has to return the other things. lol Next year do your Black Friday shopping from the living room Poppy!

Happy Holidays!

Talking Turkey

OK, so Lets talk Turkey. I hope all my US friends had a Happy Thanksgiving yesterday and had lots of Turkey to eat. I'm talking about the real stuff, not that tofurkey stuff you vegans eat. C'mon why does a bird have more right to live in this world than a bean anyhow? A bean never took a humongous dump on my head while I was walking around the amusement park last summer.

I'm not here to argue philosophy with you today I'm here to tell you how wonderful our two real turkeys were this year. Yes two. No we are not suddenly rich, both were given to us. No, not rich in money, just rich with kind neighbors (yeah, some of them are and sometimes even the crazy ones are nice).

The night before Thanksgiving we saw a new way to cook turkey on the local news. Poppy and I were tempted. We did have an extra turkey and all the ingredients so the next day we went for it. Two delicious and different turkeys. Both recipes use a stick of butter, so don't think your bird will be healthy. It's a freaking holiday! Enjoy life!

Don't know what we will do next year. I think we might get 2 small birds and cook the 2 ways again. More drumsticks all around!

Here are our recipes for those of you who cook turkey for other holidays, and to keep for next Thanksgiving.

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Our Traditional Turkey Style

Not my mothers recipe, one we saw on Food channel years ago and fell in love with. Use your own stuffing or for a faster bird leave empty.

1 stick softened butter
salt
pepper
garlic powder

Wash and dry thawed or fresh turkey. Stuff if you're using stuffing. Above the neck cavity, slide your very clean hands under the skin loosening it without tearing. It will separate pretty easily from the meat of the breast. Just do it to the breast area. Take handfuls of the soft butter and smoosh it under the skin. Yes that's a professional term ;)

Take the last bit of butter and slather the top. Salt, pepper and garlic powder the bird and rub it everywhere. Make sure you have one of those pop up timer cause they are the BEST way to tell if a turkey is done. Pop in the oven at 350 deg F in a roaster on a rack and do not touch it. Do not baste it, do not move it until that little timer pops up.  The skin crisps and holds in the moisture so you don't have to baste and the fat drips off into the roasting pan. Great for yummy gravy.

Dying for bird two? It's a great one too.

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Fruit Stuffed Turkey in a Brown Paper Bag


one stick butter
one large orange
one large lemon
one pear
one large onion
2 stalks celery cut up
cooking oil
one brown paper grocery bag

Because you have to put the turkey in a bag, I'm not sure this is suitable for a turkey over 20 lbs.

Cut the fruit and onion into eights and put in a large bowl. Cut the celery into 2 or 3 inch sections and place in bowl. Toss till evenly mixed and put this mixture in the turkey cavities at both ends. If there is not enough you can add a bit more of whatever you have. Rub down the bird with oil. I used safflower, but you could use anything you like, just remember this will be a citrus flavored bird.

Take the stick of butter and coat the inside of the paper bag. Yes really. All over the inside till it's all used up.
Place the stuffed bird in the bag and roll up the ends to seal in. You can staple shut, but we have a lot of straight pins so I used that. Place in roasting pan in a 350 degree F oven and cook for about 15 minutes per pound. I did this and it was perfect, It had a timer and it had popped when the time was over. Open the bag and you will have a beautifully brown citrus scented bird. Pull it out and let it rest FOR AT LEAST AN HOUR. If you cut it too soon all that yummy moisture will be gone.

This bird kept the heat in much longer. I had to let it cool down a bit more than an hour, but it was unbelievably moist and delicious. The smell of the citrus was soo wonderful too. I just can't decide which I loved better.

Have fun with your cooking, and don't get stuck in a rut. If you're game to try something new, you don't have to give up the old. After all, the birds cost the same per pound if you have one or two of them.

Thanksgiving 2011

This is mostly for those in the US, but why not take this time to be thankful for what you have. In our family we celebrate many international Holidays. I even had the opportunity to spend a Thanksgiving in China. You can read about it here if you're curious.

I'm posting this before Thanksgiving so you have a little love before your family who you DO love dearly drives you crazy with the noise and the arguing and the I wish I was somewhere else and the over stuffing and the mess to clean.

I wanted, first of all, to let you all know how much I appreciate every single one of you. Yes you. You who reads my blog, you who supports me, you who tweets with me and listens to my troubles and my joys. You are my friend, and I would be nothing but a sad mess without you.

I am also grateful for the friends and strangers who have helped my family through our struggles in the past few years. How kind and wonderful to share in even these tough times. Your kindness has not gone unnoticed or unappreciated.

So this year, close your ears to the arguing, you're loved ones are with you; be thankful for the mess, because it meant you had a huge table of food; and if you're like me, mentally block out the football games.

Wishing all my friends a Very Happy Thanksgiving.

A MOST UNUSUAL THANKSGIVING DINNER

In 2007 My family went out of town for Dinner so I chose to accept an out of the country commission, in China. Here's how I celebrated Thanksgiving that year.

Thanksgiving 2007

Today I enjoyed Thanksgiving lunch with my Chinese family, a Designer, an engineer, 2 factory managers, a product manager, and our driver. I was the only American, as all of my associates had gone back to the States to have Thanksgiving with their families. It was only lunch and not quite Thanksgiving Day in the US, but I imagined that this was my Thanksgiving dinner.

We ate things that might have been eaten in America that first Thanksgiving, rabbit, corn and beans. I was sure that the bamboo sticks the rabbit was threaded on, and the shiny aluminum foil protecting their ends, were not used that first Thanksgiving, but the meat was very tasty.

The corn, which I am sure the pilgrims must have eaten, was very good also, although ours was cooked in egg yolk and sprinkled with large crystalline grains of pale brown sugar. The green beans were cooked with almost neon purple skinned eggplant that had a fire-roasted flavor. This was the best of all of the dishes, but I’m positive that eggplant hadn’t arrived in the Americas for many years after the first Thanksgiving.

We had a pot of animal insides, stomach, liver, and I’m not sure what else, that were boiled in broth with some sort of meatballs, and quail eggs. I was not really sure what animal it was or what the meatballs were made of, and maybe I didn’t really want to know. We were served a heaping platter of pork meat with even more heaps of dried hot red peppers. The meat wasn’t very spicy , I guess the peppers were just decoration.

We had a plate of finely chopped broccoli. Not the best tasting thing on the table though, and I like broccoli. It was steamed with no seasoning. Too plain for my taste, but healthy so I ate a large portion. The best tasting dish was the rice noodle with spicy sauce. Large flat translucent noodles with garlic and spicy oil, and so much hot pepper that the oil is a deep glistening red.

There was a small iron dish of bubbling hot spicy beef. This one is a favorite of mine. Small tender strips of beef, that simmer in a little oil and broth with a lot of hot peppers, garlic, and fresh cilantro, and have a flavor similar to Mexican food.

The food was all served on a large rotating tray, like an over sized lazy Susan. That’s how my Chinese family eats in a large group. It is really a nice way to dine. You rotate food around and take only what you want, when you want it, no fighting. There is plenty for everyone, and no mother over stuffing your plates with amounts and food you don’t really want.

The conversation went on, just like any family dinner. There were heated discussions and lots of laughing. I didn’t understand a word of it. I did hear my name mentioned once and was told that they complimented me for something. I believed them.

We sipped hot tea and a canned herbal tea drink and enjoyed the company of friends and good food.

My mind wandered to my many years of Thanksgiving with my family in the U.S. This was my first Thanksgiving away from home. I have spent my birthday away, many times, and I have been without part of my family other holidays, but never so far away.