Happy New Year!

As far out there as I am willing to go sometimes, there are a few things that are so deeply and ritualistically traditional that the thought of changing them seems sacriligious. So today, as I was injecting the turkey with an amazing Thai marinade; a (rather large) part of me was saying "No! No! No! Stop that!" However, I have three other turkeys in the freezer so if this experiment fails, in the next month or two I can make up for it with simple salt and pepper and a bit of oyster dressing.

Thai Injectable Marinade

2 Tablespoons Red Pepper Flakes
2 inch piece of fresh ginger roughly chopped
1 head of garlic peeled
the juice and zest of 3 limes
1/4 sugar
2 Tablespoons molasses
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup fish sauce (don't be a wuss)
2 Tablespoons Bragg's Liquid Amino or soy sauce
1 Cup water

Blend everything together in the blender. If using as an injectable you might want to run this through a strainer.

I'll be putting the turkey in the oven in about 15 minutes. We're having coconut rice and a mix of broccoli and peppers as a side dish. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Happy Thanksgiving

Who knew how much two words can change your life? Five years ago I was taking a break from a 22 pound turkey and a ridiculous vat of stuffing and chatting with a few friends on the game site where I played. I was in a festive mood so I decided to send Thanksgiving greetings to anyone who showed up on the site.

"Happy Thanksgiving!"

Two words. I must have sent out dozens of them. I got a lot of "Thanks" and "You too ;)" a couple of "Not American, don't celebrate it." Nothing I felt the need for further reply. But then...

"Happy Thanksgiving to you also. :) Shame I won't be celebrating it like
you guys do though..."

Hmmmm...Ok. I'll chat.
We talked about an English equivalent holiday. (None) We talked about turkey. (Yum) We talked about our lives. (Busy) We talked about online dating. (Stupid)

Unless of course you end up married...

Five years later. In about half an hour I'm going to turn to my husband and say "Happy Thanksgiving!" I'm gonna kiss him and I'm gonna kiss our beautiful daughter. I have a lot to be thankful for.

Cakes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soda Pop Bread (for Jenifer)

Easiest
2 cups Self Rising Flour
1 12 oz can of soda

Still Easy
2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 12 oz can of soda

Whole Wheat Still Easy
2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 12 oz can of soda

10 Grain Still Easy
2 cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Cereal
(7 or 12 Grain also work)
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 12 oz can of soda

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a loaf pan or an 8x8 baking pan.

In a medium bowl mix all ingredients just until combined. Turn out into prepared pan and bake 30-45 minutes until pick inserted in center comes out clean

Add Ins
up to 1/2 cup white or brown sugar
up to 1/2 cup Grain Cereal or Cornmeal
up to 1/2 cup of any type of nut
up to 1/2 cup of any type dried fruit
(cut larger fruits into small pieces)
up to 1 cup of cheese
small onion diced
small tart apple diced
small diced peach
Up to 1 tablespoon of any herb or spice or combination of herbs and spices.

Let your imagination run wild!

Eat This?

 

Kristi's ^

 

Karl's ^

 

Chloe's ^

 

The White's ^

Fig Pizza?

 

As unlikely as it may seem, the idea for this was brought on by a find of Meyer Lemons at our local co-op. Having never come across one before I had to buy one, but having never come across one before I also had no idea what to do with it. A search came up with Meyer Lemon Pizza on Weekly Dish (Which I am at the mo' madly in love with and reading from end to end.) I didn't have all the ingredients called for but decided to force the issue by making whole wheat pizza dough. The co-op had more lemons but the jalapenos at Schnucks were, erm, nasty. Black mission figs caught my eye and below them walnuts and click, click, click my brain assembled a fig and walnut pizza.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (Enough for two pizzas)

2 cups warm water
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon active dry yeast (2 packets)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat bread flour (may need slightly more or less depending on the humidity)
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached, dissolve the sugar in the water. Sprinkle the yeast over the top and wait five minutes. Mixture should be bubbly or "scummy" looking. No activity means your yeast is dead either by suicide/old age or homicide (too hot of water) and you will need to start over. If all is well stir in one cup of all purpose then the salt and olive oil. Add the remaining all purpose flour and 1 1/2 cups of the whole wheat bread flour. Mix to combine adding more flour as needed to form a soft but not sticky dough. Using the dough hook "knead" for 10 minutes. Turn out of the bowl, form into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled. Punch down and cut dough in half. Wrap one half and refrigerate for 2-3 days or freeze for 3 months. (Let it thaw in the fridge at least overnight before using.) With the remaining piece make Fig Pizza

Fig Pizza

Whole wheat pizza crust or crust of your choice.
18-20 dry Black Mission figs (or the type of fig you like best) destemmed and cut in halves
1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/3 cup honey
Large sprig of rosemary roughly chopped
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt
1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese shredded or grated

Preheat oven to 475. Spread pizza dough on a lightly greased baking sheet as thinly as possible. Mix the honey and rosemary together and warm in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. Set aside. Drizzle the crust with olive oil and sprinkle sea salt over. Scatter the figs and walnuts evenly over the crust then drizzle with the rosemary infused honey making sure to get some on every fig. Bake for 10 minutes remove from the oven sprinkle the parmesan over the top and bake a further five minutes. Mmmmm

We served it with cider vinegar marinated chicken breast that I grilled and a field greens salad with onions and tomato. 

A few days later I found decent jalapenos so I made the Meyer Lemon Pizza. Fantastic! (Even better the next day, cold.)

A few new cakes...