Giving Thanks

This was my fifth time roasting a turkey and I decided to try brining.  A couple of years ago my friend Paul did this with his turkey and itwas by far the tastiest, moistest turkey I ever ate.  I decided to try using maple syrup instead of white sugar for my brine, and used up the last of the fresh sage from the garden along with some garlic and thyme.  The result was an excellent tasting turkey, but I think I slightly overcooked it.  All the guests who like white meat claimed it was very moist and didn't thing it was overcooked at all!  It was also a very dark turkey which I think was due in part to the honey in the brine.  Aside from forgetting to turn the oven on for the first hour of cooking, the feast was a great success!  My favorite part, as always was the stuffing.  It is the same recipe my mom made every Christmas and Thanksgiving and I will never tire of it. The pumpkin pie made with the freshly roasted pumpkins from the garden was AMAZING and I am mad at myself for having made tofu pumpkin pies for so many years.  The real deal traditional pies are great!

MAPLE BRINED TURKEY with Whole Wheat Savoury Stuffing

1- 16 pound pasture raised turkey
1 1/4 cups coarse sea salt
1.25 litres boiling water
150 ml local maple syrup
8 litres cold water
5 tsp organic whole peppercorns
20 bay leaves
4 organic apples, sliced
2 organic onions, sliced

bunch of organic thyme

bunch of organic sage

6 cloves organic garlic, peeled

1 carrot

2 organic celery stalks

Stuffing:

5 cups organic whole wheat bread, cubed

3 Tbsp organic poultry seasoning

1 organic onion, chopped

2 organic celery stalks, chopped

2 cups organic mushrooms, sliced

1/2 pack of organic bacon, sliced

1/4 cup each minced organic parsely, thyme, sage and marjoram

sea salt and pepper

organic butter

Gravy: 1 cup organic chicken stock or white wine

2/3 cup organic unbleached white flour

6 cups water

Method for Stuffing:

Preheat oven to 350*. Place cubed bread in a pan and toast lightly in the oven for about 15 mins.  Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat.  Add bacon, onion, celery and mushrooms to pan.  Saute until the onion is soft and the bacon begins to brown, then add the seasoning and some salt and pepper.  Fry for about 2 minutes, remove from heat and pour into a large bowl. Add the herbs and mix with your hands until thoroughly combined.

Method for Turkey:

Rinse turkey in cool water.  Combine the boiling water, salt, and maple syrup in a large heat proof bowl.  Stir until salt is dissolved.  Add the cold water, garlic, peppercorns, vegetables, and herbs in a large stainless steel stock pot and immerse turkey in the brine for at least 12 hours (I did ours for 18).  Then remove the turkey and pat dry, placing it in a stainless steel roasting pan, on a little rack.  Tuck the wings under the bird so they don't burn while you roast the turkey.

   

Stuff the neck part first, careful not to pack it in too tightly.  Using large toothpicks pin the flap of skin to to the turkey to keep the stuffing in.  Turn it over and stuff the back end (make sure the gizzards and neck are removed!), leaving a nice pile of the stuffing sticking out for picking on as the bird roasts.  Tie the legs together with cooking twine.  Rub the turkey with salted butter and sprinkle with some black pepper.  Place it on the rack and add the carrot, celery and onion to the bottom of the pan along with the neck and 2 cups of chicken stock.

     Preheat oven to 350* with rack in lowest position.  Tent the bird with foil to prevent  browning too quickly.  Roast 1 hour then baste it every 30 minutes with pan liqiuds until a thermometer reads 125*, about 3 hours.  Remove foil and continue to roast until thigh reaches 175*, about 45 minutes.  Tent it again if it browns too quickly.  Transfer turkey to platter to rest while you make gravy.

Gravy: Place the pan on the stove across 2 burners.  Bring pan liquids to a boil over a high heat. Cook stirring until liquid has mostly evaporated, about 5 minutes.  Keep cooking, stirring until the vegetables have browned, about 5  minutes.  Add the stock or wine, cook, stirring constantly until syrupy, 1-2 mins.  Add the flour, cook stirring until flour is incorporated and browned, about 2 minutes. Slowely add 6 cups of water; bring to a simmer, stirring, about 5 minutes.  Continue cooking until gravy reaches the consistency you like.  Pour gravy through a mesh sieve into a saucepan, discarding solids.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Keep warm. 

After turkey has rested about 20 minutes, remove the stuffing and carve.

MAPLE PUMPKIN PIE

1 whole wheat pastry crust, unbaked

1 1/3 cups cooked organic pumpkin puree

3/4 cup maple syrup

1 cup organic cream

1/2 cup organic whole milk

1 tsp organic cinnamon

1/2 tsp fresh grated organic nutmeg

1/8 tsp organic grated ginger

3 organic eggs

1 Tbsp organic unbleached white flour

1 tsp sea salt

Method: Preheat oven to 350*.  Blend all ingredients together.  Pour into pie shell and bake for about 45-60 minutes.  Let cool before serving.

Pea Soup and Real Deal Greek Salad

Counting down the days when fresh ripe tomatoes and cucumbers will still be available from our lovely garden. Tonight we savoured a village style Greek salad, knowing that we probably won't eat another one for a whole year.  That is the bittersweet reality of eating seasonally and locally; enjoy it while it lasts.  I cringe when I go to a Greek restaurant and see items on the menu that were only meant to be eaten when things are fresh and right from the garden.  A real Greek salad (the way I like it) is made using only a few simple ingredients: ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced onion, crisp cucumber, peppers, black olives, feta, oregano, the best olive oil, sea salt and pepper.  That's it.  And you can only pull this off with the freshest ingredients because that is where the flavour comes from.  So that is the recipe.  Place all ingredients in a shallow bowl, drizzle with LOTS of olive oil because that is what you will be dipping lots of crusty bread in!

PEA SOUP with Roasted Garlic

2 cups organic dried split peas

8 cups broth or water

1 organic onion, diced

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 organic bay leaves

2 tsp sea salt

1 large organic carrot, diced

3 organic celery stalks, diced

2 cloves organic garlic, minced

1 head of organic garlic, roasted

black pepper

Method:  Saute onion, carrot, celery in the olive oil over medium heat until soft.  Add bay leaf, salt, garlic, split peas and water, bring to a boil then reduce heat and cook until peas are soft, about 1 -1 1/2 hours.

     Squeeze the roasted garlic into the soup, remove the bay leaves, cook until soup is the consistency you like.  Serve with crusty bread.

Autumn Supper

I love it when I go from having no idea what to make for supper, to making some of the best meals ever!  Tonight was one of those nights.  I had some organic chicken legs that I didn't know what to do with.  I discovered another bowl of cherry tomatoes in the kitchen that needed to be used up so I decided on Goulash.  I still had some pumpkin puree left over from this afternoon so I decided to make a Pumpkin Polenta to serve as a base for the saucy goulash.  I had a bunch of escarole in the fridge from the market last week which I usually boil, but tonight I wanted something raw.  I was a little skeptical that this salad would be awesome, but I was wrong.  It was awesome.  Very awesome.

CHICKEN GOULASH

2 organic chicken legs and thighs, separated

3 organic onions, sliced

2 cloves organic garlic, sliced

4 organic carrots, sliced

1 zucchini, sliced

2 organic green peppers, chopped

3 Tbsp organic sweet Hungarian paprika

1 tsp organic caraway seeds

1 tsp sea salt

fresh ground black pepper

1/4 tsp organic chili powder

1 cup organic chicken stock

1 can stewed tomatoes or 3-4 organic tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup organic sour cream

2 Tbsp organic unbleached white flour

2 Tbsp chopped fresh organic parsley

Method: In a Dutch oven, brown the chicken in some olive oil over medium high heat.  Remove from pan, set aside.  Add onions and garlic, fry over medium heat until softened.  Add carrots, green peppers, paprika, caraway, salt, pepper and chili powder.  Fry, stirring for 2 minutes. Add chicken stock and tomatoes.  Return chicken to pan.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 40 mins.  Transfer chicken to a platter and keep warm.  In a small bowl, combine sour cream and flour.  Stir into the sauce and simmer, stirring until thickened.  Pour over chicken. Garnish with parsley.

PUMPKIN POLENTA

3 cups organic chicken stock

2 Tbsp organic unsalted butter

14 oz organic pumpkin puree

1 cup organic cornmeal, if coarse, grind it to make it finer

1 cup romano cheese, grated

Method:  Bring the stock and butter to a boil.  Add the pumpkin and stir.  Whisk in the cornmeal.  Lower heat and cook about 20 minutes or until thick and the polenta starts to come away from the sides of the pot.  Stir in the cheese and serve.

WARM ESCAROLE SALAD with Pecans and Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/2 head organic escarole

1 cup organic pecans

2 Tbsp organic unsalted butter

3 Tbsp organic balsamic vinegar

about 1/8 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp minced organic red onion

sea salt and pepper

Method:  Wash and dry the escarole.  Cut escarole into 1 inch pieces and place in a salad bowl. Saute the pecans in the butter for 5 minutes.  Make a vinagrette with the vinegar and oil, then stirring the onion into the dressing.  When the pecans are done, turn off heat and pour the vinaigrette into the pan.  Heat for 1 minute then pour the dressing over the salad and toss.

Pumpkins and Tomatoes

My grape tomatoes have been super producing lately and we've had bowls of them ripening on the counter for days.  Faegan has been enjoying watching his Mommy cook.  He pulls up a chair right up to the counter and gets up to watch me as I work.  He has been fascinated with these bowls of tomatoes.  Occasionally popping one in his mouth, but mostly he likes to play with them. Before they start to rot I thought I'd make some tomato sauce with them. 

     While I was in the kitchen I also decided to start getting ready for the Thanksgiving Feast I am preparing on Monday.  I am thinking about making a pumpkin pie so I decided to bake 2 pumpkins in the oven so I don't have to worry about it this weekend.  I froze the extra puree to have on hand for the winter.  I am drying the pumpkin seeds to plant in the spring.

FRESH TOMATO SAUCE

3 cups organic tomatoes, chopped if they are large, otherwise the mini ones can go in whole

2 cloves organic garlic, chopped

handful of fresh organic basil, shredded

sea salt and pepper

1 Tbsp olive oil

Method:  Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the garlic and heat for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and basil, sea salt and pepper.  Simmer until sauce is thickened, about 30 mins.

PUMPKIN PUREE 

                        

2 small organic pumpkins

Method:  Preheat oven to 350*.  Cut the pumpkins in half, scoop out the seeds and place face down in a roasting pan or cast iron skillets.  Bake for about 45-60 mins until the pumpkins are nice and soft.  Let cool slightly and then scoop out the flesh.  Puree in a food processor.  Use in baking or freeze.

Real Canadian Supper

It was a rainy, cool, blustery day here on the Eastern Shore.  What better meal to make than a true Canadian classic?
I never made fishcakes until I moved to the East Coast.  When I married Scott I discovered you always eat fishcakes with beans, baked beans that is.  Apparently mustard pickles are the preferred condiment of choice for this too......

FISH CAKES

1 pound hook and line haddock or pollock

2 cups cooked mashed organic potatoes, refrigerate until cool

1 small organic onion, minced

1 organic egg, beaten

3-4 Tbsp organic parsley, chopped

sea salt and pepper

Method:  Cover fish with fresh cold water and bring to a boil, simmer and cook until fish is cooked through.  Flake in a bowl and refrigerate until cold.  Mix all ingredients together and shape into patties.  If possible let the patties sit in fridge to hold together better, but not necessary.

     Melt some butter in a non stick pan over a low medium heat.  Fry each side of the patty until they are golden.  I like to heat the cakes in the oven for a bit to make sure the insides are nicely cooked and warm.

BAKED BEANS

2 cups dry organic navy beans, soaked overnight or for 6 hours

1 organic onion, chopped

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 Tbsp sea salt

1 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/3 cup molasses

Method: Pressure cook or boil the beans until they are soft.  Be sure they are as soft as you are going to want them when they are eaten because they will not cook anymore once they are in the oven.  When they are cooked, drain them and combine all the ingredients in a cast iron pot ((or any lidded pot) with lid.  Cover the beans with water.  Bake in a 300* oven for 4-6 hours.  Check and stir the beans every now and then, adding more water as necessary.

Faegan loves this meal.  So does his dad.  So do I really.

Chinese

I had a bag of fermented black beans in my cupboard for about three years before I finally figured out what to do with them.  Great stir fry at home!

TOFU AND VEGETABLES IN BLACK BEAN SAUCE

1 lb organic firm tofu

1 Tbsp organic tamari

2 tsp rice wine or sake

1/2 tsp toasted organic sesame oil

Method:  Cube the tofu and let it marinate in the above ingredients for 15 mins.

1 Tbsp organic sesame oil

1/4 cup sliced organic green onions

1 Tbsp finely chopped organic garlic

1 Tbsp salted, fermented black beans, rinsed and coarsely chopped

1 Tbsp finely chopped organic fresh ginger

1/2 organic green pepper

1/2 organic red pepper

1 crown organic broccoli, cut into florettes

1 organic carrot, thinly sliced

2 tsp organic tamari

1 Tbsp rice wine or sake

1 tsp local honey

1/4 cup stock or water

1/2 tsp toasted organic sesame oil

2 tsp organic cornstarch

1/4 cup raw organic cashews

Method:  Heat a wok over high heat, add the oil and heat until almost smoking.  Add the tofu and cook until lightly browned.  Remove.  Add more oil if needed and stir fry the broccoli, carrot and peppers until beginning to soften slightly.  Add the scallions, garlic, black beans and ginger.  Stir-fry for 10 seconds, add the soy sauce, rice wine, honey, stock, sesame oil and cornstarch.  Add the tofu and cashews, toss lightly to coat.  Serve with steamed rice.

Burgers and Ice Cream

When you are craving take out, try making your own.

BURGERS

1 pound organic and or pasture raised ground beef

1 organic onion, minced

1 organic egg, lightly beaten

1 handful fresh bread crumbs

1 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 Tbsp ground organic coriander

pinch of ground organic cumin

sea salt and pepper to taste

Toppings etc:

3 organic whole wheat burger buns

Homemade cucumber relish

Organic ketchup

Honey mustard or Dijon

Sliced organic tomato

Thin sliced red onion

Slices of organic cheddar cheese

Method:  Preheat oven to 450*.  Combine all the first ingredients together in a bowl.  Shape into 4 big flat patties. Place in a cast iron fry pan and broil for 25 minutes.  Add cheese to melt in the last 5 minutes. 

SALAD WE ATE WITH THE BURGERS

Organic Oak leaf lettuce

Organic Local Feta Cheese

Grated Organic Carrot

Organic Cucumbers

Organic Red Pepper

Organic Sunflower Seeds

Spiralized Organic Zucchini

Dressing:  1/4 cup olive oil * 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar * 4 Tbsp nutritional yeast * 4 cloves garlic * 3 Tbsp fresh herbs * 2 Tbsp local honey * pepper

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER ICE CREAM SENSATION

I was craving the homemade peanut butter cups I make, but we didn't have any or the ingredients to make them so I decided to create this which was so good I had two bowls.

2 scoops organic milk chocolate ice cream ( we like PC brand)

1 heaping Tbsp organic peanut butter (PC brand)

drizzle organic chocolate sauce (Nativa brand from Shopper's Drug Mart)

Method:  Scoop ice cream, then PB and drizzle with sauce......AWESOME!