Recipes & Food that make you happy

@matildagirl  

I ate duck once. It tasted like liver. I tried to help the taste with wine and olives. I will never eat it again.

Posted by: @lovendures

@unk-p 

That sounds wonderful!  

I of course did not mean the platypus. Haha. 

Posted by: @journeywithme2

I do recall reading somewhere at one point that the reason that men love meat and potatoes so much? Is that their bodies need the nutrients in said meat and potatoes for their bodies to produce testosterone. Which could explain why at times they seem to crave it to the exclusion of other meal ingredients.

well that explains some things about @dannyboy- have you seen him? The man is a beast!  Testosta-rama! I would not sass him, if i was in his class! hehheh

@lovendures i thought you *did* mean the platypus, lol

@unk-p 

Imagine the dangers from my not speaking with the greatest amount of specificity possible about the cranberry pico.  I could come over to your place for a nice little visit and you might whip up some platypus thinking I would enjoy it when in reality I would need to find a way to gracefully cut our visit short and run far away as fast as possible.  haha.

I would linger however if offered the cranberry pico.  

I guess it all depends upon how well our visit would go.  If you offer platypus, I would take that as a signal I have overstayed my welcome, big time.

@lovendures 

Isn't platypus protected?

@elaineg 

Hi, the only duck I do eat is Deep fried duck in Plum sauce from my local Chinese restaurant but I have, drum roll please, had a duck confit cassoulet in Carcasonne France. Wasn’t that fussed with it, too many beans and not a lot of flavour. But hey, bragging rights.

I think with just about every food, it’s the sauce that saves it.

Regards to all

@lovendures  no platypi, but Washington Post does have an article about  Vegan Snake Soup.  (I am not making this up). Unfortunately, it is behind a paywall, so i won't be making that, either.  But do join me up in the lounge after dinner for Cranberry Margaritas (and Cranberry Pico!) ? 

Posted by: @elaineg

@lovendures 

Isn't platypus protected?

Good Lord I hope so!  That would solve everything wouldn't it?

@elaineg Yes, platypus is definitely not on the menu, but you can get  kangaroo and crocodile.

Regards

Posted by: @matildagirl

you can get  kangaroo and crocodile.

 

if only the Tofurkey Company would come out with Tofu-roo, then my menu would really be hopping.

@unk-p Yep

Hopping to the Loo

to get rid of Tofu roo

Regards me

Posted by: @unk-p

Posted by: @matildagirl

you can get  kangaroo and crocodile.

 

if only the Tofurkey Company would come out with Tofu-roo, then my menu would really be hopping.

Hahahaha!

@unk-p

i think Fable might be a fable, checked a couple of supermarkets couldn’t find it. The plant based meat product are a very tiny section in our supermarkets so I bought another brand also made from mushrooms. It was trying to be Pulled Lamb.

Pan fried to heat as suggested, was going to have a hot lamb sandwich. Texture was terrible, like trying to eat rubber bands, have no idea what the flavour was. It joined the tofu roo in the loo.

I don’t know if other things like pea protein etc would be better but I think I will stick to the real deal and if I do decide to go down the veggie route will make a ratatouille 

Regards to all

Posted by: @journeywithme2

I have reached the age where a lot of times? I like to just steam or oven roast some veggies and just eat them with some butter, salt, pepper, herbs and spices variating for a meal and am perfectly satisfied with that. I still eat meats when I feel the urge for them. I really sort of listen to my body and eat what it says it needs. I am eating more seasonally now too, i.e. more fresh fruits and veggies, unprocessed and delicious out of the garden or Farmers Market. In the winter? more potatoes and winter greens etc. Lots of soups for Fall and Winter. 

Journey, I love your food regimen. My vegetarian son is home with us now and he cooks up a veggie storm.  If I top it with goat cheese, then it's a meal. 

Today we cooked all day and ate all night. Everyone is down for the count now, even the dog is passed out from everyone sneaking her food.

We had:

• Butternut squash roasted with pecans toasted with maple syrup (omg), dried cranberries, rosemary,  and big globs of goat cheese. 
• Shrimp that my brother brought.
• The stuffing was the best thing: we chopped a lot of veggies, added apples and dried cranberries and broth, and those candied pecans and gf bread. omg.
• Carrots roasted in cumin, honey, lemon, a few other spices, turmeric. My son Tom made it and it was amazing. He just makes up dishes. He puts everything from the fridge on the kitchen table and starts assembling, like Jackson Pollack throwing paint. Then out comes these exotic dishes that no one has ever tasted, because he makes it all up on the spot. 
• Cauliflower roasted in mustard, mayo, turmeric, some garden herbs. Tom made this too.  Crunchy and creamy and tangy. 
• There was a green salad.
• There was a turkey. There was not a tofurkey.  When unk-p said tofurkey came with plastic wishbones, I started imagining I'd be eating a toy. I didn't want to buy a real turkey, but I gave into it at the last minute.  I'll go full veggie for Christmas. I will try tofurkey just for fun.

I bought cranberries and limes to make @unk-p's recipe but the kitchen chaos got to be too much and I forgot to make it. 

I'm not sure he should be in charge of anything food related next time.  Nothing about that action to be proud of on his end

It was a long day here but a good day.  My girls made 4 things over the past 2 days, a Brussel sprout dish with Manchego cheese and stone ground mustard, an Insta pot  sweet potato dish, a chocolate pudding pie and roasted  French carrots .  I baked pumpkin pie, the turkey, cornbread, stuffing and the fresh green bean casserole with gruyere and Swiss cheese .

The turkey took much longer to bake than it was supposed to take.  Yet it was definitely still moist so that was good. We had close family friends over to celebrate with us, they are in our "bubble" as our children have been dating for 6 years.  I was reminded how wonderful it is to spend time with people you love.  I also LOVED the fact that my girls each created dishes they wanted to try.  

@jeanne-mayell and @lovendures, 

you're coming to my house to cook next Thanksgiving.  Your dishes sound fabulous!

I made a 5 lb roasted boneless Turkey breast with dressing and gravy, oven roasted Brussels sprouts, a butternut squash, carrot and sweet potato medley also oven roasted, cranberry stuff and a buttermilk pecan pie for dessert.

A lot less leftovers this year. I am going to take the leftover breast meat today and make a turkey salad with dried cranberries and walnuts and celery and sweet onion for sandwiches on toasted bread with greens. I have no leftover Brussel Sprouts having only prepared enough for 4 of those. I made double batch of the orange veggie medley because I am using that today to make a soup to go with the sandwiches. A tasty and fairly light supper today for all of us and easy enough to eat when hungry because both the "kids" (33 and 21) are working Black Friday at their jobs today.

I did give thanks this am that I am retired as I know that there will be a slammed day for all the pets that were given T Day feasts foods that will be causing pancreatitis and dietary indiscretion induced vomiting and diarrhea. I do not miss that ? at all!!!!

After all the prep and busy I am giving myself the day off...to curl in my favorite chair and read a long awaited novel that came out that I had preordered and it arrived on Wednesday. I shall be "traveling through time" while others "fight the crowds" for Black Friday, after saying a prayer for and sending Light and Love to all out there in it today.

I did a 13 lb turkey and now I am making turkey soup using this recipe:

https://www.melskitchencafe.com/the-best-leftover-turkey-soup/       (The secret ingredient is the half-and-half.  I've made it before and it turned out very well.  )

My husband took most of the meat off the bird for leftovers and then I put the remains in the crockpot overnight with water and a couple bay leaves.  This morning I strained the broth and picked the remaining bits of meat off the bone.  I've now got celery, onion, and carrots sauteeing on high in the crockpot; when the veg are softened I'll add the broth, some brown rice, and eventually the cooked meat bits and let it cook all afternoon. 

Here's another excellent, easy soup that can be made with leftover turkey (even though the original is for chicken): 

https://www.spendwithpennies.com/chicken-barley-soup/

It calls for canned, diced tomatoes but you can use fresh or even sun-dried tomatoes, but not too many sun-dried as they could make it too salty.  Fresh or frozen cherry tomatoes work really well. ( I have a bunch of frozen cherry tomatoes in my freezer as a consequence of planting too many hyper-productive tomato plants last spring.)