Thanksgiving Pt. 1...New Tradition?

I know I mentioned that Jake's birthday celebration didn't go off as planned...we had to postpone, as he was in a lot of pain, and it was a mystery. Well, by Wednesday, he was doubled over with abdominal pain. After consulting Web MD and learning that the symptoms pointed to appendicitis, Cliff took Jake on a six-hour, emergency room adventure. Appendicitis was ruled out. He had no other symptoms (fever, etc.) and insisted he had been using the bathroom normally. Well, the X-ray proved otherwise. Evidently he was about to explode. Good times. So, they sent him home about 1 AM with some medicine to wait it out. Within 24 hours, he was fine. Phew!

Not only had he missed his birthday, but the next day was Thanksgiving. We were in no shape to be putting on a feast. Wednesday night, as I was driving kids back and forth from classes, church interviews, service projects, etc...trading out vehicles with Cliff at the ER to fill up his gas tank and leave a car for Troy at the college so he could drive himself home, etc...I was despairing over the situation. We had invited the Jones kids, since they had had their Thanksgiving early so the parents could take a trip to the Tokyo temple over the holiday. I finally came to the conclusion that we needed to put it off by a day. We have learned over the years that holidays are whenever you can be together to celebrate them, so why not?

When I posted on Facebook that Jake was going to be fine, and that we were going to be holding our celebration a day late, my friend Tracy wrote that it's how her family does it every year! She said she spends Thursday cooking all day while her husband is home to keep the kids occupied, and then on Friday, they feast and relax. Genius! I am considering adopting this tradition for my own.

So, with the pressure off, I was able to do all the prep work on Thursday, and a lot of the cooking, so that on Friday morning, I just had to cook the turkey, assemble the stuffing in the crock pot, bake the rolls, brown the sweet potatoes, etc. It was great. Here's how we spent our Thanksgiving days:



Giving the Turkey a butter massage...



Woohoo! High-five!



Gorgeous pumpkin pies. While I don't boil my own pumpkin (I like the thicker consistency of canned pumpkin better) I did make the pie crust. It was flaky and fantastic, if I do say so myself. And the recipe? My grandma's secret...you just use the Libby's recipe on the can, but add 1 Tbsp of frozen orange juice concentrate. Yum!



Once again, this year I made Mr. Bennett's $30 stuffing (my Aunt Sue's recipe), but I made my own cornbread cubes using the Pioneer Woman's recipe. (Thanks for sharing the idea, Aviva. Man, I love Facebook. I got so many Thanksgiving tips this year.) It was fantastically satisfying. I made these a day ahead to let them dry out overnight (ended up being 2 nights).



They held their shape SO much better than the bagged stuff that turns to paste.



I also bought a loaf of (Japanese) French bread to cube and dry.



This turned out way mo' bettah than the bag or box, too.



And since we were just chillaxin', I had a cute assistant to help me. He rocked.



Turkey, schmurkey! Bring on the stuffing!



Loading all the ingredients into the crockpot...bread cubes, celery, onion...



Sausage...



Wild Rice...



Another cute assistant. Man, I'm lucky.



Fresh mushrooms (a big splurge in these parts)...



Toasted pine nuts. Awesome!



After a couple of hours of roasting the bird upside down (thanks for the tip, Dad)...



I turned him right side up to get nice and brown all over...and he's got these lines all over him. Kind of like when I fall asleep on the couch and end up with my handprint on my face.



I love my trusty silicone mitts. Try turning over a turkey with cloth ones.



Then rubbed him down with olive oil...



And sprinkled him with more poultry seasoning. He also has fresh rosemary inside. Mmm.

In part two, I'll post the rest of the menu, and pics of our feast. It's gonna be GOOD!

Pho

Pho-Ga

This may not be a very good picture, but the light in our cement bunker is pretty poor, and the flash just washes it out. Regardless, I just HAD to share my latest cooking adventure. I LOVE Pho (pronounced Fuh). A trip to Vietnam is definitely on my list while we are here, so I can try it in its native environment. If you'd like to try it for yourself, you can head on over here.

Not being a red meat fan, I prefer Chicken Pho. But you can feel free to also try the more traditional Beef Pho, too.

This was so worth the work...even having to wipe down my entire kitchen after taking a meat cleaver to so many pieces of chicken. (It was a pretty gruesome scene.) The broth turned out so delicately flavorful and the spices and fresh herbs...oh my goodness, I need to make it again STAT!

Enjoy!

CoCo's {Comfort} Curry

A friend of mine shared a recipe for "CoCo Curry House Ichibanya" style curry. Since everyone orders their curry differently, I adapted the recipe to match what I usually order.


It was looking pretty promising here, but the proof is in the tasting.



Oh my goodness, it was heavenly! I liked it better than CoCo's actually...I think because it was fresher. Although, it does take some work, so there is something to be said for just letting CoCo make it for you. {Is there a CoCo?} Since we only eat here once a month or less, I don't know how often I'll actually make it myself. Anyway, I made it with too many potatoes, as pictured above, but I adjusted that in the following recipe, which I am sharing here for your enjoyment. Japanese curry is different than Thai or Indian (even though I love them all), so any substitutions or additions will alter the flavor. You should be able to find S&B Curry blocks.

I hope you like it!


Chicken Cutlet Curry with Vegetables

6 servings medium grain white rice, cooked and kept warm

4 pieces of bacon, chopped

1 onion, large dice

2 carrots, sliced

2 medium potatoes, cubed

5 cups water

2 blocks S&B Golden® curry sauce mix (mild or med/hot)*

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 eggs, beaten

3 cups panko breadcrumbs (1 bag)

salt, pepper and cayenne (if desired)

3 to 6 T peanut oil

Directions:

In large stir fry pan or wok on medium heat, cook bacon until just crispy. Add onion, carrots and potatoes into bacon and grease and sauté about 5 minutes. Add water and both bricks of curry sauce mix to vegetables. Let simmer to thicken and allow vegetables to cook through, stirring occasionally while preparing chicken.

Place chicken breasts into a ziploc bag and seal. Using a rubber mallet (or meat tenderizer, rolling pin, etc.) pound them out to about 1/2 inch thickness.

In pie plate, combine breadcrumbs with salt, pepper and other seasonings, if desired. Dredge chicken in egg then in breadcrumbs until evenly coated.

Cook chicken in large skillet in peanut oil over medium-high heat. (More oil might be needed to cover the bottom of the pan...depending on the size of your pan.) Cook about 5 minute each side, until chicken is cooked through. (If all six breasts won't fit in your pan at once, cook three at a time, keeping the first batch warm.) Slice each breast into strips when finished cooking, but keep strips together.

To arrange dish, place serving of rice on plate, top with sliced chicken breast, then top with sauce.

*If you like any spiciness at all, I would recommend the med/hot or hot. It’s not that hot. The mild has zero spice. Other curry powders have a different flavor, so I wouldn't recommend adding any other curry powder.

Family Home Evening

I wish I knew who I could contribute this often used (by me) quote: "The human mind has an infinite capacity for rationalization." I know my mind ROCKS when it comes to rationalizing. Take Family Home Evening.* We are not consistent at holding it weekly like we should. My rationalizations..."We read scriptures together every night...with discussion questions. That's like FHE (only without the singing)." or "We do SO much as a family, every night is FHE." I'm sure I could think of others if you gave me a minute. Oh, here's another one..."Cliff is responsible for sponsoring the YSA (young single adult) FHE on the base and has to be there." You get the picture.

Regardless, we are trying to be consistent WEEKLY as we have been counseled to do. Cliff did a great lesson on The Living Christ and we each were able to share our thoughts. It wasn't complex or time-consuming, but it was wonderful. It didn't require me to cut, paste or color anything, nor were there costumes involved...but the Spirit was there.



Can you guess what we are doing here?
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Luckily, we had ice cream ingredients just begging to be used, so we combined the activity and treat together in one...



For Ice Cream in a Bag.



Cliff calls it Scout Cream (popular activity for Cub Scouts...only you play catch with the bag until it's ice cream) and I countered it should really be called Home School Cream (popular, edible science activity).



This is mine. I added Ovaltine and mixed in a chopped Take Five bar. It was heavenly.

Wish us luck in our endeavor to be more consistent. Which will most likely need to include chocolate. Just sayin'.

*I included a link to the "text book" definition, but on a more personal note, Family Home Evening usually consists of a lesson on a gospel topic (hopefully prayerfully considered to benefit the family needs), an opening and closing hymn, opening and closing prayer, a fun activity, and a treat. It is absolutely adaptable to your own family, but should at least include a lesson, even if you have preschoolers and that lesson is two minutes long because that is all they can handle. Some families do more singing, some add in scripture reading or even a talent. Some have dubbed it, "The family fight that begins and ends with prayer." Sometimes...it's just like that.

Watermelon Ice

Remember that summer list I made awhile back? Well, our summer is almost over, and I'm sucking at it. Big time. At least I think so, I may have accidentally done one or two I'm not remembering now...and I haven't actually looked at the list since about a week after I wrote it. It's that bad.

I do remember that this was on the list, though:


What is this, you ask? It is a watermelon slushie. Made with actual frozen chunks of watermelon. Like this:



Peel and cube an entire seedless watermelon.



Gather all of your small, round Tupperware containers. Fill them with watermelon chunks, squishing the pieces so the juice fills the spaces.



Get a cute assistant to help you.



Freeze containers for several hours, until solid. Empty each container into the drum of the ice shaver.



Place a bigger bowl beneath to catch shaved ice. Turn crank.



Spoon watermelon ice into cups. Add a little Sprite for that extra something. Eat while pondering why you don't do this more often.

Repeat.

Salad Supremacy

I have always loved salad. It requires a lot of prep work, for sure...but it is SO worth it. And ever since we moved to Japan, I have been LOVING the sesame dressing here (only I think it's a little thick, so I pour mine from the big bottle into a smaller bottle and water it down).

Lately, my salad skillz have gone off the charts. Pretty much anything (plant based) goes.

In this bowl, you will find:

lettuce (3 kinds)
cilantro
cherry tomatoes
avocado
carrots
yellow pepper
green onion
mushrooms
green grapes
celery
sliced almonds
dried cranberries
cucumbers

Sometimes, I might add any of the following:

fresh basil
artichoke hearts
various sprouts
strawberries
spinach
fresh dill
cabbage
black beans
kidney beans
red pepper
Greek olives
edamame (boiled soybeans)
pineapple
carmelized onions
capers
umeboshe (pickled plum)
seaweed flakes
toasted pinenuts

I have yet to make a combination that I didn't love. Maybe it's the magic sesame dressing?

More Vegan Food

Just thought I'd share more of what I'm cooking lately. I am LOVING this new way of eating. I am amazed at how eating such a variety of plant based foods makes me feel like a million bucks!


Yes, there is a lot more preparation required, but the way I feel after eating stuff like this is SO worth the extra time.



This is Kidney Bean Coconut Curry. I found the recipe here.

It was SO delicious. I hope you give it a try!

Hummus Recipe

OK...since you asked...here it is!

I have been making homemade hummus for over 10 years, and should add that I was a big hummus fan before it was even mass-marketed. When I was about 10ish, my grandpa taught me how to make it. Falafel and hummus, actually. I was in love.

(Trivia: I LOVED cooking with my grandpa. I trusted him implicitly. If he cooked it...I'd try it...and I always loved whatever he introduced me to. One of my fondest memories with him was when I had moved back to California while in the Navy. I spent most weekends down in San Diego with him. We always ate such wonderful things. Anyway, I loved the time we went down to Tijuana, taking a journey which involved walking, a cab, two separate and harrowing bus rides through hilly, third-world neighborhoods...all to experience a restaurant full of worn-out, painted-red, wooden picnic benches, a deep sink in the back to wash your hands...and a big pot of goat stew. Yum!)

Anyway, through the years, I've discovered there are lots of recipes out there...and I've tried many...but this one is my favorite blend. You can (of course) adapt it to your tastes and make it your own!


Carrie's Favorite Hummus Recipe

• 2 (15.5 oz.) cans chick peas* (also called garbanzo beans), drained...but reserve the liquid for blending
• 1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 2-4 cloves of garlic, crushed (I like 4...but I LOVE garlic)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil (you can add 1 Tbsp, and then drizzle the other Tbsp on the top for presentation, if you like...but I just add it all)
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 2 tsp. fresh parsley, chopped
  

Peel chick peas. You may want to sit in front of the TV with a tray and a bowl in your lap for this. It's easy (all you do is give them a little pinch and the peel comes off in one shot) but those are a lot of peas...it takes some time. You can honestly skip this step...I've made MANY a hummus without shucking the garbanzos...but once I did it, I really liked the buttery smooth consistency, and the flavor seemed more intense without the bland peels in there.

Place chick peas, tahini, lemon juice, salt, garlic, olive oil, cumin and parsley in blender or food processor.

Here's where the reserved chick pea juice comes in. You'll need some of it to get the consistency you desire. Too little and it won't blend...too much and it'll be too thin (and you'll get all that extra sodium). I think I end up using around 2/3 cup. It's somewhere between 1/2 and 1 cup.

OK, so now just pulverize it until it's all smooth, adding the juice as needed.

Garnish with extra parsley, paprika, olive oil, and/or toasted pine nuts, if desired.

*You can use dried chick peas instead...in fact it's more authentic and nutritious that way. I sometimes use dried...but to tell you the truth, only when I don't have canned on hand. If you use dried, you'll probably want to add more salt to taste. Although I can't tell you the precise ratio to canned...one cup of dried equals 3 cups of prepared chick peas. Since a can has a little over 2 cups of chick peas...I'd say to start with 1 1/2 cups of dried chick peas in this recipe to get the right ratio. Just cook them according to the directions on the package. Also, remember you'll need to reserve some of the liquid for smoothing the texture of the hummus.

I hope you love this as much as I do!