programmer_guy
True Ex-Scientologist
My daughter used the South Beach Diet (no simple carbs) and lost a lot of excess weight over time (not a crash diet).
On that diet she would not worry about intake of animal fat nor meat.
Turkey woes
- Thread starter Deeana
- Start date
My daughter used the South Beach Diet (no simple carbs) and lost a lot of excess weight over time (not a crash diet).
On that diet she would not worry about intake of animal fat nor meat.
The_Fixer
Class Clown
Did it come with a set of wrenches or an impact wrench?
Arthur Dent
Silver Meritorious Patron
Arthur Dent
Silver Meritorious Patron
Today I made a cranberry chutney with, of course, cranberries, oranges, onion, figs, pistachios, sugar and just a bit of cayenne. On occasion, I make a vat and give as gifts. This was one of those years.
Then I made double-baked yams. Baked them and took the insides and mixed with butter, good maple syrup, cinnamon, a bit of cayenne and stuffed them back into the shells. They
will be re-baked tomorrow with a drop of brown sugar on top and, yep, a few mini-marshmallows. We're having mashed as well. Yikes!
Then I made pearl onions with tomato paste, raisins, red wine vinegar and I forget what else. A little side dish.
I prepped for the stuffing with celery, onions, chicken stock, roasted chestnuts, sage and parsley. I'll mix it with more stock and the bread tomorrow and bake it. I made a separate one made with vegetable broth for the one vegetarian coming.
A friend is bringing a tray of roasted roots: turnips, parsnips, carrots, shallots, garlic and more and this will help feed the vegetarian as well.
Tomorrow morning its pumpkin pies with orange marmalade and bourbon. We do very decorative crusts and they look really fun.
Then the 22 lb. turkey, cook the stuffing and make the green beans with almonds.
The problem is that my friends come early and we start drinking. This is why everything has to be pretty much done in advance or we won't eat til midnight!
We get a house full of our kids and a few strays and everyone sleeps over and there is a fireplace and movies all day and wine and a good time.
I'm making herb popovers and bacon the next morning.
My feet hurt. Last year we went out. It was fabulous! My feet didn't hurt!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Then I made double-baked yams. Baked them and took the insides and mixed with butter, good maple syrup, cinnamon, a bit of cayenne and stuffed them back into the shells. They
will be re-baked tomorrow with a drop of brown sugar on top and, yep, a few mini-marshmallows. We're having mashed as well. Yikes!
Then I made pearl onions with tomato paste, raisins, red wine vinegar and I forget what else. A little side dish.
I prepped for the stuffing with celery, onions, chicken stock, roasted chestnuts, sage and parsley. I'll mix it with more stock and the bread tomorrow and bake it. I made a separate one made with vegetable broth for the one vegetarian coming.
A friend is bringing a tray of roasted roots: turnips, parsnips, carrots, shallots, garlic and more and this will help feed the vegetarian as well.
Tomorrow morning its pumpkin pies with orange marmalade and bourbon. We do very decorative crusts and they look really fun.
Then the 22 lb. turkey, cook the stuffing and make the green beans with almonds.
The problem is that my friends come early and we start drinking. This is why everything has to be pretty much done in advance or we won't eat til midnight!
We get a house full of our kids and a few strays and everyone sleeps over and there is a fireplace and movies all day and wine and a good time.
I'm making herb popovers and bacon the next morning.
My feet hurt. Last year we went out. It was fabulous! My feet didn't hurt!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Teanntás
Silver Meritorious Patron
Oh Deena that was wonderful!
I actually am a bit sad that here in the UK there is no Thanksgiving - I think we miss out! Anyway - Turkey woes from these shores have to involve Christmas.
I grew up in a large family that was quite wealthy. At that time we did not have turkey for Christmas dinner but goose. We also, unlike most people had our meal in the evening, not at lunch time. We did however do it well.
One Christmas, my mother, (who was not an organised housewife she was an academic) was breezing around the kitchen whilst my sister organised everything, she had us shelling and boiling chestnuts for the stuffing and preparing during the afternoon. The kitchen was steamy and the windows misted when my mother looking out commented that dog had something in the garden. Our spaniel roamed the area freely in those days.
We ignored this for a bit but then she commented that whatever the dog had was "steaming" we went outside to discover the dog with a whole cooked, stuffed turkey she was tucking into.
We were horrified. and in a panic discussed what to do - it obviously belonged to a neighbour about to serve lunch, who must have opened her kitchen door and the dog had seen her opportunity. We decided the best plan was to bury it in the garden, and deny all knowledge if necessary. The fittest sister dug a grave, (which took some doing as the ground was frozen) in the garden and we buried the bird and hurried back to our tasks only to see 10 minutes later the dog had dug it up again...
We never found out which poor neighbour missed their Xmas dinner....
Ours was good though!
Still
Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat
Please do put a penny in the old man's hat
If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do
If you haven't got a ha'penny, then God bless you!
Arthur, you meal sounds absolutely wonderful! I figured there had to be a few male cooks here. My dear late husband - a Marine combat vet - would cook from time to time. He had his "specialties". I liked that!
You can to do a lot of your cooking tasks seated. Due to a bad knee I've made it into an art form. I bought a light weight bar stool, not too high, for in my kitchen. It moves around pretty easily but it is not on wheels because I wanted to be stable at the counter.
At first it takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, it works out really well. I have a friend who cooks from her wheelchair so I figured if she can do it I can do it.
You can to do a lot of your cooking tasks seated. Due to a bad knee I've made it into an art form. I bought a light weight bar stool, not too high, for in my kitchen. It moves around pretty easily but it is not on wheels because I wanted to be stable at the counter.
At first it takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, it works out really well. I have a friend who cooks from her wheelchair so I figured if she can do it I can do it.
programmer_guy
True Ex-Scientologist
You might consider adding your detailed recipes here:
http://www.forum.exscn.net/showthread.php?13373-Cooking-with-ESMB
Enthetan
Master of Disaster
what can I say, at my heart, I am a total geek... and I didn't glom onto the whole tech (not scio) and math thing until WAY late in life (at this point, I think I kind of have a crush on Calculus).... but... omg... talk about cooking and all that--I just melt. I think I'm sort of in love with Alton Brown.
I don't cook much anymore... my kids are grown, and for me I just have trouble cooking 'for myself' so reading cookbooks is sort of like porn, except that the cookbooks feel more forbidden. My breakfast usually consists of some unsweetened Kefir, with some grain cereal that has no sweeteners, with berries and a tablespoon of unroasted, unsalted sunflower seeds for the beneficial oils..... so fucking boring.
I do have to wonder, though. Right now, I eat so healthy per a lot of edicts that it's insane, and I wound up in hospital, but when I was eating fat-filled, and meat-filled and stuff they say is horrible (although I did stay away from artificial stuff) THAT was when I lost weight and felt great. I recently went vegetarian, just because of where I was able to stay for the last month... and on the low-sodium vegetarian diet, I suddenly wound up in hospital with my BP up at an insane rate (my BP has always been on the best side of the recommended levels). For some reason, I'm remember an ex-bf who would just look at me and decided I needed red meat at a certain point, and he would drag me out to a place where he would order the rarest prime rib, and suddenly, I turned from psychotic bitch into a sweetheart. Smart guy. omg... I rambled... ignore... dismiss...
Contrary to the ideas of vegans, humans evolved as omnivores. We NEED some amount of meat in our diet to give us all the nutrients we require.
Humans evolved eating what was available: berries, fruits, nuts, veggies, eggs, fish, and meat. That's what our bodies expect. Grain products like bread and pasta are comparatively late introductions to the diet.
My wife is borderline diabetic, and has had good success keeping her blood sugar under good control with the Paleo diet (essentially cutting out high-carb foods like grain products and potatoes, and eating a lot more veggies and salads, along with meat, poultry, and fish).
This is NOT OK !!!!
Gold Meritorious Patron
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
I'm very grateful for each and every one of you!
Here's a Thanksgiving toast to Emma and our current crew of admins and mods!
Thank you so much!
I'm very grateful for each and every one of you!
Here's a Thanksgiving toast to Emma and our current crew of admins and mods!
Thank you so much!
RogerB
Crusader
Actually, Sweet V and I some years back did "heritage turkey" . . . these being farm raised native birds, not those puny white things.
The first year the bird was wonderful . . . real flavor and succulent meat.
The bird the first year was fresh, shipped Fedex with a little ice. The second year the bird had been frozen and shipped packed with "hot ice" . . . what we have found is that any frozen bird, meat or fish loses its juice due to the freezing fracturing the cellular structure of the meat and the "juice" of the cells leaking out.
We won't buy any meat or bird that has been frozen . . . though we often buy previously frozen wild caught salmon . . . but even so, compared to unfrozen/fresh salmon: well there is no comparison as to flavor and texture.
This year I have introduced V to the idea of using chestnuts to make her pumpkin pie instead of those terrible "nothing-flavor" pumpkins that get spiced up to do the Thanksgiving Pie thing . . . .
And, since there is just the two if us, we are doing a fresh, truly organic duck raised by a friend of ours . . . we are lucky: we have a series of friends I've known for now 20 years who produce most of our food.
One of the things to experience for you guys who have not had the opportunity to get truly "naturally" raised bird, beef, lamb or eggs is these things. We get bird or eggs from a farm that allows for natural foraging . . . that way the flavor is on a whole new level of wonderful. Nothing is more bland or of a nothing-flavor to me than the usual supermarket provided bird or eggs fed on commercial grown corn or feed!
Though I must say, being an Oz in the land of Yanks, Thanksgiving has not yet taken to my soul . . . . I'd rather be on the beach doing some surfing or taking in some rays!
R
The first year the bird was wonderful . . . real flavor and succulent meat.
The bird the first year was fresh, shipped Fedex with a little ice. The second year the bird had been frozen and shipped packed with "hot ice" . . . what we have found is that any frozen bird, meat or fish loses its juice due to the freezing fracturing the cellular structure of the meat and the "juice" of the cells leaking out.
We won't buy any meat or bird that has been frozen . . . though we often buy previously frozen wild caught salmon . . . but even so, compared to unfrozen/fresh salmon: well there is no comparison as to flavor and texture.
This year I have introduced V to the idea of using chestnuts to make her pumpkin pie instead of those terrible "nothing-flavor" pumpkins that get spiced up to do the Thanksgiving Pie thing . . . .
And, since there is just the two if us, we are doing a fresh, truly organic duck raised by a friend of ours . . . we are lucky: we have a series of friends I've known for now 20 years who produce most of our food.
One of the things to experience for you guys who have not had the opportunity to get truly "naturally" raised bird, beef, lamb or eggs is these things. We get bird or eggs from a farm that allows for natural foraging . . . that way the flavor is on a whole new level of wonderful. Nothing is more bland or of a nothing-flavor to me than the usual supermarket provided bird or eggs fed on commercial grown corn or feed!
Though I must say, being an Oz in the land of Yanks, Thanksgiving has not yet taken to my soul . . . . I'd rather be on the beach doing some surfing or taking in some rays!
R
As an aussie in the US, Thanksgiving doesn't have the deep emotional ties it has to most Americans. Though it is special to my kids.
Recently realized that April next year, my company will be 15 years old, started as my final journey from the Scilon world, while living out of my car, after divorcing my second wife. The location was strategically distant from any Scilon base, and there was only one scilon, a dentist, now ex, in a 100 mile radius.
An interesting tradition started. As thanksgiving didn't have much meaning to me, I would happily work through, giving all other staff a break, allowing me time of for Christmas and New Year, both of which I love. The staff at that point, because we were flat broke and shouldn't have even been in business, were drunks, ex cons, basically people who couldn't get real jobs or be accepted in the real world. Actually a perfect match for a person born and raised in a cult, spending their formative years in the Sea Org. We were jokingly called "Mike's misfits". I even have t shirts with the moniker, sorry I digress.
We became very close, none of us could afford a home, so we stayed at the facility, at that time a fleet of sinking barges, in a swamp, with a couple of trailers where some of them parked their motor homes, and others shared when too hot or cold to sleep in the steel holds of the barge.
Cajuns are some of most remarkable examples of humanity I have encountered; tough as hell, no better or more loving friend, no more brutal enemy and resourceful as hell. They love to drink and have a good time. My guys wanted to give, to share thanksgiving, so we started having a group thanksgiving that they would put on for me. None of us had money for a turkey the first year or two, so thanksgiving was prepared from what they could catch, alligator gar fish, squirrels, fish, nutria rat, I do think there was some road kill involved, though no one would admit. Somehow they always had money for alcohol, so a day or two before, we would have our celebration. Those who had family, and family who would see them, left in a motor home or two, the rest went into town or stayed at the facility, at that point a fleet of 4 sinking and rusted barges, some of which were built in the 60s. I loved those times, those people, I started to learn what real friendship was. We were thankful for each other.
Move forward 6 years, we became land based, the barges had deteriorated to the point they were impossible to insure and impossible to keep afloat easily. But we had grown enough to be able to buy some land and create a land based facility, two property owners decided to owner finance their property to me with no credit and little money down.
We continued our company thanksgiving, but now in an office with AC, and it was a lunch, and we ordered professionally cooked food.
I had just found Max, or rather he found me, the stray I have written about earlier. He was still pretty feral but was filling out with an unbelievable appetite. He is a big puppy, standing about 6'6" on his hind legs. I was living in the warehouse at the time, because I still couldn't afford an apartment or home, so Max lived with me, we shared a bed, and dog doors or holes with fabric over them allowed him free access pretty well anywhere.
Thanks giving lunch is set out. I go to gather everyone up, come back and max is standing on the table. He had, in a matter of minutes eaten the entire 10 lb turkey, and was half way through the spiral wound ham, biting some slices through the edge, whipping his head up, tearing the meat off, and flipping it into his mouth. We ate McDonalds. As we got busier and larger, this tradition fell out, I should start it again.
One of our Christmas traditions is to share from our respective heritages, Soul food, Mexican, TexMex, etc. etc. I as the resident mutt, choose to share German Christmas stuff because frankly, Germans do Christmas much better than the Aussies. So I get hundreds of German Advent Christmas calenders with chocolates, stollen, ginger breads, this year I think we have already distributed 200 lb of imported stuff. It goes to employees, customers, drivers, and folks going through a hard time. We have been doing it long enough that some kids can only remember the countdown to Christmas with the German advent calenders their fathers, perhaps truck drivers, still living in their home town and never traveled out of the US, or their moms, a receptionist with a customer, got from us. Kind of cool.
So I have been battling a bit of illness, not up to driving to Dallas to visit my sister, but made no plans as of last night. One of my closes friends, a customer, a vender, a person born dirt poor, without a father that worked his way up to building and owning a 10 million dollar company, a devout christian, just a good guy, some one who knows me well, calls me at 9PM last night, asking if I had figured out what I was doing. I said not yet. He drives over and drops off a Cajun smoked turkey, wishing me a happy thanksgiving.
I look at the noise and value of my time in the Scilon empire, what good I actually did for people, what motivated the people in my life. I look at my life now, the people in it, the genuine friends motivated by little more than friendship, and am thankful for being free. The real world is tough, it is brutal, it is often unfair, unjust and biased, but the people, good people make it so much better than what I had inside.
Recently realized that April next year, my company will be 15 years old, started as my final journey from the Scilon world, while living out of my car, after divorcing my second wife. The location was strategically distant from any Scilon base, and there was only one scilon, a dentist, now ex, in a 100 mile radius.
An interesting tradition started. As thanksgiving didn't have much meaning to me, I would happily work through, giving all other staff a break, allowing me time of for Christmas and New Year, both of which I love. The staff at that point, because we were flat broke and shouldn't have even been in business, were drunks, ex cons, basically people who couldn't get real jobs or be accepted in the real world. Actually a perfect match for a person born and raised in a cult, spending their formative years in the Sea Org. We were jokingly called "Mike's misfits". I even have t shirts with the moniker, sorry I digress.
We became very close, none of us could afford a home, so we stayed at the facility, at that time a fleet of sinking barges, in a swamp, with a couple of trailers where some of them parked their motor homes, and others shared when too hot or cold to sleep in the steel holds of the barge.
Cajuns are some of most remarkable examples of humanity I have encountered; tough as hell, no better or more loving friend, no more brutal enemy and resourceful as hell. They love to drink and have a good time. My guys wanted to give, to share thanksgiving, so we started having a group thanksgiving that they would put on for me. None of us had money for a turkey the first year or two, so thanksgiving was prepared from what they could catch, alligator gar fish, squirrels, fish, nutria rat, I do think there was some road kill involved, though no one would admit. Somehow they always had money for alcohol, so a day or two before, we would have our celebration. Those who had family, and family who would see them, left in a motor home or two, the rest went into town or stayed at the facility, at that point a fleet of 4 sinking and rusted barges, some of which were built in the 60s. I loved those times, those people, I started to learn what real friendship was. We were thankful for each other.
Move forward 6 years, we became land based, the barges had deteriorated to the point they were impossible to insure and impossible to keep afloat easily. But we had grown enough to be able to buy some land and create a land based facility, two property owners decided to owner finance their property to me with no credit and little money down.
We continued our company thanksgiving, but now in an office with AC, and it was a lunch, and we ordered professionally cooked food.
I had just found Max, or rather he found me, the stray I have written about earlier. He was still pretty feral but was filling out with an unbelievable appetite. He is a big puppy, standing about 6'6" on his hind legs. I was living in the warehouse at the time, because I still couldn't afford an apartment or home, so Max lived with me, we shared a bed, and dog doors or holes with fabric over them allowed him free access pretty well anywhere.
Thanks giving lunch is set out. I go to gather everyone up, come back and max is standing on the table. He had, in a matter of minutes eaten the entire 10 lb turkey, and was half way through the spiral wound ham, biting some slices through the edge, whipping his head up, tearing the meat off, and flipping it into his mouth. We ate McDonalds. As we got busier and larger, this tradition fell out, I should start it again.
One of our Christmas traditions is to share from our respective heritages, Soul food, Mexican, TexMex, etc. etc. I as the resident mutt, choose to share German Christmas stuff because frankly, Germans do Christmas much better than the Aussies. So I get hundreds of German Advent Christmas calenders with chocolates, stollen, ginger breads, this year I think we have already distributed 200 lb of imported stuff. It goes to employees, customers, drivers, and folks going through a hard time. We have been doing it long enough that some kids can only remember the countdown to Christmas with the German advent calenders their fathers, perhaps truck drivers, still living in their home town and never traveled out of the US, or their moms, a receptionist with a customer, got from us. Kind of cool.
So I have been battling a bit of illness, not up to driving to Dallas to visit my sister, but made no plans as of last night. One of my closes friends, a customer, a vender, a person born dirt poor, without a father that worked his way up to building and owning a 10 million dollar company, a devout christian, just a good guy, some one who knows me well, calls me at 9PM last night, asking if I had figured out what I was doing. I said not yet. He drives over and drops off a Cajun smoked turkey, wishing me a happy thanksgiving.
I look at the noise and value of my time in the Scilon empire, what good I actually did for people, what motivated the people in my life. I look at my life now, the people in it, the genuine friends motivated by little more than friendship, and am thankful for being free. The real world is tough, it is brutal, it is often unfair, unjust and biased, but the people, good people make it so much better than what I had inside.
Polly
Patron with Honors
WOW I think that has to be the best example of what a true Heart Family is all about... and Thanksgiving! Thank You so much for sharing, what a beautiful story.
Arthur Dent
Silver Meritorious Patron
Jeez, what a beautiful post, Mike! Great to hear your story. I hope you're feeling better and enjoying the day!
Ogsonofgroo
Crusader
^^^ The 'Other TomTurkey' ^^^ Laughing mah liver to jelly! 
(thanks Kat, that went well with coffee!)
(thanks Kat, that went well with coffee!)
And just to keep the fun going ... a tanker ran aground this morning about 17 miles off of Sabine, Texas. Her hull hasn't been compromised, hopefully will just be non pollution event with a simple bunch of ocean going tug boats to pull her free, and if not so lucky a more complex lightening operation.
Been hot and heavy on the phones getting equipment and people set up, some grouching, some excited about the holiday rates in this economy, and a bunch of my old buddies from hurricane rita and katrina clean up, salvors, salvage masters, deep sea divers are flying in so we might wind up with a heavy liquid thanksgiving celebration in the good old Texas Road House.
Been hot and heavy on the phones getting equipment and people set up, some grouching, some excited about the holiday rates in this economy, and a bunch of my old buddies from hurricane rita and katrina clean up, salvors, salvage masters, deep sea divers are flying in so we might wind up with a heavy liquid thanksgiving celebration in the good old Texas Road House.
Lulu Belle
Moonbat
<snipping great post>
Just want to say, Mike, it's good to see you.
You should stop by more often.