How To Brine A Turkey...

That should be..."How To Brine A Fresh, Local, Heritage Turkey"! Of course, first you have to procure said turkey...You have to find the turkey underground...Just kidding. But, you won't find this turkey at your neighborhood big chain grocery store.
Several years ago after reading the book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver, I realized I could no longer eat a mass produced "big breasted white" turkey. If you want to continue eating a "big breasted white" turkey I suggest you don't read that part of her book.
I started scouring the local Farmers Market for someone who may be raising some of these heritage birds locally. Bingo! I found two or three people who were giving it a try. I decided to leave a deposit (it was a few months in advance of Thanksgiving) and secure us a Thanksgiving turkey! I met an adorable couple who really believe in the food movement and were working hard to make local meat and eggs a reality. They didn't have enough room at their own urban home but partnered with some locals with enough land to raise chickens and turkeys in a natural and humane way. Four years later they are going strong and expanding and partnering with others in the fast growing movement of eating local.
This year the demand was so high they partnered with a 4H Group that was raising these heritage birds. They visited the operation and made sure it was up to their standards. Pasture raised and with no antibiotics or hormones. I appreciate their efforts and the fact that I am able to get one of these birds I feel good about consuming.

This is what buying a fresh local turkey looks like. You approach a nice lady with a happy baby sitting in her lap out on her lawn. You tell her what size you want, collect your treasure and pay her! It kind of makes me feel good. You know, it's a win win for sure!

Tonight, Hubs job is to brine Mr. Turkey. He likes this kind of thing. He doesn't mind reaching in to fetch the gizzards and such. He enjoys putting together the brining concoction. He takes it very seriously. I'm glad he does. I prefer making pies and rolls and stuffing.

It's nice knowing exactly where your food comes from.

This is Hubs special, giant, food safe turkey brining cube. You can purchase them at the restaurant supply stores. As you can see he has started his special brining solution. I think he kind of made it up and kind of used suggestions from the Food Network. Regardless, when he does this kind of thing they usually turn out pretty tasty. We will brine it until the morning of Thanksgiving. But, you can brine for a shorter amount of time as well. I understand there are briners and non-briners in the world. We feel that brining really enhances the taste of the bird and is especially necessary for these heritage free-range birds. They are much leaner than a factory farmed turkey.

Mr. Turkey took a dive and is now enjoying a long swim in the solution. He is safely tucked away in the refrigerator soaking up some herbal goodness.

Hubs was willing to share his special solution...

1 cup of Kosher salt dissolved in 32 ounces of water
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 TBSP. celery salt
1/2 tsp. celery seed
3 bay leaves
1/2 TBSP dried rosemary
1/2 TBSP dried parsley
1 qt. organic vegetable stock
1 medium yellow onion quartered and separated
1 organic orange peel sliced and squeezed into the brine

Add Mr. Turkey and make sure he is submerged. (Add more water if necessary)
Cover and refrigerate until the big day!

These turkeys take less time to cook than a factory raised bird. We will use a meat thermometer to make sure he doesn't over cook. The texture and taste is different than ole Mr. Big Breasted White. I prefer this bird and think it tastes delicious and fresh and makes better leftover sandwiches!

I'm hoping you will give it a try! Happy Thanksgiving and I'm very grateful for the local food community and their commitment to a cleaner, better food source!

How to Make Kahlua and Other Flavored Vodkas...

For the last couple of years I have experimented with making luscious flavored vodkas. Each spring, summer and fall I am looking for ways to use all of the fresh and local fruits I am blessed with. There always seems to be a bit of something left after making jams or shrubs or pies. Our very lucky chickens enjoy a lot of the leftovers and it's fun and rewarding to see them scramble for ripe berries and apple skins. Still...it can't all go to the chickens. 

I realized it is incredibly easy to make flavored vodkas with some of this fresh, ripe fruit. I also realized that it becomes the perfect Holiday gift. I am a huge fan of consumable gifting and so far I get a lot of oohs and aahs over flavored vodka! 

You really can make a flavored vodka out of most anything. Use your imagination and don't be afraid to experiment. One of my most successful flavors to date was the dandelion vodka I made about 18 months ago. It has morphed into the most decadent flavor ever! It tastes like sunshine and honey. What I learned from the dandelion vodka was not to be in a hurry. It most definitely changed and mellowed over time and became something quite wonderful.

One of the best investments I ever made was to purchase bale jars in several sizes. These jars are always filled with something in some stage of development. Bonus...they look pretty sitting atop the counter or shelves with the lovely colored concoctions.

I don't have a recipe for these fruit or herbal vodkas. I do have some tips, though! Purchase the cheapest vodka you can find. No need for anything top shelf. The add ins make the magic happen and you don't need a high dollar alcohol. I usually start with a 1/2 cup of white pure cane sugar. If I have a lot of fruit and I'm using more vodka I will add up to 1 cup of the sugar. Don't over use the sugar. Give the fruit time to break down and infuse with the vodka. After several weeks you can add more sugar if you think it necessary. 

Plop your leftover fruit into a large bale jar. Add 1/2 cup of sugar and pour in the vodka. Stir it up to start dissolving the sugar. Close the lid and put the jar on a shelf or counter that doesn't get much sunshine. Agitate the jar from time to time. Start tasting it after about a month and decide if you want a bit more sugar. Rarely do I end up adding more. Let it infuse for as long as possible. At least 5 or 6 weeks. 

I had a few leftover pears. I decided to give them a try! Obviously this isn't a bale jar. It is possibly the coolest vintage canning jar ever! It's huge and I got it for 1$ at a yard sale! Booyah...it takes a normal sized canning lid and ring!

Getting ready to strain the pear vodka. I start with a large fine mesh sieve. Then I use a smaller fine mesh sieve. There was a lot of sediment in the pear vodka.

I think the pear vodka is a beautiful color. I was slightly surprised at how much fruit sediment was left after the initial straining. 

I decided to try running it through some cheese cloth and see if I could get it really clear. Again, it amazed me how much sediment filled up the cheesecloth!

Wow! You can see how much clearer it is after the cheesecloth drip. Still...I can't lie...it still has some sediment. I decided not to stress about it...After all, it's just booze infused fruit sediment! I don't think it will detract from the final product.

Of course I did the same process on the raspberry vodka. This flavor is amazing! The fresh ripe raspberry taste really comes through!

Not bad! Pretty much the extent of my holiday gift giving is right here in these jars! I will pour it into smaller jars and make them cutesy for gift giving. Oh...see the blackberry vanilla vodka? I just added a vanilla bean to the jar! It added a really nice smooth flavor to the vodka. Use your imagination. There are soooo many possibilities! (I already have some ideas for next year!)

Okay...if you missed your window of opportunity with the fruit vodkas, don't panic. If you get started this weekend you can WOW your gift recipients with homemade Kahlua just in time for the Holidays.

These ingredients and some brown sugar is all it takes to make a spectacular consumable gift! (Note the super cheap vodka???)

Make 8 ounces of good instant coffee...

Basically you will be making a simple syrup. I used:

4 cups of water

4 1/2 cups of brown sugar

8 ounces of instant brewed coffee

Dissolve and bring to a low boil, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes or until it starts to thicken into a syrup.

Take off the heat and let it cool down.

When it is cool add 2 TBSP of liquid vanilla. 

In a large bale jar or similar glass jar add a vanilla bean and 1 litre of vodka. Add the syrup mixture.

Let this sit and become spectacular for as long as possible! I like to bottle this in brown or green bottles. I'm planning to sterilize used brown beer bottles and recycle for gift giving. WARNING...your kitchen will smell amazing while you are making this!!!

Go ahead! Have some fun...the combinations are endless!

How To Upcycle A Vintage Kitchen...

And...turn it into an awesome laundry room! Yes, that's right...Hubs has worked his magic again in the upcycling department! 

This old house was in serious need of a sparkling fresh laundry room. The old "Maytag's" were still cranking out clean laundry after some 20 years and it was hard to say good-bye. They were part of the family. How well they knew us. They got up close and personal with my babies footie pajamas and sweet smelling nubby blankets. They worked overtime sudsing up dirty jeans and smelly sneakers. They kept us in fresh terry cloth towels and brightly colored sheets. They knew the toddler clothes and the teen clothes and ate their fair share of socks. They served us well. 

For their golden years they are now relaxing in the basement of someone else's home. Doing an occasional load of mix and match and still giving their all.

It was time to upgrade for "our" golden years! The laundry room had become a dismal and overcrowded cavern at the back of the house. It harbored all kinds of riff raff. Old coats and hats that hadn't been worn in years. Haphazardly folded linens and table coverings. Random shoes, some without partners, lining the ancient "Closet Organizer" that was no longer very organized. 

It was time!

Um...pretty much too embarrassed to post a whole lot of before pictures!

I longed for organization and function and storage to spare. We made a trip to the giant IKEA store about 40 miles away. We were wowed and overwhelmed with the amazing options available. We toyed with the idea of purchasing a hip and sleek IKEA system we could customize for our space. We could spend about $800.00 doing this and Hubs could sit on the floor for hours arguing with the Swedish instructions and matching screws and bolts to the proper holes.

I don't know...it just didn't seem like the right thing to do. We are "upcyclers"! We gave it some thought and decided to once again peruse the thrifty's for some vintage cabinetry! It didn't take long. A few options came and went and just didn't seem quite right for our space. Hubs was on a treasure hunt and needed to feel the right "vibe". :)

A few weeks into his search he found something promising. An amazing vintage kitchen set complete with original hardware. It wasn't pretty at that point. It was something of a mess. It had been re-painted with some fairly hideous metallicky paint and had some rusty areas along the bottoms. Know what else? It was 75 bucks! Oh yeah...the right price for sure!

Yeah...ugh...Can you see the vision???

Hubs got busy sanding and de-rusting and spiffying up each individual piece. We debated color combos back and forth and changed our mind several times. I wanted to meld vintage with contemporary. I snooped online for vintage kitchen ideas and authentic colors from that era. I wanted that clean sparkly fresh vibe as well. We started with one color of paint and changed our mind after a small trial run. 

Oh! They are getting pretty! Hard to tell in these pics but they are a light turquoise. 

The installation begins! I wish the lighting was better in this space for pictures. I want you to see how pretty the freshly painted gray walls look and how great they look with the turquoise. I guess you'll just have to trust me! 

Okay! Does it get any better than this? Hubs cleaned up all the original bling. I can't help it...it gives me goosebumps! I'm soooo in love with this.

Hubs did install a custom cut stainless steel counter top. It just doesn't get any sleeker than that! It's gorgeous!

IKEA did get a little bit of our biz...we picked up this shelving unit and it gives us a bunch of cool storage. Oh, and the old "Maytag's" were replaced with these bad boys...They play all this crazy Japanese anime music...welcome to 2013 I guess...

We have a ton of awesome storage space now. I'm still deciding what goes where and getting it organized but it is completely fresh and functional and looks amazing! 

I am pretty proud of this project. Sure...Hubs did most of the hard labor but I'm the brains behind the operation! Tag team!!!

How To Survive A Road Trip...?

Hubs and I just returned from a very quick road trip. I'm not sure we did survive! HA...We went through four States and back in just about 55 hours. I'm not really recommending this! I'm still trying to recover!
We were delivering my big brother to Washington State to visit my other big brother. It was kind of spur of the moment and a whirlwind getting out of town. I wasn't prepared like I usually am!
A road trip takes some planning! FOOD planning! Fast food is NOT an option and I was woefully unprepared this time...
The night before we left, my "other" brother (okay, I have 3 older brothers in case you are confused about all my brother references!) dropped by to say good-bye. He thoughtfully brought us a large basket full of edible goodies! Thank goodness for this...it really did save us! I had planned to make a batch of my yummy power cookies (recipe is in an older post) for the drive but it just didn't happen!
We left early in the morning. I was going to say "bright" and early but it wasn't so bright yet!
We drove for several hours and finally stopped in a small town. You can agree or disagree but I have found that the restrooms in a Starbucks are usually quite clean! Another tip I'm willing to share...Starbucks has a really great water filtering system. If you request a large ice water you can be sure it is filtered through a reverse osmosis system and is crystal clear. The ice being made goes through the same filters. I am a huge fan of drinking water and this is a great way to consume it along the way!
We drove for almost 12 hours. We were on a mission and only stopped 3 times. Two Starbucks stops and an official side of the road rest area!
I was so grateful for our goodie basket. We were able to stretch our legs for a few minutes and slap together some pre-sliced quality cheeses and meats on little pieces of a fresh baguette. That and some tart and tangy Honey Crisp apples really hit the spot and kept us on track!
We were getting seriously famished when we arrived in Washington. We were greeted by family members, dogs, cats, kids and the aroma of carne asada! What a welcome surprise. Tender moist pieces of meat were piled high on fresh corn tortillas and topped with cheeses and spicy salsa. Just what we needed! Delish...Oh, and freshly mottled pomegranate mojitos!
The next morning Hubs and I milled around the "continental breakfast" at our hotel. Ended up grabbing a couple of apples and a banana. Most hotel continental breakfasts don't really hit the mark.
Before saying our good-byes to the relatives we decided to drive around this small Washington town deep in vineyards and orchards. It is quite picturesque and also dotted with the tiny coffee shacks so prolific in Washington State.

You can't visit Washington and NOT take advantage of these local treasures! We drove past several and decided on this one. There were several cars in line and we figured that was a good recommendation!

The economy in this little town is obviously fueled by farming and agriculture. It is apple growing and grape harvesting nirvana.

Fruit stands line the main drag from one end to the other. Sadly, we are late in the season. I would have given my eye teeth for fresh huckleberries!

It's fascinating to see hops growing. It's obviously the perfect climate for this crop. There are miles and miles of these structures with the hops happily climbing higher and higher.

This is serious orchard country. Where do you think all those Washington State apples come from?!

Yup...nothing makes me happier than a sign like this!!!

After our little drive around town we headed back to say our good-byes. It wasn't easy. It's hard to say good-bye to family you don't see nearly enough and never get tired of being with. My sweet little niece suggested I take home a taste of those Washington apples. She let me in on some insider info. She directed me to a huge apple operation where I could buy the "scratch and dent" apples for $6.00 a bushel! "Scratch and dent" just meant they were odd sizes or shapes and didn't fit the profile for the perfect grocery store shelving.

So...we loaded up a box of these beauties! They are amazing! Yeah, odd sizes and shapes and perfectly delicious and crispy...(I see another batch of applesauce in my future...)

And so, we said our teary good-byes, ate another apple and headed for home.

Now for the next part of the journey...The ride home...not quite so successful as the ride up! First, we drove way too many miles in much too short a time. We had already consumed our edible gift basket. We wanted to get on the road and made the mistake of not stopping at a grocery store and getting some decent clean food.
We stopped in a small town known for its wineries a few hours later and decided to stop for sustenance. Sigh...we were at a complete disadvantage for knowing where to go and the choices were limited. I start to get "food anxiety". We did NOT plan this well. We are hungry and need body fuel! We decided to try a Mexican restaurant in a strip mall. We walked in the front door and sadly were greeted by the most unpleasant smell! I don't know what it was, but it wasn't appetizing and we walked back out! Disappointing...
Next we tried another joint a few doors down in the same strip mall. It passed the smell test but we were unfamiliar with this place and crossing our fingers. Was it fresh, local or organic food? No.Was it edible? Yes...but, now it concerns me to not eat the kind of food we like to eat. I honestly didn't know it would become like this when we started our journey four years ago. But, it has! We ordered ordinary non-threatening sandwiches. It tasted okay. Not great...it was fuel for our hungry bodies and at least it wasn't fast food. (okay, I was fine but Hubs was miserable for the next several hours). I'm serious...you just can't go back!!! Oh...another little tidbit...my brother had a bag of Frito's! You know...those salty, greasy corn chips. Well...I used to be a Frito fan back in the day. Didn't have them a lot but did like them. They are banned at my house now and haven't entered our front door in several years. Hubs decided to munch on a handful of them...he suffered from incredible almost deadly heartburn! No, serious...he was so unhappy! Jeez...I hate to say "I told you so"! I swear...you get used to eating clean food and your body just totally rebels if you jump ship! Anyway...Hubs lived to tell the tale. We ate the Continental breakfast at our 2nd hotel...I felt safe with the oatmeal and a glass of orange juice and we headed home.
I can't lie...I have never been so excited to get home and go to the grocery store!!!