Be Thankful and Brine Your Turkey!

I woke up thinking thankful thoughts this morning. Thankfulness has become a daily thing with me lately, as I read the news and see what kind of a mess America's in now and how hard it is for people just to get by.  my thankful list grows longer all of the time but to sum it up to the top five.

1.) I'm thankful for my wonderful sweet Andrew, every waking moment . You are all wrong,  I have the best man in the world =P

2.) For having lived a wild and adventurous life, all things considered , I'm pretty lucky to only have an arthritic knee!  Andrew is equally thankful to still be alive and kickin'!

3.) I own my house outright, no mortgage!!!
Sure it needs paint and a new roof (crossing my fingers that it doesn't leak this winter), but we have a huge yard, fruit trees, privacy and quiet!

4.) Andrew has a great job that is continuing to grow despite the rotten economy so that we can actually afford to pay some on the bills each month AND afford to eat =)

5.) That, though I might rant about them sometimes, I've got a  wonderful family and family-in-law and wouldn't trade them for anything in the universe =)

How about you, what are your top 5?

Ok, all rounded up this might make for 6 top Tankfulnesses, but it's cold and blustery on the Palouse today and I'm SO grateful for all that I have that allows me a comfortable simple life! My sweetie is off work for the holiday and is slurping down coffee and playing some weird computer game and I'm off to brine the thawed turkey. Here is a great link that explains brining. Turkeys that have been brined  are so smooth, moist  and delicious! Give it a try and you won't go back =)
 http://laurasbestrecipes.com/2010/11/turkey-brining-101---best-brine-recipes.html
I will be adding rosemary sprigs, thyme sprigs, pepper corns, grated orange peel, garlic and Herbs d Provence to my itty-bitty turkey  =)

We will be having a round of Brie and some fabulous chicken liver and make this. it IS to die for1 pate mousse with home made crackers for our appetizers

Then we will bring the lovely golden bird to the table with a cornbread dressing full of dried cranberries, apple and bits of  bacon, fresh cranberry sauce with orange zest, home made gravy, gingered carrots and braised leeks in brown butter with almonds. For the sweet finale, it will be gateau au chocolat and pumpkin pie with an almond flour crust!

Here is a wonderful recipe for  gateau au chocolat, which is a dense, very rich flourless chocolate cake from France. If you are a chocolate fan, do yourself a favor and make this sinfully delish dessert! It IS to die for!!

gateau au chocolat
Serves 12
List of Ingredients ~
   7 oz (200 g) of good quality semisweet chocolate or dark chocolate
   4/5 cup (200 g) butter
   1 cup (220 g) sugar
   4 eggs, separated
Directions ~
    Preheat oven to 350 F
    Line a 9 in (23 cm) cake tin with greaseproof or other non-stick paper and grease.
    Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt it with butter over hot water.
    Beat the egg yolks with half of the sugar.
    Fold in the melted butter and chocolate mixture.
    Beat egg whites until frothy by using an electric mixer; gradually add the remaining sugar,      beating until stiff peaks form.
    Gently fold in the  egg whites with the chocolate mixture.
    Bake at 350 degrees until a wooden skewer center comes out clean, about 40 odd minutes .
    Use a knife to separate the cake from the non-stick paper. The cake is quite sticky and terribly rich!
I like to serve with either fresh berry sauce or a little mound of fresh whipped cream dusted with cocoa or nutmeg. I have also added extracts to flavor the chocolate mix. Our favorite is orange-chocolate with grated orange zest! This is pure chocolate bliss at it's best.
Enjoy!

A very Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

P.S. If you don't celebrate thanksgiving, you will still love the chocolate cake ;)

Fences, Goats and Bacon...Again!

http://blog.seremeres.com/?p=149

So, it's been a few days. The weather here in the Idaho Palouse has become decidedly icky with cold winds and rain/snow. Goats always seem to find that perfect moment, when the weather is the most horrible to break down a few fences. These aren't even MY goats, so I couldn't just go break their little necks. My landlady keeps a large herd of mixed sheep and goats, and it is usually the goats that find some spot or six to destroy fences in their endless quest for "The Other Side". So I've been slowing helping move electric mesh fencing out of the flood plains of the large creek, and bashing the goat twisted cattle panels back into some semblance of normal shape and wiring them in place. there is a lot yet to do to make things deep snow weather ready. At least, cane or no cane, I'm up and continuing to move about and get things done =)

Have I mentioned that it's yucky and raw out ? LOL! 

About the bacon part of my title. Drew, the most dear man in the world and the love of my life, is a bacon addict. I try to keep the bacon-addled fellow to a few pieces a week, but bacon has a habit of slowly creeping back in to the every day diet if I'm not vigilant ;) So, when I came across this bacon ornament on Seremere's blog, I knew that I would have to make one especially for him. Isn't it cute??? It's just the most awesome tree ornament surprise you could give the mad for bacon people in your life!

I need to shop for some materials for making sugar and salt scrubs, baking parchment and dried fruits (The real kind, not the sugar-pickled red and green grocery market kind), but that won't happen until Saturday, I'm afraid. In the mean time, I'm makin' bacon ;)    And a couple of aprons, some lounge pants and a bunch of therapy sacks of various sizes for gifts



Laters !
Annika

Nasty bad flu bug

Uggg! Sick with a nasty flu bug. I'll post more when I feel well enough <3

Winter's Kiss

Frosted rosehips by anataman on flickr

 This morning,  I woke to two of my three indoor cats cuddled around me purring loudly.  If the house had been warmer they would have been having a hissy fit being that close to one another, but all turf wars are off when the cold weather starts setting in. The light was so pale coming through the blinds that at first I thought that it had snowed, but instead it was the most velvety luxurious frost I've seen in a long time. Since the land lords don't want to afford heat for the animals water containers, I was out leaning on a cane with one hand and practicing my wild Irish chick impersonation with the other one, bashing holes in the ice for the farm animals to drink. Cory, a none too bright but enthusiastic goat buck, kept attempting to jump up and bleat loudly in my face, while I was hacking at the ice. So it was a good time all 'round.

I love all that nature has to to give and the world remains the most beautiful work of art ever. When I have a good camera again, I'll be posting my own photos! The wretched cold is still with me, but I really started in today on the kitchen today...for a two person household, I have a LOT of kitchen ware and spares! So I've been going through it all, and weeding out what I don't need..I'm loving the space and now theres room for NEW  kitchen gadgetry that I don't need =P

My kitchen is a an L shape with a pro range and cabinets on an island in the centre. I'm really disenchanted with the sterile white ceiling, window frames and icky melamine counter tops . There is a big ugly florescent light that I never use that I want to take out too. The cabinets are low-end faux wood things and I can't afford to replace them all so I'm going to paint the hideous things!I'm dying to paint the whole thing something warm and vibrant and now I'm just waiting for Drew to agree to a colour scheme!

I've been recipe hunting this afternoon for choice tid-bits to add to my gift baskets and bags for Christmas and this recipe is a keeper! So gorgeous and delicious sounding!

Ginger-Coconut-Dark Chocolate Bark

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes
This ginger-coconut-dark chocolate bark is bitter, spicy, and sweet so a little goes a long way. Along with a cup of tea or coffee, it makes the perfect mid afternoon pick-me-up or evening treat. This bark can be kept refrigerated for several weeks.
Unsweetened shaved coconut and candied ginger can often be found in bulk bins in the natural foods section of your grocery store. Shredded coconut can be substituted for shaved, but it’s softer and doesn’t have the same “crunch” that shaved coconut provides.

Ingredients

• 1 bag (6 ounces) good quality Bittersweet Baking Chips (I used Scharffen Berger 70%)
• 1/4 cup Candied Ginger, chopped
• 1/4 cup Unsweetened Shaved Coconut
• 2 ounces Macadamia Nuts, chopped

Preparation

1. Line a sheet pan with either a a silpat or a 9×11 piece of parchment paper sprayed lightly with cooking spray.
2. Create a double boiler by setting a bowl over a small pot of simmering water. Add the chocolate to the bowl and stir until fully melted.
3. Working quickly, spread the chocolate in a 1/4-inch layer over the prepared baking pan. Scatter the ginger, coconut, and macadamia nuts evenly over the chocolate – be careful not to leave any big gaps!
4. Transfer the baking sheet to the fridge for 1 hour to allow the chocolate to set. Once the chocolate is firm, use your hands or a sharp knife to break the bark into roughly shaped pieces.

Doesn't this sound nummy??? I will be adding dried fruit or nuts or whatever to the basic recipe, but it just sounds scrumptious!!  http://healthy-delicious.com/  has so many incredible recipes!

Drew is working late on projects, and will catch his own dinner out, so I'm just going to have more jasmine tea  with honey for my throat and goof off on til he gets home , I just don't feel up to dinner tonight with this stupid cold   =P

'til tomorrow
Ta!

Annika

Starry, starry COLD night!

 http://www.flickr.com/people/jekert/

I hate to open a post bragging, but I feel that I really hit the lucky jackpot today.! To start off though, Drew has also started coming down with my cold, so we were both grumpy bears all day. Traffic, such as we have in Moscow Idaho, was just messed up. People were just totally crazy on the road and coming from a Seattle girl, that says a lot!  The big bummer part was that it looks like our really cool quilt shop is either closing or moving, and I'm afraid that its going to just close. We don't have any other near by quilt shops  =(
But our next stop was a local meat seller and we bought some really good cuts of bison and a half turkey (the breast and drumsticks only) for Thanksgiving. YUM!  then on to a few thrift shops and a bit of antiquing! I found two big beautiful ribbed ball shaped jars with lids, and old coal scuttle, a small decoupaged coal scuttle, which may end up as a Christmas centerpiece and some old tin cookie cutters. At the next place on my list, I found 9 yards of extra wide burlap for $16, 4 yards of heavy red felt for $3, a bunch of gorgeous baskets and numerous sewing supplies. and finally at Goodwill, I found a large bag of cloth ribbon, a bunch of candles, 8 gorgeous old punch cups (since I can't find the one's from my great aunt)  two beautiful Christmas craft book for my Christmas craft book addiction and a seriously hot long flowing cranberry red/black cherry red dress. Altogether it was an incredible day of being in the right place at the right time and I actually got away really not spending all that much !

You might as well know now that I am an artsy, rather liberal minded, penny pinching, homestead dreamin' old crazzy chick with an addiction to good cowboy music ( who is your favorite? suggestions please!) other kinds of good music, dark chocolate, cooking, books, hats, big dogs, bigger horses, people who are straight shooters, the feeling of my hubby's arms around me, the word "Sale" and crafting things, even though I'm kind of a black-thumb crafter! Thankfully, I'm a self-taught food snob and cook  (my mama fed us tv dinners and wonderbread with bologna and velveeta, I had no choice but to learn!) and have a nice list of things to bake, cook, can, pickle and distil for my Christmas baskets/bags to make up for any clumsy stitchery!


Its cold and starry-clear, so since I suck at night time photography, I'm sharing a photo from flickr creative commons instead =) It should be down in the low 20's tonight and I can't wait for the first real snow fall!

So...

Blessings and happy dreams!

Annika

Sorry for the lack of posts, I've come down with a rotten cold, and have little add these past couple of days . However, since my hubbydubby has the weekend off, we are going to go out and hit all of the thrift shops, at least one antique shop, the fabric and quilt shops, Michael's , our local and very awesome co-op and do lunch someplace fun!

Catch you all later!!

Pinterest baby! My new addiction

I hope that all of you are having a peachy Wednesday ! I took cold medicine this morning and have Cheeze Wiz for brains =P  Never the less, it doesn't take brains to do house work. Recently while out thrift shop hunting, I found a gorgeous vintage cut glass punch bowl for $3! I've been going through and de-cluttering all of my kitchen cabinets because I KNOW that I have some of my great aunts punch cups some where! Since my house is itty-bitty and I can only have 6 over at a time, I'm thinking that some where in my busy mess of a life, I need to throw a couple of holiday parties for my close friends, so I NEED to find those punch cups!

But, I'm taking a much needed tea break from cleaning, de-cluttering and crafting and sharing my insomnia inducing addiction: Pinterest!

http://pinterest.com/annikaloveshats/

Check out my pin boards and pins, if you aren't already addicted  =)

This is my first recipe for the still-in-planning holiday parties. What do you think??  It looks so yummy to me! I may do it with portobellos instead of the wild mushroom mix .

Wild Mushroom Galette



1/4 ounce dried wild mushrooms, such as chanterelles, porcini or shiitakes

1 cup boiling water

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup sliced green onions

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1/2 lb. assorted fresh wild mushrooms, such as chanterelles, porcini and shiitakes, brushed clean and large mushrooms thinly sliced

1/2 lb. fresh button mushrooms, brushed clean and thinly sliced

5 oz.  good-quality blue cheese

2. Meanwhile, make the filling: Place the dried mushrooms in a small bowl and add the boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes until softened. Drain the mushrooms and mince finely.

3. Preheat an oven to 400°F.

4. In a large fry pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the green onions and saute, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary and thyme and continue to cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Increase the heat to high, add the fresh and re-hydrated mushrooms, and saute until the mushrooms are tender and the liquid they released has completely evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool.

5. On a floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 12-inch round. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet lined with parchment paper.   Crumble the blue cheese into a bowl, add the cooled mushrooms and stir well. Spread the mixture over the dough, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Fold the border over the mushrooms and cheese, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open.

6. Bake until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, let stand for 5 minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature. Serves 6.
Have a sweet evening !
Annika