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Turkey Soup with Rice

The 1948 Disney movie of Johnny Appleseed talks about all the things you can do with apples. With a nod to the apple song, let’s talk turkey! Turkey sandwiches and stews, casseroles to feed the crew, tasty pasta for a group, and last but not least, turkey soup!

After carving the turkey, we put the carcass on to simmer in a big stockpot. When it was done, we removed any remaining meat from the bones, and added this to strained stock with some aromatic onions and garlic.

Next, celery, even the leaves. Carrots rounded out the flavours, naturally.

We brought the stock back to the boil, and then added some brown basmati rice. Last but not least, what would turkey soup be without turkey? After turning the heat back down to a simmer, we put the turkey back in, gave the whole thing a good stir, and let it simmer until the rice was cooked and the vegetables were tender. We’ll make a meal of it today, and put the rest in the freezer for a cold winter’s day when our tummies need warming.

Turkey Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow…it's Thanksgiving in Canada!

Thanksgiving around our house means two kinds of pie (pumpkin and apple), cranberry sauce (homemade, of course), squash, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots, gravy, and of course, turkey with dressing. Whether it’s held on Sunday or Monday, it’s all about family. (Psst: Happy Birthday, Kathryn!)

Here’s a picture of this year’s succulent bird, before dinner. We’d like to share more photos, but we were too busy cooking, carving, chatting, and eating.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Chop Chop! (Pork, of Course)

It’s true. Alfresco dining days are disappearing. But while we can, we’ll keep enjoying the backyard dining opportunities.

We grilled a regular grocery store Ontario pork chop (from Valu-Mart, down the street). It would be nice to do butcher shop chops every day, but it’s hard on the budget, so we do that as often as we can. These were dusted with a little bit of ground coriander.

On the side, we served cauliflower from the East York Farmer’s Market, and a grilled tomato topped with ermite cheese from Quebec. The tomato was fresh from our neighbours’ garden – even closer than the farm! The cauli came from the East York Farmers market. Go farmers!

You Can't Beat This Drum!

Friday we popped into Hooked on Queen Street to see what they had on offer. As usual there was a tremendous selection, making it difficult to choose.

The photo doesn’t do it justice – I’m no expert with phone photography, but we settled on these tasty Red Drum fillets from Nova Scotia. Pan-fried in a little butter, we then swirled a little chardonnay in the butter and pan drippings to make a sauce. On the side, we served steamed beans with carrot dice, and a boiled potato – all from the farmer’s market. Dee-lish!

Delicious Berry Goodness!

Sweet Berry GoodnessWhen we were kids, all the women would gather in the kitchen to put up jams and preserves during harvest season. These days, we go walkabout, and make some delicious berry jam. It probably doesn’t cost less than store-made jam, but it has amazing flavour and there’s nothing like saying, “I made it myself”.

Best ways to use it: for breakfast in the middle of winter, on toast, or next day, on homemade biscuits.

MMM…Who's Got your Goat (Cheese)?

Sometimes you need to do a fridge-clearing. And you need lunch. What to do?

The other day we had some tremendous soft goat cheese from Leslieville Market, that needed to be used or wasted. Combine that with some tasty spelt bread (made fom spelt from Monckton’s), and you have a perfect start.

A long time ago we learned that fig and goat cheese were a wondrous combination. So we spread a little fig jam on the bread. Then the cheese. A sharp, coarse grind of pepper came next.

We spread one side with butter, and put more butter in the pan. Next, we cooked them up like a regular grilled cheese. Creamy. Aromatic. Buttery goodness.

Skewered!

The Belanger Brothers favoured us with some lamb leg steaks recently. They were a little big to just fire on the grill (if we wanted to keep in fighting trim). So we diced them into nice cubes and threaded them onto skewers. In between, we had mushrooms, baby tomatoes, yellow zucchini, and onion. When they were grilled, we served them on platters, with some creamy avocado, sprinkled with lemon. It’s not local – but it’s our kind of local. We bought it down the street at Kelly’s.

Cool and Crisp Salmon for a Warm Day

We had some leftover salmon from Hooked, because it’s hard to resist taking the whole fillet when it’s there, glistening in the case. Coming home for lunch, we looked to see what we could do with it.

The farmer’s market was featuring radishes, beans, and asparagus. We sliced the radish, and lightly tossed the green vegetables in some butter and lemon.  We used the cooking liquor to mix with a little mustard, and tossed the whole thing together. Sitting on the deck, shaded by the trees, it was cool and soothing.

Birthday Pie!

For some time now, Number One Son has opted for birthday pie, instead of birthday cake. This year was no exception. But we try to mix it up and make a different sort of pie each year.

This year, that childhood classic, coconut cream, was the one. We had some wonderfully fresh eggs from Rowe Farms, and coconut from Better Bulk. Of course it all starts with the pastry, light and flaky – any basic recipe will do, because it’s all about the practice. The feel of when it’s right evolves with practice.

Then, a basic custard, with three eggs. About a cup of coconut. The egg whites worked nicely for a meringue, with just a hint of sugar. We sprinkled some coconut on top and baked it until it was golden and delicious. A happy celebration was had by all