Turkeys

Today was my first sort of a day off in November, sort of, because this morning, I did go to the store that I manage in Downtown Portland. I assisted The Husband as he did new displays for me. I do my own displays most of the year, but for the holidays I needed to pull out the big guns & the store does not take well to being too merchandised. I brought in my own designer. We were done by noon. We returned home & had the rest of the day off, both of us, at the same time. I am not certain that this has ever happened in this decade.

I supervise, school, schedule & support a rag-tag selection of 15 young people, 19-32 year olds. I put together a little publication I'll call, let us say- Stuff It With Steve. It is rather like a cross between the school paper & community bulletin board. The document has several regular features: Sales Goals, Sampling Schedule, Snippets, Steve's Stuff. I start the piece with a quote about food & next, a food trivia question.

I just had to know. I had been puzzling over the crew for a few months. How motivated are they? Just how smart? In this week's edition, the quote & the answer to the trivia question were the same:

Food Quote Of The Week: "I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country...The turkey is a much more respectable bird, & withal a true original native of America." Benjamin Franklin

Food Trivia: A bottle of sparkling wine- Krug, for the first correct answer (no Iphones!)- Who Famously Said: "I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country.....The turkey is a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America."

 
Only one young person got the trivia answer & he used his Iphone.
 
 

Thankful

My tea's gone cold, I'm wondering why

I got out of bed at all

The morning rain clouds up my window

& I can't see at all

& even if I could it'd all be grey,

but your picture on my wall

It reminds me that it's not so bad,

it's not so bad

I drank too much last night, got bills to pay,

my head just feels in pain

I missed the bus & there'll be hell today,

I'm late for work again

& even if I'm there, they'll all imply

that I might not last the day

& then you call me & it's not so bad,

it's not so bad &

I want to thank you

for giving me the best day of my life

Oh just to be with you

is having the best day of my life

Push the door, I'm home at last

& I'm soaking through and through

Then you hand me a towel

& all I see is you

& even if my house falls down,

I wouldn't have a clue

Because you're near me &

I want to thank you

for giving me the best day of my life

Oh just to be with you

is having the best day of my life

Dido

 2001

Talking Turkey

Marilyn's Stuffing

No garlic

A 10-ounce loaf sourdough bread

1/2 pound chicken or turkey livers or hearts

1/2 pound ground round or other beef

1 tablespoon cooking oil

4 stalks celery, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

2 cups chopped curly parsley

2 eggs, hard boiled, chopped

1 1/2 cups raisins

1 cup grated Parmesan

1 1/4 cups chopped walnuts, pine nuts or roasted chestnuts, or a combination

2 teaspoons dried crushed rosemary

2 teaspoons dried crushed oregano

2 teaspoons dried crushed thyme

3 bay leaves

1 tablespoon salt-free, garlic-free poultry seasoning (or 1 teaspoon dried sage, 1 teaspoon marjoram, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg)

1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

1 tablespoon pepper.

1. Split the bread loaf in half and soak it in a large bowl of cold water for 15 minutes. Wring out excess water over a colander and shred into pieces.

2. Boil the livers or hearts for 8 minutes in salted water, then chop until no piece is larger than a coffee bean.

3. In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef in the oil, stirring occasionally and breaking up the meat, so no piece is larger than a pistachio.

4. In your largest mixing bowl, combine the sourdough, livers, ground beef, celery, onion, parsley, eggs, raisins, Parmesan and nuts, tossing gently with your hands to combine. Whisk the rosemary, oregano, thyme, bay leaves, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper together in a bowl, scatter over the stuffing and toss again with your hands. Taste and adjust for salt. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use as a stuffing or to bake separately as dressing.

Yield: 20 cups, enough for one large turkey, 2 to 3 geese or 8 chickens.

I Am Grateful... Thanksgiving 2009

I am thankful to be a blogger, to do a post almost everyday (sometimes I wake up just sure that I will not be able to pull it off), for having readers & followers, for fellow bloggers that have fabulous blogs that I visit everyday. I am thankful for having met fellow bloggers Will & Mark in person in the summer 2009. I wish everyone who chances to read this a special, love filled & grateful day.

I've got a roof over my head

I've got a warm place to sleep

Some nights I lie awake counting gifts

Instead of counting sheep

I've got a heart that can hold love

I've got a mind that can think

There may be times when I lose the light

& let my spirits sink

But I can't stay depressed

When I remember how I'm blessed

Grateful, grateful

Truly grateful I am

Grateful, grateful

Truly blessed

& duly grateful

In a city of strangers

I've got a family of friends

No matter what rocks & brambles fill the way

I know that they will stay in the end

It's not that I don't want a lot

Or hope for more, or dream of more

But giving thanks for what I've got

Makes me so much happier than keeping score

In a world that can bring pain

I will still take each chance

For I believe that whatever the terrain

Our feet can learn to dance

Whatever stone life may sling

We can moan or we can sing

Grateful, grateful

Truly grateful I am

Grateful, grateful

Truly blessed

& duly grateful

John Bucchino