Luscious Leftovers

"This is so good.  This is so good.  This is so good."  Yep, I moaned this repeatedly after my third (not consecutive) leftover turkey sammy.  But, let me back up the story a bit.

This recipe was passed on from my Mother, the best cook I know.  She told me it was a really great recipe.  So, I picked up a turkey breast roast from Costco last week.  Turns out a roast is really a couple big pieces of boneless turkey tied up (I cut the string bag...turns out you weren't supposed to).  She said it would probably work just fine.  Oh, boy, did it ever!

1 turkey breast (bone in or boneless), thawed
1 15oz can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1/2 c. orange juice
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

Rinse turkey breast and trim off any excess fat.  Place turkey in slow cooker.  Combine ingredients.  Pour over turkey.  Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.  Note: Mom usually cooks it on high about four hours, then on low another 3 hours.  Depends on the size of the turkey.

The turkey was so tender and flavorful...texture similar to pulled pork, but not icky stringy.

Now on to the sammy.....perfection.  Heat up the turkey in a pan.  Generously butter crusty sliced sourdough bread and place it on a griddle.  Top it with the warmed up turkey and a couple of spoonfuls of cranberry sauce.  Toast on one side and carefully flip it.  Toast the other side, then get ready to eat up.

Yes, the bread is as big as the griddle.

Yum.  We've had three sammys so far, and Emil will finish off the last one tomorrow at work.  Lucky guy!  We joke about returning to Costco to pick up a few more turkey roasts to toss in the freezer.  Guess I know what we're having for Christmas.  Let the countdown begin! 

Kudos to my lovely Mother for the recipe!  She's also the best hostess I know...and taught me all about Southern Hospitality.  Thank you!

5k and Giving Thanks

I convinced Emil to do the "I Like Pie" 5k this morning...get up early, shiver, run, and eat pie.  It was worth it!  Over 1,000 people participated in an untimed 2k, 5, 10k walk/run along the Deschutes River.  After the run, there was plenty of free pie and even a pie baking contest!  All the proceeds went to a local food bank.  Emil's time was really good...mine was decent, considering I haven't ran in three weeks.

Hot coffee, cocoa, and fire pits kept folks warm and energized.

Before the run...

Donating some canned goods to NeighborImpact.

Our pie:  peach, cherry, cranberry, and chocolate nut

For Thanksgiving, I wanted to do something non-traditional and keep it simple.  Maybe a tofu curry, lasagna, or enchiladas.  We also wanted to spend the day alone, cozy in our pajamas, and watching football...since we've hardly seen each other the last three weeks.  Leaving the couch was optional.

We compromised and cooked our favorite foods, along with a wonderful recipe from my Mother.  Thanks for the great turkey recipe!  I also skipped the diet food and desserts, but stuck to small portions.

Crockpot Turkey...it's so easy and delicious.  Four ingredients!

Emil's favorite cranberries.  Less sugar this year.

Twice baked taters - low fat sour cream.  We split one!

Perfectly round Rhodes Rolls.  Bake them in a cupcake pan!

Apple pie, no nuts by request

My plate.  I'm saving up for dessert.

Our cute little table with non-matching plates, cups, dishes.  Sigh.

Now we're looking through store ads, contemplating a shopping trip, and looking forward to homemade apple pie (for Emil since I don't like pie), and brownies (for me).

On a side note:  I watched Twinkies sell left and right on eBay last night.  We dashed out at 10 p.m. and went to three stores to buy boxes to sell.  Since Bend is so healthy and full of granolas, we did not have success.  Darn hippies!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

A most welcome visitor

Tommy Boy came down here for a few days before heading to Tacoma for the holidays.  I splurged on good food, he drank great beer, and we played ukes every night.  I hosted a few music parties at our house, and we explored the neighborhoods in the rain and wind.

Between the eating and drinking, we found time to hang out and just chat about life.  A needed convo.

A little duet on the couch.

WOW!  Check out that cool cigar box uke.  I wonder who makes them....

Delicious coffee at Thump.

Tommy eating a gingerbread woman at Sparrow Bakery.

Our 10th brewery of the day (just kidding)...Boneyard Brewery.

Pepper steak sammy at Brother Jon's downtown.  I'll stick to the Captain Jack Sparrow.

Good times for sure.  So glad he came to visit for the third time.  Hmmmm....maybe he likes Bend and the 15 breweries!

mya-moe ukuleles

As you may recall, I arranged a shop tour at mya-moe ukuleles for Emil's birthday gift.  We traveled to White Salmon for the tour, and it was absolutely fantastic in many ways.

Gordon was so kind to spend time and walk us through the build process.  The workshop is thoughtfully organized, and I've never seen so many clamps in my life.  We asked lots of questions and admired the beautiful wood.  Seeing ukuleles in the different stages was really interesting.

They just launched their newly designed website today.  Check it out!  http://www.myamoeukuleles.com/

We're so thankful for Gordon and Char's time...what wonderful people!  I'm saving up for a mya-moe ukulele!

Other highlights on our trip:  A cute hotel in Hood River decked out in fall decor, delicious food, snowy passes, a visit to a music store in The Dalles, and a new amp added to our music collection.

Winter is here in the mountain pass.

View from the hotel room of Full Sail Brewery and the Columbia River.

Front porch of the Oak Street Hotel.

Wild turkey flock.  There are two flocks in White Salmon.

Red curry with pears, zucchini, cremini, and a cool yogurt sauce.

Alaskan cod with the best french fries EVER.

Curry artichoke dip.  Now you know why I have a gut bomb!

Darn!  I forgot to take a picture of Emil's new amp.  It will be used for checking sound from the ukes he makes.  We'll also use it for music nights at our house and the Tuesday night jams.  We tried it out last night with our iPod and "Surfin' USA" sounded great from it.

Time to detox from all the delicious food, bake goodies with the local fruit we bought, and belt out songs in the comfort of our living room!

Neighborhood Pumpkin Carving Gathering

We hosted the first annual neighborhood pumpkin carving gathering last night.  The invitation said Eat, Drink, and Carve!  Bring a pumpkin, knife, and libation of choice.

I supplied the munchies...wish I had a picture of the festive table and food.  Fruit, white bean dip with balsamic vinaigrette and veggies, roasted eggplant pizza, meatball sliders, deviled eggs with jalapenos, self-filled cupcakes, and miniature pumpkin whoopie pies.  Looking forward to leftovers all day today!

There was a prize for the best pumpkin, so bring on the competitive spirits!

Mary, Linda, Annie

Let the carving begin!

This pic is why I've never carved a pumpkin in my life.  Sticky and messy.

Emil set up buckets and two carving stations.

No peeking at my design!

A pic through the glass window.  Check out Lori's green veined pumpkin! 

Annie and Robert

Lori and me!  My design is a ukulele, of course.

Annie is an amazing artist and used marbles and intricate designs on her pumpkin.

Ick!  Get me a towel.

Thanks to Emil for setting up a nice place for the carving in his warm workshop.  After we noshed on food, we all crowded into the workshop with sharp knives, secretive designs, and bowls for pumpkin seeds.

Sorry we didn't take pics of the finished pumpkins.  It was getting late, and we were anxious to vote and award the prize.  It was a tie for Annie and Lori's pumpkins!

Our next gathering will be in December when we decorate the traffic roundabout.  Better start menu planning!

Sparrow Bakery

Get off your duff and go over there right now!  I dragged Emil there early this morning after my friend told me about their amazing breakfast sammy.  Homemade croissant, aioli, organic greens, havarti cheese, and a perfectly poached egg.

Vegetarian option for me

Bacon option for Emil

Tasty Chai with nutmeg

It was a wonderful way to start a chilly day.  I foresee many trips to Sparrow Bakery in the future. 

Good News!  Tommy Boy is coming to visit in November!  What will we do when he's here?  Don't worry...you know I have a spreadsheet listed with all the yummy restaurants and breweries to hit up.  We'll hike up Pilot Butte, so we can hit Happy Hour every night.  It all evens out, right?

Cookbook Lust

There are a few things in life I lust for.  If I listed them out here, I would be in a heap of trouble, so I'll just hit one of the highlights.  "Baked: New Frontiers in Baking" by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito is the ultimate cookbook.  Last fall, I borrowed it from the library, made lots of copies, and made the recipes over and over and over.

It's been on my mind lately, as I just baked off two loaves of their Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread for upcoming gatherings.  Freezes really well, so bake away!

Since I've been Christmas shopping for my family, I just happened to be on Amazon and this cookbook fell into my shopping cart.  It arrived today...I inhaled the new book smell, carefully opened it, and started reading.  I suspect there will be lots of baking in the coming weeks, as I try out every recipe.  You know...it's just one of those books where all the recipes sound good and turn out great.  How often can you say that about a cookbook?

Happy Baking, Y'all!

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 3/4 cups (one 15-ounce can) pumpkin puree
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  
  Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-by-5-by-3 inch loaf pans, dust them with flour, and knock out the excess flour. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger (if using), baking soda, and salt.  In another large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree and oil until combined. Add the sugar and whisk again. Whisk the eggs into the mixture, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Add 2/3 cup room-temperature water and whisk until combined. With a rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate chips.
  
  Fold the dry ingredients into the wet. Do not overmix. Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Gently knock the bottom of the pans against the countertop to even out the batter. Use a spatula to smooth the tops. Bake in the center of the oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean, 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes. Invert the loaves onto wire racks and cool completely before serving.
  
  

Birthday Celebration

Happy Birthday to my dear husband!  We celebrated all day yesterday.  I had the BEST present for him, and I managed to keep it a secret for two weeks.  Can you believe it?  I was so darn excited to give it to him.

I bought him an x-rated card!

Rearrange the clues to make a sentence.

OMG!!  A tour at his favorite luthier....mya-moe.

Many thanks to Char and Gordon at mya-moe for setting up a time for us to come visit their shop.  Emil will have many questions for them.

Emil did a bike ride while I made chocolate pudding for him and prepped for several upcoming visitors....lots of baked goods are now in the freezer.

Then, off to dinner at Jackalope Grill.  http://www.jackalopegrill.com/

Grilled shrimp, chickpea fries, romesco sauce.

Sirloin steak, gorgonzola butter, fries.

Chocolate pots de creme.  It rivals the one at Haute Quarter Grill.

Schnitzel with cabbage, green beans, and a potato pancake with applesauce.

We actually made a real dinner reservation...the first one in many years.

Dining al fresco

October is going to be super busy month filled with out of town visitors, catering gigs, uke jams, and taking advantage of the beautiful weather before fall arrives.  Save sleep for when the snow flies.

Weekend Fun

Yesterday, we volunteered at the Leadman Tri, held right here in Bend.  After a somewhat disorganized beginning, we arrived at our assigned bike aid station at 2 p.m. up near Crane Prairie Reservoir.  What fun!  The bikers rode down a hill to us, ready for water, Heed, oranges, bananas, Snicker bars, electrolyte tablets, and their personal bags.  They would call out their number to us, we would find their bag, hold their bike, and give them anything they needed.

Most often, they would ask for sunscreen, lip balm, something salty, or dig into their bags.  This was the most interesting part...seeing their loot.  McDonald's cheeseburgers, flat sodas, tupperware full of mashed potatoes, and more. 

http://www.leadmantri.com/

All of the bikers were so mellow and pleasant, considering they'd just biked 80+ miles.  We chatted about where they live, etc.  After a break, they rode off saying thanks for volunteering and donating our weekend time.  So nice!

What number are you? 

Can I hold your $5,000 bike?  I promise not to drop it.

Lots of bags lined up!

 It was one of the most fun volunteer experiences I've had.  Wish we had done the early shift to see some of the pros come through.  We received a super nice t-shirt and lunch for volunteering.

Today, there was parade downtown honoring Decathlon Olympian, Ashton Eaton.  He won the gold medal!  And, he's from Bend/La Pine.  I walked downtown to watch the parade and was amazed at the turnout.  Hundreds of folks cheering him and other Olympians. 

Ashton's grandparents

His other set of grandparents

Nancy is in our uke group!  An Olympian!

Cheerleaders from the high school Ashton attended.

Band from the high school Ashton attended.

Ashton and his Mother

Gearing up for a busy week!  Squeezing in some football today, although I'm still getting over last night's Clemson/FSU game.  Just plain painful.