Turkey

Hope everyone had a great meal yesterday!!!

Here's how I made my 16 pound free range turkey.

After washing and pat drying the bird, I stuffed him full of onions, garlic, 2 limes and fresh cilantro. When I say stuff, I mean STUFF. So full that it's bulging out.

Next I made a bed of onions and a cup of chicken broth to lay the turkey on.

Next I took about 6-8 slices of bacon and laid it across it's body.

In the oven he went at 375.

Made a garlic,onion and cilantro butter.

After about 40 minutes basted the turkey with the tasty butter.

For the next 3 hours, basted him regularly with the broth and about 3 more times with the butter.

I used an electric knife to slice. (remove the bacon before slicing)

The turkey stays EXTREMELY moist this way. (you know I don't like dry poultry by now)

I saved all the bones, neck and other goodies to make soup over the weekend.

Lots of leftovers. I'm al ready excited for the next days meals coming up.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm grateful! Very Grateful! My family is healthy, I have a roof over my head and plenty of feel good eating is about to go down.
I'm grateful for all the virtual friends I have met over the last few years. Grateful for all of you that take the time to read my blog. Grateful for all of you whose blogs I follow and how it enriches me on a daily basis. I want to wish everyone a very Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving.

Do any of you "brine" the turkey? I have never done it, but hear it brings good results.
I will post some pictures of my turkey. One of my little turkey secrets is to use bacon.
What other dishes are you all making today?

ENJOY the DAY.

Sir. Edward D. Scruffles

Well, we call him Eddie for short. ;-)
The Humane society held a "Pet Ball" fundraiser at my hotel. I went to look at the dogs that would be in the fashion show prior to the performance.
This little fellow came right up to me and as I sat down he snuggled his little muzzle right in my arm pit and wouldn't budge. I think he might have quietly said, please take me home. So I did. He's one years old and has the sweetest disposition. Great with the kids and the cat.

This weekend I once again picked up some very nice arugula at the farmers market. So I decided to make carpaccio to go with it.

It's very simple to make. I know not everyone eats raw meat, but it really is delicious.

I do spend the extra few dollars to get good quality meat for this dish. Eye of round is what I bought. It is not an expensive cut of meat, so spending extra for quality still doesn't break the bank.

First trim the meat and cut a couple of slices. Keep them small and and make sure they don't have any fat or sinew running through them.

I used about 5-6 of the little slices and refrigerated the rest.

Arrange some washed arugula on a plate (wash well!, like spinach it harbors dirt easily, and crunching on dirt shouldn't be part of this tasty treat)

Next take a cutting board or similar and get two pieces of plastic wrap.

Lay the pieces in a circle on the plastic wrap, then cover with the second piece.

Now take a food mallet, or a rubber mallet and pound it thin.

Check the "thin-ness", but you want it so thin that you can see through it. If you have never done this before, I suggest doing it with one piece at a time.

Now just lay the thin carpaccio over the arugula. Drizzle EVOO over it. Add a few capers and a sprinkle of cheese. (just a little). I use a Parmesan,pecorino and asiago blend.

And a second helping.

You know, this is really a "veggie" dish I realized. There is very little meat involved and lots of arugula and good for you extra virgin olive oil. A raw meat dish that's a veggie dish ;-) Not sure that line would sell.

I will be updating the links on the right as there are some great new blogs out there.

Take a look at Andrew's blog (don't click it, blogger hyperlink is now not working) http://www.gohealthygofit.com/ . He shares some really nice posts and his enthusiasm jumps write of the blog at you.

Have a great day.....and try some raw meat!

Happy Friday

Wow, it’s been a week since my last post. I can’t remember the last time I took that long of a hiatus. I have been very very busy. In this economy that is a good thing, so I’m not complaining.

I started Yoga last week. I’m enjoying it immensely. Would love to know your experiences with it. I do wonder what all the vegetarians and vegans in the class would think about the way I eat ;-)
Maybe next class I’ll bring them some carpaccio…..
Talking about carpaccio……
I’ll be making some this weekend and will post pictures.
It’s easier to make then you might think. With some fresh arugula from the farmers market and evoo it is a treat fit for kings and queens.

Please take a minute and have a look at Son of Grok’s new blog.
He is a frequent commenter on MDA and always has great insight an good stuff to share.
He has a simple recipe for home made sweet potato chips. I think you’ll like it.

Back to food;
Grass fed ground beef and ground turkey, onion and some chimichurra sauce.
Quick and easy and very tasty.

















I'm getting very frustrated with blogger.
What software/programs do you recommend if I were to make the switch.

Enjoy the Day

Quick Dinner

Short on time, 2 of my kids got braces yesterday, my son had to be at hockey practice......
Needed a quick dinner solution.
Ran into the supermarket and picked up a carton of chicken broth and a pound of ground turkey. Sauteed some onion in evoo, added the turkey, when the turkey was no longer pink, I added the chicken broth. I then julienned a yellow squash and added that. Kept some aside for my youngest who loves raw veggies (don't ask). All this took about 15-20 minutes. We all had a nice big bowl of soup for dinner. For dessert was some frozen vanilla chocolate swirl frozen yogurt. A little extra comfort food for the brave recipients of new braces.

Breakfast the other morning;
Ground grass fed beef with some onion. Watermelon and a few grapes. And my favorite vitamins. Thank you
Mark Sisson .
(picture to follow)

Chicken/turkey soup and something completely different

Saute yellow onion, shallot and garlic, add some ground turkey. When turkey is no longer pink add chicken broth. Add 3 or 4 cut up parsnips. (they are far richer in vitamins then their family member carrots and pack a potassium punch). Toss in a few radishes and 3 or 4 large handfuls of arugula. Simmer all for about 30 minutes. The parsnips give it a very nice flavor, many add this to soups, but in my humble opinion not enough of it. When it is the main veggie, the soup becomes nice an thick from the starch in the parsnip, and takes on a deeper flavor.



Here's something different;
Watermelon and beet salad.

In a bowl mix some sliced watermelon and thinly sliced beet. Then add just a pinch of feta or a few pieces of thinly sliced whatever cheese you have around. Not too much, just a sprinkle. Drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar. Go ahead impress your healthy eating friends with this one ;-)

In case you have never made beets before; peel the beet, cut into slices and boil for about 6 minutes. I put mine in the freezer to cool off and then sliced them to add with the cold watermelon.

"Change is inevitable........except from vending machines"

ENJOY the DAY!

Fruit, Veggies and a new link

Man, do I love me some local star fruit!!!

Looking for a little immunity boost?

Garlic, shallots, zucchini, radishes, spinach, spring onions and cimmichurra sauce.

Saute garlic and shallot in butter, then add the radishes. Next add the zucchini, cook to desired "done-ness" . Next add fresh sliced spinach. When the spinach wilts add in 2 tbsps of chimmicura sauce, stir and last toss in the spring onions or scallions. Serve nice and warm.

I had some stone crabs with it.

Please take some time and read Keith's site . He has posted some pictures of his results eating a paleo/EV diet. His Blog is EXTREMELY well written and supplies great information and inspiration. His link is new on the right.

ENJOY.

Fresh Basil

Have you found your local farmers market yet?
I bought some amazing smelling basil. Also found a huge local seedless watermelon for $3.
A tiny little one from Mexico costs $6.99 at Whole Foods. Have I sold you yet? ;-)

Ahhhhh fresh BASIL;
Marinated grilled chicken breasts with pesto.
Pound out chicken breasts. 5 cloves of garlic, fresh ground pepper, some red pepper flakes, lemon juice, evoo and some of the fresh basil. Cover and marinate over night.

Grill, put some pesto on top and enjoy. Trust me when I tell you, that you will really like this grilled chicken. It has GREAT flavor. Pesto recipe; basil, garlic, evoo and some pine nuts. Chop by hand for best flavor, cheat for instant gratification, and toss in food processor. (I did)

I'm not sure if the picture below looks too appetizing ;-)
But it sure was one delicious breakfast after a heavy,intense and short work out.
Ground turkey with onion and mixed in home made chimichurra sauce. Tow big slices of avocado. Making the chimmi is easy and quick; took out the magic bullet and tossed in garlic, cilantro and evoo. I also ate a small orange (like the other post) with it.
"One must toughen up...without losing one's tenderness"
C.G.

Home grown

Guess what this is?

Right...it's an orange!
This is what an orange looks like that has not been "bred" for the supermarket.
Just fresh picked/fallen from my neighbors' back yard orange tree.
This type of orange is very little compared to the super market variety.
Also notice how it doesn't have the bright orange color that you would normally recognize.
It's not as sugary sweet either, more like a sour sweet taste.
With the farmers market open for business, it just amazes me all over again how much better the local and FRESH picked veggies and fruits taste.
Try your local market/csa, etc and see how good it is. There is a reason top chefs utilise locally grown ingredients. They are also after that fantastic fresh taste.

Every so often I always ask you all pretty much the same question;
anything you would like to see more of? Any particular recipe your after? Ideas for ingredients you're not quite sure how to make? Video cooking demo?
Drop me a comment and share some of your feedback.....as always...fire away..no ego here ;-)

Make it a great day!

One small comment from me.

Today is the day that EVERY American can look their son and daughter in the eye and say;
"YOU CAN BE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO BE"

Bob Marley sang a long time ago "until the color of a man's skin, is of no more significance, then the color of his eyes.....we've got to say war"
Regardless of any political affiliation.........it warms my heart and soul that maybe, just maybe we are getting very close to everyone living this simple truth.

Marc

Low heat cooking

Saute in evoo on low heat, garlic, yellow pepper and chicken sausage. (squeeze the sausage out of it's casing) when the sausage is cooked, toss large serving of spinach on top. Let it wilt. Sprinkle with some scallions.

How was that for easy?

Work out question

Sliced grilled chicken thighs and grilled onion. Cucumber, a few sliced olives and a couple of tiny cubes of organic cheese.

Work out question;
Dips? Good for you...bad for you? Do they stress the shoulder joint too much?
Weighted dips too much?
I look forward to hearing some of your thoughts on it.

Happy Election Day.

Southwest Florida Delicacy

I was very happy this weekend that the farmers market got started again.

They are only open on Saturdays, but the prices are unbelievable and the produce so fresh and full of flavor. Another reason I love it, it that I'm able to buy fresh "Stone Crab Claws"

This is a delicacy unique to Southwest Florida. They can only be found here.

The crab meat is unlike you have ever tasted. They come in 3 sizes, small, medium and large claws. You can eat them hot or cold, and locally they are served with a mayo/mustard for dipping. The season for these guys runs from October 1st until May 1st. But most of what you get after Feb. 1st is frozen. So now is the time to get eating. Only problem, they are expensive. In the stores the large claws sell for about $25-$29 a pound. Enter the farmers market, here if you go early, you can buy them for $11 a pound. So now you know what I had for dinner last night. Big salad to go with it, chock full of local arugula, red leaf lettuce, cucumber, garlic and grandma's dressing.

Sunday evening I usually grill up some staples for the week. Bone less, skinless chicken thighs. Tossed with fresh garlic, evoo and lemon herb pepper. chicken thighs are great for today's tighter budget, even the organic free range are affordable. Do you own a fish basket for your grill??? It's not just for fish ;-) This is how I like to grill my onions. Slice onion, sprinkle evoo and fresh ground pepper.

I love love love grilled onions!!!!

Make it a great week!!!