Linda Hoye's Blog, page 181

Turkey Soup Time!

I’ve cooked a lot of turkeys over the course of my life and the carcass of every one of them has ended up in a soup pot. Now that Christmas is behind us and we’ve had (more than) our fill of turkey leftovers it’s time to repeat the tradition.

This year our son provided a twenty-six pound free-range grass-fed turkey for our Christmas dinner. Before the kiddos went home a few days ago, we massacred what was left of the bird and created care packages for them to take home with them. I kept the carcass and bones and this morning it was soup time.

First, I made stock by putting the carcass and bones in my pressure canner–that was the only vessel large enough to hold the big bird. Then, I added some chopped carrots, celery (lots of celery leaves too), onion, dried parsley, salt and pepper, filled the pot with hot water, and put it on the stove to simmer for a few hours.

This afternoon I removed the bones and veggies from the pot and was left with a delicious turkey stock. I usually do this the hard way using a slotted spoon but you could pour the entire thing through a strainer and accomplish the same thing in less time. I find the process of removing the ingredients from the stock to be relaxing so I’ll stick to the old school way.

With only stock left in the pot I added chopped carrots, chopped celery, diced onion, two quarts of canned tomatoes, more dried parsley, salt and pepper, and a package and a half of pearl barley. Quantities are completely up to you, just be aware that the barley will increase in volume as it cooks; we like our soup thick. I also pick through the carcass and bones for meat and return that to the pot as well.

Put the pot back on the stove to simmer for a couple more hours and that’s it! We usually enjoy a couple of meals of the soup and then I freeze the rest. It’s so convenient to keep a good supply of ready-made things like soup in the freezer for those days when you need a quick meal.

 

2014 Reading List

There are a lot of lists about books showing up on blogs this week. Literary sites are listing the best or most notable (whatever that means) books of the year and some bloggers are listing the books that made the greatest impression on them this year.

For the past couple of years I’ve read books exclusively on my Kindle so it’s pretty easy to get a list of the books I’ve purchased this year. A few years ago I released myself from the burden of finishing a book if it wasn’t holding my attention, so there are a few books I purchased but chose not to read to the end. I have not included those on this list.

Here, in no particular order, is the list of books I read, finished, and enjoyed, in 2014.

Family History by Dani Shapiro
Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand
The Silent Wife by A. S. A. Harrison
Watch How We Walk by Jennifer LoveGrove
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
Writing From Life: For Women With Stories To Tell by Susan Wittig Albert
The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
Sailing Down the Moonbeam by Mary Gottschalk
Ever Faithful To His Lead by Kathleen Pooler
Bonnet Strings by Saloma Miller Furlong
Where There’s Smoke by Jodi Picoult
Growing Up Country: Memories of an Iowa Farm Girl by Carol Bodensteiner
The Simple Life by Rhonda Hetzel
Go Away Home by Carol Bodensteiner
The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh
The Search Angel by Tish Cohen
The Girls of August by Anne Rivers Siddons
Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens
Down To Earth by Rhonda Hetzel
Always Watching by Chevy Stevens
Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
That Night by Chevy Stevens
We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas
The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett
Good Girls Don’t by Patti Hawn
The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman

If you find a few new-to-you books on this list I hope you’ll consider checking them out. It’s always a treat to find a new author’s work to enjoy–as evidenced by the number of books I read by Canadian author Chevy Stevens this year!

Merry Christmas

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

“Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

~ Luke 2:8-14 NKJV

I am beyond excited to be spending Christmas with my children and granddaughter this year. It’s been a year of transition and change for all of us; I feel so blessed to have this time together as we celebrate and look forward.

Wishing you and yours a blessed and wonderful Christmas.

Merry Christmas, all!

Canning – Cranberry Jelly

I don’t know about you but I’m finding it hard to believe that it’s Christmas week already. Tomorrow we will celebrate with part of our family, then on Christmas Eve day the rest of the crew arrives to spend Christmas with us. It’s a special year, and the first time in seven years that we will be blessed to spend time with some–let alone all!–of our kids with us over the holiday.

A couple of weeks ago when the fresh cranberries arrived at the supermarket I got busy and made some cranberry jelly. As part of my ongoing quest to stop purchasing store-bought canned goods this was one more thing to cross off the list. Yes, I know that the canned jelly is not to everyone’s taste but in my house it’s gotta be jelly–no whole berries allowed!

This recipe is from the classic  Ball Blue Book of Preserving. I made two batches which yielded four pints of jelly–more than enough to get us through the coming year. By the way, I’ve added the following handy-dandy widget that will allow you to print the recipes I post. I’ll be going back to previous recipe posts and updating it to include a printable recipe as well.

PrintCranberry Jelly

Ingredients

4 1/4 cups cranberries
1 3/4 cups water
2 cups sugar

Instructions

Wash cranberries and drain.
Combine cranberries and water in large saucepan. Boil until skins pop--and pop they will!
Puree using an immersion blender or food processor.
Add sugar to cranberries and boil until it's almost at the gelling point. (See note below.)
Ladle hot sauce into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch head space.
Wipe rims to ensure they are clean and apply lids and rings. Process in water bath canner for 15 minutes
For my altitude here in Kamloops I need to increase the processing time by 5 minutes. You need to check the altitude for your location and adjust accordingly.3.0http://lindahoye.com/canning-cranberry-jelly/

Here’s some information, with photos, about how to test for the gelling point.

Christmas Magic

Once upon a time I believed there was something magical about Christmas Day that went beyond anything that Santa Claus could bring. I distinctly remember looking out the window on a cold Saskatchewan Christmas morning when I was a child and seeing sparkles in the air. I realize now that it was likely ice crystals that made the morning shimmer, but at the time it seemed like magical fairy dust was in the air, and the sun shone brighter than it had before.

Every Christmas morning after that it seemed to me that there was something different about the way things looked on Christmas Day and I retained that sense of wonder well into adulthood. I was in my thirties the last time I had that same sense that there was something enchanted about the way things looked on December 25. It might have been the last Christmas I saw the magic before my world fell apart.

There were a series of difficult Christmas’ for me after that. There was that first Christmas after my then-husband and I separated when I made a difficult choice about who would–and who wouldn’t–be present at the table for Christmas dinner. Then another Christmas morning when the only gifts with my name on them under the tree were from a couple of co-workers, and when I awoke alone my first thoughts were to remind myself that I would get through the day somehow.

My life is much different now and this year my husband and I are looking forward to having all of our children and grandchildren with us at some point over the Christmas holiday. I’m especially excited about experiencing Christmas morning through the eyes of my granddaughter and I hope she sees the magic.

This afternoon as I was running last-minute Christmas errands I happened to drive past the cemetery. I watched as a car with one lone occupant–a young man–drove out through the gates and I couldn’t help wonder about his reason for visiting the cemetery on this the last Friday before Christmas. Had he lost a parent; a spouse; a friend; or, God forbid, a child? Did the Christmas carols and coloured lights mock him as he did the best he could to make it through the cold and dark December days? Was he looking forward to Boxing Day when everything would return to normal, yet knowing that there would never be another normal for him again?

That first Christmas after one experiences the loss of a loved one, whether through death or estrangement, is almost unbearably difficult and painful. It is especially difficult to maintain that facade of “doing okay” when the rest of the world is smiling and happy and all you want to do is crawl into bed until it’s all over. This year, there are two people in my family who are enduring that “first Christmas”. My prayers for both of them are constant.

I pray that everyone who is struggling through this month will be comforted. I pray they will retain their faith that the Christmas magic will return for them in time. I pray that they will be comforted in knowing there is a Reason for the season that goes beyond lights, presents, and fat men in red suits.

The magic is there in the bright eyes of a child experiencing the wonder of the season. It’s there in the hearts of those who give unexpectedly and sacrificially. It’s there in the love we have for those we hold dear.

And it’s there in a Babe in a manger who came on that very first Christmas Day when the magic abounded. I wish for you all a very Merry, and Magical, Christmas.

Canadian Weblog Awards

I received an early Christmas surprise this morning when I learned that A Slice Of Life was awarded second place Canadian Weblog Awards Writing & Literature category! I’m humbled to be counted among the other winners in this category: Obscure CanLit Mama and InScribe Writers Online.

Here’s a link to the award site so you can check out the winners in the other categories too.

Photo Friday – Green and Red

It’s mid-December and we are feeling like Santa’s elves around here with a few special projects on the go.

Still taking time to sip tea and enjoy special treats–perhaps too many special treats but I’m not stressing about it. Mom’s whipped shortbread is one of those treats; every bite is like a taste of nostalgia to me. I also have some vintage Christmas ornaments on display this year–they were on the trees Mom and Dad put up when I was a child.

Happy Friday…Happy Weekend.

Linking up with Kim Klassen for Friday Finds again this week.

Photo Friday – Simplicity

I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately.

Perhaps it’s because of cloudy skies and cold weather that has me staying inside. Perhaps it’s because I have been spending too much time worrying and not enough time praying. Perhaps it’s the holiday season. Maybe it’s all of these; maybe it’s none of these. It doesn’t matter.

Yesterday was a near-perfect day for me as I was able to stay home all day doing whatever I chose. Christmas carols playing…baking cookies…knitting…writing…just being. Gerry brought me flowers–daisies with a titch of sparkle on their petals.

This morning I captured a few images of them on a faux weathered backdrop I created yesterday. A little cup and saucer that belonged to my mom when she was a child and one of her silver tea spoons complete the vignette.

I’m attempting some new things with my photography–trying to capture a sense of simplicity and gratitude. Lots to learn, lots to play with, lots to think about.

Happy Friday and happy weekend to you.

I’m linking up with photographer extraordinaire Kim Klassen for Friday Finds.

Butter Tarts

Before I retired I never dreamed I’d be spending as much time in the kitchen as I am. During the years when I was working preparing meals was a chore at the end of a busy day that I dreaded, and the thought of baking anything rarely crossed my mind. Yet over the past ten months I’ve found a deep fulfillment in time spent in my kitchen preparing meals, canning and preserving the summer harvest, and now with the Christmas season upon us, baking.

This will be the first year in a very long time that I’ve done any Christmas baking. This is also the first year in a very long time that we’ll be blessed to enjoy time with all of our children and grandchildren over the holidays. There is, of course, a correlation.

I’ve been digging through the cards in my old recipe box; I’ve been browsing through my mom’s old wooden recipe box remembering favourite treats she used to make. Now, there’s a stack of cards on my kitchen counter and my cupboard is filled with the ingredients I need to prepare some holiday treats.

 

A couple of days ago I made a small batch of butter tarts and posted something about it on Facebook. I was surprised that some folks weren’t familiar with the recipe until I remembered that they are a quintessential Canadian treat. I knew I had to share the recipe so all of my non-Canadian friends could have the opportunity to enjoy butter tarts too.

This morning I made a few dozen more tarts and as I rolled the pastry and filled the shells with raisins and the sugary sweet filling I felt connected somehow to my mom. Perhaps it was seeing her handwriting on the recipe cards; perhaps it was memories of childhood Christmas’ conjured by the Christmas carols that were playing;  perhaps it was imagining her baking the same butter tarts in the kitchen of the house I grew up in; whatever it was, the precious memories and wistful thoughts connected me to Mom. I couldn’t help but think about my daughter and my granddaughter someday making butter tarts with the same recipe and the thread of family still connecting us all together.

Anyway, enough fanciful meandering. Here is my mom’s recipe for pastry and butter tarts. If you have never tried them you’re in for a treat and they may just become part of your own Christmas tradition!

Pie Pastry

 

Yield: approximately three 9-inch double crust pies, or six pie shells, or five dozen tart shells

Ingredients

5 cups all-purpose flour
1 pound lard (Mom and I have always used Tenderflake.)
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp. vinegar

Instructions

Mix the flour, salt, sugar together in a large bowl. Cut in the lard with a pastry blender until the lard is pea-sized and the mixture has an oatmeal consistency.
Mix the egg and vinegar in a 1 cup measuring cup. Add enough cold water to make 1 cup of liquid.
Gradually stir the liquid into the flour mixture, adding only enough liquid to make the dough cling together, and make sure not to over-mix.

The pastry can be used right away or formed into balls and stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days or frozen for future use. I confess that I have cheated in recent years and resorted to buying premade pie shells. This time I made the pastry from scratch and it really is such an easy thing to do that I plan to continue doing it this traditional way in the future. Another illustration of how retirement has changed my perspective.

 

Butter Tarts

 

Yield: makes two cups of filling, about a dozen tarts depending on the size of the shells.

Ingredients

1 cup raisins, washed, soaked, and drained
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
Milk, enough to make 2 cups of the filling

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix together brown sugar, egg, and vanilla.
Mix together cornstarch and a small amount of milk to make a paste.
Add the cornstarch mixture to the brown sugar mixture and mix.
Add enough milk to make two cups of filling in total.
Put raisins in tart shells.
Pour filling over top of raisins.
Drop a dab of butter on the top of each tart.
Bake for 20-30 minutes.

Snow Day

We woke up this morning in a winter wonderland. Snow is in the forecast this week but we were still surprised at the volume of the white stuff that fell overnight. I was delighted; I’ve been anticipating the snow. Having lived in western Washington, where snow is a rarity, for the past seven years it’s just another part of the repatriating to Canada experience.

Gerry headed out to shovel twice before sunrise–though sunrise is a misnomer because we won’t be seeing the sun any time today. I’ve lost count of the number of times he’s pulled on his now-familiar winter gear–Sorels, coat, gloves, and toque–and headed back outside to shovel. Many of the other men in the cul-de-sac joined him for the winter camaraderie that’s common at this time of year as they heaved the white stuff off of driveways–their own and those of the neighbours needing help.

I had a Tai Chi class scheduled and debated about whether I should attempt a drive down the big hill leading from our community. A report from one of the neighbours, who had ventured out early in his four-wheel drive truck, about the cars that had skidded out trying to come up the hill helped me make the decision to forgo the class for today.

It used to be a joke among my co-workers that, on the rare occasion it snowed in Washington, only the Canadians would make it to the office–and that often proved to be the case. Today, it was a pleasure to make the choice to enjoy the wintery day from the comfort of my home.

With a free day in front of me I headed down to my Woman Cave to tend to some things I’ve had on my desk for a while. As I sat there working, listening to Mary Chapin Carpenter and looking out at the white landscape, I realized that it’s been a long while since I spent a good chunk of time at my desk. Stereotypically, like many retirees, I’ve been busy.

Today I feel like a genuine retiree. I’m staying home, enjoying the view, listening to music, and working on a few writing projects. Gerry, poor guy, is napping and likely praying that we don’t get any more snow for a while. This is the kind of day I dreamed of when I was still working–a day when I have the freedom to change plans and stay home with nothing in particular that needs to be done.