Thanksgiving in a nutshell

So, I may be exaggerating by comparing our apartment to a nutshell, it really is more the size of a shoebox.  This year I was determined to make thanksgiving dinner from scratch before my roommates and I went our separate ways for the holiday, regardless of space and oven size.    It went so smoothly that I wanted to document it. Not everything was completely from scratch (thank you Trader Joe's), but we did the best we could with time and space constraints.

Our Menu:

Turkey

Stuffing

Gravy

Brussel sprouts

Sweet potatoes

Biscuits

Pumpkin cheesecake

Hot cider

So our shopping list looked something like:

• turkey
• stuffing
• gravy
• herbs and spices (rosemary, basil, thyme, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, ginger)
• salt
• fresh cranberries (2 bags)
• apples (3)
• pecans
• chestnuts
• brussel sprouts
• honey
• olive oil
• sweet potatoes
• brown sugar
• butter
• Pilsbury biscuits
• cream cheese
• canned pumpkin
• sugar
• vanilla
• graham cracker pie crust
• cider

tools:

• large casserole dish
• tinfoil
• gallon ziplock bags
• turkey rack (we made one out of a disposable tinfoil pan with wholes poked in)
• at least three other assorted pans
• cookie sheet
• two sauce pans
• cooling racks
• seran wrap
• meat thermometer

We can split the day into four different sections, starting with morning prep

STAGE ONE: dessert and side preparation (2 hours)

First came the pumpkin cheesecake.  The recipe came from allrecipes.com.  I added a full cup of pumpkin, and instead of layers used the plain cheesecake set aside in the beginning to create a marbled effect at the end.  Because of the extra pumpkin it required about 20 minutes longer to cook.

While the pumpkin cheese cake was cooking I set about prepping the sides for easy cooking later.

The brussels sprouts needed to be picked off the stem, rinsed, the bottoms cut off, and halved.  While these were drying I cut the sweet potatoes and placed them in a ziplock bag with a lot of brown sugar and 1/4 cup of butter.  The dried brussels sprouts went in a bag as well with olive oil, honey, cranberries, and pecans.  Both of those went in the fridge until later when the turkey was done.

At this time I made the stuffing as well, Trader Joe's pre-made stuffing base saved me some time.  Mixed that with cranberries, apples, and cashews.  Set aside to cool.

By the now the cheesecake is probably ready to come out and cool and it's on to the turkey!

This was my first turkey making experience, so I can't say I feel all that qualified to explain the proper way to prepare a turkey, but what I did was rub it with butter and an herb mixture of pepper, thyme, rosemary, salt, and basil.  When it was cleaned and rubbed I filled it with some of the stuffing and put it in the oven on 350 for the next four plus hours.

STAGE TWO: turkey and clorox wipes (4 hours)

At the point I had to leave for a rehearsal and my lovely roommate Melissa took over the turkey cooking and cleaning process.  When you live in a space with a table that only measures 3x3, five assorted chairs,  and very minimal counter space, every inch matters.  When I got back from rehearsal the kitchen was organized, disinfected, and much larger looking.  Being the resident mess maker, I can't explain this phenomena short of magic.

STAGE THREE: side cooking (45 minutes)

When the turkey was done we took it out to cool, turned up the oven to 450 and started the rest of our meal.  The sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts and remaining stuffing went in uncovered for about 40 minutes, while stirring occasionally.  While these were cooking we made some chestnuts on the stovetop and heated up the cider and gravy.

Once the baked things were starting to brown, we took them out and put them on cooling racks, carved up the turkey, and served up our feast!

As a last minute side we made some Pilsbury rolls, but with the excitement of finally eating completely forgot about them! When someone remembered they were roughly the consistency of a hockey pucks.

STAGE FOUR: eating, clean up, dessert 

Because we had more people than table space, we went around buffet style, some people sat on the floor or stood, but a good time was had by all!

Clean up went quickly thanks to everyone's help and our dishwasher.

For desert we brought out the pumpkin cheesecake with candles to celebrate our friend Angela's birthday as well as Thanksgiving.

Roommates!

I'm grateful for so many things, but yesterday especially for our wonderful little apartment, my friends, and roommates! Wishing everyone a blessed thanksgiving!

Ring Cycle Picture Books

So, my mom's mom has an amazing collection of opera artifacts.  Every time we get together she passes some relic on to me.  Over the years I've accumulated her mother's mother of pearl opera glasses, programs, scores, librettos, and even a brick from the original Metropolitan Opera.

But yesterday's pre-birthday gift is hands down my new favorite.

Wagner's Ring Cycle 

in picture book form

You get the synopsis, important lietmotifs, a cast of characters, and color illustrations.  What child could be so lucky?  Each opera is condensed down to 39 pages, so they are all the perfect length for story time.  But it makes me wonder, will I ever be the parent/crazy aunt/babysitter who reads small children these books? 

Yeah, probably.

I'm going to see if I can get the L&M department at Juilliard to start using these...

The Green Red Sox Hat

So, anyone who knows me has seen me in my favorite green Red Sox hat on many occasions.  What can I say?  Guys aren't the only ones who want to cover up messy hair and keep the sun out of their eyes.  Perhaps my hat was a bit grungy by girl standards (okay, maybe by guy standards too), but it was perfectly weathered and worn and I loved it.


However,  a few months ago I admitted defeat.  The hat had reached a point where even I was embarrassed to wear it in public.  I went almost the whole summer trying out various other baseball caps - pink with an alligator, yellow Boston College, beige - but it felt like I was fooling myself.  I had never realized how much of my identity was found in my hat choice.


Luckily, last weekend we found one up by Fanneuil Hall.  It's green alright.  Really green.  But I think this might be the start of something good.  Welcome back color!

Perler Beads

So, one of my favorite things to do as a kid was to make perler bead art.  Remember?  Those little, colorful, plastic things you put on a peg board and iron?  I'm pretty sure I had forgotten about them entirely until, lo and behold, I found a whole bucket at the craft store!  Aprille tried her darndest to talk me out of it, but I bought them anyhow.  For $6 imagine all the good times!

The big question: what do I make with perler beads now that I'm older and more artistically capable?

That's right.  A hexagon.

But layer after layer it got more interesting, resulting in this nifty "piggy bank".

So, theoretically this is how I should have made it (according to 3D instructions on the perler bead website):

1. Fill in entire pegboard to create the bottom of your bank.
2. Iron both sides under parchment paper, until melted together, but not too flat.
3. For each layer fill in only the outer perimeter of the peg board.
4. Iron each layer on both sides as you go.
5. For the top, leave a slot large enough to fit in coins.  Iron both sides.
6. Glue the layers together.

This is what I actually did:

1. Fill in entire pegboard for the bottom.
2. Iron both sides under parchment paper, until melted together, but not too flat.
3. For each layer fill in only the outer perimeter of the peg board.
4. Iron each layer on both sides as you go.
5. For the top, leave a slot large enough to fit in coins.  Iron both sides.
6. Stack all of your layers.  
7. Iron each side of the hexagon until the colors mush together and the surface is smooth.

Can't say my method was all that successful (not to mention a little dangerous), but in the end I'm pretty happy with the checker-box look.

If the box seems like too much work, make a 2D shape! Reconnect with your inner child - you'll feel much more relaxed after sifting through thousands of beads to find just the right color.

Summer Books

So, this summer I decided I wanted to feel wealthy in a way that I rarely feel with my impending student loans and hectic school/performing schedule. No summer job, no music festivals, just a summer of guilt-free relaxation.  Rich not with money, but with time.

First on my relaxation checklist was to read anything and everything that I came across.  Some were checked out from the book vending machine at the grocery store, some borrowed, some bought, some stolen (to be returned I promise), but all in their own way enjoyed.


Something I learned: the speed that you finish a book in makes a big impact on the overall impression.

Something else I learned: goodreads.com where you can keep a log of what books you have read/want to read, record favorite passages, and read or write reviews.  Perfect for any bookworm.

1. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• why? - Who doesn't love Steinbeck?  After reading East of Eden this spring I can't seem to get enough.
2. The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
• why? - Polygamy is something people, especially Mormons, don't really talk about.  As something that Joseph Smith initially proposed I think it deserves some exploration (even if my idea of exploration is through fiction).  What is the relationship between a man, multiple wives, and God?  Was polygamy ever purely practical? And what does it mean in modern society? This book goes there, for better or worse.
3. One Flew Over the Cookoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
• why? - You've probably seen the movie, but the point of view that Ken Kesey uses really makes this book a masterpiece.  
4. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
• why? - Colloquial, tragic, and an epic glance into the history of not just one family but a culture. 
5. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
• why? - I'm not very well versed in non-fiction, but this book is a nice twist of both architectural textbook and serial killer thriller.
6. The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance by Elna Baker
• why? - Recommended by Trish, entertaining read for Mormons and non-Mormons alike.  In a city like NY there are never clear lines or stereotypes (nor should there be).  
7. The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs
• why? - At this point I was probably going a little overboard with the religious themed literature, but this was really entertaining and insightful into just how selective all religions can be when it comes to which specific scriptures to follow and which to avoid.  One man's discovery of how, in the end, it comes down to tolerance and love.
8. Let the Great World Spin by Collum McCann
• why? - The perfect New York City novel.  I could hardly put it down.  An amazing account of how one event can intertwine so many lives.  Follow up by watching Man on Wire.
9. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
• why? - My favorite Murakami novels are the ones that read like surrealist paintings.  This is a bit different.  No monsters, except for those we create ourselves or have inflicted upon us by our relationships with others.  At the same time upsetting and beautiful.
10. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
• why? - Short but filled with importance.  Makes you wonder, where should you place your faith and energy.
11. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
• why? - I had very little fluff this summer, so out came my Sony eReader and I devoured these in a day or two.  Can any teenage sci-fi be complete without a love triangle?  At least this decision wasn't as difficult as Edward vs. Jacob.
12. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
• why? - My favorite book of the summer.  I'm so glad Zach finally convinced me to get into this.  I bought Cloud Atlas several years ago and after making a list of all the vocabulary words I didn't know in the first few pages I gave up.  And then I tried again.  And got side tracked.  But as you get through the first section it just gets better and better, and, as the book is really a sort of palindrome, by the time you return to where you started you'll wish you took more time to enjoy it the first time around.
13. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
• why? - I found this less upsetting than perhaps I should have.  Needless to say, Ishiguro is an amazing writer, and the world he creates is real enough to be taken seriously.
14. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
• why? - Like Grey's Anatomy (the tv show, not the medical text) in literary form.  But better.

Out of those my favorites were The Grapes of Wrath, Let the Great World Spin, The Remains of the Day, and Cloud Atlas.  Besides the stretch of books about  dystopian modern societies (11-13) in there, the theme of the summer seemed to be "how to look outside oneself".  How to put your faith in the right places, find harmony and focus in an ever-changing world,  and learn to appreciate the value of every soul.

Now help me out --- let me know your favorite book recommendations!

For the beauty of the earth

So, yesterday I decided I could not wait any longer to try hiking in my barefoot shoes.  Connecticut is the land of the day hikes (unless you're hiking the Appalachain Trail) and on my way home I stopped along the Housatonic River to climb one of my favorite little hills.

Pine Knob Hill is a loop off of the AT, and for it's brevity it's a fun (and moderately strenuous) climb.  

The views are great; two different overlooks face the Housatonic River, which is especially beautiful during fall foliage season.  Once you've hit the two peaks, the trail comes down along a waterfall, and with the peace and quiet of the woods, the noise of the water is the perfect way to end a soothing hike.

And the barefoot shoes were great! Flashback to being five years old, running through the woods, pretending to be an Indian. So happy.

Never use a measuring spoon

So, summer in Manhattan with no AC can be pretty unbearable.  We tried frozen bags of ice, wet sheets, and cucumbers on our foreheads; but at the end of the day our favorite cool summer treat was this recipe for raw chocolate bark.

The best part? I can feel slightly less guilty when the chocolate cravings hit, because there is no butter, sugar, or gluten in either of these recipes.  Make as much as you need, these recipes are so easy you won't need to measure a thing, just taste test along the way!

Raw Chocolate Bark


Base Recipe:
Equal parts:
Coconut oil (liquid)
Raw cacao powder (or if you're like me, whatever coco is cheapest in the grocery store)

Honey, Maple Syrup, or Agave Nectar to taste

Extras:
Peanut Butter
Nuts (sliced or slivered almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc)
Berries or Fruit (you can use dates as a sweetener)
Spices (hot pepper, ginger, etc)
Herbs (lavender, rosemary, etc)
Barbara's Bakery Brown Rice Crisps (the healthier version of Rice Krispies)

Directions:

1. Mix coco and coconut oil in a bowl until smooth.
2. Add in sweeteners and whatever extras you desire.
3. Pour mixture onto a wax paper lined plate/cake pan/cookie sheet and freeze for 15-20 minutes.
4. Break apart into chunks and enjoy!

Peanut Butter Crunch Bars
(maple syrup, peanut butter, and brown rice crisps)

Raw Fudge

Base Recipe:

Equal parts:
Finely ground nuts or nut flour (I prefer almonds or hazelnuts)

Pitted dates

Coco powder to taste (be generous)

Extras:
Coconut oil (for a more moist dough)
Extracts (vanilla, almond, mint, etc)
Shredded Unsweetened Coconut
Nuts
Spices
Salt (coarse or fine)
Jam
Ice Cream

Directions:

1. In a food processor combine dates, nut flour, and coco powder until it begins to clump together.
2. Add in extracts, spices, or fine salt if desired.
3. Pour into a bowl and knead with hands until a ball of dough forms.
4. Ideas for presentation:
• Roll the dough out until it is about 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into 2"x2" squares for brownies or bite sized squares for chocolates.  Garnish with walnuts/pecans or coarse sea salt.
• Form the dough into 1/2 or 1 inch balls.  Roll in coconut or ground nuts to make truffles.
• Roll dough until it is very thin, cut out small cookie cutter shapes.  You can eat them like this or dehydrate them for a firmer consistency.
• Make sandwiches using your favorite fillings.
5. Chill until firm.