Life's a Banquet
'...and most poor fools are starvin to death!' ~Mame

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

Can you believe Thanksgiving was just last week? Truly, it seems like a long time ago. So much has happened in our region, and in our neighborhood, and my little mind has been whirling and twirling like crazy. There are good ideas coming out of there so stay tuned! I hope you all had plenty of good food to eat on your holiday and I hope that at least one thing you ate this past week was locally produced. You know me, I cannot-or perhaps will not- get off that Think Local First soapbox. I am tenacious when I feel something is this important and just!

We had a wonderful time with Mark's family; we do not get to see them as often as we would like to. You may be as shocked as I was to find out that our nephew Travis has grown about 3 inches and 1.5 shoe sizes since he left us for home in August! His voice is deeper and he has been running cross country so he is long and lean. I think this cross country is really good for him! He is a quiet kid and now is more relaxed... it seems that he has gained some self confidence, or maybe just a certain amount of comfort in his own skin. Do you remember 15 years old? It was pretty uncomfortable! So we enjoyed him even more than usual, if that is even possible. We are keeping our fingers crossed that he comes back to work with us again next year, though he will be driving and I do not look forward to the year that he decides to get a job closer to home. Of course we will give him a great reference, even if we do miss him like crazy!

Erin's birthday dinner at Indochine was as good as always, and we were glad she asked us to join her! If you go to Tacoma, that is definitely a good place to go. After dinner we walked with her and her dad across the Chihuly bridge, which neither of them had ever seen, and that is a fantastic way to end an evening! If you haven't been to the Museum of Glass in Tacoma you are missing out on some amazing art. The outdoor exhibits are always up and always free, and the Dale Chihuly glass art that lines and covers the bridge over the freeway is absolutely beautiful. I would love a ceiling like that in my bedroom! Very often when I have trouble quieting my mind for sleep I imagine/remember snorkeling in Mexico. I envision the colors and textures as clearly as I can, focusing on details, so my mind can stop and relax. A ceiling like that would be wonderful to relax to. Now you know what to get me for Christmas! and please don't forget the backlighting, it is crucial to the experience!

So this Saturday there is a great event called Stockings For A Cause in Silverdale, at Judy's Junk & Java, from 2-5 pm. Our beloved coffee roasters, Paul & Dean, own this lovely vintage items store, and it is right next door to Lisa Stirrett's Art Glass Studio. This silent auction and festive event has proceeds going directly to benefit families and individuals living with HIV AIDS in Kitsap County. Come on out and join us for a fabulous cup of coffee and some fundraising fun!

Then boom we are into the Hanukkah, Solstice and Christmas season! Decorated cookies, red envelope prizes, specialized goodies, gifts and our now famous chocolate dessert wine will all be in full swing next week! Let's hope the weather stays mild and even beautiful like it has been so we can all get out and enjoy our community this season. Art Walk is next Friday and we are combining that with the Old Town Ladies Night so it should be very festive and fun. Then we have Mrs Claus, lots of catering going on and Christmas is 3 weeks away. Sheesh! I will go into those things more next week, this is just a teaser.

I had a long and arduous day today (read: I had to think about numbers a lot so I am tired and would love a glass of wine!) so I will bid you adieu a bit early. However, I know you must have frozen your Washington grown turkey carcass and are wondering what you should do with it now. Here is what I did to make a great broth that I have yet to strain and get into the freezer:

Pulled out the giant Le Creuset stock pot/dutch oven that I bought on ebay a few years ago for a steal!!

Broke up the turkey carcass and threw that in with a chicken carcass I had in the freezer as well.

Layered in a bit of olive oil, layed out some onions (with skins on) on their flat sides in the olive oil, then threw in some: peeled carrots, a few ribs of celery, a few bay leaves, a handful of pepper corns, a bundle of thyme, a scant handful of salt, a bunch of Italian parsley, about 20 cloves of garlic with the skins on, a bit of freshly grated nutmeg, and a round of panchetta that was loitering in the freezer and would add some body to the broth.

I turned up the burner and let the olive oil get hot and the onions start to sizzle a little bit.

I covered the whole lot with water, put the lid on and lit the fire on high. When it came to a boil I turned it down, tilted the lid and let her rock and roll for about 4 hours.

Then I strained out the solids, pressing on them to get out all the good stuff, and strained the broth again just to be sure. I put it in the fridge and it is now awaiting a nice skimming of the fat that I will do with some cheese cloth over a 'spider' (a Japanese strainer with a long, bamboo handle) to be sure to get the icky stuff out. Then I will freeze it in quart containers to use in risotto and soups for the next few months. YUM.

Notice I said a scant handful of salt. I like to salt things pretty well and I use good salt, though every dish calls for a different amount. Therefore I just gave it a nudge and will salt each dish appropriately as I use the broth up. It is difficult to take back a heavy dose of salt and usually even if you can adjust it the balance of other flavors is thrown off irreversibly. So go easy on the salt, just give the broth a taste of it, so it can see it's own great potential!

Now. What will you do with your broth? Let me know if you want ideas!