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Currently viewing the tag: "thanksgiving"
I think we have a new tradition that we would like to keep the next few years.
We didn’t sleep in and woke up the kids at 7:30 so everyone could get ready for the 9 am Mass. Before we left I stuck the turkey in the oven and the pilaf in the slow cooker, I figured we were going to be away for an hour and a half tops (this is probably a big no-no but I do it occasionally). Most of the parishioners must be traveling, or still in bed, or cooking for the big feast as the church wasn’t even half full. We saw a few of our favorite families and KofC had donuts for after the Mass.
After we got home, Yena and Aisa helped with the veggies, the boys and Dad helped with preparing the dining room and Nino was being all-around busybody as usual. We had turkey with gravy, the pilaf, green bean casserole, stuffing and cranberry sauce. Nothing out of the ordinary, though one big difference this year was that I hardly measured anything. That must have taken 50% of the stress off for me. Instinct-cooking, I call it, same technique my grandparents and my parents use all the time 
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After lunch Dad the kids wanted to watch Fearless. UGH, what a choice for a Thanksgiving movie, I had wanted to watch Miracle on 34th but they vetoed that, but hubby was happy so it’s all good. We were all cuddled together on the bed except for Paco who was doing catch-up work on his laptop beside us. Until I started complaining because I’d had to cover Nino’s eyes several times, irking him no end, so Aisa relented and let us watch a bit of Miracle. Nino must have found that boring, as he asked to be brought downstairs so he could play. Excellent time to go on our planned car-hunting trip! Nino insisted on bringing his pillow on the ride so he could sleep, and we went to a couple of car dealer parking lots to look around for a van and a car for Aisa. Right now we’re liking the Odyssey, though there was a Toyota SUV that caught my eye also. We got home and Nino was still zonked so they napped a bit while I worked on the pies (pumpkin and apple) and the brussel sprouts. By dinnertime I was feeling sick, so I had a few bites and went to bed. Eventually they all made it upstairs, with Yena begging for a game of Apples to Apples. We hadn’t had time to do our Thanksgiving “activity”, so for the next hour we recorded ourselves reciting all the things we were thankful for. We must have made it through 78 or so rounds, with me and Dad giving up around 25 so we could just listen to the kids though I interjected here and there when something would come to mind. They came up with some great “thankful for” thoughts! We could have kept going but by this time it was around 10:30 and we were all tired. The kids will be hanging up their lists on their bedroom walls so when they’re feeling ungrateful (which happens from time to time in this house!) they can look at the list and see just how many blessings they have!! Apples to Apples finally happened, and hah! I won 
Yena was scared there for a minute when it looked like Aisa was going to win. We had promised them that the winner would get to pick the family gift, and Aisa had said she would get giant mixing bowls and color-coded cutting boards if she won. We still haven’t decided what the family gift would be, but the kids are (again) begging for an XBox (what’s this, 3rd year in a row?). We’ll see…
It was the most relaxed Thanksgiving ever. Right now I’m waiting for the bread to rise (to be served with pumpkin butter, as the pumpkin pie is ALL GONE). Cream cheese brownies are in the oven for Aisa to take to work tomorrow, as a thank you from us to her co-workers who took such good care of us when we dined there a couple of months ago. I’m making smashed potatoes as soon as I press “publish” on this post. The washer and dryer are humming.
And once again, no Black Friday shopping for us. I drove past Best Buy on Wednesday night and couldn’t believe the TENTS that were already set up, with people in them! So weird. I did manage to score, with Dad’s blessing, a 60D with 18-135mm at Amazon for about $300 less than the original price — my kind of Black Friday shopping, from the warmth and comfort of home. And the only person trampling me was the toddler, who does NOT like being called HIJO for any reason at all. Life is good
So many things to be thankful for today:
1. the sun shining through our windows… beautiful day!!!
2. a baby being loud beside me, trying different consonants and vowels (current favorites: b, m, h, y)
3. kids who love to read
4. student home from college for a few more days
5. extended family members who love me/us unconditionally
6. friends who truly care
7. my Catholic homeschooling mom support system
8. food in the fridge, pantry, freezer
9. cars that run
10. clarity of mind
11. doctors who still practice real medicine (what my physician godmother calls “the art of medicine”)
12. classical music
13. my kids’ music
14. fall weather! (sunny but a bit chilly — my favorite kind!)
15. wool blankets
16. daughters who like working in the kitchen
17. funny picture books!
18. forgiveness
19. several loads of laundry already done — a couple more to do today
20. that feeling of accomplishment
21. organizations that help us/teach us how to give
22. the Blessed Sacrament
23. opportunity to spend time with Him in Adoration
24. faithful priests like Fr. Euteneuer, speaking tonight
25. Rooibos tea
26. a faithful God who’s always beside me
27. a faithful husband who’s always beside me
28. His saints, examples of lives well-lived
29. Dave Ramsey
30. Tim Hawkins
I think one of the moms at 4Real started this, and I don’t know if it’s still ongoing… if no, I’m reviving it!
Counting my blessings on this August night:
1. beautiful 7-month old baby in our arms
2. obedient kids (most days anyway)
3. our Lord’s Presence in the Most Blessed Sacrament
4. faithful teens at tonight’s Adoration – so inspiring!
5. a hubby who’s wonderful as wonderful can be
6. God’s never-ending provision
7. Abby at Project Nazareth
8. and her e-book
9. the grace to deal with life’s ups and downs
10. the strength to get up after every fall.
Thank You, Lord Almighty!!
Lechon Turkey/Pabochon
1 10-12 lb. turkey, rinsed thoroughly, giblets, etc. removed
1 cup fish sauce (patis) (or 2 cups kosher salt or 1 cup table salt) (available in Asian stores, a good Filipino brand is Rufina)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
2 lemons or 10 calamansi (aka calamondin, a tiny, green, round citrus fruit found in Asian stores)
10 large cloves garlic, crushed but unpeeled
In a large stockpot or other container that will accommodate turkey, combine fish sauce with 2 gallons cold water. Add turkey, and additional water if needed to just cover turkey. Refrigerate for 12 hours. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, honey, oil and black pepper. Rinse lemons or calamansi and pierce with a fork all over. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Remove turkey from brine and rinse thoroughly under running water. Pat dry with paper towels. Stuff cavity with lemons and garlic. Truss turkey if desired (I prefer mine untrussed). Pour 1 cup water into a shallow roasting pan large enough to accommodate a roasting rack for the turkey. Set turkey breast side down over a roasting rack and brush all over with the soy sauce mixture. Roast for 45 minutes. Using paper towels, carefully turn turkey onto one side (wing/thigh up) and baste with soy sauce mixture. Replenish water if it’s drying up. Roast 15 minutes. Repeat with the other side. After 15 minutes, turn turkey breast side up. Lower heat to 325 degrees F. Start basting turkey every 15 minutes with juices from pan. Continue to roast until thickest part of thigh registers 180 degrees F on a meat thermometer. Juices should run clear, not pink or reddish. The last 30 minutes of roasting, baste turkey all over with soy sauce mixture. If turkey is browning too quickly, cover with a loose tent of foil. Remove from oven and let rest for 30 minutes before carving. Serve with lechon sauce.
Cook’s Notes:
- If using turkey that has already been brined, you may omit the brining process. (I like to brine my own turkey though so I try to buy unbrined turkey.)
- If you’re going to bake the stuffing in the turkey, omit lemons and garlic. Stuff turkey just before roasting. Do not fill turkey up completely, as the stuffing will expand as it cooks. The remaining stuffing can be baked in a separate dish. Trussing is not optional if you stuffed the turkey. A stuffed turkey will take longer to roast than an unstuffed one.
- A handy cooking time calculator can be found at Butterball.com
Easy Lechon Sauce:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup minced onion
1/3 cup liver pate or liver spread, or liverwurst or finely ground chicken livers
1 cup water
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion until garlic is golden and onion is limp. Add liver pate, water, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring until smooth. Lower heat and add breadcrumbs. Let simmer 5 more minutes. Serve with turkey lechon.
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I thought all my Thanksgiving recipes that appeared in Asian Journal 3 years ago (?) were already here — but I guess I put it in the old “Beyond Adobo” blog. I’ll work on putting them here sometime. Sorry about that!
Luxury for Mom:
Started off the early morning with 1/4 cup of Mariebelle Aztec Hot Chocolate… just enough for me to handle in the dark hours of the dawn…
Out of the Mouths of Babes
Yena’s Quote of the Month: “Mom, what’s the name of that movie, Princess Diarrhea?” (Princess Diaries)… oh my child, so blessedly out of the loop.
Tip for Slow Food Lovers in Wintry Weather:
Take some oxtails from your favorite grass fed beef farmer, put in water in a large heavy pot, bring to a boil, then simmer overnight on LOW LOW LOW. Wake up in the morning to falling-off-the-bone tenderness. Take out meat pieces with slotted spoon, leave pot with stock outside in the cold (32 degrees F here right now), covered. In the early evening an hour before dinner, take pot inside. Scoop out solidified beef fat (could probably use this for a birdseed feeder?), bring stock to a boil, season with salt and add yummy things like peeled quartered potatoes, lots of onions, whole black peppercorns, green beans and cabbage leaves. Return meat to pot and simmer just until all warmed up. Perfect for fall.
Prayer to Saint John Bosco for our Young Driver
O glorious Saint John Bosco, who in order to lead young people to the feet of the divine Master and to mould them in the light of faith and Christian morality didst heroically sacrifice thyself to the very end of thy life and didst set up a proper religious Institute destined to endure and to bring to the farthest boundaries of the earth thy glorious work, obtain also for us from Our Lord a holy love for young people who are exposed to so many seductions in order that we may generously spend ourselves in supporting them against the snares of the devil, in keeping them safe from the dangers of the world, and in guiding them, pure and holy, in the path that leads to God. Amen.
Keep her safe from irate drivers who are impatient to get to where they’re going…
On my to-do-list today:
- David Lebovitz’ Ginger Ice Cream
- Ginger Molasses Cookies from King Arthur
- a fruitcake, perhaps this one from Traveler’s Lunchbox
- If I have time to spare, make oven mitts kinda like these for Christmas presents — using the material we have right now, including the Insul-Bright and cotton batting I got from Over the Rainbow, we could make 15 of these!!
- Request Advent books (yeah, a tad late) — to pick up on Friday after Thanksgiving. Might post links and book suggestions later, we’ll see.
- Go shopping with hubby for our artist-in-training, soon-to-be-10-year-old’s put-together art box: tackle box filled with goodies like Prismacolors in his favorite hues, a new sketchbook or two, and other goodies from Michaels
- If not too tired, shopping for stocking stuffers also for St. Nick‘s Day on the 6th.
- Return shoes to Zappos, my very own shoe store in the living room.
- Print out Bible verses and fill advent calendar.
Off to do my 15-minute-each-room tasks, so I can check them off Toodledo, THE (so-far) perfect online spot to help me accomplish tasks according to GTD principles. Still working on a paper-based organizational tool, but haven’t perfected *my* system yet.
For a pro-life daughter. Who thinks. With her BRAIN. And yes, with her heart. But always with Christ’s will dead-center and in focus. Or at least trying her best.
May Jesus be her Guide, always. May Mama Mary keep her protected at all times, not only from those who may prey on her innocence and her trust, but from her own moments of weakness. May she never lose confidence in Christ her Savior. May she always find strength from the examples and prayers of St. Philomena and St. Catherine of Siena and St. Maria Goretti.
Lord, thank You for a child who teaches me more than I teach her. Who humbles me more than words can say. Who makes me want to become a better example and a better mother. Thank You for her faith and for Your Graces manifested in her.
