THANKSGIVING FEAST

I have been busy for the past weeks, so until today I had not given thought to my Thanksgiving celebration. This morning, however, I decided to finalize the menu in order to do my weekend shopping and get everything I need for the festive table. In our family we do a regular time lunch and dinner, so I decided to have the “heavier” meal for lunch and prepare something light, but different, for dinner. We do not eat turkey for, so I buy chicken instead. I also do not like loading on sugar; therefore, no pies or cakes are baked or bought.

Lunch will be baked chicken with rice, baked red potatoes with garlic, and cabbage salad. For dessert I will bake halved apples. For dinner, we will have vegetable soup, cornbread, cheeses and some fresh fruit. Below are the recipes.  

Thanksgiving lunch
Baked chicken stuffed with rice
First, prepare the rice stuffing. Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in a frying pan and soften one chopped onion. Add ½ cup of rice. Fry for another 2-3 minutes stirring continuously. Add 1/2 to 1 cup of water, bring to boil and leave on low heat until the water is absorbed. After the heat is off, add salt, paprika, black pepper, and dried mint. Second, prepare the chicken: do not wash it, place it directly in a baking pan and fill the cavity with the rice stuffing. Sprinkle salt on top of the chicken and bake at 400°F for 2.5 -3.0 hours with foil on top. For the last 20 minutes of baking, remove the foil.

Baked red potatoes
I bake these separately because if added to the pan with the chicken, the potatoes become overcooked. Wash the potatoes and cut in large chunks. Add a few crushed cloves of garlic, salt, black pepper and olive oil. Mix well and bake in a pan at 400°F. In my small toaster oven, the potatoes are ready within 30-40 minutes.

Cabbage salad 
To add also some freshness to the main dish, I will have a scoop of cabbage salad for everyone. Cut the cabbage, add a chopped apple or pear, and grate a few carrots. Season with olive oil, minced garlic, lemon juice, some feta cheese, sunflower seeds, and salt.

Baked apples 
I will cut the apples in half, take out the seeds with a teaspoon and fill the middle with a few walnuts. Arrange the apple halves on oiled pan, sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 400°F until soft and fragrant.

Thanksgiving dinner
Vegetable soup
For this soup one needs 4 Tbsp of olive oil, one large onion (diced), 2 cups of carrots cut in chunks (or ~10 whole baby carrots), 4 - 5 celery stalks (chopped), 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes, 3 - 4 medium size potatoes (peeled and cut into small cubes), 12 oz. frozen corn and 12 oz. frozen peas, salt. Optional: minced garlic, a dash of black pepper, one bunch of chopped parsley, 1 - 2 Tbsp. dry winter savory, 1 - 2 Tbsp. dry peppermint, and hot pepper flakes. First, soften the onion, carrots, and celery for 5-7 minutes in the heated oil. Add a few cloves of minced garlic and continue cooking for a minute. Pour 8 or more cups of water (depending on the consistency you prefer) and the tomatoes (15 oz.), and bring to boil. As soon as the soup starts boiling, add the potatoes and boil for 10 minutes. Add the frozen corn and peas. Cook another 5 minutes and add salt to taste. Turn off the heat, and add the spices and herbs.

What is for Easter?

Although we are not church-goers, Easter is a special day for us, as it symbolizes the rebirth in Nature and the constant renewal in our lives.

Easter breakfast was my favorite meal as a child. My mom used to buy a special Easter bread, which was the centerpiece of a beautifully arranged breakfast table with steaming hot cocoa and colored boiled eggs.

 

For this Easter, in addition to the colored eggs (I will try the Shake-n-Egg kit from our dollar store), I will make my favorite chocolates with walnuts. For breakfast, we will have some home-baked banana-oatmeal muffins (I will modify the recipe with 1:1 whole wheat to unbleached flour). 

For lunch there will be stuffed chicken or rice with chicken liver and cabbage salad. The recipes are included below.

As the weather report promises a sunny and warm Easter Sunday, there will be some gardening work, but also a few relaxing long walks. 


My first daffodils cheered up the garden just a few days ago and I am expecting a spectacular display of Spring flowers soon.


Happy Easter and happy Spring, everyone! Catch some sunshine this weekend.

Cabbage salad
Cut some cabbage, an apple (or a pear), grate a few carrots, mince a clove of garlic, add salt, lemon juice and olive oil to taste. Garnish with crumbled feta cheese and sunflower seeds. Optional: raisins.

Rice with chicken liver
The ratio of rice to chicken liver depends upon your taste. First, wash the chicken livers and boil. In another pan, soften one large sweet onion in two Tbsp of olive oil. Then add a cup of rice, stir it with the onion for 3-4 minutes and add water (refer to the rice package directions for the ratio of water to rice). Once the rice is cooked, add the livers, salt, crushed mint, and black pepper to taste.

Stuffed chicken
Remove everything from the chicken body cavity, wash the chicken well, and trim the fat. Prepare the stuffing with onions and rice. Soften the onions first, then add the rice (1/2 cup) and fry a bit by stirring the rice-onion mixture all the time. Add a cup of water, but do not cook the rice fully, as it will continue cooking inside the chicken. Season with black pepper, paprika, dried peppermint, and salt. Once the chicken cavity is filled with the rice, place the chicken in a pan, add some whole or halved peeled potatoes around the chicken, drizzle with olive oil and salt and bake at 400°F for 2.5 hours with foil on top. Remove the foil for the last 20-30 minutes of baking.