Christmas vacation in Oregon

We've just returned from Christmas vacation in Oregon - it was a blast! There were many highlights  -  opening gifts at my son Arthur's home in Portland, a trip to Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood,



catching up with Arthur, my daughter-in-law Allie, and my grandson Jack,


and spending quality time together with extended family. It's an 11 to 12 hour drive each way from Oakland to Portland. Can be brutal, but the weather was great and we took our time. Mary, Marja, Wayne, and I made the trek in Marja's royal blue Prius, packed to the gills with suitcases, coats, boots, and gifts. Fun was had by all!

Hope you had a happy Christmas too!

 

Feet up!

Are your dogs tired? Here's a terrific thing I've just learned at yoga for those of us who are on our feet too much (whew, bartending for 6 or more hours at a stretch gets more challenging every year).

The solution: Put your feet up in the air when you get home.

Best way is to lay on your back and snuggle your butt up to a wall, then lean your feet up the wall. 

Next best way is to just lay on your back and put your feet straight up in the air without the wall (see photo).

The benefits:

• All that blood that's been pooling in your feet flows back into your legs and body
• The bones and muscles of your poor little feet get a break from all the pressure of having your body weight concentrated on their small surface
• This helps avoid varicose veins by reversing the blood pressure in your legs
• It's totally easy to do
• It feels great!

 

Turkey stock

I made 3 quarts of turkey stock tonight. The turkey has bit the dust for this year. It was a really good one - thank you, Turkey!

Here's what I did:

• Cut most of the meat off the turkey and put it in the fridge (...I'm so over turkey - happens every year)
• Chopped the carcass into 3 or 4 pieces
• Put it all in a big pot with a cut up red onion and 4 cut up carrots.
• Added 3 quarts water and some bay leaf and thyme.
• Brought it to a simmer.  Simmer is important - no boiling!
• Simmered for two hours. Looked for scum, but for some reason this turkey didn't produce any. Would have skimmed it off if I'd seen it.
• After two hours I turned off the stove and let it cool down while we ate dinner (not turkey - we had corn chowder and salad).
• Strained it all through the big strainer into two large bowls. It smells good!
• Will let sit overnight to cool, and will remove fat, if there is any. Then I'll spoon it into quart freezer bags, label, and freeze.
  
  

I'll use it just like I'd use chicken stock - for soup, or beans, or risotto.

In fact, tonight I asked myself - why don't I make my own chicken stock instead of buying it? It's not hard. And who even knows what commercial chicken stock is? Maybe I will.