Happy Thanksgiving!

I was (and am still) patting myself on the back for brining my turkey today.

Turns out brining is pretty easy and makes the bird taste a whole lot better.

19lb. Turkey Carcass Goes into the Brine

After removing the disgusting innards and trying not to throw up, I rinsed the bird with cold water, filled my largest pot with water, put the bird in to displace the water so I knew what I was working with, removed the bird, added 2 cups of kosher salt, a bunch of juniper berries ($11/ can!) a hand full of peppercorns, all spice, an entire head of peeled garlic, fresh rosemary, thyme and bay leaf and a half cup of sugar. Then I mixed it up and tossed the bird back into the pot. The concoction went into the fridge for 18-24 hours.

The in-laws are here from California, so we have already started partying. We drove by the liquor store and promptly left as the line was like Lake Chelan at 11pm on the 4th of July... ok, it was a long line.

I'll be peeling potatoes tomorrow morning, so don't call.

I'm trying to avoid making the Thanksgiving meal using boxed and canned ingredients. It just seems wrong. However, I'm not superwoman and I've had to choose my battles. It looks like the green bean casserole will be made mostly of preservatives. Our buns are pre-made; we just pop them in the oven a few minutes before dinner.

I hope you all have a great turkey day.

To my dear sister and brother, I'm sad that we wont have you here tomorrow, but we'll see you at Christmas.

xox

Presidential Election Tomorrow!!!! VOTE!

I'm registered to vote, but didn't know where I was supposed to go to cast my ballot.

I Googled "I'm registered. Where do I vote?" and got this awesome link courtesy of Google which simply required my address and gave me my voting location.

How cool is that??! Now I actually have butterflies in my stomach about our new president!!! How will America sleep tonight?

(Subliminal)

VOTE tomorrow!