Thanksgiving Issue 2009
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Cleaning for the Holidays |
Brine That Turkey Blend |
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Making Wreaths and Fire Starters |
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Roasting Your Own Coffee Beans
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The no bake fruit cake recipe is soaked in spirits so the older it gets the better. You may want to begin that project now. Also, it is not your average fruit cake - it is more like "spiked cookie dough" and a welcome gift. I adore a spiced rum now called Jerry Sailors-very affordable and full of vanilla, caramel and spices it is another great gift by itself or for any recipe calling for rum. Roasting your own coffee beans is the theme of this holiday season, click here for that easy DIY project. Regarding Thanksgiving, I just would not feel good about myself if I did not cheat on a Holiday. Yeah, I am in my slippers watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade live in NY when family arrives at 2:00 PM--as if I did not lift a finger. Everyone is looking at me, wondering with hungry eyes if I even got started making our Thanksgiving Dinner. Click here for Thanksgiving by Mabel continued...
Get on Top of Your Flowers
The Wassail Scandal
Dry Wassail Mix for Entertaining or Gift Giving
2 cups Sugar or Splenda
1 cup Tang 1 tsp Allspice ½ teaspoon Nutmeg
Roasting Your Own Coffee Beans: America's Newest DIY Infatuation
Many home coffee roasters are discovering a cottage industry business more popular than the beef jerky operations that started out of garages. Roasting your own coffee beans can take anywhere from five to fifteen minutes depending on batch size.
This time period is the climax. Anything over that time period is considered nothing but a post climactic experience. Sorry Folgers. Flavoring your coffee beans: While the beans are still warm they are tossed with a flavor oil. Not just an extract, but a professional based oil that is designed to survive a high heat, such as 350 degrees. Roasting your own coffee beans continued click here.
Every year now our Turkey ends up smashingly good.
I first rubbed a few drops of food An hour before taking out of the oven--it is important to open the bag to allow the turkey to brown. Follow the directions on the bag. But a Roasting Bag makes it moist and supple. Oh, it was so good all the way through! The brine even permeated the stuffing. I don't know about you, but I make a walnut, apple, raisin stuffing I begin by browning some Jimmy Dean sausage and Vidalia onions. I caramelize the onions with lots of black walnuts also. Yeppers, that is how it is done at Mabel. That is about as far as the cooking effort goes. And I throw a splash of bourbon or cognac in the stuffing. Whatever I have handy. I wrote the recipe below last year, to pack this in a jars and give as gifts this year. Well, at least you have the idea. Mabel's Turkey Brine Blend: 6 Ounces of Salt 2 Ounces of Wild Thyme 1 Ounce of Wild Sage 1 Ounce of Rosemary 1 Ounce of Moroccan Coriander ½ Ounce Marjoram 3 Tsp. Of Colored Peppercorns 2 Tsp. Black Cumin (.02 Ounces) This also helps make awesome gravy so everything revolves around a good brine, turkey and bag.
Mabel's Corn Casserole Recipe: |
Join
me on 
I
have been out getting roses before they quadruple in price-and become
only available in three colors [red, red, and red.] I cannot
emphasize enough the importance of getting to know your local grocer
produce manager who usually handles the flowers. I make sure I
shake their hands and give them attention every time I shop-as well as
let them know I am a serious flower buyer.
Thanks to that I came home with four dozen roses today (free) that were
about to be tossed and got the few sunset oranges and crèmes that came
in with all of the reds in today's shipment. Knowing the produce
manager I also get to pin down the next shipment
dates as well as flower toss dates-usually the same day and time frame.
So I always buy the new shipments but I am also favored the ones
dumpster bound.
The
recipe simply came up missing-everywhere. Almost
late in getting the "gobble gobble" edition out-my readers would not
have that. Via e-mail I was notified many times the wassail recipe
I got from the Biltmore Estate in NC a few autumns ago was missing.
I looked, its true! I have reposted it in this issue. 
Popularity of people
roasting, flavoring and grinding their own coffee beans skyrocketed in
2009. People have a definite infinity and intimacy with coffee even if
they are not the ones who are drinking it. Saving money is not
particularly the goal as it can be the same amount of money spent on the
endeavor-yet quality, control, variety and “just a wholesome activity”
takes front stage for goals of DIY home coffee roasters. Perhaps I
spoke too soon. Perhaps not saving money-but some are making money, and
a lot of it. 
grade white thyme
essential oil in it, and then I soaked it for a day in the brine recipe
below. If you did not know it, the KFC secret is actually to soak
the chicken in brine [salt.] After I prepped the turkey with the brine, I
stuffed and bagged bag that sucker. 
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Mabel's Best No Bake Fruit Cake Recipe
This took some digging but SOOO well worth it!
Mix blended butter, syrup or molasses, eggs, rum/cognac and orange juice together. Then add honey, when well blended add fruits and nuts, mix & then add fine graham cracker crumbs. When thoroughly mixed this should form a thick paste. *Note: I now love Sailor Jerry's Spiced Rum - It is very affordable and full of vanilla, caramel and spice notes.
Line 3 or 4 loaf pans with aluminum foil then pour mix into pans compacting and leveling each mix in pans. I prefer the new decorative pans that look like wreaths, Place about 10 whole Black Walnuts or Pecans on top and whole cherries as desired. Place a cloth soaked in rum/cognac on top and place in refrigerator. Re-soak cloth every 2 to 3 days and continue to store in refrigerator until served. It is suggested that the fruit cake be made two to three weeks before serving.
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Thanksgiving Cheat Sheet
Continued
I get
up at 8:00 AM and simply get the Turkey under control. He and I have an
understanding. He produces great meat, stuffing and gravy and I
eat him later. Getting his neck out is a pain and I am not into
gizzards. The rest is cheat city. I buy my bread as
frozen dough and put it in a warm place to rise while I am
doing the AM turkey thing. My "real" mashed potatoes
really come from the
milk section of my grocery store (if you can find them.) I do buy
a lot of them because "we ain't gonna run out of NUTHIN!"
Another way to cheat on Potatoes is to just bake thin skinned ones mostly known as "butter potatoes" in the oven a few hours before the turkey is done and whip them up. If people do not like skins, explain the great nutritional value and that they are "sheik" and "in," known as "French Country Mashed Potatoes." If they do not buy that story--they picked the wrong place for Gobble Gobble. Pumpkin Cheese Cake makes it worth it all, and it should be served with Beta Blockers, Ace Inhibitors, and Lipitor. If that is not enough, Sam's Club makes a Caramel Walnut Apple Pie to die for. Why do you think so many people kick the bucket on Thanksgiving? Anyway, the biggest cheat tip in this letter is, when you have it all down pat--well, do it again for Christmas. Screw the ham.
I also serve a Cran-Raspberry jell I canned a century ago. I was tiffed no one sells Cran-Raspberry Jell anymore--so I make it. If you would like Cran-Raspberry Jell, just mix some clear cranberry jell with some 100% raspberry "Just Fruit" preserves. The white corn is totally fresh--picked by hand from my freezer store shelf. Well, not really. My corn casserole dish that is simply demanded at the Thanksgiving table (or I need not appear) is included in this newsletter. Photo above Deborah R. Dolen, Editor in Chief
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Read about Ringo a dog flown in from Katrina. Official Bio of his owner and short Bio. RSS Syndicated Feeds on the environment. How Twitter is best used. Deborah Dolen Books on Amazon. Review of her books on Open Library, Paperback Swap, Good Reads and ReviewScout. You can also read Google Profile. Deborah Dolen on MySpace Facebook, and Flickr. This is our favorite blogspot. See Deborah Dolen on YouTube and her last book written London Apothecary and book. For more environmental articles on water and oil.
Visit Deborah on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/deborah.dolen MySpace http://www.myspace.com/deborah_dolen Twitter http://twitter.com/DeborahDolen or BlogSpot http://deborahdolen.blogspot.com/ Buy Natural Liquid Soap! It is much safer than commercial brands. Natural Liquid Soap for People or Natural Liquid Soap for pets.
How are Coffee Roasters “Doing It” At Home?
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Home coffee roasters are using popcorn poppers and re-purposing them to roast beans. A popcorn popper does work and spares your oven the coffee smell stigma and dusty post coffee chaff. A popcorn popper can roast coffee beans evenly and satisfactorily. Flavor oils are added after the coffee beans are roasted yet still warm. They are easily coated with flavor oil by shaking in a zip lock bag with the freshly roasted beans. Amount of flavor oil is usually one ounce per pound of freshly roasted beans. The beans are usually then left to dry over night or in a sunny yet ventilated space. Extracts or non-oil based flavors do not work at all-we have tried them in vain. Photo is Café Roma Espresso Maker by Breville.
Where to Buy a Popcorn Popper for Coffee Roasting?
eBay seems to have an endless array of popcorn poppers starting at about $15 judged by the amount available in the “Buy It Now” section and sorted by price lowest to highest. That did pose the second question; “can nuker’s roast beans too?” The popcorn poppers that do it via microwave? (Lemme check-BRB…) The answer: Probably however your microwave would absorb the scent and no true “nutty” flavor of being roasted would be achieved. Short answer is do not bother with microwave coffee bean roasting.
A cursory search on eBay for coffee roasters reveals a lot of sellers who know pop corn poppers can be sold as coffee roasters. West Bend is said to be the best for re-purposing, but I find any air popper is fine.
Air Roasting Coffee Beans in a Pop Corn
Popper
Air roasting takes under 10 minutes, roasts very evenly without scorching, and results in coffee of exceptional quality. Pick a well ventilated area preferably near your sink. There will be chaff dust to rinse off equipment when done. Use as much coffee beans as the popcorn popper suggests for corn kernels. Typically this is 4 ounces. Place a big bowl under the chute as you would to collect popcorn and put all other parts in place including the butter dish.
When you hear crackling or smoke you are almost there. Beans continue to roast after they are out of the machine so you may want to finish a shade lighter in color than you were aiming for. A light roast takes about four minutes and you can go up to 6 ½ minutes for the darkest espresso roasts. Never store coffee in a fridge or freezer as it compromises the natural oils. A Wear Ever Cushion Air pizza pan ($12.00) can halt the roasting process and take the guess work out of roast color. The pan quickly dissipates the heat, halting the roasting process and allowing the roaster to spread an even layer to evaluate their batch. When the beans are cooling at this stage you can coat with a flavor oil. One ounce of flavor oil per pound is the general rule of thumb.
Pan or Wok Method
Although roasters
consider the air popcorn poppers 95% fool proof you can roast a half a
pound at a time of coffee in a wok/skillet (or one pound for very big
pans/woks.) You will need oven mitts for the entire process. A clear
pan lid is wonderful and almost a necessity when roasting coffee beans
via stove top. The roasted beans will go into a metal colander when
done. Heat a pan or wok to 500 degrees and then try to maintain that
temperature. Place the beans in, cover securely and then shake the
wahzoo out of it while on heat for about five minutes. The only
difference between this and popcorn is you will be stopping to check if
the color is where you want it and you are not adding oil. When you
hear yoru first “crack” and smell smoke you are making serious progress.
You may need to keep on heat and shake for one or two more minutes.
Keep roasting until they color you desire has been achieved. As the
beans dry they develop an airborne film known as the “chaff.” People
usually take the product outside to blow off the chaff. Many do not
like the by product floating around their kitchen.
Do not seal fresh roasted coffee tightly for the first 12 hours. This is because it needs to vent off C02. Do store fresh roasted coffee beans in a cool place out of direct sun light. A friend of mine owns coffee roasters club so check him out.
Keurig Breville or the
Breville Breville?
OK,
my Christmas present to myself has been earmarked all year to be the
Keurig Breville. Keurig is OK if you make sure they have the cup
to process your own coffee and you are not cornered into buying their
coffee cartridges or "pods." Being superficial I loved the stainless
exterior and blue lighting. They run $250 but I would
probably get a refurbished one for half the price. Keurig sells a
cute ruby red one for just over $100 I will get for my pharmacist
daughter who loves red and is too busy to play around. She will like the
easy clean up coffee cartridges.
Since
that passion of my stainless pick for moi - I found another one I like,
and maybe even better. Café Roma Espresso Maker by
Breville [photo to right.]
Confusing because they are two separate companies. Same exact
price, much more function-frother which is VERY fun to play with and
again you can use your own ground coffee. Common sense will probably
prevail and I will get the Breville Café Roma Espresso Maker by
Breville.
Resources: Coffee Grinder eBay Coffee Grinder Model #2 Ebay Basically both Black and Decker's Stainless under $20 including shipping.
Using Magic Bullet or Sensio Rocket as a Grinder
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Christmas
Cheat Sheet
Rule number one: Immediately after opening gifts, save every bow, tie, or cute adornment you can! Keep them in an empty drawer in your craft room, and if you do not have a craft room, keep them in a big clear shopping bag. Rule number two: You can shred gift wrap for other reasons. If you really want to have some fun=--dumpster dive down the rich streets that day and get what they consider garbage! Rule Number three: Keep the tacky gifts to give back to that person next year! There are no other rules.
My late husband Steven would take every Greeting Card we got and try to erase the signatures, using them for his buddies. He and his "conservative" buddies would always sign in pencil back and forth between them for this reason. Not sure if that was to save the "trees" or to save money and time on picking out a card. He was the king of economy.
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Making Wreaths and Fire Starters
Any
decent person doing crafts is going to have a glue gun, if they have
nothing else in the world. I love my
glue gun, because it also
stops my carpet when I see runs, and does many other house hold tasks.
The best part
about making your own wreaths and Fire Starters is that you can
literally walk around out doors or indoors and collect things to stick
together. Only a few things need you run out and buy. I
would not buy anything until I saw the major materials I found to work
with. Then I would figure out what ribbon would look best and so
on. Often, I will have that ribbon on hand. Even raffia is
great for
most any tasteful and simple bow making. If you recall in a
previous Christmas newsletter I talked about making a wreath with your
old Christmas ornaments, and/or taking your old Christmas decoration and
pulling them together with a glue gun and a theme. I picked cream
roses last year. This year I am going to pick "bills" so my kids
know what that stuff costs. I may even leave the tags on.
Click the thumbnails if you want to see some very pretty and easy to assemble fire starters. The basket above consists of mainly a basket that was given to me, filled with Cinnamon Sticks, Dried Apple Slices, Pine Cones dipped in soy wax on the tops (to look like snow) and pretty fall leaves. I noticed you can get very cheap cinnamon sticks on flea market spice racks.
The
other assembles include dried whole lavender sprigs, (great if you grow
lavender) and dried spices stems. I had more than enough long
basil taking over my kitchen to hang dry up side down in a cool room and
use for these kind of bundles. Do be very careful as to what type
of wood sticks you chose. For example, Florida is full of pretty,
but highly poisons Oleander trees. Even a horse can die if he eats
more than two leaves. A small animal, will not make it. A
family of 5 in Tampa used these Oleander branches for grilling, a few
years ago, and are not here to talk about it.
Orange, whole cloves, Star anise can also be used to dress these bundles us as well as dried orange or apple slices if you can find them. Everyone seems to have Bay Leaves and you can go to town with bay leaves. You can even make a wreath with them alone. One operating theory here is that the spices smell great when they are burning. That is cool.
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Read about Ringo a dog flown in from Katrina. Official Bio of his owner and short Bio. RSS Syndicated Feeds on the environment. How Twitter is best used. Deborah Dolen Books on Amazon. Review of her books on Open Library, Paperback Swap, Good Reads and ReviewScout. You can also read Google Profile. Deborah Dolen on MySpace Facebook, and Flickr. This is our favorite blogspot. See Deborah Dolen on YouTube and her last book written London Apothecary and book.
You sort of have to eyeball it -- depending on the efficiency of the blade, it may take more or less time. The trick is to get the beans all ground to a fairly consistent size -- you want to avoid pulverizing some beans into dust, while the rest have are too coarse to do any good.
The coffee aficionados will tell you that a Burr grinder is superior, but fresh-ground coffee (even if not done the "best" way) is way better than pre-ground.