Monday, February 23, 2009

Turkey Thyme



Please excuse the naked poultry...there were no fig leaves available.

This is one of the fat young birds we purchased loads of when they went on sale during the holidays in 2008...and they still cook up great!

Of course, there came a point where we had a hard time saying the word Turkey, thinking of turkey sandwiches and all the many other incarnations for leftover turkey meat, even though noone around here seems to tire of cranberries.

But the herbs survived the freezes (we won't mention all the plants that didn't) and the rosemary was too good to pass up (it's actually beginning to bloom!)...the thyme sprigs were dried in bouquets still hanging upside down from my impromptu drying rack (a metal 3-fold standing screen), and begging to be used. Is there anyone out there who doesn't like the scent of rosemary and thyme?mmmm

I don't have a roasting pan or anything big enough for a turkey....note to self NEXT year if we decide to re-stock the freezer, "Get Pan..."

Lest anyone think cooking a turkey is rocket science, a big thawed turkey CAN be wedged securely upside down into a stockpot, doused with a cup of water, massaged with sea salt, tickled with garlic, adorned with herbs, sealed with foil, and baked till fork-tender at 300F...... to great success. All while you run errands with the hub and then come home to the house smelling like Thanksgiving dinner.....ahhh :)

Some day maybe I can say each of those ingredients was raised and nurtured by our very hands on our very own farm. But till then, I'm happy the herbs came from only a few feet from our back door, and that the sale meat we bought 4 months ago is still pulling its weight in trimming back the weekly food budget considerably.

Small steps.

Just a reminder to myself that even those DO add up, though...and are sometimes delicious :)

6 comments:

San Diego Farmgirl said...

Bravo, Robbyn! Well done purchasing the sale turkey and then actually preparing and eating the thing, rather than throwing it away a year later with guilt and shame. haha

I rub against rosemary like a dog in heat. That has to be one of the best. scents. ever.

ChristyACB said...

Rosemary and Thyme is a heavenly scent. And it was a British TV show about two female gardening detectives! Great show..

Anyway, my rosemary is also blooming now and I just can't resist running my hands along it when I pass. What a scent.

Your turkey looks fab too!

Anonymous said...

MMMMMMMMMMMMM I think I can smell it.... all the way up here!

Unknown said...

My eldest is allergic to rosemary ~ she can't touch nor eat it :(

Robbyn said...

SDFarmgirl, ha! yes, isn't it true? Turkey is wonderful in expanding to epic proportions till you're sure you'll never want to eat one again after its many incarnations. It will be interesting seeing if we have any of them left at a full year's time :) I'm laughing at your dog in heat comment! That's what I'm like with thyme, the mints, and a lot of the savory herbs. I guess I was just missing out all these years and my senses have some intense craving to make up for lost time :)

Christy, I'll have to check out the show :) Ah, don't you love it (the rosemary plant)in bloom, especially when the insects work the flowers? I could watch them all day :)

Christina, the stock turned out really well because of the herbs...I'm lovin' me some soup, yeah! :)

Killi, does smelling it make her sneeze, too? I have a reaction to lavender..the oils in the plant and any lavender on my skin...I love the scent, though...but I just have to be careful not to overdo it. Well if she can't have rosemary, there are so many other wonderful herbs she can have as her "signature"...mmm! :)

Anonymous said...

I did the same thing, bought some extras and stuck them in the freezer. I have rosemary thriving outside still, I'm thinking I need to drag one out and fix it. Maybe right after the Indian Crockpot Chicken :-/, nope, still haven't done it, but my goal is before this upcoming weekend.