Thanksgiving dressing--or stuffing without stuffing it in the bird, and gravy.

What do you call the side of bread with veggies?  I grew up with it called "stuffing" but some say it's 'dressing' since it 's not cooked inside the bird.  Cooking inside the bird is often said to not be good as it can inhibit the flow of warm air through the cavity of the turkey. 

I also think it's just a loss *less* work to bake it in a pan than it is to stuff it in a turkey, then remove it to a dish before serving.  

One of my fond memories as a child was sitting at the table in the days before Thanksgiving (it may have been the weekend before), where I opened loaves of (gluten) bread and tore them apart into small pieces.  This was my first lesson in making stuffing. 

When I have time, and we can prep, I usually buy UDIs bread to dice into cubes, and let dry out a bit via placing it on cookie sheets in the oven for a day or two.  Then I put it in the off oven and let it sit for a day or two. 

For things needed for stuffing, my mom always used onion, celery, and carrots. I had some fennel in the fridge, so I added that this time as well.  Other things needed, salt, pepper, sage.   We always used milk as the wetting agent, but you can use turkey or chicken broth as well. 

The vegetables for the stuffing need to be cooked ahead of time on the stove top. This is something you can do the day or two before, or the day of. 

I know the cooking shows always talk of finely chopping onions. Guess what, they're going to be cooked and put into stuffing and I like it a little larger, and carefree/not uniform pieces.  

Plus, I'm not making a soup where they need to be very small and uniform. 

Partial onion I already had, cut the bottom off, sliced body in half, then had a flat surface for  each half to cut into slices and then dice. 

I always use the red onions when I can after watching Christina Cooks say that they have antioxidants, and they add more color to the dish!  

Three ribs of celery. I cut the bottom and top off. 

Then slice the ribs in half. Larger pieces get sliced into three. 

Then dice into pieces about the same size as the onions. 

Carrots.  Peel

Then trim off the top and the tips.

I cut the carrots then lengthwise to make narrower, and then chip into small pieces. 

The fennel got it's top chopped off, and discarded. 

I then sliced it in half and then into matchstick size pieces, as then into small pieces. 

Fennel tastes a little bit like licorice. It isn't too powerful and just adds a subtle flavor. 

The Mike always thinks I have too many small bowls. 

Do I?  

I like being able to put things into small bowls when necessary. Sometimes we only use one, sometimes we use all six. 

This all needs precooked. Preheat a skillet with butter or olive oil.  Then add in the diced vegetables.  

Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the items.  
Cover the skillet and let cook for a few minutes. 
Then stir, cover, cook some more. 

About five to seven minutes total. 

I used the Aleia's kitchen ready to bake croutons as they were on sale last week when I was at the store. Otherwise, as above, I would have just cubed bread or bread heels I had. 
I used the plain version, so I could add the seasonings we wanted. 

This is my mom's stuffing that I had gotten from her shortly after her stroke. I wish I had thought to do so before in the years, so I could have a recipe with her handwriting. 

On top of the vegetables, the seasoning is added:  thyme, sage, pepper. 

After mixing the seasoning and vegetables together, I put into a large mixing bowl to rest/cool a little. 

After ten minutes or so, I add the bread crumbs to the mixing bowl. 

Fold together well to mix the vegetables and croutons. 

I reused those vegetable bowls because I didn't need to dirty even more dishes!   Two eggs, and a cup of liquid. I used milk. You can use turkey or chicken broth, or a different type of 'milk' if you'd like.  Mix these together in the small bowl. 

Grease your pan. I used a 9x13 pan, but have also put this in a shallower jelly roll pan. I use butter, but you can use the fat of your choice if you need to be dairy free.  

Add the milk and eggs to your croutons. Add more liquid if you think it is necessary. I like it a little drier. If you like it more moist, use two cups of liquid. 

Add to the pan, smooth, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350F.  For the last ten minutes go ahead and remove the cover and let bake uncovered. 

One thing that I just have not been able to perfect since being gluten free (14 years) is gravy.  However, these days Simply Organic / Frontier Coop has plenty of mixes for making the holiday a little simpler!  

I make stuffing a few times a year. While we usually have it with turkey, we have it with meatloaf as well (and we will have leftovers of this with meatloaf this weekend). 

Served with sliced turkey and cranberry sauce.  


What else do you have for Thanksgiving?  

Previous post on cooking a turkey. 

Feeling GREAT, (re)building fitness

No matter what you plan for surgeries, sometimes there are things that throw a wrench into the works.
Carpal tunnel surgery for the right hand was at the end of March. I was expecting six weeks of low activity with the right hand.
I prepped food, diced and froze onions for easy meal prep, and more.

What I didn't take into consideration was:
1:     Having a horrid reaction to something topical post surgery. Six days post surgery and the reaction kept building, and we went to the ER when swelling at my left eye lid occurred.   ER Phy. Asst took one look and said essentially 'oh yes, you need Prednisone'. 

I happened to have an appt with a dermatologist at the University Hospitals the next day and the ER doc said to definitely keep that.  The experienced dermatologist took a look at it and said "pine resin allergy"  "Colophony"!  I am excited I have a name for it. The bad part is , in can be in pretty much anything: makeup, surgical prep wash, adhesive bandages (hence steri strip issues). He recommended Domeboro for soaking on the blister rash (mix, submerge washcloth, put washcloth on forearm) and then cover with a prednisone ointment as well.

Three weeks post surgery, the reaction is still visible but not scary to view

I thought the hard part of the surgery recovery was going to be the waiting to do stuff, but it was the trying not to scratch off my arm! 

2.    Not having enough food prepped. Seriously, not sure what I was thinking, but I look back and wonder how a week's worth of food was suppose to help for a month!  We do not even have that much freezer space! 

3.   Working out. Somehow I was thinking that since my wrist was going to be tied up/bound, that I would still be able to go do stuff.
Um, that didn't work out. Not being able to use the wrist meant tying shoes was a no-go, putting on a sports bra was a no-go, and washing my hair was a no-go. So even if I had gotten up with The Mike, and he had dressed me in female sports attire, I wouldn't have been able to get the thing off, and I wouldn't have been able to clean up by myself either.

4. The length of time it took for the forearm to completely heal. (sigh, that was three weeks of rash/soak/ointment/binding).

What I had taken into consideration:  Making weekly appointments for hair wash/style. The Mike may have been able to wash my hair, but I wasn't going to ask him to blow dry and straighten it for me! 

After a few weeks of going stir crazy, going to the grocery store and getting gluten free/soy free frozen meals (SO thankful they exist in 2019!), making a date night to the custard/ice cream store, I felt like I could do stuff, but my wound and doctor said no.

I found the UDIs Mug Cakes at a store about an hour from me. I thought they were a nice treat, but not something I'd have every day. Each individual package has directions on them too, so I think they'd be great for travel/hotels! 

 My first day back working out was a walk down to the river. 

Did I mention there was flooding in March?
It left yuck in so many places.  It isn't as bad as those in Western Iowa  or Nebraska have had though! 
There there is this tree that makes me laugh. The park is off the bottom and is only held together in this section due to the dastardly Virginia Creeper! 

The Mike volunteered at a bike race in April, and registration was at a winery!  It was a gorgeous day and I had to capture the gorgeous Spring day in the sky/clouds, and the pattern of the grape vine fencing. 

Who can have a bad day when the sky looks like this?
(and when it is not a drought!)

Yes, we brought home some wine too!  

Giant victories for me post surgery:  

1. I was able to finally use this again. The hand pain (post car collision) that kept me from using it for three years is gone post carpal tunnel surgery!  

I am working my way up. First three minutes was a hard and now I'm at six minutes.
It may not be Olympic level, but I'm getting back fitness. 

2. I am able to knock off /drop the weights that the jerks leave on the leg press machine. I haven't been able to do this for three years and is the main reason I stopped going to the gym :(  Regardless of the signs posted to have courtesy and remove weights from machines, this guy never did. He still doesn't.

I figure if the guy doesn't care enough to stack the weights where they belong, then apparently it shouldn't matter if they drop two feet onto the mat? Those big weights are 100# plates. I might have been able to lift 100# before my injury, but not now :(  

3. Leg press, and then toe extensions with the weight.

Along with some exercises still for the Plantar Fasciitis which rears its head every so often, and ab work, that's what I'm doing for the gym.  I've been trying for the weights 3 x a week, and then five miles 2x a week. After today's five, I think I'm ready to take it to three days a week for mileage!  

I still cannot place my hand flat on the floor, as for some yoga poses.  I'm working on it!  

Third and Fourth week post op

What a difference it is from week 2 to week 3!   Week 2 it still hurt to walk much and I was happy to keep the foot elevated as much as possible.  This third week post op I had more energy and I had a 'slap in the face' moment when I opened the door at 6am and thought, "Wow, it's a beautiful morning for a run. Oh, Carp, I can't run".  :-(   It was still a gorgeous day and I did some more walking that day.  Last week Tuesday (just under 3 weeks post op), I decided to try my cycling sandals. Once I remembered how to loosen the toggle (um, unclip it from the toe region!), I was able to get my foot in.  After walking around the house for a few minutes I said, "NO" and took them back off. A bit too much pressure on the toe area.

I then tried on an older pair of running shoes (three seasons back, but the back up pair I currently have).  I had to keep the toe region very loose on the left side and I thought they fit okay. However, after a few minutes I said, "not yet".  

That said, I gave it a couple days and tried on the sandals again and I thought, "well, let's try this today".  I went for a bike ride to the river park and back, going slow---I did have a treasure hunt reason for going and was keeping my eye open for some items to find along the way.  I didn't find any treasure hunt, but decided I wasn't ready to go up any hills with the pedals, so I headed back home.  I then switched to the shoes and drove to another lake in town ---for the treasure hunt :-).  The shoes just put pressure from the top down on the toe and that's something that I think will get better/go away and I just have to deal with in the meantime, if I want to wear covered shoes. 

I didn't get too far. There's a generally flat area and then the start to a hill that I love running up.  I got about a third of the way in the shoes. Sat on a bench and put the foot up and then said, 'Go home'.   Going back downhill went a little better.  I decided to try something and I ran for about a hundred yards and thought it felt weird and it's going to be a sensation I have to get use to.

What sensation is that?

It's the sensation of a drunk toe.  That's right. My toe is slightly numb. It feels like my skin does when I get drunk/inebriated. Not that I get drunk often, but I am a 'lightweight'. 

Dinner time: roasted butternut squash!  I grew up with baked squash and love it.  One of the things I tried a couple years ago was roasting it.  Fabulous!  It gets a little caramel sugar like on the outside as it bakes.  I peel it with the serrated veggie peeler from Pampered Chef, which has "teeth" that really dig into the skin of the veggie.  Then I cut and dice the neck of the squash, then cut the "bell" in half, seed it and slide and die that bit.  Place on a roasting pan, drizzle coconut or olive oil on it with salt and pepper and roast at 375 for about 30 minutes or so.   For some variety, I added a few large florets of cauliflower as well. 

Then I served it with some skillet cooked squash and zucchini and the left over Classico Roasted Red Pepper alfredo sauce.  

I also had to go to the doctor again. This time the primary care for my third antibiotic in a month!  Fabulous, I know.  I had gotten scratched by an unknown to me cat, so I did went to the doctor.  My tetanus is up to date and she said my rabies shots I had to get a couple years ago would still be good. :-)   She also looked at my toe and told me I could just put vaseline on the dry (dark spot) of the toe.  

Hanging outside on a beautiful day for lunch.  

An hour in the sun in the peak of the day will make you a little pink in the spring time.  

Friday I had some errands to do.  I included in the errands a trip to my apple tree. The blossoms were coming on and it looked fabulous!    Then I had to pack for an overnight trip.  Concentrate on packing. I found a pair of dressy sandals I had in my closet and wondered why I hadn't found them last weekend for the meeting.  I decided those would be my shoes to wear to the funeral/memorial on Saturday.  One of my mom's cousins passed away and my sister thought it would be good to go. She was awesome and went out of her way /drive to come pick me up as well. 

I made up meatloaf and manwhich for The Mike while I was gone. 

The overnight for my sister and me was at the Holiday Inn /Suites in Hannibal Missouri.  I was very pleasantly surprised to see Udis in the breakfast room.  I was sad to see that they packages were opened at the bottom right just slightly.  It was on all of them, so I think it was on purpose. 

The drive to St. Louis was uneventful and the memorial was as expected. 

We headed home shortly after, with a stop at Trader Joe's before leaving.  I had to stock up on the tuna/water Tuna Fish from there (an unnamed large tuna fish has tuna/water but their water also has vegetable broth which includes soy --WHY?) 

A few hours in the car and we were ready for a stop: 

    The shoes went well, until we stopped at a river town on the way home--Louisiana, Missouri.   Last year I was in Paris and Mexico, Missouri with my hubby, and I added Louisiana this year. Don't worry, there are a LOT of state and country names in this state!  We walked along the river stone looking at shells and the Mississippi river. I remembered fishing with my grandfather on the water of the Rock River.  And then I slipped on the stone and my right foot turned in a bit. I recovered without falling and without injuring the left foot, but decided those shoes were getting removed as soon as possible.  Sunday I was fine, but Sunday night my foot hurt. Turns out I bruised an area of the foot.  A few days recovery and it feels much better now.  

The wide Mississippi with the railroad trestle in the background. It's one of the older style where the west side swivels to allow barge.

Scenic overlook on twisty back roads to Hannibal.  The greenery in front is a steep bank down, then farm land, the Mississippi river, tree island, Mississippi river and then Illinois.  

One of the surprising things to me on this twisty and winding road was the bike signs.  There were several miles with no shoulder and huge blind curves which I would be fearful of any cyclist riding.  Then the road opened up with shoulders and eventually became a road with marked shoulders for bicyclists.  I found the MRT bike route sign to be funny. . . MR. T.  'I pity the fool' and all that. 

The apple tree in full bloom.  What a difference a day made! I took pics on Friday and it was just starting to bloom. Sunday it was gorgeous in full bloom.

Three (plus) weeks post op, I can fit into my Born sandals again.  YEAH! 

We brought in some lilacs and apple blossoms. . . . they were a hit with the Felix cat!  

This week I did more walking and stood on the foot while we were working on the grape vine.  Sunday we trimmed it and then decided this is the year we'll redo the trellis/fencing.  It has needed to be done, and the end post is on the property line (something that was done 50 years ago).  New neighbors want to put in a fence, which also motivated us to do this task.  Most of the time I just stood and put the weight on my left heel.  Sunday evening I enjoyed putting my foot up.  

Forward to today, Thursday. I went for a walk in my Born sandals. After about 30-35 minutes I was ready for a rest.  It took a few hours of elevating the foot for the foot to feel 'normal' again.  This rehab for running is going to take a while, I think.  

More yoga stretching done the past few weeks. I'm sure it'll be much easier when I'm not wearing a sock to keep the gauze around the stitches :-)  

Oh--good news. this past Monday I had my third appointment with the oncologist.  Just to go over the biopsy results which I had heard already from the surgeon's office were good.  The oncologist was glad to see the results were negative for any cancer spread, the lymph nodes were good as well.  I had to ask what the stage of cancer was and she seemed surprised I didn't know.  I had seen the original punch biopsy report that said Clarks (something) Level II, so I didn't know if that was related to cancer stage. No, it's not.  I had Stage I melanoma and it's all taken care of with this region.  Next oncology appointment in six months.  Second dermatology appointment at the end of this month. 

Day 3-4 The weekend!

Woot! The weekend is here, which means more conversation time, when I'm awake.  I don't know how people who abuse prescription drugs do it. I'm asleep so much with this RX!  

Breakfast in bed--well, the couch!
Scrambled eggs with cheese, and a small side of Paul Newman pineapple salsa,
plus a piece of UDIs whole grain toast with blackberry jam. 

Rebandaged for the day

Again, the height and warmth cuddle bud. He's on the cushions which are piled up for my foot. 

The mail arrived --while I was asleep--with this wonderful note!
I have no idea where the afternoon went, except it was spent behind my eyelids.

The Mike enjoyed a great afternoon for a bike ride.  

A rare event, both cats on the lap simultaneously. 

My heel was starting to hurt from hobbling around on it.  Since the gauze and owie level of the incisions prevents me from wearing a shoe, this is what we came up with:  Yoga Mat Heel cushion! 

Mike cut two pieces to layer in the ace bandage. 

True love is working with your spouse's incisions and finding ways to make her comfortable. 

Also in the mail, came a pick me up present from a sibling.  A new duvet cover with bicycles. 

It goes perfectly well with our blue walls!  

I have plenty of the sleeve gauze wrap stuff from when I had the Virginia Creeper/Poison Ivy crud on my wrists.  Silly me, I wore gloves, so my hands were fine, but the portion above the gloves was horribly exposed to the wicked juices.  I keep plenty of this stuff on hand as a precaution. 

Still seems like I'm missing a pinkie toe!  

 

As a special treat, The Mike set up the bed with piles of pillows, so I was able to sleep in bed.  We had to switch sides so my foot would be on the outside of the bed.  In addition, The Mike set up a stool for a bedside table for my phone, my medication, and bottle of water.  

The funny part of the evening was the cat. He didn't know where to be for sleeping and kept going between us. In the end, he slept where he normally does, geographically, which ended up being on The Mike's chest for this night.