Turkey

A friend of ours who came to our Turkey party requested the recipe. Here it is. It's from Alton Brown on the Food Network. It's soooo juicy and succulent.

Software:
Brine:
1 1/2 cups kosher salt
1/2 cups dark brown sugar
One 6-ounce container of frozen OJ concentrate
1 gallon water
One 16-18 pound turkey (thawed)
1 gallon of ice cubes
Canola Oil

Hard ware
1 large pot
1 large cooler with lid
Paper towels
Roasting rack
2 disposable aluminum roasting pans
heavy-duty aluminum foil
probe thermometer

Recipe:
To brine the turkey: dissolve the salt, sugar, and juice concentrate in 1 quart of hot water. Cool the solution with 3 quarts of cold water. Remove the giblets (and any ofter foreign matter) from the turkey interior and place in cooler (Breast down). Pour in the brine mixture to cover. If the bird is not completely submerged. add more liquid. (Since I don't want to weaken the solution, I use canned chicken broth.)
Cover with ice, close the lid, and soak the turkey for 6-8 hours. (Exact soak times will vary per your taste. Start with 6 hours and make changes to later birds.)
When the bird has about 30 mins left to soak move the oven rack to the lowest level and preheat the oven to 500 F. Remove the turkey from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the turkey liberally with canola oil. Discard the brine and thoroughly wash the cooler. Place the turkey on a roasting rack inside 2 disposable aluminum roasting pans.
Roast at 500 F for 1/2 hour. Remove the bird from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 350 F.
Cover the turkey breast with a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil folded into a triangle. Insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast (push it right through the foil) and set the thermometer to 161 F. A 16-18 pound bird should arrive at the target temperature in 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove the turkey from the over, cover the bird and pan loosely with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving.

Notes:
Check out : http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/ck_recipe_how_tos/article/0,1971,FOOD_9813_1801271,00.html
and helpful but different recipe


Hope you enjoy!

Fricken' CRAZY Woman.

(This is like my fifth post of the day)

Ok, this time it's me. Let me preface this. We are in the final stretch of our adoption application. We have the home visit, interviews, and profile to finish. We are actually procrastinating on writing the Birth Parent Letter. It's going to be hard. So, our home visit is this coming Wednesday, April 1. Our interviews are on Friday, April 3. Yeah, happy anniversary. I know. But I'm looking forward to it.

I have heard that every woman who applies for adoption cleans house down to the floor boards before the home visit. I desperately want my house to look it's best.

Daniel left me home alone on Friday. This happens at least once a week. This time I got a bug. Generally I do something sedate or harmless. Not this time. Which is not good.

I started cleaning on Friday morning. Turned on the classical music. It actually gets me going like nothing else. Then did the dishes. Cleaned my kitchen pretty well.

I knew our pantry/laundry room needed to be cleaned. There was flour, sugar, and dog food on the floor. Our shelves also need to be re-arranged and cleaned up. We're kinda messy. So I started to get everything out and off the floor. But things were under my shelves. So I took everything off the shelves. Here is what it looked like before.

Here is where the stuff ended up (my living room). This is only a portion of it. Then as I looked at the floor boards there was one that looked like it was rotting. From the inside. So I called Daniel and asked if I could pull off the base boards. He asked why. I told him. And then I told him he better come home before I went too far. He said I had and he couldn't. I got going. Emptied the room, moved our freezer and pulled out the base boards. No rot. Just a stain.

Well now I have a small mess. But, since the room is empty, we should take this opportunity to up date it. Let's paint. We know that we are going to do our kitchen this fall and whatever we use in one room we will use in the other, since they are connected. We picked a tile out the other day. So we went to the paint store and got a color that pulled the reds/browns out of the tile. So here is before. Gross wall, if you can see.

And here is after. It's kind of a red/orange sand color. I really like it. I think it will look great in the kitchen and with the new tile. I just hope it isn't too dark. We should be okay.

Now here's the problem. I have some one coming on Wednesday afternoon and my house is a bigger mess than it was on Friday morning, before this all started. Let's just say this was not a smart thing to do right now.

The sad thing is, as I go crazy while waiting to adopt, this room won't be the only victim. I have a savings goal for the kitchen. Then we want to repaint and re-carpet the two bedrooms. I just hope I can have the patience necessary to save the money and not go crazy. Maybe we can sell the house before we get a baby. We'll see.

Crazy woman.

Fricken' Frustratin!

So this morning we had the opportunity to attend a wedding at the Draper Temple. It was beautiful. Besides the fact that the bride was very late things were a zoo. Okay, the whole thing was. They still have some coordination things to learn. Oh my gosh. I'm sure most of you have been to a temple wedding. After the recommend desk you go to the waiting room where you REMOVE YOU SHOES!!! people. So many people did not get it.

Then the ladies put on white socks, or bring your temple slippers. Either works. So people come, get pointed over to where you were supposed to remove your shoes and then guess what? MEN put white socks OVER their dress socks. It's not mandatory guys. It's to protect the floor from women who don't understand the concept of NYLONS!! Now I will be the first to admit they are not comfortable. But wear knee-highs, thigh-highs or nylons when you go to the Temple. It's the proper respectful thing to do. The socks are also to help protect nylons (the things you should wear to cover your frozen hairy legs) from snagging on the carpet.

Last, but not least. You are at the temple for a sealing ceremony. During the 20 minutes or so you are in the sealing room you are not allowed to take pictures, call people, check your makeup or any other unseemly activity. LEAVE YOUR PURSE WITH YOUR SHOES!!!! The ladies are there to guard your stuff. If your purse get's stolen while at the temple, it's the fault of the Bishop who gave the depraved person their recommend. Do not take your purse to the sealing room. There is no earthly reason for it.

Now that that particular rant is over I will share this.

The poor man who officiated was so nervous. I felt for him. He had to do the ceremony twice because the first time he left out the part about kids and such. He was, unfortunately, prevented from giving much advice because the Groom's sisters had the Bride with them getting their hair done. Then they got lost. Shouldn't you figure out how to get to where you're going to be married, before you're late? I did. I felt bad for the Bride and Groom. The whole day was thrown off. When we got there the groom was waiting just behind the recommend area and looking like he was about to die because she was late. He was so nervous. Then his sister just blew it off saying he should have known the Bride was with them. grr. I wish people would think ahead a little better.

When the ceremony was over the sealer just invited people to congratulate them. Not in an orderly fashion. It was a bumbled mess and took even more time.

Oh, and when you go to the temple, have mercy on the poor Temple matrons who are trying to keep the waiting room quiet and be quiet. Whatever you need to say can wait. The poor lady this morning reminded the room every 5 minutes. It was sad. There were over 100 people there for 3 weddings at the same time.

Don't get married in the Draper Temple. The canyon winds hit the front of the Temple like mad. Unless you like the windblown thing.

I was disappointed about things. The ceremony is a beautiful ceremony. I love hearing it. It was a nice reminder for Daniel and I. Our 2 year anniversary is on Friday, April 3. It's gone by so quickly. I love being married to him. Our life is good. I hope that my friend's marriage is as happy as mine.

My job...

I get to do some interesting things at my job. Right now I am sorting a collection of some interesting things. The family felt that we need a lot more than we actually do. Here are some things to NOT give to archives. We don't need them. But it made for an interesting afternoon.

Here we have a men's button on collar from the 1930's. Before our current shirts collars were replaced by buttoning them on. This is a razor strop. It was used to sharpen straight razors at the barber's shop. (Thanks dad for the info.)
These are shoes forms.
This is an alien glove. No it's a mitten with a free forefinger. Then there's a type-writer ribbon replacement. And any guesses as to what the moon shaped things are?
Maybe I will wait for guesses before I tell you what they are. haha. It's not cute that's for sure.

Walking the puppies

A couple weeks ago we went for a walk with Daniel's dad and the puppies. It was fun. We walked up in Uinta between the railroad tracks and the road that goes up the mountain. The doggies loved it. We let them off the leashes for bit and let them run. They did pretty well.

They love to put their heads out the window. I snapped some pictures while we were going slow.
Just after we got going a train passed us. It was cool. You could feel the rumbling as it went by.
There was a tunnel we walked through to get to the trail.
We are trying to take as many pictures of the two of us for our Adoption Profile as possible. Here's one proving that we do things other than sit and watch TV!

Cookies

On Friday the 13th of March we had friends over and cooked a Turkey. It was yummy.
Daniel cooks a mean turkey. Brine it. You'll love it. He likes to eat Turkey left overs so we had to make a turkey.
For dessert I made sugar cookies. I love sugar cookies covered with frosting. I also love to decorate them. My friend Eryn and I spent the afternoon decorating them. They turned out so yummy.

Tuesday Tidbit

Laws. Have you ever heard of the silly laws still on the books? I looked some up from Utah on dumblaws.com Wow. It's amazing what you can't do.
Here are a few:

• It is against the law to fish from horseback.
• It is illegal not to drink milk.
• It is illegal to detonate any nuclear weapon.
• Birds have the right of way on all highways.
• A husband is responsible for every criminal act committed by his wife while she is in his presence.
• It is a felony to persistently tread on the cracks between paving stones on the sidewalk of a state highway.
• It’s legal for restaurants to serve wine with meals, but only if you ask for the wine list.
• It is considered an offense to hunt whales.
• Alcohol may not be sold during an emergency.
• Individuals may not possess beer in containers larger than two liters unless they are a retailer.
• Boxing matches that allow biting are not allowed.
• It is illegal to cause a catastrophe.

Some odd ones from various cities include:

Kaysville: You must have identification to enter a convenience store after dark.

Logan: Women may not swear.

Monroe: Daylight must be visible between partners on a dance floor.

Provo: Throwing snowballs will result in a $50 fine.

Salt Lake County:

No one may walk down the street carrying a paper bag containing a violin.

Auctions may not be advertised by hiring trombone players to play on the street.

Trout Creek (Where the heck is that?): Pharmacists may not sell gunpowder to cure headaches.

Well there you go. You learned something today. Albeit, very useless.

Pretend...

I posted this yesterday. I had decided, but then got side tracked trying to cash in credit card points. Grrr. I hate making phone calls.

Tidbit

Hanging Art.

I spent the last two days hanging art on temporary walls as a helper with the Museum of Church History and Art. I did two internships with them and they needed extra help without extra work on their part. So the trained reinforcements were called in. I like helping down there so much that I turned in a Service Missionary application to them on Monday. I'm excited.

So, the art. When the exhibit opens you HAVE to go see it all. It's the International Art Competition Exhibit at the Conference Center in Salt Lake. There are 190 pieces of art created by members of the church from all around the world. There are some amazing pieces.

When hanging art there are lots of measurements to be done. Get out your calculator. I hate math

When hanging art there are lots of measurements to be done. Get out your calculator. I hate math. When hanging for an exhibit there is a standard height, between 58 and 60 inches on center. When hanging over a couch or other piece of furniture you have to adjust accordingly. Taller walls will call for higher centers. But lets work with how to center your piece at 58 inches.

Measure the height of the art.For math sake, lets say 24 in. high.

Divide that in half and you have center. 12

Add the height will be center. So we add

12 + 58 = 70. That is where the top of art will be.


Then you have to decide what kind of hanging apparatus you are going to use. Most things can just use one hook like this. (see below). Make sure it is rated to hold the weight of your piece. If you have a heavy piece or a wide piece you might want to use two at a small distance in order to add stability. Like if my piece was 50 inches wide, that's big. So I would use two hooks, 20 inches apart (each 10 in. off center). Now, measure the distance from the bottom of the wire to the top of the frame. This is how far down from 70 we will place our hook. (I don't recommend just using a nail unless you don't care if your piece ends up on the floor.) So if our wire is 7 inches down from the top then we hang at 63 inches.

12 + 58 = 70

70 - 7 = 63

It gets fun when you have quarter, eighth and sixteenth inches. Haha. Cruel and unusual punishment. Measure up from the floor, use chalk or a pencil to mark your spot. If you are using hook like this, you have to place the hook so the BOTTOM is at your mark, not the nail.



Then pound away. When it is secure, place the piece. If it is at all heavy, use another person to help!! Then place a level along the edge, and level out your piece. It will look great. It will be the right height for people to see the most important part. If you want to see this in action, hehe, then go visit a museum. Especially the Museum of Church History and Art. I'm so excited for the exhibit at the Conference Center. It's great.

Enjoy hanging your art!

Tibit...

Sorry it's late. Probably a retarded tidbit. But I'm busy. Sue me.

Cholesterol. Check yours. Next time you go to your doctor's office just ask if they can run a cholesterol test. You have to go in fasting, so don't get an afternoon appointment.

You'd be surprised how many people in their 20s have cholesterol problems. Especially the ones who eat out a lot. You might be surprised, you might be relieved. But think, if it's high don't you want to do something about it?

Have a good weekend!

Like Mister Darcy...

On Top Gear Jeremy Clarkson was reviewing this car.

While driving he commented that it's power was out of character it was like "Mr. Darcy coming out the lake and machine gunning a fluffy kitten for fun."

Heehee.

Here's the clip. He says it about halfway through.


I love it.

Adoption Story

I was reading on the blog Adoption - Changing Lives from Beginning to End. The most recent story was told by Ashley and Mike, who live in Pennsylvania. She has an amazing story to read. I actually spent almost all day Friday reading their whole story. She has broken it down into 23 parts. She just posted the last one yesterday. While reading the story I felt the spirit, I cried a little and smiled a lot at the excitement I will feel someday too, when we get our baby. If you've got time here and there, read her story. It's beautiful.

Mmmmm... Chocolate....

I'm not very good at getting this tidbit thing out on Tuesdays. Let's pretend it's the kind of Tuesday we all want - the one where Friday comes next.But here is this week's anyway.


CHOCOLATE

What could be better? I crave it about 17 hours a day. That's because I'm asleep the rest of it.

How did Chocolate reach us in it's modern form? Who was the first weirdo who tasted the cocoa bean and thought "I can turn this into something good!"? Because cocoa is nasty. Very bitter.

Etymology: The word "chocolate" comes from the Aztecs of Mexico, and is derived from the Nahuatl word xocolatl ^[1] which is a combination of the words, xocolli, meaning "bitter", and atl, which is "water".

At one point in it's history, the cocoa bean was used as currency. But it was mostly a drink, the bitter kind.

Wikipedia says that: (because you know wikipedia is always right, right?) In mostEuropean countries it was only royalty and nobility that had chocolate.

"The situation was different in England. Put simply, anyone with money could buy it. The first chocolate house opened in London in 1657. In 1689, noted physician and collector Hans Sloane developed a milk chocolate drink in Jamaica which was initially used by apothecaries, but later sold to the Cadbury brothers."

Sound familiar? Anyone who knows chocolate knows that Cadbury is THE BEST!!!

Through various types of processing, creating things like cocoa butter and cocoa powder, people were able to experiment and come up with a sweet cocoa that they then turned into chocolate bars. That we all love. And Frosting. And Cake. And chips. And hot fudge, etc. Yummy.

Wikipedia has many articles on Chocolate.

Now I need to eat some.

mmmm.

Chocolate.