November 19, 2015 general

Let’s talk turkey and the trimmings…specifically an easy turkey recipe and gluten free sides

Because of tradition and family pressures, I imagine any suggestion to turn the Thanksgiving feast into a health food buffet would fall onto deaf ears. So, instead let’s talk about delicious and easy.

TURKEY

• My recipe for a fall-off-the-bone moist and easy peasy roasted turkey is in our website Library. Link here to the article / recipe. It also has tips on thawing the bird. Note that it is in the oven for 1 hour per pound so advanced planning is crucial.
• Last year I tried a different method. It was more complicated, but baked in a couple of hours. It was scrumptious. Alton Brown (Good Eats) recipe. It calls for Canola oil, but most of that is GMO. So, for that and many other reasons I use MacNut Oil instead. It is the healthiest and most delicious. If you don’t have that and are sure none of your guests are allergic to peanuts, peanut oil is good for high heat and gives a nutty flavor. (The other thing I changed was to add celery stalks and orange sections to the bird filling.)
• If you want to FRY your turkey, please do it outside and be very, very careful. Tips.
• Leftovers. These gluten free ideas courtesy of Natural Grocers are in our library.

SIDE DISHES

In my holiday file I found a recipe that sounds yummy and reasonably healthful. It was obviously torn out of some booklet, but unfortunately I can’t give proper credit.

• Baked Yams with Roasted Pecans
  

3 large Jewel or Garnet yams, washed and cut into large chunks

¼ cup water

¼ cup maple syrup (the real thing please, not maple flavored corn syrup)

¼ cup tamari (gluten free soy sauce)

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

½ cup roasted pecans, chopped

Place yams in a baking dish. Whisk together water, maple syrup, tamari, and sesame oil and pour over yams. Sprinkle pecans on top. Cover and bake at 375° for 45-50 minutes. Uncover and bake and additional 5 minutes. Serves 4-6.

(I have problem in that I cannot resist monkeying with recipes. I’m thinking that I would put little bits of butter on top of the yams and to keep them crispy, not sprinkle the roasted pecans around until that last 5 minutes.)

•  These gluten free ideas for stuffing, sides and desserts (courtesy of Natural Grocers) are in our library. Note that there is one for cranberry sauce, but if you want to go the traditional route with the recipe on the bag of cranberries, I think it tastes just as good and is less evil with less sugar than it calls for.

Happy Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for you and for sharing our message with your friends and family.