Lessons from a Friend

My friend, Doreen and I have, on several occasions, chatted about cooking and compared notes on how we are both following some of our dreams in this area. Last week she invited me over to her house to show me how to bone a chicken . . . since that is something I was quite interested in observing. I wanted to call it de-boning … doesn’t that make sense? But apparently it’s known as boning … go figure. Now, I had never actually eaten a stuffed chicken without bones, but it just sounded like an amazing way to serve up a roasted chicken.
When I got to her place, she had four raw whole chickens ready to go. I had to take some pictures . . . and I will explain the process.

1. Lay the chicken, breast side down and pull the thighs back so that they snap.
2. Using a small sharp knife (a boning or paring knife) cut lengthwise along the backbone from top to bottom.
3. Using the tip of the knife, cut along each side of the ribcage with short strokes, staying close to the bones and pulling away the meat with the skin on. You will also need to make a cut where the legs and wings attach, all the while keeping the skin intact. Cut around the wishbone to pull it out.
4. Once you’ve cut along both sides of the ribcage, down to the breastbone, pull out the carcass. Use the fillet pieces that come loose to later patch areas where there is no meat.
5. Cut along both sides of the thigh bone, pulling the meat away and taking the bone out.
6. Continue shaving away the meat from the bone on the drumstick too. Once the bones are out, flip the leg (outside in) so that the skin is on the outside again . . . forming a small tube.( Do both legs)
7. Remove the tips of the wings and leave them be, unless you'd love the challenge. (Throw all the bones into a pot to make stock or broth . . . cover with water, add salt, spices, onion, a carrot and a stalk of celery . . . bring to boil and simmer about an hour. Strain once cooled.)
8. The center picture in the collage shows the finished product, folded up, without stuffing.
9. Lightly season unfolded inside of chicken. Using a large needle and strong thread (doubled) sew up part way, starting at the leg opening, to make a pouch.
10. Stuff with your favorite bread stuffing, some into the legs as well, and then continue sewing up, securing flap of skin from the neck area to the body.
11. Rub with oil and season. Cook in roaster, open for ½ hour and closed for 1 ½ hours. Remove onto serving platter, cover and let rest 15 minutes.
12. Make gravy in roasting pan, if desired. To serve chicken, slice thick slices.
    

After massacring of my first chicken, I boldly went on to the second one . . . only to gasp after my first big cut. I had it turned the wrong way, with the breast up. There was nothing I could do but continue the same drill and see if it would work. It did . . . I ended up using my hands to pull away most of the meat. So it’s all about what is comfortable. There really is more than one way to skin a cat . . . I mean, a bird.

Doreen invited me to sit down

and she served some delicious mini pavlovas and coffee.

While we ate I got a chance to browse through her promo album, showing samples of the appetizers she serves for her “elegant tea” catering business. Turkish apricots wrapped in bacon, mini-rouladen, spicy coconut ginger shrimp skewers and pinwheel sandwiches are just a few on the list. I was impressed with what she is promoting in her invitation to experience the tradition of afternoon tea.

Doreen has just opened a web page, that is still in progress, but delightful to check out. Her service is available for showers, weddings, cocktail parties, dessert buffets and almost any kind of elegant party you wish to plan. I wish her all the best in her venture!

The TV Interview

Last Thursday Lovella received an email from the producer of the weekend morning and noon news at the Global TV network station. She was wondering if Lovella or any of us ladies would like to come into the studio to talk about “Mennonite Girls Can Cook”.

And that is how it came to be . . . that Lovella and the first "one of us" who responded to Lovella's email . . . namely Kathy, got to head to Vancouver yesterday . . . while the rest of us sat glued to our TVs at home, waiting for the final part of the 12:30 News. Well, almost final . . . sports came later yet . . . so there were still some people tuned in.

We were eating lunch when the "heads up" announcement, showing our book cover, came along . . . saying something like . . . "Coming up after the break . . . we'll talk about "Mennonite Girls Can Cook."

And there they were! Sophie Lui interviewing Lovella and Kathy about how the blog came about.

On my couch . . . I sat and giggled through the interview myself. It seemed so surreal. My friends sitting there with Paska and Platz in front of them, talking about the upcoming cookbook that we have been working on! I would never have expected to see this on the News. Sort of like the old Sesame Street song that went something like . . . one of these things is not like the other . . . one of these things just doesn't belong! Can you guess which thing is different before I end this song?

But . . . here we are! Mennonite Girls Can Cook on the Global TV Noon News! I wonder. . . is that the name we would have chosen for the blog . . . had we known it would become our name too? None-the-less, I'm tickled pink to be on this ride . . . with all of you!

HAPPY ONE-DERLAND

This week, as we are literally enjoying a winter wonderland, we are invited to a one-derland Birthday party that I’m looking forward to!

On this your First Birthday, Lacey . . . I want you to know what a wonder it has been to watch you grow and learn! The process simply amazes me!

From helpless little babe to one discovering hands . . . learning to use them to pick up

. . . to point or to open cupboards

. . . to lift flaps and turn pages

or to copy older cousins.

From a little mind that communicated with silence or crying . . . now showing understanding with your smiles, giggles, nods and shakes.

From tiny wrinkled feet that now patter across the floor as you have learned to balance yourself and enjoy more freedom.

Dear Lacey Love . . .

You observe so much more than we imagine . . . and your eyes show it. They show love and delight for family, routines, being flipped, playing peek-a-boo, books, music and going for walks. We look forward to many more of these . . . along with shrieks of delight when you drive up our driveway. We wish you a very Happy Birthday!

Love, Papa and Grammy

You Just Never Know

We were watching Hawaii Five-O one night . . . the usual drama. In this episode a young lady in a travelling vehicle was locked up in a trunk and calling her brother from her cell. He told her to kick out the tail light . . . so she could see where she was going and tell him.

I asked, "Can you actually do that? . . . kick out the tail light?"

He figured, "Yes."

"That's a good thing to know." I replied in all seriousness.

He chuckled . . . like I would need to know this!

Well . . . you just never know. I thought it was worth knowing.

A Surprise Win

I don't know when it first happened that Menno Jeweler left comments on my blog. The name intrigued me and I had to see who it was. I found out that her name is Kathy, she designs and makes handcrafted jewelry and I have to say . . . she is a true gem, herself! I hope to meet her one day. Last Fall I voted on a beautiful necklace that she had submitted in a jeweler's contest. To my surprise, I received an email sometime later from a company called Vintaj Natural Brass, letting me know that I had won a draw . . . not the necklace, but something from this company. I had not realized that commenting would put my name into a draw. Now all I needed to do was to send in my mailing address.

The parcel arrived before Christmas!

In it was a card to congratulate me . . .

and two bags of jewelry . . . ready to assemble. Was I supposed to be a jeweler?

I laid out the pieces for the necklace . . .

and the earrings . . . kind of puzzled because there were no instructions . . . don't you need those . . . and some tools?

I feel a little bit at a loss here. I've noticed that, besides jewelry, Kathy can whip up some nice baking. It's not fair . . . she has instructions to follow . . .

but I have nothing . . . am I supposed to bend the pin?

How do I attach the loop? I will need some help, if I am to wear these. Good thing I know whom to ask.

Menno Jeweler has a blog, Artful Accents (on my sidebar) and I encourage you to check out her Etsy Shop sometime. She has just sold a lot of her jewelry for Christmas, so she will need a bit of time to catch up again . . . but keep checking.

A Surprise Gift

My sister gave me a random gift . . . not for Christmas . . . not for my Birthday . . . she had seen these dishes and got them for me.

I especially like this one . . . it's called a pasta dish, but very nice for dips. She mentioned that she had to get them because they had my name on them. I was somewhat surprised because I don't have anything blue in my house.

I turned over the plate and saw what she meant . . . you may need to click on the picture to see . . . sorry, I should have done a retake.

How sweet is that? She figured we may like to use them for dessert, knowing it's a nightly habit for us.

Last night my H came home from a business trip and dessert for two was waiting. For the recipe you can go to Mennonite girls can cook today.