Easy Egg-Free Turkey Loaf

It's finally the month of May! I love May, I always have. It's my birthday month, it's my second birthday [liver transplant] month, and now I get to celebrate Mother's Day in May too! And I remember as a kid, knowing when May rolled around that the sun was going to return to the Northwest and the school year was winding down. Happy thoughts!
But apparently the sun didn't get the memo this year... We have been having a terrible run of rain, wind, and COLD weather here. It's been a little disappointing. One of our local farmers' markets opened yesterday, and I kept looking out the window thinking of those poor vendors in the blustery cold wet street. Come on, spring, we need ya!
Anyway, this weather has called for some comfort food. I made a simple turkey loaf (egg-free!) the other day that has flavors hinting at Thanksgiving. Ironically, as soon as it was out of the oven the sun came out for a bit. That made me see that while this dish is hearty enough to be satisfying and warming, it is light enough for a picnic lunch in the spring and summer time.
Enjoy slices hot or cold, with a salad and sweet potato fries on the side. Yum!

Easy Egg-Free Turkey Loaf


What you need:
1+ pound 99% lean ground turkey breast*
2 leeks, white parts only (save green parts for making stock)
2-4 celery stalks, ends cut off (save leaves and ends for stock)
dried marjoram
ground sage
dried thyme
fresh ground black pepper
sea salt

*I suggest Trader Joe's brand. It tastes great and has NO additives. Be very careful when buying pre-ground meats; I've noticed many brands have "natural flavorings" listed in tiny print on the label, and that often means they have GLUTEN and other icky stuff!

What you do:
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Get out your favorite (smallish) loaf pan - I used my glass Pyrex 8.5x5.

Wash and trim your celery ribs and leeks. Slice the leek whites into small 1-2" sections. Do the same with the celery ribs. Put sections into food processor and pulse until minced and mixed together. If you don't have a food processor, simply mince by hand. Transfer minced veg into a large mixing bowl.

Grab your spices and start adding them in the mixing bowl. You guys know, I am not a stickler for precise measurements; I believe you should adjust seasonings to your own tastes and experiment - it builds confidence in the kitchen. You won't mess it up, because every time you cook it's a learning experience!
But to give you an idea, I'd say I added approximately 1/2 tablespoon each of marjoram, thyme, and sage, and about four turns of the pepper mill and a pinch of sea salt.
Note: When you add the marjoram and thyme, scoop the leaves into one palm and rub your palms together over the bowl. This releases the flavors.
Give everything in the bowl a good stir to blend.

For this next step, you'll want to remove any rings and bracelets you are wearing. Unwrap your ground turkey and transfer it to the mixing bowl. With both hands, start blending the turkey, minced leek and celery, and spices. Knead and mash it together gently until the turkey seems evenly seasoned.

Transfer the turkey to your loaf pan. Gently press it down to make the top surface flat - there is your turkey loaf! Put the pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes; check; continue to bake for 10-15 more minutes as needed.* It is done when the top is starting to brown and the juices are running clear. Remove from oven, cover with foil and let sit for 10 minutes. Slice, serve, and enjoy!



*Note: Because I used a glass loaf pan, which conducts heat differently than metal, if you are using a metal pan your baking time will probably differ. When you make this for the first time, you'll want to stick nearby the kitchen and keep an eye on the loaf to assure it doesn't over cook.


Other Suggestions: This dish is perfect as one of those "cleaning out the refrigerator" recipes because you can add a variety of vegetables and seasonings to take it in different flavor directions...

• To enhance the Thanksgiving flavors, add some small dice of butternut squash or sweet potatoes and top with turkey gravy (homemade turkey stock + coconut flour)
• If you can tolerate nightshades, perhaps try an Italian version with minced bell peppers, small dice eggplant, shredded zucchini and Italian seasoning, with homemade Marinara tomato sauce
• Pesto version with pureed basil, garlic, chopped pine nuts and olive oil
• The possibilities are endless... What ideas do YOU have? Please share :)

Thanksgiving!

I cooked an entirely gluten-free, soy-free, processed-food free, and nearly refined-sugar- and dairy-free Thanksgiving dinner. It was a blast. We spent the day together as a family, relaxed, no chores, no errands, just watching the Macy's parade, cooking and enjoying each other.

Our Menu

GF Roasted Butterball Turkey, rubbed with poultry seasoning blend and roasted in a Reynold's roasting bag with a tablespoon of rice flour
(Next year we're going to go for a local farm raised turkey and do the brine thing, but we appreciated this because it was free!)

GF Turkey Gravy - made from GF cornstarch and the turkey drippings

GF Wild rice dressing with celery, onion, poultry seasoning, veggie broth and pepper,

GF quinoa dressing with celery, onion, poultry seasoning, veggie broth and pepper

GF Sauteed French cut green beans with walnuts sauteed in GF EVOO, S & P

GF Slow roasted garnet yams cooked in the Crock Pot all day with a splash of water, and a sprinkle of GF mini marshmallows melted before serving

GF Roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon and walnuts recipe from Food Network Kitchens - Hubs says this is a MUST REPEAT EVERY NIGHT dish :)

GF Cranberry Pear sauce recipe from The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen - Brilliant because the pears sweeten the sauce you need almost no added sugar! I doubled it and added an organic Gala apple, and a cup of sucanat instead of coconut sugar

GF Mashed Potatoes (from GF instant potato flakes, to save time and because we had some to use up). Hubs made them with chicken stock, Silk refrigerated plain coconut milk, butter and Kosher salt. With the delicious GF turkey gravy topping them, you could hardly tell they were instant.

To drink:
Knudsen's Organic Sparkling Apple Juice and Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider

For dessert:
GF CrockPot Pumpkin Cheesecake, recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking. I substituted sucanat for the white sugar in the filling, and brown sugar for the crust.
No Picture because whenever it's out of the fridge it's being eaten - no time for photos! :)

This afternoon, Hubs and I are enjoying some of the last pieces of the cheesecake, along with decaf Rice Dream Rice Nog lattes. Don't you love autumn and Christmas season flavors?

"a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father"

It is so important to know why we do what we do in life, whether it's a family tradition, a cultural custom, or a national holiday. Take two minutes today and read President Abraham Lincoln's "Proclamation Establishing Thanksgiving Day," to renew and refresh your understanding of why we get a day off work and gather with loved ones over a beautiful feast every year at the end of November. It is a beautiful piece of writing that explains why the Thanksgiving holiday was created, and describes the circumstances surrounding those hard times. There was a clear need felt by President Lincoln, a real need for a national day of turning our eyes upward and offering our heartfelt thanks to God for ALL He has done on our behalf.
If only this would be read publicly each Thanksgiving holiday, it would remind the multitude that we are a great nation BECAUSE we were founded upon the principles and purposes of our God, and we are so blessed BECAUSE we made room for him in our society. These truths are so blurred, hidden, and forgotten these days. CEOs all know how dangerous it is to not know or care about the vision statement of your company - why is it that recent US Presidents aren't thinking the same way?
Sometimes I wish we had President Lincoln and some of the other greats back in office; what a dream team they would make! God-given wisdom in a leader will always outweigh even the highest academic achievements, business success, and cultural popularity. I'm just saying...

Thanksgiving... at HOME?

We are completely iced-in right now. The alley behind our home, which is the only access to our driveway and parking area, is on a fairly steep hill to begin with. It's full of potholes and wide, shallow trenches. These have filled with snow, freezing rain, and the output of all the French drains above, and all that moisture froze to a surface slicker than a skating rink when the temperatures dropped below 15 last night. (This is NOT average Thanksgiving weather for the Northwest!)

We plan to visit Hubs' parents' home for brunch tomorrow, and my parents' home for dinner. But today I'm stuck at home and beginning to wonder what we'll eat if we are still stuck at home and can't join the ranks for morning ham and evening turkey. At least we can have the dishes we'd be bringing to the brunch and dinner - our new favorite treat, Pumpkin Glory Loaf from the Flying Apron Bakery cookbook, and something like this Quinoa Pilaf or Herbed Brown Rice with Mushrooms - all GFCF egg-free and soy-free, of course! I planned to get to the store for butternut squash and apples to make more of my new favorite casserole, but I don't think that's gonna happen!

This year I wrote off just about all the "classic" Thanksgiving sides including the side dish everyone loves to count as a "vegetable": Green Bean Casserole. I've passed cans of Cream of Mushroom soup and French Friend Onions in the grocery store for several weeks now, rolling my eyes, knowing I was above such processed and sodium-filled semi-edible substances. My mom makes traditional Green Bean Casserole almost every year, and I've never missed it when it didn't make it on the menu. But I think in a manifestation of Murphy's law (as all of us food-allergy-plagued know too well), when I truly realize I cannot have something... I WANT IT NOW! I Googled "GFCF green bean casserole," and found THIS tasty-lookin' thing at Gluten Free Mommy...

I'm sitting here drooling over this recipe, knowing I need it to be GFCF egg-free and soy-free (Campbell's, I'm looking at you - join the 21st century and make some allergy-friendly soups! OK, rant over.).  If I rally the courage and can find the ingredients and appropriate substitutions tomorrow in my cupboards, I will post a recap!
Make it a Happy Thanksgiving, full of true gratitude of recognition of real blessings, no matter where you are and what you're doing!

Healthy(er than most) Midnight Snack

Tonight's dinner was later than usual (hence this late, late post). We were watching one of our favorite getting-in-the-Christmas-mood movies, "Home Alone," and while my husband was going back for seconds and thirds of the entree (it was the first time I made Spanish rice-stuffed green peppers - MAJOR hit!), I was craving something just a little sweet and a lot comforting before bedtime. I had some leftover canned pumpkin in a small Corningware dish in the fridge, and I decided to make a little "pumpkin pie" (sans crust) - it hit the spot just right.

About 1 cup of canned organic pumpkin
1/2 to 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (to your taste)
Approx 1 TB Grade B maple syrup (more robust than Grade A - tastes like molasses!)
2 splashes hazelnut milk

Mix everything together with a spoon and microwave until warm, stirring halfway through - I had to do 2 minutes total because of the chilled pumpkin and milk. Top with plain coconut ice cream if you have it; that's what takes it over the top! Please recreate and enjoy as your taste buds require :)

Delightful Squash Endeavors...

I have been extra tired lately - I blame it on the dreary grey days that come with fall's debut and my annual (hate to say it but it's become annual) overall health decline in autumn/winter. Fatigue and aches & pains are once again rearing their ugliness, and I crash on the couch every afternoon or evening for at least an hour. I'm not a good lunch eater - I'm either out running errands, working on some project, or sleeping like today. Well, I woke up this afternoon and needed to eat, and I put together this delightful lunch that filled me up and took just 10 minutes to prepare: [4 Honeysuckle White turkey breakfast link sausages, pan-fried on medium in a nonstick pan with a drizzle of EVOO] and [Squash Apple Casserole]. *Disclaimer: I do not know for a fact that the turkey sausages are GF. I do not have a Celiac diagnosis, and so I do not always avoid things that may have trivial amounts.

I found the recipe for this Squash Apple Casserole on my new favorite allergy-friendly site, BeFreeForMe.com. Here is the original: http://befreeforme.com/ViewRecipe.aspx?RecipeID=766.
(By the way, this website is very cool! Go to the "Recipes" tab, and you can check off your common allergens and select what type of recipe you need (main course, side dish, dessert, etc.) it will filter through the recipes and pull up those that you can make and enjoy without ugly reactions!)
I made the Casserole last night and it was waiting for me in the fridge today, perfect for lunch. It paired SO well with the turkey sausages!
Here is the recipe with my modifications:

1/4 cup  Grade A maple syrup
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 ½ cups of butternut squash, cut into 1” cubes
1 ½ cups of pared and sliced apples (any variety)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the cubed squash in a single layer in a 2-quart casserole dish; drizzle with a bit of the maple syrup and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp of cinnamon. Next, add a layer of the sliced apples – and drizzle again with the maple syrup and cinnamon. Repeat the layers, alternating with a drizzle of the syrup and sprinkle of cinnamon, until all the squash and the apples have been layered. Drizzle the casserole with the remaining maple syrup and cinnamon. Cover casserole and place in the oven for 45 minutes to 1-hour, or until the squash and the apples are tender.
Serve hot. Serves 4.
*Future ideas to try: pumpkin pie spice instead of or in addition to the cinnamon, add the walnuts from the original recipe (I just forgot them this time!), add in cranberries... 

Last night when I pulled the casserole out of the oven, I was thinking I'd wasted an hour of oven time and some perfectly good apples and squash... but I let it sit overnight in the maple syrup and cinnamon. It turned out really lovely once I heated up half a plateful to enjoy with my turkey links! I made sure to spoon some of the syrup from the bottom of the casserole dish and drizzled it over the squash and apples. Don't you love it when a recipe turns out? I felt like a healthy food rockstar after I finished my meal, because I'd just eaten a whole lot of butternut squash packed full of good stuff for my body.

Speaking of butternut squash, can I just talk about the simple joy of peeling and dicing one of these beautiful creations of autumn's bounty? I was smiling, oohing and aahhing for literally twenty minutes last night as I prepared 1" cubes of squash for the recipe. I must have said, "Isn't this just beautiful?!" and "Look how orange this is!" at least fifteen times - my husband couldn't quite seem to match my enthusiasm, but always the good sport, he tried. :)  I was trying this "casserole" recipe to see if it would measure up for one of our Thanksgiving meals next week - and after trying it today, I'd say I could bring it to both the brunch and the dinner we will be attending. Double win!
TIP to remember: when you cut up a butternut squash or pumpkin, make sure you keep the seeds and rinse, pat dry, spread on a baking sheet, drizzle with EVOO, sprinkle with chili powder... and roast them for a great snack!

If you need something fun to do this weekend and you are low on funds or snowed in or, whatever the case may be, why not try a new recipe? There's nothing like that feeling of accomplishment and simple joy you feel after creating a new food masterpiece that you and a loved one can enjoy together. If it turns out, why not participate in this season of giving by sharing some with a neighbor? Enjoy your weekend :)