Dry as the Sahara

This year I did most of the cooking for Thanksgiving. The gravy was from a package, but turned out awesome without any lumps. That was a win. My turkey was another story.

Last year, I did a turkey breast in the slow cooker and it was dry. I blamed the recipe I used because it said to put the bone side down and the meat/breast side up. I decided that was my problem and that if I put the meat down into the soup, there'd be no problem. I've made chicken breast in the slow cooker many times and it's always submerged and it's always moist and yummy.

So this year, I got up early and got the breast ready for the slow cooker. I added four cans of soup to make sure as much of the turkey as possible was covered, added a little seasoning, and waited for deliciousness.

That's not what came out. My turkey was dry. Possibly as dry as last year.

My theory now is that I overcooked it. The guideline I saw on the internet for turkey temperature was 165 degrees. Mine came out of the slow cooker at over 210 degrees. The mystery here is that the turkey breast weighed more than the chicken breasts I've cooked and I've done the exact same length of time with both. The chicken? Perfection. The turkey? Fail.

The only consolation I have is that dry turkey continues a family tradition. My mom always ended up with desert-dry birds, too. :-) Next year, I'll try less time in the slow cooker. ::sigh::

Adventures With Wildlife

Yesterday, late in the afternoon, I left my office (I was cleaning it out with a bulldozer) and saw a wild turkey walking in my backyard. I turned, grabbed the camera, and took a couple of pictures before the flash spooked him and he took off running for the neighbor's yard. I was all excited about this because this is only the second sighting I've had in my yard. I see them walking along the road or along the freeway all the time.

So it's later on that evening, still light out, but heading toward evening and I'm sitting on the couch checking email on the laptop. There's a loud thump on my deck and my heart started to pound. My first thought was that someone had come up the stairs, but a split second later I decided that it must be another nail popping. That happens when it gets cold and every other time I've freaked about a noise like that, it's always been a nail pop. Then I caught motion out of the corner of my eye.

Up on the railing of the deck is that great big wild turkey!

I think the thump I heard was his landing on the rail and I think it's the same one I saw earlier. I'll add another guess--I think he wanted to check out what had caused the flash of light when he was here and I was taking pictures.

I was afraid to move because he was looking around, but I really wanted to grab the camera and get a shot of this. I've never had a turkey on my deck before and I might never have another one. Staying as still as possible, I watched him check out the area for a few minutes. Then, deciding nothing was worth hanging around for, he jumped off the rail to the ground below. By the time I got to the door with the camera, he was in my neighbor's yard again.

My plan was to post a picture of my turkey, but I'm having issues on the computer that the camera is hooked up to. I also realized that I've lost a bunch of pictures that I hadn't backed up or uploaded and I'm hugely sad because they're all gone. The worst part is that it was my error. I was in a hurry and not paying close enough attention to what I was doing. Ah, well. Lesson learned. Always backup.

Wild Kingdom

Well, it happened again. I don't know what it is about Sundays in my neighborhood, but the wildlife always comes out on this day--usually when I'm writing. It's getting to be almost routine to look up from the computer and see some kind of animal or bird around. Today, though, I think takes the award for weirdest sighting--a wild turkey. Yes, I kid you not, I had a wild turkey in my backyard.


Here he is, walking up the side of my yard.



He's walking from my yard into the one next door




In the middle of the yard next door




And now he's walking toward the house beyond the one next door


And here I thought the hawk sightings were cool. :-)

Other than this, it was a very quiet weekend. This hero and heroine are nocturnal again, preferring to work late at night than during the day. That makes me nuts because I like to sleep. :-/

My dad goes in for his surgery on Tuesday. I'll try to post on Wednesday, but no promises.