Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One Hundred Sixty Six (Turkey Loaf: In Honor of the Bird)

So, the ground turkey from the Farmers’ Market lived on for another day. (Well ain’t that an oxymoron? How can a poor slaughtered and ground up bird live on?). Now, I’m making this very appetizing meal not so appetizing by thinking and articulating too much about the state of the deceased fowl.

In any event, all this rambling has gotten me off course for providing you a really good recipe for nothing else, but, tada! TURKEY LOAF.

Ingredients:

• One pound ground turkey breast (I bought the locally raised variety)
• 3 carrots finely grated
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1/2 - 1 whole bunch curly parsley, de-stemmed and finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, mashed with salt with a mortar and pestle
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup Spelt Right breadcrumbs

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Mix together bread crumbs, grated carrots, chopped onions and mashed garlic. Add in eggs, blend well. Add in turkey meat (poor bird! I just can’t let go of it…maybe I should try vegetarianism instead of stressing every time I make a meat based meal). Blend well.

Place on well greased (with EVOO) 8 x 8 baking dish, or whatever combination you have. (see pics)

Bake for 45 min – 1 hour until fully baked. Enjoy, and please take a moment to the honor the bird that made this meal possible.

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One Hundred Fifty-One (On Simple Things in Life and Turkey and Cheese in a Pocket)

OK, it's true. The more I try to simplify my life, the more I fill in the holes with more to do. It's just who I am. Things don't change that easily. And. one thing that hasn't changed and likely never will is my obsession with feeding my family and friends and colleagues and neighbors well (and looking for simple solutions for busy lives). Look out neighborhood! I might show up with basket of goodies or some warm soup!!!

Here's a simple recipe. Perfect for school lunches or an after school snack. Turkey and cheese in a Spelt Right pocket. YUMM!

TURKEY AND CHEESE HUGGED BY SPELT RIGHT DOUGH

Ingredients: One Spelt Right Pizza dough fully thawed and proofed. (That means that it should fill the bag after it has risen). Your favorite cold meats and cheeses. Mayonnaise or other dressing if desired. We used all natural turkey and cheddar cheese.

Lightly oil (with EVOO) a stainless steel baking pan. Preheat oven to 375-400F

Cut dough into 6-8 equal pieces. Stretch dough to about 1/8 inch thick in circle. Place a fair amount of turkey and cheese or other filling on half of dough. Gently stretch over berries and pinch on ends (see pictures).Place on baking sheet; bake for 20-30 minutes until lightly browned on the bottom.

Can be served cold or reheated. My kids had these for lunch and after school snacks and loved them! As Olivia said, "this is not food; it is art."

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Twenty-Two (Turkey Pot Pie!)

I am so lucky to have my mom. Today, I had more on my figurative plate than I could handle. So, what to do? Call mom! 84 and 1/2 and still there when I need her. We had a very large frozen Kosher turkey thawing in the extra fridge for days, but it just wouldn't thaw! We needed dinner and I had no time. Her directions to me: "soak that damn bird in a salt water bath in a clean sink, leave me directions on how to use your new stove, leave out the roasting pan." Result: came home after a frustrating day (did I mention my disdain for flood maps and banks?) to a house filled with the aromas of Thanksgiving! Roasted turkey, potatoes, carrots, the fixins' I'm blessed. Thanksgiving in May! After dinner, we rushed off to Olivia's concert to hear the K-2 kids singing and jazzing.

And after all that, I had a perfect idea for a Lunch Box delight - Turkey Pot Pie - Spelt Right style.

Ingredients: One Spelt Right Pizza Dough (fully thawed). Left over turkey, carrots, potatoes, peas, Vita Spelt flour, butter, gravy from left over turkey. Make a rue on the stove top with 2 TBL butter and 2-3TBL Vita Spelt flour, set aside. Chop 2-3 carrots and potatoes in small chunks, boil soft, add some turkey on the bone for flavor, salt and pepper to taste, remove bones, but keep in turkey, cut into chunks. Add rue and any left over gravy you might have (if your mom cooked a turkey for you), let broth become thick, add peas. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400-450F.

Cut dough into 6 even sized balls, stretch or roll to about 1/4 inch thick. I used a pizza peel this time covered with finely ground organic corn meal. Shape fitayas on pizza peel. Place two-three TBL of turkey mixture on dough ball. Make triangle shape (or any shape you can to close) Then gently slide on to hot pizza stone. I brushed these with butter when they were in the oven, but that is optional.

Bake until golden brown.

I was SO STUFFED from the turkey dinner that my mom made that I could not eat another bite. Solution? Ask Tim. His response, "if you want me to keep doing this, don't complain about my girth." Next solution? Ask the kids. Their ability to eat never ceases to amaze me. Response from the kids: "Yum, two thumbs up we want more." Answer from mom, "Enough for tonight, turkey pot pie fitayas for breakfast tomorrow!"

Good night.