Wedding Song - God Knew That I Needed You

Friday, November 6, 2020

HAPPY SABBATH ~ Orange & Sage Roasted Turkey Recipe

Today I decided to roast the turkey breast I bought a few days ago.

I had set it to thawing in the ‘fridge … then the sciatica nerve in my lower back flared up and I cripped around the house for 2 days … the pain caused by even the slightest movement, had me gasping for breath; and I felt like crying most of the time.

I dug out Bob’s old heating pad (he had that thing when we met), and the heat did help – but the pain was still there when it was turned off: I used it a lot Wednesday and periodically yesterday. I laid flat on the bed; I curled up in a fetal position … any position that eased the burn. I massaged the sore areas. I rubbed Blue Ice on my lower back.

It was a little concerning being alone and in mass pain, but this is my new life now. There’s nothing that can be done about it, but to bite the bullet and get on with it.

Bob had lived with; and suffered back pain all of his life – so, I “manned up”, bit my lower lip, slowly and carefully shuffled through the rooms of the house … and prayed for 48 hours that the pain would ease up and go away completely: it slacked off enough this morning, that I could actually stand without moaning, and I got the turkey in/out of the oven without hassle.

If Bob could live his life, and do his jobs without carrying on about the pain … then, so could I. That thought made me laugh, because I could imagine Bob laughing with me at my rise to the challenge: and applauding my tenacity to beat the devil back.

Bob/1976. Bob taught me a lot about living life fully. He is still enriching my life because he left me a treasure trove of memories that still fire my jets ~ OX

When we started dating seriously, Bob told me he had been born with spina bifida, and I saw him struggle with the radiating sciatica pain that spread from his back to run down to his calves. He groaned once in a while, but he never complained.

I pulled mightily on that memory the past 2 days.

Bob gave me this kind of love (literally as well as by example) – that’s probably why I’m dragging my feet about moving on … there will never be another Bob.

While he was married to his first wife, he was told by doctors that he would be unable to walk and in a wheelchair by his 30’s. He was 24, and in the midst of a divorce situation when we met, dated, and married. There were no outward signs of the spina bifida – but his legs did give out on him several times. When his divorce was final and he started talking marriage to me, he again brought up the possibility of ending up in a wheelchair – I told him it didn’t matter to me (marriage, itself worried me: an unforeseen future with the possibility of him being in a wheelchair, didn’t worry me at all): it really didn’t.

But it worried him: I was only 17 years old.

I said I loved HIM … ALL of him; not just his beautiful manly long legs: there was more to Bob than his physical attributes, which were pretty impressive. But I loved everything about Bob. I said that it was more important to relate on other levels too, besides just the physical.

Bob checked every box – and rang every bell.

He didn’t need legs to do that πŸ˜‰

And I meant it.

I dated and married Bob with my eyes wide open.

I married him at 9 PM on August 27th, 1974; and never had cause to regret that decision.






Thankfully, he was able to drive full time all of our 44 years together. Bob loved to drive; and he was a good driver. And even though he was a skillful race-type driver (he had pitted his ’68 Camero against serious race track drivers at the Speedway up around the Puget Sound area – at their invites: they knew his car was unbeatable and if they wanted to win the race, they needed to beat his time), he was a conscientious driver: he never took dangerous risks. He never entered his car on the track for money races, but he did enjoy the thrill of the challenge the other drivers gave him.

18 yo Bob & his beloved Camero. It was a teal colored hotrod. Cathlamet/1967
When we bought this car in 2017, Bob said it was the same color as his ’67 Camero; his sister, Merry confirms that every time she sees the ’17 Highlander.

And he was able to work full time: but there were a couple times, after we married, that he fell down the stairs (9 stairs!) because his legs just gave way. The thought that he may one day go right through the windows skirting the stair landing, and end up under the apple tree outside scared me: so, we eventually moved everything from the upstairs bedroom into the bedroom downstairs.

I breathed easier.

Both kids never forgave us for moving our bedroom downstairs (they were young, and their bedrooms remained upstairs; there were 3 bedrooms upstairs, and only 1 downstairs … they are still angry about that today). But, my main concern was Bob. I had to keep him safe, unbruised, and alive. The kids would eventually grow up and leave home: I never thought they’d be so embittered by something that seemed logical to Bob and I.

Bob & the kids/1981

Anyway …

Off that topic, and onto today’s topic :-D

I woke up to the sound of rain, falling soft and gentle.

Around 9 AM, the rain stopped – but the gray clouds lingered:

Gray skies and rain.

I drank a cup of coffee, and ate a bowl of creamed rice with milk and cinnamon: I noticed when walking to the kitchen sink that I could walk without excruciating burning pain.

Quickly I got busy with the turkey πŸ˜‰

I have typed the original recipe … but my pictures differ because I didn’t cook a whole turkey – and I’m not much of a follower: I tend to use recipes as a guide, and tweak things to suit me.

So, keep that in mind while reading the recipe and seeing the pictures.

I cooked a small turkey breast (that works best for a solo lobo widow with no man to help heft a large bird in a large roaster), and I mixed the spices with a bit of butter, and stuffed that mixture under the breast skin; I like it that way.

If you are cooking for a large family gathering, follow the original recipe.

ORANGE & SAGE ROASTED TURKEY and GRAVY

Prep: about 45 minutes

Roast: about 3¾ hours

Makes: 14 main-dish servings

1 fresh or frozen (thawed) 14-pound Turkey * 2 large oranges * ½ cup loosely packed fresh Sage leaves * 1 teaspoon Salt * ¾ teaspoons coarsely ground Black Pepper * 2 small Onions, peeled and cut into quarters * 2 cans (14- to 14 ½ ounces, each) or homemade Chicken Broth (3½ cups) * ¼ cup all-purpose Flour * Kumquats with leaves and fresh Sage for garnish

Preheat oven to 325-degrees.

Cooking the Turkey Breast this morning ...
Small roaster with steamer insert, to lift turkey off roaster bottom.
It's small ... but it's enough for 1; and there's a gravy pkt included: I’ll cook that later, when I put my freezer meals together later on ....

Remove giblets from turkey; set aside. Discard liver or sage for another use. Cut neck pieces into several large pieces.

With vegetable peeler, from 1 orange – remove 1 peel strip (4½” x ¾”); reserve peel for making gravy. Cut orange into quarters. From remaining orange, grate 2 teaspoons peel. Reserve 3 whole large sage leaves for making gravy; finely chop ¼ cup of remining sage. In cup, mix grated orange peel, chopped sage, salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper.

Place orange quarters, onions, and remaining whole sage leaves inside body cavity of turkey. Fasten neck skin to back with 1 or 2 skewers. With turkey breast side up, fold wings under back of turkey so they stay in place. If drumsticks are not held by band of skin or stuffing clamp – tie legs together with string.

Place turkey, breasts side up, on a small rack in a large roasting pan (17” x 11½”). Scatter giblets and neck pieces in pan around turkey. Rub turkey all over with chopped sage mixture. Insert meat thermometer into thickest part of thigh next to bone, being careful that pointed end of thermometer does not touch bone. Cover turkey with a loose tent of foil, letting thermometer poke through foil. Roast turkey about 3¾ hours.

To brown turkey, remove foil during last 1¼ hours of roasting time and baste with pan drippings occasionally if you like. Start checking for doneness during last hour of roasting. Turkey is done when thigh on meat thermometer reaches 175-degrees to 180-degrees; and breast temperature reaches 165-degrees (internal temperature of turkey will rise 5- to 10-degrees upon standing).

Seasoned butter under breast skin - skewered with toothpicks.
Roasted for 1 hour with lid on roaster.
Cover removed; breast skin browned for an additional 30 minutes.
YUMMY!

When turkey is done, place on a large platter; cover with foil to keep warm. Prepare gravy; remove rack from roasting pan. Strain pan drippings into 4-cup glass measure or medium bowl. Let drippings stand to allow fat to separate from meat juice.

It looks delicious ... and the kitchen smelled wonderful.

Place roasting pan over medium high heat and cook giblets and neck pieces until browned – about 2 minutes. Carefully add 1 can broth to hot roasting pan and heat to boiling; stirring until browned bits are loosened from bottom of pan: boil 3 minutes.

Spoon 2 tablespoons fat from drippings into 2-quart saucepan. Discard any remaining fat. Strain broth from roasting pan into glass measure with meat juice. Discard giblets and neck pieces. Add remaining can of broth and enough water to meat-juice mixture in cup to equal 4 cups total.

Stir flour into fat in saucepan; cook over medium heat about 1 minute or until mixture turns golden brown; whisking constantly. Add meat-juice mixture, ¼ teaspoon pepper – and reserved orange peel and sage leaves. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, or until gravy boils and thickens; stirring often. Discard orange peel and sage. Transfer to gravy boat. Makes about 4 cups gravy.

To serve, garnish platter. Pass gravy with turkey. Remove skin from turkey before eating if you like.

*What I did: I portioned the meat out for future freezer meals; and saved the bones and pan drippings, for homemade soup stock, which I will make next week sometime:

I saved the rib cage bones to make stock with ...
6 Main Course meal portions - 2 c cubed meat - 2 c shredded meat - gravy drippings - skin to use in the stock pot.

This pretty much took up the whole day; dishes washed around sunset.

When I moseyed back to the lvingroom and sat in Bob’s recliner, I caught sight of a colorful sunset unfolding.

It was the perfect ending to a blessed day; and a beautiful ushering in of the Sabbath Rest.

Shabbat Sunset tonight.

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