Category: San Luis Obispo

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Turducken Basic Secrets

Turduckens are God's Gift to show us he loves us!

This is clearly not the final product. This is a turkey in which the basic skeletal structure has been removed, with the exceptions of legs and wings. It will be reassembled and made to look just like an ordinary cooked turkey but with a big difference!

First, a Turducken is much easier to season as we don’t have those pesky bones in the way, the stuffing keeps the white meat moist since it is in direct contact and the endless variations of other birds added to the filling: duck and chicken or goose and chicken are my favorites… each with its own dressings make it wonderful and unique!

I get asked this question a lot: “How do I start.” Well, you start with what I refer to as the ‘Turducken Shell!’

Happy Thanksgiving… and yes this is the start of this year’s Turducken!

Roger Freberg

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what is there to be thankful for?

be thnakful and change or world for the better!

Researchers have found that people are happier who do not watch T.V. I would add to that list one more item: newspapers.

In today’s local Tribune appeared a column by a curmudgeon columnist Lon Allan apparently reveling in his own cheapness. If that we’re enough, he looked on rather dispassionately towards his daughter who just lost both her home and her job. Apparently, he felt she deserved it. He came from that generation that had a lot, graduated high school in the 50’s, walked into good jobs and never, never had much stress into their lives until their children raised on ‘unconditional love’ and a parental neglect then came along to haunt them in the 60’s. I know so many of these folks who are more concerned about the price of gas on the Winnebago and the drop in their investments than their grand kid on drugs.

So what is there to be thankful for, Lon?  Here are a few thoughts on making your life and the lives of others better:

1) YOU CAN STILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE in your life and the lives of others for the better. It’s easy to believe that as one individual among millions that your voice will not be heard, but you can. And even if you don’t make a dent on the national level, you can make a giant positive change at home, if you work at it. Believe this and it will become so.
2) LOVE IS NOT BLIND, nor is it deft. Mean what you say, and say what you mean. Families that are open and honest with each other are happier and carry less baggage. It won’t prevent hard feelings, but then everyone knows where everyone stands. Life then can go on.

3) EVERYONE NEEDS A LEG UP. Sir Isaac Newton made this famous thought commonplace:  “If I can see further than anyone else, it is only because I am standing on the shoulders of giants.” Few people go very far without support and mentors. If you support and mentor someone, it can change your world and theirs. It’s not a handout that people really need, it’s a leg up.

4) NURTURING COURAGE in someone today is helping them overcome future obstacles tomorrow. Famous turn-of-the-century Psychologist William James addressed the philosophical question: does the bear make me afraid or am I afraid when I see a bear? Professor James said that we are either afraid or we are not, implying that it is our reaction or control of ourselves that makes all the difference. As Mark Twain once wrote,”Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear–not absence of fear.”

So, work for a positive influence and change in your life and the lives of those you love, help those you can and be thankful for the bounty and the miracles you have.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Roger Freberg

I look above to the picture from Evan Maloney’s documentary “Indoctrinate U.”  As for me, I am truly thankful that I am not that chubby anymore!

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it’s baking day

Mushroom Cookies a Scandinavian treat

In another life, one day a week was set aside as ‘baking day.’ My father talked about helping his grandmother make bread in giant kettles and the home filled with the wonderful smell of bread in all it’s many stages. Maybe, with the economy such as it is, we’ll all get back to baking and doing some of the things many let others do today.

One of our family traditions is making ‘Mushroom Cookies’ for Christmas. These cardamom enriched morsels are common throughout Scandinavia! Obviously we put out own twist on them! As a child I would always enjoy making desserts and cookies were one of the things I enjoyed making most. However, as our children grew, it became something that they would do and I would step back.

So, today, I set out to make some cookies with my own variations. First here is the basic recipe we use!

Mushroom cookies for Iraq!

Mushroom cookies are wonderful in that they have an unbelievably long shelf life. we gave some cookies to my mother and she found one left in a tin a year later and said it was the best she’d had! Part of the reason is that the many flavors do come out after the cookies sit around a while, so as tempting as it might be, let them sit around a while!

Speaking of fun things to make. Have you ever made your own potato chips? Karla loves them. I leave the peel on and use an automatic slicer to get them thin and before I fry them I soak them in water for a day or overnight in the refrigerator.

Karla's Homemade potato chips with the skins on!

So, cooking is fun…

Roger Freberg

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Making French Fries

Great Hamburgers require the Best Fries!

My daughter Karla loves potato fries, she loves to have some every day. Yes, she is a bit spoiled!

With all that practice, we have become quite adapt at making fries, saving money and having some fun!

raw fries
Slicing your potato in wonderful varieties adds some fun to the process: crinkle ( my favorite) traditional and curly.

Laura loves making curly fries with her apple peeler

Laura is seen above making her larger than average — but wonderfully delicious — curly fries on her apple peeler!

Food is always fun around our house!

Roger Freberg

yes, i love leaving the peel on!!!

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The Price of Food

the perfect Hamburger Roll!

Most people are fairly aware that although the cost of petroleum has gone down, the cost of food seems to set its own course over the past few years.

Personally, I am hoping that this will trigger folks into thinking about cooking and baking as a way to not only have a healthier diet, but to enjoy the ancient process of food preparation!

As most Americans, we love the hamburger which is an art form all its own! The key is having the best ingredients, including the best Hamburger buns — which I am going to tell you that you can make yourself! I love ‘Onion Rolls’ and making them is a real treat!

Here’s our recipe and how we do it!

Now for barbecuing the hamburger meat, searing the onions working on a good sauce and putting it all together with other great veggies!!

Enjoy!

which package costs more? One costs 13 dollars and the other over $ 16

By the way, here is a small plug for a site that can help you control the cost of spices. Cardamom is a spice I use in cookies, pies and a lot more, but it is one of the more expensive. In the picture below, the little Cardamom package costs $16 and the big one $13 approximately.  Buy Smart!

Here’s where I buy some of my hard to get and expensive spices!

Roger Freberg