Ready for summer

Christmas in Spain

One of the biggest concerns we had coming to Spain was what would we eat for Christmas Dinner. OK, so that doesn't sound like a pressing concern to others. What about the language, traffic, entertainment, cost-of-living, etc. people may ask. But we are seasoned travelers and we know that the most important thing is keeping traditions, while learning new customs.
So, the first week of December, Michele started hunting for the fixings to make Christmas Dinner the 'right' way.
She found a little supermarket in Santo Domingo, near where we live, where you could order a turkey. Yes, a full turkey. And when she got it it was full: full of gizzards, innards, and all sorts of other stuff I had to clean out.
As luck would have it, El Corte Ingles, a large, modern department store with a large grocery store connected to it (Hipercor) has an international section and we were also able to get cranberry sauce, pie mix and stuffing.

So here we are basting the turkey and getting ready for our first Christmas in Spain.
For new years we had lamb chops, a very easy thing to find in Spain.

If you're interested here's my turkey secrets:

• 1 (15-20 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed or bigger if you want leftovers
  
• Liquid mixture of 4 cups water, 3 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon each of garlic, red pepper and ginger
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Dry mixture of 3 tablespoons of salt, 1 tablespoon of red pepper, 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon of garlic powder, half teaspoon of ginger
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 large red apple, any variety
  
• 4 carrots, peeled sliced length wise
  
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon of rosemary
• 1 teaspoon of oregano
  
• 1 cup Chianza or Riojo - or any other Spanish red wine
  

1. Get yourself a turkey any size will do, but the bigger the better so you have lots of left overs! Make sure to defrost in the refrigerator overnight before cooking.
2. Clean out the turkey and wash the insides well with the liquid mixture. For an extra touch of flavor, leave the turkey to sit in the liquid mixture for 3 hours before cooking.
2a. Have a sip of red wine.
3. Rinse the brine from the turkey and dry off the turkey by dabbing with paper towel and letting sit for a few minutes.
3a. Did you like the wine? Well, have another sip. Red wine tastes better after it has reached room temperature and you have had a few sips.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
5. Take a sharp knife and poke about 10 tiny pokes in the turkey at different points, including the drumsticks and wings. Inside each tiny hole insert a thin slice of fresh garlic.
5a. I think it is time to go back to the wine. Another sip will do nicely.
6. Rub 1 tablespoon of butter over the entire turkey.
7. Rub the dry mixture onto the turkey.
7a. Don't forget the wine, but don't get carried away.
8. Stuff the turkey with the apple, onion, celery, carrot, bay leaf and thyme. Heck throw some rosemary in for good measure. And oregano if you like it.
8a. That wine is getting pretty tasty isn't it
9. Put the turkey in the oven.
9a. While the turkey is in the oven you have enough time to finish your glass wine and get the rest of the meal together. Or even better, since you did the turkey, someone else can do the vegetables and desserts and you can sit down, finish the bottle of wine and have a nap. You deserve it because that turkey is going to taste delicious.
10. The turkey should cook uncovered for about 3 hours. After about 3 hours, cover the turkey with tinfoil or a roasting pan cover and cook for another 45 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). I like to then uncover the turkey and turn on the broiler part of the oven and get the skin nice and crispy. You have to be careful though not to dry out the turkey. SO make sure to baste it every 30minutes or so after the first 2 hours. 10a. I think you should leave the wine alone for a little bit and have a glass of sparkling water. You don't want to pass out while serving the meal
11. Let the turkey sit for about 30 minutes before carving. It makes it easier to slice.
11a. If someone offers to pour you another glass of wine with dinner, make it white. It goes better with turkey. But red will suffice.

First blog

I have a lot to catch up with.

We have been in Spain for nearly 3 years and I am just now starting to put up these pictures.
We have also traveled through the US and Canada while living in Europe, so there will be pictures of those trips as well.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so I´ll mostly let the pictures speak for themselves.

I hope you can sense some of the wonder that we have experienced being so blessed as to have these years of travel and learning about God´s wonderful world that He has given us to explore.

Enjoy.

Me and Michele somewhere in the Bahamas.
Johnny Canoe's I be tinkin.