I am still trashed by the end of a day, but I am beginning to not feel the absolute need to sleep in the middle of the afternoon. This is surprising since Chet is not sleeping well at night. It is just a testimony to my body healing. In two bursts of energy, I accomplished two tasks that were on my “someday” list.

1) I roasted a turkey. Fresh and Easy had a holiday deal where you could get a free turkey if you purchased $30 in groceries. It was really a gift to the community. I was thrilled by this as money has been tight. It was also a challenge. I have never cooked a turkey before. I know. Shocking. But my mother or my brother (yes, brother!) usually make the turkey and I do sides. Since I wasn’t making Thanksgiving dinner, I put that bad boy in the freezer and saved it. This week, I defrosted it, prepped it and roasted it! We had several meals out of it and I made chicken–well, turkey–stock, too. I use the recipe from this great site. (I am not 100% yet, clearly, because I didn’t take a picture for you! The skin was crispy and the meat tender. I was so proud!

2) I made a loaf of bread. When I was little my dad’s parents had already passed away. But I did have two great-grandmothers. One was a true Dutch farm wife. They had a huge farm in Minnesota where she worked hard, cooked from scratch (with lard), fed farm hands,cared for my dad and his siblings and on and on. When she came to visit, it was precious time of nurturing my heart and my belly. She would bake loaves of bread I could smell before I even reached the front door coming home from school. Even 20 years after her passing, I still wish I had had time with her in the kitchen. I always wanted to learn to bake bread from her. I was thrilled to find this recipe! It was perfect for a first timer! With only 4 ingredients, too, it is free from sugars and preservatives. I pulled it from the oven and quickly the aroma pulled Sean in from the living room. He began to tell memories of growing up in Argentina and buying freshly baked bread from little shops or homes all the time. He could hardly wait for it to cool before loading it with butter and honey. A piece of both our childhoods and a tradition I cannot wait to pass on to our girls. I was also thrilled to finally find a practical use for my La Creuset french oven. I love it. However, it is actually too small to use to cook for my family and too heavy for quick things like pastas.