Sangria Chicken, Duck or Turkey

This will be in Becky Holm's Douglas County News on Wednesday:

Sangria Chicken/Duck/Turkey

This dish was inspired by both my love of chutney and my laziness. I wanted the flavor, but neither the sugar in premade chutneys nor the work of making my own. When I had access to inexpensive duck, I used to make this dish regularly. It is just as delicious with chicken or turkey, although if you have any picky children, they might wonder why the meat is fuschia!

Common to all the variations is the internal stuffing for the bird: one whole orange and some chopped up onions. Also the bird needs to be cooked very slowly at 250 degrees and basted regularly to achieve maximum flavor. Cook in a covered, deep pyrex, stainless or glass (not aluminum!) pan with any of the following:

Version #1: 2 cups inexpensive red wine, along the lines of "Three Buck Chuck", juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/2 lime, 1/2 orange and the contents of one small can of pinapple.
Version #2: 2 cups rose', rosehips, chopped apples, 1/2 bag frozen blackberries.
Version #3: add hot sauce and garlic to the first recipe.
Version #4: add sliced ginger to the second recipe.

Once the bird is falling apart tender, remove the lid, turn up the heat and place under the broiler, watching closely, to brown and crisp the skin without burning it. Remove and cut up the orange used for stuffing, placing sections on each person's plate. Enjoy!

Avgolemono (chicken/lemon soup), yogurt salad dressing

Instead of chicken noodle soup, I crave Avgolemono when I am sick.  The traditional way to make it is to beat egg whites into stiff peaks and fold it in, but the way I make it is still frothy and a lot faster. 

I much prefer it made with a whole chicken and a lot of onions and other vegetables cooked down into stock, then the chicken removed for other meals. 

So you can adjust up or down for the size of your family, the formula is 2 eggs, 1/2 c. cooked brown rice and one lemon for 2 c. of stock.

Cook 1 chopped up onion, 2 tsp. basil, 1 tsp. salt and 2 cloves garlic in 4 c. chicken stock until onion has just a little crunch left to it.  Add 1 c. brown rice.  Turn heat to lowest setting. 

Blend 4 eggs and juice of 2 lemons until frothy.  Add hot soup a little at a time until egg mixture is hot, blending between additions.  Pour egg mixture into soup slowly, stirring.  Let cook an additional 5 minutes, stirring often.

If I weren't sick, I'd serve this with a huge crunchy salad with yogurt dressing and a hunk of bread. 

Here's my yogurt dressing recipe: 
1 c. whole milk yogurt
pinch of salt
1 tsp. dried dill leaves
1/4 tsp garlic
1 tbsp. olive oil
lemon juice to taste

Yummy and cheap food for your joints

I also sent this in to Douglas County News, a local weekly that features local politics. The owner, Becky Holm, and I believe that government should respect the privacy and property rights of individuals. We also share a delight in good food that happens to be cheap.

Gumbo is Good for Joint Health by Larisa Sparrowhawk
Hyaluronic Acid lubricates skin, eyes and joints. It costs $35 or more for a ½ ounce bottle, but you can get it inexpensively in your diet. HLA is released by long slow cooking of cartilage and bone. Before you go to bed (so you don’t heat up the house), place some rooster combs and feet that have been scalded and peeled of their skin in a pot. Or if you mysteriously can neither find a source nor stomach these goodies, you can substitute chicken necks and backs, which are almost as good. Add water, onion, celery and garlic and cook at 225 degrees or on low in a crock pot. In the morning strain the broth and discard the bones (and/or toenails!) and mushy vegetables. Add brown rice to the broth and cook until almost done. Add chopped green bell peppers, onions, dried tomatoes (or meaty fresh ones), celery and okra if you desire. Season with cayenne, garlic, rosemary, celery seed and basil, all of which are anti-inflammatory herbs. Salt to taste. The basic recipe will feed a family of four well for two meals for less than $6.00. You can dress this recipe up with a pound of good quality hot sausage, ham or tiny shrimp. Alternatively, you can use the same chicken broth and use it with turmeric and ginger (also anti-inflammatory herbs) as a base for curry.
Larisa Sparrowhawk is owner of Localvore Fresh Oregon Foods