Photo of the Day, November 25, 2005

Parliament at Night from the London Eye


This is a view of Parliament from the 32-story high London Eye, the world's largest ferris wheel. The London Eye takes about an hour to make one revolution. The ride is part of British Airways and you get get a security inspection before you enter the transparent capsules where you get a spectacular view of London. During my ride on the London Eye, we suddenly started going backwards which meant that someone got on the giant wheel and then panicked so the operators had to back the wheel up so the frightened person could get off.

Post Thanksgiving Turkey Soup (PTTS)

If you want to use up some of your Thanksgiving leftovers, try this recipe for Post-Thanksgiving Turkey Soup (PTTS).

1. Chop up about 3 cups of leftover turkey into a medium dice. If you are in a hurry, you can just tear the meat into bite-size pieces with your hands.
2. Chop 1-2 carrots into bite-size pieces.
3. Finely chop 1 onion.
4. Dice one medium potato or 5-6 red fingerling potatoes (I used red fingerling potatoes in my soup).
5. Roughly chop about one cup of button (or more exotic) mushrooms.
5. Add about 4-6 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of water to a crock pot or large pot. If you have a turkey carcass, you could create some turkey stock by simmering the carcass for 3-4 hours in a gallon or so of water (don't let it boil) with some roughly chopped onion, celery, carrots, and garlic (3 cloves), about 10 black peppercorns, and some herbs (I used some sage leaves and fresh thyme). There are more complex stock formulas, but this mixture worked very well.
6. Turn the crock pot on high or your stove to medium low and add the chopped/diced vegetables and the chopped turkey.
7. Add about 1 cup of wild rice to the turkey/vegetable mixture.
8. To liven the flavor up, I added two turkey necks that I didn't use the night before and two wing bones to the mixture.
8. Heat the soup mixture on high (if you are using a crockpot) for about 3-4 hours or simmer for 1-2 hours if you are using the burner on a range.

Bacon Fennel shallot Omelet

A few days ago I had a little leftover fennel, some shallots, and a little leftover bacon so used these items to make a very tasty omelet. The rough recipe is:

1. Create an egg mixture for the omelet. I used one organic egg and about 1 cup of Egg Beaters and a few tablespoons of Half and Half. I add a bit of salt and freshly ground pepper to the egg mixture. I go light on the salt and moderate on the pepper.
2. Finely chop a small piece of trimmed fennel bulb and one small shallot. Add some extra virgin olive oil to a small pan. Saute the fennel and shallot under medium low heat until it is soft, but not brown.
3. Cut the bacon into a small pieces about 1/2 inch wide by 3/4 inch long. Cook the bacon until it is nicely crisp in a small pan. When done, drain the grease and dab the bacon with a paper towel.
4. Heat an omelet pan using medium high heat. Coat the pan liberally with unsalted butter. Add the bacon and shallots and onion.
5. Pour in the egg mixture. Let the omelet cook for 30 seconds without doing anything. Then take a wooden spoon and and push the egg in the middle outward so the egg that is still liquid can fill in the newly open area.
6. When the omelet is done, fold it in half by holding up one side of the pan and flipping the omelot onto your plate.
7. Garnish the omelet with some of the fronds from the fennel. I put some of the fronds on the top of the omelet and eat them right with the egg, but you could also use them as pure decoration.