Stories by: Yinka Shokunbi
The season of Advent is here again and Christians around the world are preparing for the season of the birth of the Good Shephered, Jesus Christ.
In Christendom, Advent is a season observed as a time of waiting and preparing for the celebration of the Nativity, birth of Jesus, at Christmas. The term is an Anglicised version of the Latin word, adventus, meaning “coming”.
In orthodox churches around the world, therefore, by tomorrow, Christians are expected to usher in the Advent, which marks the end of a Christian calendar and begins another year, preparatory to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Families, after service, would gather at home to thank God for the end of one year and entering another, sharing colours and luxuriant meals; and often, the liturgy colours preparatory for Christmas are purple and blue and, by the third week, touch of red rose colour is added to complete the Christmas waiting.
In the spirit of the season, Turkey is usually a choice for thanksgiving.
Turkey Soup for thanksgiving:
Ingredients:
For the stock:
•Turkey carcass, leftover from carving a whole turkey
•Cold water
•1 medium to large onion, quartered or cut into thick wedges
•1 to 2 carrots, roughly chopped
•Several sprigs of fresh parsley
•Teaspoon of dried thyme
•1 bay leaf
•1 celery rib
•5 to 10 peppercorns
•Salt
•Pepper to taste
For the soup:
•1 to 1 1/2 cups each, chopped carrots, onion, and celery
•A few sprigs of fresh parsley, leaves chopped
•A couple cloves garlic, minced
•Seasonings
•2 cups or more of leftover chopped or shredded cooked turkey meat
•Salt and pepper to taste
•Egg noodles or rice (optional)
Method: Making Stock
•Remove all the usable turkey meat. Place the turkey carcass, neck leftover skin and bones from dinner into a large stock pot (at least 8 quart or 12 quart depending on the size of the turkey), and cover with cold water by an inch. Add thickly sliced onion, some chopped carrots, celery and celery tops, parsley, thyme, a bay leaf, and some peppercorns to the pot.
•Bring to a boil on high heat and then lower the heat to keep the stock to a bare simmer. Skim off any foamy crud that may float to the surface of the stock.
•Add salt and pepper to the pot, about 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper.
•Cook for at least four hours, partially uncovered; occasionally skimming off any foam that comes to the surface. After four hours of a low simmer, use tongs or a large slotted spoon to remove the bones and vegetables from the pot. Then strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer.
How to prepare Turkey Soup
•In a large soup pot, heat some butter or olive oil (or turkey fat rendered from the stock) on medium high heat. Add chopped carrots, onions, and celery in equal parts. Cook until the onions are softened, about 10 minutes. Add a couple cloves of garlic, chopped, and cook for a minute more, until the garlic is fragrant. Then add the stock to the pot. Add some parsley and seasoning, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, sage, thyme, marjoram, and/or a bouillon cube.
•Bring to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are just cooked. Add rice, noodles, or even leftover mashed potatoes (skip all of these if you are cooking low-carb). Take some of the remaining turkey meat you reserved earlier, shred it into bite sized pieces and add it to the soup. You may also want to add some chopped tomatoes, either fresh or canned. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sometimes a dash or two of Tabasco gives the soup a nice little kick.
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