Of Mice, Birds and Vacations. Stuffed Turkey Breast.

Amazing, Matt came to me with a flyer from Staples yesterday showing they had a cordless mouse on special for less than $30. This is the man who is generally anti computers!!! So we hi-tailed it to Staples and got one. I didn't know how they worked and discover they come with a USB stick. This is for my laptop you understand. I was playing with it a lot once I had it installed. Great and easy to use. It is a Logitech Laser Cordless Mouse and was reduced considerably. Mind you, I am still not quite sure how the signal gets from the mouse to the laptop - there aren't any little lights that would pick up a signal. Well, back to our trip. We are getting to the end of it now. On the Thursday I phoned a friend we hadn't seen and this time got hold of him. I had tried before. We got there in the afternoon and had a beer with him. He is looking good which considering he broke his neck not so long ago, is quite surprising to me. I had always assumed paraplegia followed but apart from being a little stiff around the neck and shoulders, he moves well. Having retired he is running a catering business and selling a line of rubs and marinades under the name of Hawgs of Havelock, Smokey's Hawg Bar-B-Que. He has a pig cooker and I imagine that's part of his catering service to go round barbecuing pigs. He also takes part in Chilli cook offs all over the place. He studied at a culinary institute for two years and I know he took cooking courses when he was stationed in Japan. He showed us his chef's jacket of which he is very proud. He also has a toy poodle named Buster and another dog, Mandy. Cute dogs, but for a man who has always had pit bulls, quite a change. When we left, he gave us a couple of the dry rubs and a bottle of the marinade which is the hottest (spiciest) thing I have ever tasted. At that heat it will last us for years. Stopped off to return the umbrellas which we never did use. Could have used them today, but we are too busy. It is a very hot day though. That evening we had chicken for supper and used Smokey's dry rub. It was very good. Next day, September 25th marked our 37th wedding anniversary. We exchanged cards. Matt actually gave me my birthday card as he had given me the wrong card the other day. It occurred to me that I hadn't written anything about the birds round here, unlike sinlaw Mike. We have a Mockingbird who lives around the cottage somewhere and sings his heart out every day. Some of them can sing for an hour or more without ever repeating themselves (they copy the songs of other birds) and some have even been heard repeating human sounds. They are wonderful to listen to and we have been charmed by the one stationed in this area. Then, of course, we have the brown Pelicans. You see flocks of them every time you are near any water. They are pretty abundant and spend a lot of time fishing although you do see them perching on poles in the Sound for hours on end. I am not sure if they migrate, it doesn't get that cold here in the winter, but maybe they prefer Florida. I prefer Florida in the winter too, come to that LOL. There are also egrets and blue herons which I have seen in the last two weeks although not in abundance. If you go to certain areas round here you can see the egrets roosting and turning the island bushes into snow balls because there are so many of them. They are very pretty birds but became scarce once upon a time because ladies liked their feathers to decorate their hats. Carolina has always had lots of birds to watch, but we haven't seen that many on this trip. There is a bird bath in the back yard here and we have seen a blue jay making use of it, but we haven't seen some of the more spectacular birds like Painted or Indigo Buntings - the latter look blue but apparently aren't, something to do with light refraction. We used to see them a lot in our back yard when we lived here. I never saw a Painted Bunting but Matt did several times when he was on the water, he used to see flocks of Ibis too which I only saw once. Mustn't forget the Ospreys (Sea Eagles) which we have seen several of lately, wonderful to watch diving for fish or lazily riding the thermals. They are distinctive because of the white under their wings. We spent most of the morning doing laundry as we leave tomorrow, then later went and bought a few more items at the grocery store. We also went to the ABC to get a couple of small bottles for our trip (drink in the hotel). I lived here for 12 years and didn't know they don't have what we call Mickey's in Canada. 375 ml. Here you can buy half pints which are somewhat smaller. I couldn't get a small scotch for me so ended up buying airline sized bottles. Did a few goodbyes, one to our friend who works at KMart, had said goodbye to his wife yesterday. Then bought some flowers and took them with the DVD of Mama Mia back to our friends. Wanted to say thanks for all they had done for us. Be damned if she didn't give me Celtic Thunder for an Anniversary present. They are such a generous couple. Went back to the cottage and stuffed ourselves with leftovers for supper still going to leave a few things behind, I hope the cleaners will make use of them. Matt packed, he is better at that than I am. We loaded the car with everything except the last minute things. Left room for the shrimp too of course. Just the trip home to accomplish. This weekend is Thanksgiving in Canada when many people will be cooking turkey for dinner with all the trimmings including pumpkin pie (not for me, sorry) however, an email from Smuckers this morning detailed the following recipe for a different way of serving turkey. Orange, Goat Cheese and Wild Mushroom Stuffed Turkey Breast Makes: about 4 servings Freezing: not recommended Ingredients: 1 onion, thinly sliced 1 cup (250 mL) mushrooms (cremini, shiitake, portobello) , thinly sliced 1 tsp (5 mL) butter 1 1-1 1/2 lb (450 g-680 g) boneless turkey breast, pounded thin 2 tbsp (30 mL) goat cheese, softened 1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh rosemary 2 tbsp (30 mL) Smucker’s® Pure Orange Marmalade Salt and pepper to taste Glaze: 1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh rosemary 3 tbsp (45 mL) Smucker’s® Pure Orange Marmalade 1 tsp (5 mL) Dijon mustard Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and cover with thinly sliced onion. Set aside. Meanwhile, cook mushrooms in butter in medium sized skillet until wilted and liquid evaporates. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool. 2. Place turkey breast skin side down on prepared baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Combine cooked mushrooms, goat cheese, rosemary and marmalade. Spread on turkey breast. Roll jelly roll and tie with kitchen twine or use metal skewers to secure filling. Turn so that it is seam side down. Combine glaze ingredients and brush over turkey breast. 3. Cook in preheated oven 60-65 minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C). Remove from oven, cover with foil and let sit for 10 minutes before slicing. Tips: 1. Please show some slices, sliced on diagonal as well as remaining whole turkey breast. Have a great day.