Author #186: The Cat Man of Aleppo in part by Irene Latham and Karim Shamsi-Basha

 

The Cat Man of Aleppo by Irene Latham and Karim Shamsi-Basha with illustrations by Yuko Shimzu is a picture book about Mohammad Alee Aljaleel who became an ambulance driver to help people when war broke out in Syria.  He realized that many people had to leave their pets and he started to ask for scraps from local butchers to feed all the cats that could not be with their families. From scraps there came a cat sanctuary, playground for children, and help for other animals. There is an interview with Alee from Dec. 9, 2020 from TRT-a Turkish Public Broadcast service. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8yBAZWWUkM&t=136s

New Year's Day Meal

Alton Brown has a great recipe for turkey that's been in a brine solution overnight prior to roasting. Find the recipe at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html We're glad that we can purchase (and we did!) the peppercorns, whole allspice, and cinnamon sticks at our local Rancho Market which just opened a few weeks ago in a brand new bigger location. We were really happy with how beautiful the turkey looked after a trip in a 500 degree oven for a 1/2 hour (that was later reduced to 350 for the duration of the journey of an additional couple of hours.) Such a Norman Rockwell golden brown! And, just as promised, the turkey was moist, tender and flavorful thanks to the brine mixture from before baking and the red apples, onion and cinnamon stick that roasted in the turkey.


We also made a batch of stuffing. The next day we fixed some baked yams with brown sugar and mini-marshmallows, toasting them under the broiler for a few minutes and served them with the turkey and stuffing leftovers. Perhaps we've stumbled upon a new tradition for the new year! It all depends on if we follow through with the idea next year and the next and the next...

Feed 1 Giant a giant breakfast sandwich

Mmmmm..... this was way better than anything on a fast food breakfast menu. We recently enjoyed this unusual dinner item and found it warmed up to delicious leftovers the next morning. I love food that that's good the first time and good as leftovers.













Breakfast Sandwich for a Giant

1 lb. round loaf French bread
4 to 6 ounces of thinly sliced deli ham and/or turkey
5 to 7 eggs, scrambled with salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese or cheese of your choice
1/2 red, orange or yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium tomato, sliced





1-Cut a thin slice from the top of the French bread and reserve. Hollow out the bread to create a shell of about 1/2". (Use scooped out bread for something else or for the birds.)

2- Layer 1/3 of meat on bottom, then top with slices of pepper and half the cheese.

3-Top with scrambled eggs, then tomato slices, and next the remaining cheese and end with the last 2/3 of the meat, pressing down on layers if necessary to make them fit.

4- Replace bread lid and wrap loaf in aluminium foil. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until cheese is melted and loaf is heated through.

5-Slice into 6-8 wedges to serve for humans or just wrap whole sandwich in paper towels to serve a Giant.