Soup Season

Baked Turkey Meatballs with a side of a Cozy Friday Night

1 Comment October 16, 2020 Laurel

It’s another chilled, rainy day in Ottawa. I have approximately 138,462 LinkedIn tabs open — outlining the qualifications, criteria, and requirements of next steps in organisations and businesses across Toronto. There are some days when finding the next job feels like a treasure hunt — steeped in possibility and excitement. There are other days, namely today, that it all feels a little much and the thought of finally closing my computer for the day and being tucked in with dinner and my book is the light at the end of the Tabs Open Tunnel.

To be clear from the start: I am not a chef, home cook, or food blogger. To me, food is best described in a line from the movie Autumn in New York: it is “the only beautiful thing that truly nourishes.” I love being in the kitchen, music on in the background, a few recipes open to be used as guidelines — making something to enjoy with my sister or friends.

It could be because my dad had a family rule growing up that every dinner was to be eaten together at the kitchen table — no matter what. Or that every Sunday evening growing up we had our cousins over for a roast — beef, turkey, chicken, pork — later sitting around the fireplace sharing stories from our week. Or it could just be because I loved watching my dad move through the kitchen — the finale a chorus of family conversation over the clattering of cutlery as we all dug-in to his home cooked meal. Whatever the reason, to me, a meal shared with friends and family is the picture of love.

This is one of the things Megs and I first bonded over — our love of food and cooking. Even today, our text conversations are filled with pictures of what we’ve cooked and links to recipes we want to one day try. One of those recent pictures are these Baked Turkey Meatballs.

In the spirit of not being anything official when it comes to food, I have no idea how to make a recipe or how to share one. I don’t really use proper measurements, measuring cups are more just holders of ingredients to me. But I have tried to give a general idea of what went into these meatballs below, and I promise to start actually using those pesky fraction-covered utensils in the future.

1 package of ground turkey
1 – 1 ½ cups of instant or minute oats
1 egg
1 sweet onion
Green onion to taste
Fresh herbs (I used thyme, basil, and oregano from our garden)
3 cloves of garlic
1 can of stewed tomatoes
¼ cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes
¼ – ½ tablespoon of nutmeg (to your preference – start with less and taste)
10-12 baby bocconcini
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350. In a bowl, mix together the meat, oats (I used oats instead of breadcrumbs, giving the meatballs a little more moisture and sweetness), ½ of sweet onion chopped, 1 egg, green onions (I used two stalks), 2 cloves of garlic minced, and a mixture of your fresh herbs to taste.

I used my hands to combine the meat mixture together. If the mixture is too wet (not able to hold the shape as you roll into a ball), add a little more of the oats.

Then in a non-stick pan heat some olive oil until shimmering, and add just a little bit of the meat mixture. Cook until done through. And taste! I always like to make a little tester to see if I need to add anything — more herbs, a little salt — before I make the full batch of anything.

If you’re happy with the taste after you’ve tried your little tester, roll the meat mixture into balls and add to the hot non-stick pan. Turn the meatballs with tongs until browned on every side.

Meanwhile, in an oven-safe frying pan, heat oil, the remaining ½ of the onion chopped, and garlic until the onion is translucent, about 2 minutes. Add sliced sundried tomatoes, remaining herbs, and nutmeg, cooking until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add the can of stewed tomatoes and bring to a slow simmer, 3-4 minutes. Taste the sauce. Add salt, pepper, more herbs, or nutmeg until it’s to your liking.

By now the meatballs should be browned. Using the tongs, move the meatballs one by one — covering with sauce — into the pan with your pasta sauce. Repeat this until all meatballs are covered in sauce and ready to bake. Slice the baby bocconcini in half and add to the sauce around the meatballs. This will just melt while cooking and add some melted cheese deliciousness to your dish.

Cover the meatballs and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the sauce has thickened, cheese is melted, and meatballs are cooked through. Remove the cover and broil on high for 3-5 minutes or until the cheese is slightly browned and bubbling. Remove from the oven and garnish with oregano.

We ate our meatballs with some plain pasta tossed with butter and sauteed garlic. Let me know if you try this and what your thoughts are!

Off to take Luna for a walk!

Happy Friday.

Talk soon,

Scribbles Pt. Two

Roles (Three).

Leave a comment October 8, 2020 Laurel

She had a good idea — a matchmaking-style initiative that paired women entrepreneurs with other industry leaders, creating a networking web of ideas and inspiration. But it never quite got off the ground. For months, when friends asked how she was (really meaning ‘what are you up to’) she struggled with how to respond — trying on adjectives and job titles like dresses for a last minute work event. She tugged at the zippers, shrugged at her reflection, turned to view the dress from every angle only to find it didn’t ‘fit’ in any view.

Entrepreneur didn’t fit without a business. Wife alone didn’t suit her feminist foundation. “Was this” didn’t hold true anymore. And so she packed up the idea, and sent out her resume until something fit. When friends asked how she was (still meaning ‘what do you do’), she could finally once again respond with the comfort and confidence of a trusty black dress.

I recently finished Glennon Doyle’s Untamed (I promise to start my book review/book shelf again and would still love to hear your suggestions). Like literally millions of other people around the world, I dog-eared, underlined, and starred my way from a-ha moment to a-ha moment. In my current state of funemployed, one passage really struck me:

“Ask a woman who she is, and she’ll tell you who she loves, who she serves, and what she does. I am a mother, a wife, a sister, a friend, a career woman. The fact that we define ourselves by our roles is what keeps the world spinning. It’s also what makes us untethered and afraid. If a woman defines herself as a wife, what happens if her partner leaves? If a woman defines herself as a mother, what happens when the kids leave for college? If a woman defines herself as a career woman, what happens when the company folds? Who we are is perpetually being taken from us, so we live in fear instead of peace. We cling too tightly, close our eyes to what we need to look at hard, avoid questions that need to be asked, and in a million ways insist to our friends, partners, and children that the purpose of their existence is to define us. We build sandcastles and then try to live inside them, fearing the inevitable tide. Answering the question “Who do I love?” is not enough. We must live lives of our own. To live a life of her own, each woman must also answer: What do I love? What makes me come alive? What is beauty to me, and when do I take the time to fill up with it? Who is the soul beneath all of these roles? Each woman must answer these questions now, before the tide comes. Sandcastles are beautiful, but we cannot live inside them. Because the tide rises. That’s what the tide does. We must remember: I am the builder, not the castle. I am separate and whole, over here, eyes on the horizon, sun on my shoulders, welcoming the tide. Building, rebuilding. Playfully. Lightly. Never changing. Always changing.”

I went from a competitive undergraduate degree in Ottawa where so many of us defined ourselves based on what happened in our mock newsrooms, to a professional master’s degree in NYC — a city where everyone is constantly working to leave their mark while simultaneously trying to find what their mark is to begin with.

I fought for internship positions that gave me a leg up (whatever ‘up’ meant) and positions that helped me get a visa while also carving a clear path to the next ‘success’. I moved back to Canada and worked for nearly three years in a field that absorbs every part of your time and identity.

Now, without a title to try on, nothing seems to fit quite right when I try to respond to the ‘how are yous/what are you up tos?’.

I want to be clear: I would not change a single part of my path.

I am someone who enjoys to work and I find it incredibly difficult to sit still. I love when my days are full and my plate doesn’t have room for another spoonful of activity. I am taking time to find my next position because I want it to be in a place where I feel like I am building bold ideas and moving the needle on issues I care about: sustainable living, mental wellness, women’s economic empowerment, girls’ confidence and access to education.

I do not want to punch in and punch out, or I will check out. That is not to say the traditional 9-5 doesn’t appeal to/work for so many people (hello Megs explaining just how much she loves the stability of her job so she can create and write and love her life outside of the professional hours) — I am just not one of those people. Not better or worse. Not more hard working or less. Not more ambitious or not. Simply different. But after years of no harmony — no time for the things I love and only defining myself by the title I held — I am working to answer Glennon’s questions.

What do I love? What makes me come alive? What is beauty to me, and when do I take the time to fill up with it? Who is the soul beneath all of these roles?

I love holiday dinners with my family, the first snow of the season, trying to read a book with M (which always just ends in us talking), movie nights with my sister, being on a boat in the middle of a lake. I am alive when my brain is confused — when I read something new or hear someone explain something in a different way. I am alive when dancing around the kitchen making dinner. I am alive when hiking, eating an enormous brunch, or getting tucked in with hot cocoa on Sunday night. All of these things are beautiful to me, and I am working on carving out the time to fill myself and the people around me with this love.

I love my roles: sister, daughter, friend, partner, teammate, cousin, niece, grandkid. As for the soul, I am still introducing myself to her, learning more about her every day. I know I am someone who cares, someone who believes in kindness and goodness. I am someone who finds it a lot easier to have someone I love explain my soul beneath — often getting uncomfy when asked to list or explain attributes. I get it wrong, I try again, I let people down, and I disappoint myself. I also try really hard.

As I move through this title-less time, I am working to find comfort in simply answering the question: “I am well. I was tired, but I am resetting. I am happy, confused, excited, and scared. I am.”

We just did groceries yesterday, so I am off to make a breakfast bagel with arugula and turkey (if I call it a breakfast bagel, that makes a turkey sandwich breaky food, right?!)

Talk soon,