Sharing Kindness with Turkey Pot Pie

As I worked in my kitchen tonight, the words of many unpublished posts clambered in my head. Many times I have thought of this blog- and then, with the chaotic reality of life, sighed and said “another season”. Since I posted last, the desire of my heart has been granted to me: my precious son. He came early, bursting into the world just six hours after that first twinge. I spent all but an hour of my labor at home, putting my daughters to bed and laughing (in between body-splitting contractions) with neighbors. My precious husband spent his day building a duck habitat, hurrying to get the quacking, paddling ducklings out of the brooder in the upstairs dormer, which is above our bedroom and well within earshot of the nursery.

Sweet little Stomp is now six months old. He has a ready smile and an adventurous way. Giggle and Wiggle love him, and marvel like little old ladies at how quickly the months have flown, and comment that “their” baby is both huge and adorable. And, as usual- they are quite right!

And now, armed with caffeine and chocolate and bolstered by the encouraging and surprising words from a friend, I return to you, Gentle Reader. I hope you remember me.

Tonight the recipe I will share with you has no accompanying pictures. There are two primary reasons for this: First, my kitchen is too dark- the sun went down well before I started cooking, and there are not many lights in here anyhow. This house is a stack of ancient and new, and I like that…. it’s a work in progress, flawed but loved. Second- this meal is all about feeling completely seen and being valued anyway… The kind of warmth brought by an unexpected letter….undeserved kindness….hugs that you don’t want to step away from. I can’t figure out how to take a photo of the way that makes a person feel, good lighting or not. I’m not really much of a food photographer anyway. You probably knew that already.

That encouraging friend I mentioned earlier is the reason for this post in every way. I met her shortly after Wiggle was born. In my seemingly eternal state of sleep deprivation, despair and frustration, she was kind. I wasn’t particularly thoughtful, or worthy, or even polite- but her kind demeanor never wavered. Later, I moved to the same rural area as she and we reconnected, and again- she was kind. She brought me food after Stomp was born, a generous and nourishing feast for the body and soul. Kim, I will miss you when you move away this week. Thank you for encouraging me.

Isn’t that what we all want? We want someone to connect with us, to meet us where we are. We want to be loved even at our worst- especially at our worst! A friend connected with my soul around the same time frame as I described above (Wiggle has brought me to my knees, literally and figuratively): In response to my desperate tears, she said “You are normal. I have felt like that too.” What a gift she gave me! I will never forget that moment of relief.

I wish I could say that these defining moments of kindness have changed my life, that I look for ways to connect with others. But no- I am still the same selfish, hard driving sinner as I have ever been. But I can reach for hope. I can reach for God’s hand. Every day is a new opportunity to act in and with kindness.

This meal can be cooked over a weekend. It won’t take too long. It isn’t overly expensive, either. But it will feed a family of four at least eight times. Consider sharing it once with someone you love, and once with someone you don’t know well. The rest can be frozen for a harried day (yours or even your neighbor’s). This makes a GREAT on-hand meal and will encourage just about anyone.

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Turkey Pot Pie Base: Loosely adapted from The New Best Recipe

• 1 12-17 lb turkey.

Cook this in your oven or a smoker one morning while you do other things around the house. Once it cools, remove the meat from the bones. Chop the meat into bite sized pieces and refrigerate until ready to add to the pot pie base. Note- this is a great use of your leftover thanksgiving turkey! I used about 5 1/2 lbs of cooked, cut up meat for this recipe, but feel free to adjust up or down if needed.

• 8 cups of easy homemade stock or storebought chicken broth

Put the turkey bones and any cooked or raw undesirable meat (such as the neck) in your slow cooker, fill with water and a few tablespoons of vinegar. Let this simmer all day or overnight, then strain discard the solids. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

• 2 cups chopped onion
• 4 cups chopped celery
• 12 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 lbs mushrooms, cut up

Saute the vegetables, in batches, in a large pan until just tender. I use coconut oil, but butter or vegetable oil would work well too. Note that all the vegetables can be cut up and stored together in the refrigerator until ready to cook, or you can cook the vegetables and store them in the fridge after cooking. Whatever works for your schedule is fine.

• 16 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups unbleached flour
• 6 cups milk (I use whole)
• 1- 2 tablespoons dried thyme

Melt the butter in a large pot, then add the flour. Be careful not to burn it- use your whisk to stir the butter and flour together fully. Add the broth/stock, milk and thyme. Bring to a simmer and continue to simmer until the mixture thickens. Be sure to stir! Season with salt and pepper.

Get out your biggest bowl, or possibly another large pot, and pour the mixture over the meat and vegetables. Add:

• 3 cups frozen peas (I have also used a bag of frozen kale or a bag of frozen broccoli florets- the idea is to add something bright green)

Stir everything together, check seasonings, and use a measuring cup or ladle to fill quart-size freezer containers. Refrigerate until cool, then label and freeze. I like to buy refrigerated pie crusts or (if I am really ambitious), make crust ahead and freeze it. Each quart will make a two-crust pie. Since it is fully cooked, just bake it long enough to brown the crust. Or, you can do my favorite thing and serve it with biscuits (again, you can easily buy frozen biscuits).