It's been a while since I blathered here, and I offer my apologies. I've been busy, trying to get everything sorted out for Christmas here - gifts to buy and packages to mail, and various and sundry other errands to take care of.
Had some bad news tonight - not surprising bad news, but confirmation of something I'd been expecting, so I'm feeling down. Tomorrow, I'm going to do something about it.
I'm going to bake bread. No mixer, I'm going to burn out my frustration by kneading the dough by hand. It's too cold and rainy to exercise, and I don't go for that anyway, so it'll be a day of clearing my head of anything except the dough and the very next step I have to take.
That'll do the trick, I think. If not, well, I have wine.
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011
It's A Crazy Idea, But It Just Might Work...
Planning for our New Year's Day get-together, and I'm thinking I'll make a lucky soup, because everyone could use more of it. I set up a poll on Facebook to get some ideas for tasty ingredients that might touch on the "luck" theme. I'm starting with duck broth, so pop on over and voice your thoughts.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Holiday Prep and Woolgathering
Despite the best efforts of retailers to convince me that it's already Christmas and I need to ZOMG BUY SOME STUFF OH GOD PLEASE BUY SOMETHING, I'm focused entirely on Thanksgiving.
This year, it's Turkey Day Proper at the In-Laws', where my FiL will cook up a tasty turkey, and there will be all the usual trimmings - cornbread stuffing, mashed sweet potatoes, cranberries, green bean casserole, bread pudding and gravy. Melissa will be bringing her unique baking wizardy to bear in the pie department (chocolate and pecan, I hope), and I think I'll be throwing together these honey rolls. Friday, we're having our annual Day-After Leftoverpalooza, a casual affair with no set ending, and lots of turkey soup and a clearing out of leftovers and free-flowing wine and (I hope) enjoyable conversation.
I've always preferred Thanksgiving to Christmas - don't get me wrong, I love Christmas as a time for being with family, but it's a little too... frenetic for me. Thanksgiving, though - a day dedicated to a good meal and just eating and enjoying. I don't have many bad Thanksgiving memories - I'm lucky enough to have a pretty stable family, without the drama and simmering fights that some people have to suffer through (and to those unfortunates, you have my empathy - I'd gladly invite you over to my place for a drama-free meal, as long as you don't torch the furniture or drink all the booze).
My parents have never been afraid to have a non-traditional Thanksgiving. We had our share of turkey-and-all-the-trimmings growing up, but we also did some pretty offbeat celebrations as well. One of my favorites was during my high school years. We drove down to St Mary's, Georgia and camped nearby, then on Thanksgiving Day, took a ferry to Cumberland Island and spent the day hiking. It was cold and blustery, but I remember enjoying it, despite my status as a Surly Teenager and desperate desire to Not Enjoy Anything Suggested By Parents. We hiked to the northern end of the island and near lunchtime, found a spot on the beach sheltered by dunes and set out a picnic lunch. I don't remember what we had - maybe turkey sandwiches -I just remember it was something we could easily pack in our backpacks. As we ate, a stranger rounded the dune and asked if we minded if he sat down out of the wind and ate his lunch. My parents got to talking, and invited him to share our meal, and we got to know him. He was retired, from New England, and was driving a friend's car down to Florida for them, and had decided on a whim to stop and see the island. We spent the rest of the afternoon hiking with Bob, and after we left, he and my parents kept in touch. Several times, he stopped over at our farm on his way north or south. In my memory, that Thanksgiving memory stands out the most - not for the food, but for the feeling of it. As I look back, I think on how that welcome, and the friendship my family got out of that, sums up for me what Thanksgiving should be about. For me, it's about finding commonality with people - with family, with friends, with complete strangers - and finding things to be joyful about.
So that's how I approach Thanksgiving. No matter what, I see it as a chance to, if only for a brief while, acknowledge the things that are going right. The rest of the year, I worry, and stress out, and get agitated. Right now, though, it's noticing the things that I don't have to worry about.
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| No, Wait, Not This Turkey Day |
I've always preferred Thanksgiving to Christmas - don't get me wrong, I love Christmas as a time for being with family, but it's a little too... frenetic for me. Thanksgiving, though - a day dedicated to a good meal and just eating and enjoying. I don't have many bad Thanksgiving memories - I'm lucky enough to have a pretty stable family, without the drama and simmering fights that some people have to suffer through (and to those unfortunates, you have my empathy - I'd gladly invite you over to my place for a drama-free meal, as long as you don't torch the furniture or drink all the booze).
My parents have never been afraid to have a non-traditional Thanksgiving. We had our share of turkey-and-all-the-trimmings growing up, but we also did some pretty offbeat celebrations as well. One of my favorites was during my high school years. We drove down to St Mary's, Georgia and camped nearby, then on Thanksgiving Day, took a ferry to Cumberland Island and spent the day hiking. It was cold and blustery, but I remember enjoying it, despite my status as a Surly Teenager and desperate desire to Not Enjoy Anything Suggested By Parents. We hiked to the northern end of the island and near lunchtime, found a spot on the beach sheltered by dunes and set out a picnic lunch. I don't remember what we had - maybe turkey sandwiches -I just remember it was something we could easily pack in our backpacks. As we ate, a stranger rounded the dune and asked if we minded if he sat down out of the wind and ate his lunch. My parents got to talking, and invited him to share our meal, and we got to know him. He was retired, from New England, and was driving a friend's car down to Florida for them, and had decided on a whim to stop and see the island. We spent the rest of the afternoon hiking with Bob, and after we left, he and my parents kept in touch. Several times, he stopped over at our farm on his way north or south. In my memory, that Thanksgiving memory stands out the most - not for the food, but for the feeling of it. As I look back, I think on how that welcome, and the friendship my family got out of that, sums up for me what Thanksgiving should be about. For me, it's about finding commonality with people - with family, with friends, with complete strangers - and finding things to be joyful about.
So that's how I approach Thanksgiving. No matter what, I see it as a chance to, if only for a brief while, acknowledge the things that are going right. The rest of the year, I worry, and stress out, and get agitated. Right now, though, it's noticing the things that I don't have to worry about.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Another Thinky Thoughts Post
I'm still finding my feet on the blog, and sorting out my voice. I'm partly running off of feedback I get, and partly making it up as I go along. Let me know what works for you, and what doesn't.
That said, I'm moving into winter mode. I'm planning lots of soups for the menu, and looking forward to Thanksgiving, and the pies that come with it. More homemade bread, as well - I'm trying out some new cooking methods, including baking the loaves in cast iron skillets, and trying some inclusions, like cheese and baked garlic. Or dried fruit.
I've done some homebrewing in the past, and yesterday, I picked up (thanks to some friends that really want me to do it) the equipment necessary to make wine at home. Thanks, guys! I've got a kit for a malbec shiraz and a reisling, and will start with the shiraz. I'll post photos of the process, for them as are interested.
Also, I bought some local blackberries at the grocery store today, along with pectin and the rest of the stuff I'll need to render those into some freezer jam. My peach and strawberry jams were hits at home and in the neighborhood, so I have high hopes for the blackberries. Photos of that process will be posted as well.
I've got some thoughts about school lunches and Halloween to post, as soon as I get them sorted out.
That said, I'm moving into winter mode. I'm planning lots of soups for the menu, and looking forward to Thanksgiving, and the pies that come with it. More homemade bread, as well - I'm trying out some new cooking methods, including baking the loaves in cast iron skillets, and trying some inclusions, like cheese and baked garlic. Or dried fruit.
I've done some homebrewing in the past, and yesterday, I picked up (thanks to some friends that really want me to do it) the equipment necessary to make wine at home. Thanks, guys! I've got a kit for a malbec shiraz and a reisling, and will start with the shiraz. I'll post photos of the process, for them as are interested.
Also, I bought some local blackberries at the grocery store today, along with pectin and the rest of the stuff I'll need to render those into some freezer jam. My peach and strawberry jams were hits at home and in the neighborhood, so I have high hopes for the blackberries. Photos of that process will be posted as well.
I've got some thoughts about school lunches and Halloween to post, as soon as I get them sorted out.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
The Holidays Are Getting Closer... AND LEON'S GETTING LAAAARGER
No offense to any of my readers named Leon.
We're heading into the home stretch for Winter holidays - Halloween Monday, then Thanksgiving (for us folks in the US), then Christmas and New Year's. I'm looking forward to all of them, especially Thanksgiving, because I loves me some turkey, yes.
We'll be here in Austin for Turkey Day, probably with the In-Laws, and then the day after Thanksgiving, it's our annual Potluck/Turkey Carcass Soup Leftoverpalooza, where we invite everyone we know to empty their fridge of leftovers and come over for pie and homemade soup.
Christmas will be in Georgia, with my parents, then we should be back home in time for our usual New Year's Eve - deciding about 10 PM or so that "it's midnight somewhere in the world, let's have a glass of champagne and get some sleep". Yeah, we live wild and free, baby.
You folks got your plans made yet?
Next post: Soup, stock and a couple of recipes for it.
We're heading into the home stretch for Winter holidays - Halloween Monday, then Thanksgiving (for us folks in the US), then Christmas and New Year's. I'm looking forward to all of them, especially Thanksgiving, because I loves me some turkey, yes.
We'll be here in Austin for Turkey Day, probably with the In-Laws, and then the day after Thanksgiving, it's our annual Potluck/Turkey Carcass Soup Leftoverpalooza, where we invite everyone we know to empty their fridge of leftovers and come over for pie and homemade soup.
Christmas will be in Georgia, with my parents, then we should be back home in time for our usual New Year's Eve - deciding about 10 PM or so that "it's midnight somewhere in the world, let's have a glass of champagne and get some sleep". Yeah, we live wild and free, baby.
You folks got your plans made yet?
Next post: Soup, stock and a couple of recipes for it.
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