A Few Of My Favorite Things Part Three

Happy Thanksgiving! May all who are celebrating this holiday have a relaxing, enjoyable weekend!

It seems the apple does not fall far from the tree. Falling under the "do as I say, not as I do," category, we started defrosting our turkey a little too late. Granted, it only weighs in at seven pounds, but we should have taken it out of the bag and removed the giblets yesterday, as our bird is still a bit frosty today.



No matter. Chef Jeff has just ditched me. Having seen several deer out in the pasture, he donned his blaze orange and is currently doing the hunter-gatherer-manly-man thing. The turkey will probably have ample time to defrost before he returns at dusk.



I have wanted to make the recipe in the pic below, from Spirit Of The Harvest, for years, but haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm thinking I'll adapt the ingredients for a side-dish for our turkey dinner supper midnight after-hunting snack. Doesn't this just look awesome? Wish I had an extra pumpkin sitting around...



So, finding myself abandoned, and having exercised and fed the dogs (who are now napping by the fire), I have a moment to share some more favorites with you!

Michelle and I went to the cupcake shop yesterday only to find it closed. How disappointed we were. But I've found the solution - check out Bake It Pretty for fun cupcake kits! Michelle, now we can make them ourselves (or have your lovely daughter, the baker, do it!)

Here is an easy project that would make a nice gift, full of my favorite scents: a holiday potpourri made of dried oranges or lemons, star anise, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and juniper berries.



I think it looks so nice on our Thanksgiving table.



Molly is not supposed to be gnawing on the firewood... See what happens when I'm distracted for even an instant?



Something that will appear on that table later is my favorite salad: romaine lettuce, Castle Rock blue cheese (you won't be able to find that as it's from the organic dairy down the road from us, so try Maytag instead), toasted pecans or walnuts, and Stonewall Kitchen's fabulous Balsamic Fig Dressing. It is amazing. So is their Orange Cranberry Marmalade (better than their Holiday Jam for sure).

Stonewall Kitchen usually sends extra samples of other goodies when we do a stock-up order; you can save 20% Friday through Sunday using the code Q01516R8 at checkout. Sometimes their site gets bogged down during a sale - try again if you get an error message.

I can tell you from experience that they box things very well, and even wrap gifts beautifully for a small fee. A package from Stonewall Kitchen is one that will go over well (even with your in-laws!)

Here is another place with gift baskets. We are having their wonderful wood-parched wild rice with our Turkey tonight - definitely one of my favorites. It is so different from any grocery store wild rice I've ever eaten, and a thousand times more flavorful. It also cooks up much faster, which I assume is from the parching.

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I'm thankful for...

This view of the goats' barn and winter paddock, from my bedroom window:



This thoughtful gift that I received - sock yarn that is dyed with intention, in the colors of the Tibetan flag, and which includes the maker's mindfulness and compassion for all sentient beings. It's made by PippiKneeSocks, whose shop/blog I am unable to find - maybe you will have more luck. I'm thinking we've gotta keep this gal in business.



Or maybe this yarn will inspire you to create a mindful gift yourself. Check out Tara Jon Manning's Mindful Knitting for more on that subject.

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I'm listening to...



Because I am thankful for you visiting me here, I have an extra copy of this CD to give away to someone who can tell me, "What's wrong with this picture?" in my comments:

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Well, there's cooking to be done, and I'm wearing the chef's hat today. As the saying goes, I love to cook with wine; sometimes I even put it in the food!



Have a great weekend!