Thanksgiving Sweets

Each year, as the holiday season begins, we have so much fun deciding on what delicious goodies we will prepare for our Thanksgiving feast. It never fails that our eyes and tasty buds are not even considering that we would never be able to consume all of the dishes we hope to prepare, even if Ignatius J. Riley himself graced us with his presence......but we do it anyway. This year we put parameters in place since it looked like there would only be 5 of us: 1 meat, 4 veggies, 4 salads, 4 appetizers, relishes, bread, and 4 desserts. Sounds perfect for all of our favorite recipes with a little room for newbies.
 
This year, upon our precious Poppy's arrival, we all decided that it would be much better for her, being only a few weeks old, to be at her home for Thanksgiving so that she didn't have to travel all the way to the Panhandle. With this decision, Wade & I made plans to drive down to Bryan, TX and spend a few days enjoying the days cooking, eating, and rocking Poppy. 

As the time drew nearer, we were watching some nasty weather come through the Panhandle and began to worry that it wasn't going to be smart to leave our newly weaned calves in someone else's care while we were away. Sadly, I headed to Mitch & Cordia's without Wade, knowing that he was very disappointed that he was not going with me to enjoy the days ahead. He wouldn't have stopped me for the world though, because he knew my heart was set on spending this time there.......and did I mention rocking Poppy? :)

Once I arrived there were lots of things to do. Everyone was excited about the plans we had in store. Reviewing our menu, making a grocery list, filling our shopping basket with great expectations, and getting started on preparing for the festivities. Mitch, Cordia, Lindsey, Jose, Poppy & I all had our roles planned out. (Will was spending Thanksgiving with a friend of his up in Chicago) Mitch & I would get started with baking the pies. Mitch was responsible for drawing Poppy's face on the crust of the apple pie :) Lindsey would make her focaccia bread from scratch and Cordia would fill in with anything needed in between Poppy feedings. Grandmaw (me) would be in charge of rocking Poppy anytime she (Poppy or Grandmaw) wanted. Poppy was in charge of being the cutest & sweetest of us all. The joy of being together while we move in sync throughout the day as we prepare for our grand spread is a time filled with sweet spirits in every move. This year was no exception!

For history's sake I am sharing our menu:

Prime Rib -- cooked to perfection with a sauce made from  salsa & wild plum jelly

Veggies:
Blistered Green Beans
Confetti Corn
Papas con chile potatoes
Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus Bundles -- a new favorite

Salads:
Okra Salad
Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad -- Lindsey would have rather had the Broccoli & Grape
Sweet Potato & Black Bean Salad
Butternut Squash Salad -- newbie that needed quite a bit of tweaking for a comeback

Appetizers:
Jalapeno Poppers
Smoked Salmon dip -- fresh salmon caught by Will while fishing in Alaska
Deviled Eggs -- without pickle relish per Lindsey's request

Pickles & Pickles Peppers of all sorts

Focaccia Bread -- Lindsey learned this recipe while working in Angel Fire
 
Desserts:
Apple Pie -- garnished with a picture of "Poppy wearing a beanie" carved in the crust
Cherry Pie -- with a berry blend instead of cherries because the store didn't have any
Cinnamon Roll Cake -- a newbie that has become a favorite
Pumpkin Coffee Cake -- that didn't turn out just right this time....but still a keeper

Thankfully we had several friends join us during these days which helped to dwindle down this mound of delightful dishes. Kevin & Sarah, Nick & Emily & and even our friend of Alaska, Pat Peterson. Will didn't completely miss out either. There were still plenty of leftovers when he returned from Chicago on Tuesday.

These days shared are truly a gift to us all. They are filled with joy, love & laughter and it's always difficult to bring the days to an end. Thanksgiving brings families together each year as a tradition, however when those relationships are nurtured throughout the year it causes these times to become even sweeter. Feeling Stuffed <3

The Gift of a Sesame Seed.....

At the age of 26 I knew that I was ready to start having children. Yes..... I knew it was a very big decision because of the monumental differences that would occur simply by adding a little one who would be completely relying on my care, example, decisions, protection, etc., etc. etc.....

What I wasn't prepared for was the overwhelming, unconditional, powerful emotion that would flood into my heart, body, and soul the moment that I first saw that tiny being.....my flesh, my child, my love, my life!

Each time I gave birth to that new life, it carried the same intense emotion with it, charging me with a fierce energy and awareness that THIS was the most important opportunity that I would ever experience in my lifetime.

My three children have filled my life with joys on every level. Rocking for hours while laughing, talking, snuggling, reading, sleeping. Curiousity conversations about everything under the sun, haircuts, pigtails, wild hair, & braids, goats in the middle of my kitchen, toys piled in baskets and shelves, cries in the middle of the night, chicken pox, cushions for Mom with broken bones, eating broccoli worms, kittens on the stairway, standing on a stool washing dishes, picking mulberries, packing a picnic lunch, swims in the creek, favorite pets, picking the grean beans - plant and all, lessons on poison ivy, dancing in the kitchen, running from point to point just to catch another glimpse in the cross country races, cheering from the backside of the track for the long distance races, shaving imaginary beards, lugging musical instruments around in gray-taped cases, unrolling the whole roll of toilet paper, what-to-wear-today dilemmas, piano lessons & recitals, excitement of giving or getting presents, first cars, magazine shopping, little feet running to get me a diaper, baths in the sink, slip & slides in the bunk house, chocolate chip cookies and licking the beaters, music blairing, JAM, friends spending the night, tents and underground forts, smoking tampons, goats eating my fruit trees, late-night movies with popcorn, graduations, honors & awards, tears when leaving for college, learning to drive on snow & ice, splitting a large DP between all of us, learning to snow ski, trips in the bus, throwing up on the carpet, snuggling up at the end of the day just to be close...... This list is infinite! 

Although the beginning of those days are now over a quarter of a century passed, the memories through the years have reinforced what I started out believing.....This WAS the most important opportunity that I would have in my lifetime! :)

Today, I am reaping the gifts of what has been sowed. My children have all become kind, caring, thoughtful, adventurous, independent, curious, intelligent, and loving beings. I couldn't be more proud of each of them. They are all young adults and continue to learn more about themselves and what they want from life each day. I smile as I think about what will unfold in each of their lives as they move through time.

With this movement.......I am now experiencing an entirely new joy, in particular. The cycle of life is endless in the gifts that we receive and I am looking at that horizon with the beautiful knowledge that my child will now share this wonderful experience with her own child.

"Not but a Sesame Seed" is planted in my heart and the anticipation of that beginning is a breath of fresh air. It's hard to imagine something that is now so tiny will grow to become a new life strengthening this glorious circle of love. But believe me....it will happen. So Happy!! 

a pinch of this.......
 
I have vivid memories of the days of my childhood while spending time in the kitchen with my grandparents and watching them stir up all kinds of goodies for their beloved grandchildren. Grandma and Grandpa standing side-by-side at the stove with one of them in charge of the pancakes (always Grandpa) and the other in charge of everything else (Grandma, of course). It never grew old to have Grandpa carefully walk to the table where I sat, while balancing my "special" pancakes he had prepared for me. Although I knew what was coming....it always caused us both to break out into a BIG GRIN. There it would be.....a miniature (size of a quarter) stack of pancakes atop his spatula ready for my enjoyment. Naturally, there would be a generous supply of additional pancakes cooking on the stove. This might be one of those "had to be there" joys that we shared......but I loved it!

Of course, little did I realize at the time just how much influence these lazy, care-free days were having on me....but as I have gone through life with my own family, I am amazed at all of the wonderful things I have carried with me from those precious memories held. Although there are a vast spectrum of memories I could include in this story, I will instead spend this time focusing on one of my favorite parts.....FOOD!

I have figured out by now that I was certainly smack dab in the middle of a culinary artroom while in my Grandma's kitchen. What others call "doing things the hard way" or "cooking from 'scratch?" was absolutely the ONLY way it was being done in that cozy, red & white kitchen. Each day I was thrilled to go out to the little garden by the chicken house, surrounded by the short, picket fence (only to protect it from those pesky rabbits) to gather the days goodies. Fresh green beans, squash of all sorts, tomatoes of all colors, shapes, and sizes, and a host of other delicious veggies, awaiting to be plucked from their vine so that they could be used in the delicious kitchen creations prepared by my Grandma.

I always knew in my heart that I was doing what I loved most while being at Grandma's heels, following her out to the cherry tree, gathering chicken eggs, or racing downstairs to the basement to gather an assortment of delicious pickled delights......but it didn't click in my head that I WOULD be making those same things a priority in my own life until many years later when I realized I HAD. I laugh at myself when I tell the story of my very first garden. I knew I was willing to learn some of the things that I had seen my grandparents set the example for.....but I didn't do much research on the way to go about that before I plunged right in. If I wanted to make pickles.....PLANT CUKS....right? So, much to their delight, they were right there to support me in my efforts while we all stood together looking upon my new garden venture. I knew something was up when I turned to look at them, while admiring my neat little rows of cucumbers, and each of them had a BIG smile on their face as though they knew something that I did not. It took about 6 weeks for me to understand! Once those vines were at full bloom, I was lugging in basket upon basket of cucumbers and piling them on every open countertop (and everything else) that I could find. I did make LOTS of pickles that year and learned my first real gardening lesson. :)

As with all things, I am a firm believer that what we absorb from those whom we admire and adore should be duly noted and then given a personal twist of ourselves. Shaped by our own values, beliefs, loves, and style. I carry the beautiful memories of those days with me daily, but most importantly, I learned to apply that philosophy of living life while I was raising my own children. In my kitchen it's OK to: Sing at the table, snack on pickled okra or french fries...or anything else for that matter, before it's time to eat, make a big mess while cooking, throw spaghetti noodles on the ceiling to see it they are done, use the good dishes anytime you want, wait till morning to clean up the mess, adapt the recipes to your personal whims, use the 3-second rule....or not, find your favorite things in the fridge if they aren't on the table, or even refrain from eating something that you may not especially like (yet). :) My meaning is this.....whatever it is that brings our family together in the kitchen to laugh, dance, sing, eat, and of course, COOK!, will bring an abundance of happiness to our lives.

So, with all of this said it seems likely to understand that.......the kitchen is the "heart" of my home. I find complete peace with my hands in a sink of soapy water, gathering fresh veggies from the garden, rolling out a homemade pizza crust, hand-washing fresh eggs, or finding enough rings for the last batch of hot sauce. Cooking from "scratch" has been the most enjoyable lesson of my life... about life. Sharing this philosophy, along with new recipes and many delicious culinary creations to come, with my loved ones is a natural part of my world.  Lucky Me!!

Collectibles......

This week I have checked a major task off of my to-do list. Create.....or should I say Re-create my "Last Will and Testament". Of course, this made me experience a host of emotions while sorting out my thoughts of how it would all land on paper. In my deliberations I felt pensive, laughed out loud, wiped tears from my cheek, and felt overwhelmed with all of the details to include. But the thought that kept creeping back to my brain was.....   How did I end up with so much stuff?!? It isn't that I feel the need to constantly  acquire new things for myself. Instead my habit is quite the opposite. But somehow, at the age of 54, I have enough stuff to supply 14 more households.....and that doesn't even count the 4 that I've already done!

I have laughed at this word "collectible" for years because my dear, sweet mother commonly uses it when she has a gift for any of her children or grandchildren. The funny part to me is a) who decided all these things should be deemed as "special" when most of them can be found at a sundry of places, and  b) society implies that if it is a "collectible" then it might be of great monetary value to us someday....but if something is truly special why on earth would I want to ever sell it!

But that's not all we collect, and it seems that we might even do it unknowingly. I mean really....how many pens and pencils do we all have in our possession right now?  Most importantly, how can I make myself throw them away even though I know that 'no way-no how' will I EVER use them all in my lifetime. Once I began looking around I couldn't help but laugh at all of the saving, hoarding, recycling, and storing that is going on right here under my nose. Oh wait.....does that mean I'm the culprit?? There's more screwdrivers, random sheet sets, 'might need this' picture frame, 'might find this' other earring, socks who miss their mate, and piles and piles of who knows? what else. Not to mention, although it often is, the dozens of  recycled baggies and every plastic storage container that even crosses my way.

So.....with the reality as it is, I have to make yet another decision.  Could I possibly change this part of me before my loved ones are left to read that final document that symbolizes my life in a neat little picture of assets and net worth? I think not! My hope is that when the day arrives that they are overlooking my Grand Collection as their own that they will spend it in communion...... with laughter, teasing, rolling of the eyes, sweet tears, and thoughtful moments of the many joys that were held. Yes! That all of these "collectibles" are certain to have much meaning in the end.

Footnote: I suspect much of this activity will be had with a trash can nearby :) Thank goodness!