Diane's excellent cooking adventures

Because we celebrated Thanksgiving with family earlier in November, we decided to have a low-key Thanksgiving evening meal with our friends Chuck and Melanie.  And we all agreed in advance that we would venture away from the typical menu and create our own "alternative meal".

By now I should know better than trying out new recipes when entertaining friends, but I admit I'm not always smart about these things...

So I tried a couple of new recipes on Thanksgiving morning...

BAD pumpkin cake.  

The first recipe for pumpkin cake was an abject disaster.  I thought it sounded like an interesting alternative to pumpkin pie, but while I was making it I recognized it did not include any leavening agents like baking soda or baking powder.

 Of course, did I stop and look up alternative recipes to see if this was an oversight?  NO, I just forged ahead using the recipe verbatim.  Yes, stupid comes to mind...I even commented to Mike that the batter seemed awfully heavy.



Baking seemed to be the problem.  50 minutes, then 60 minutes then 70 minutes in the oven.  Still RAW INSIDE!  Being energy conscious, I finally decided to turn off the oven and consider this a loss.
After cooling this lump of pumpkin cake, I broke it up and threw it in the yard for the birds, rabbits and squirrels.  And yes, I'm still a bit worried I will look in the back yard and see dead carcasses...

After several hours elapsed and Mike badgering me to try again, I found another pumpkin cake recipe that included major amounts of leavening agents:  2 teaspoons of baking powder AND 1 teaspoon of baking soda.  So I trekked to WalMart to buy more pumpkin around 3pm on Thanksgiving day.  I must have been the most dejected looking shopper in the aisles.   And hey, what's another couple of hours baking anyway?  I guess it was worth it when the new pumpkin cake turned out amazingly good.

Cranberries "popping"

The rest of our "alternative" meal of spicy jerk turkey in the crock pot, garlicky grilled asparagus and baked Au gratin potatoes turned out great!

And of course we had to include the one traditional dish of cranberries...

Yummy cinnamon rolls

And then there were the cinnamon rolls.  This new recipe was from one of my favorite blogs, Iowa Girl Eats, and it uses frozen bread dough as the base.

And these cinnamon rolls were fantastic on Black Friday morning.

So, hey I was 50-50 on the new recipes...








And then we enjoyed a lovely weekend with family in Southern Indiana...

Nephew Dane going up for a rebound. Love those yellow shoes. (photo by Mike)

Mom, Angie, Eric and Dane

Beautiful sunset

And I am so thankful for family and friends...

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Diane

The rest of the story

Mike's idea of humor

about those evil hickory nuts.

I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago, but here's a quick recap.  I went out for a walk, and I slipped on a hickory nut and hit my elbow and arm on the curb.  I felt lucky there were no broken bones (after a painful x-ray where they twisted my VERY SORE arm back and forth for the perfect picture), but it was majorly bruised and hurt a lot!

Happy band of hickory nut gatherers

My family arrived a few days later for an early Thanksgiving, and due to my arm being in a sling, I was forced to tell them the story about my stupid fall.

Well, much to my surprise, my mom recalled picking up hickory nuts when she was a kid, and she said they tasted great.  So, mom and other family members re-traced my painful steps to find the hickory nuts mother lode.  My arm was very sore at this point, and I couldn't quite bring myself to join in the fun(?).

Mom and sister Pam with the harvest

Pam and Alex taking a break

And yes, it was a bit difficult to smile...

Well, after almost 2 weeks of healing,  my bruises are fading, and my arm feels better.  And so Mike gets this brilliant idea to pick up more hickory nuts.  Now, never let it be said that I am a poor sport or that I can't laugh at my own bad luck.  So against my better judgment, I accompanied Mike down the street to pick up hickory nuts this afternoon.  Careful not to step on any, we got a nice little harvest!


And imagine my own evil smile when finding a Google article saying you need to crack them open with a brick!  Ah yes, I'm going to enjoy eating those little hickory nuts...

On a separate note, I want to thank Tamara Reddy for including my recent post "What I've Learned in Retirement" on her blog.  Tamara's blog, Early Retirement Journey, chronicles her experiences traveling, hiking and biking.  I enjoy her writing and live vicariously through her amazing experiences. I encourage you to check it out.

Have a great week! Diane

Note:  Thanks to my sister Angie for photos 2-4 above.

Thankful

Beautiful sunset one evening this week

As Thanksgiving approaches we are busy with plans for the big day.  Our normal pace shifts into overdrive as we clean the house, buy the groceries and cook our favorite foods in preparation for the big meal.

And we are starting to think about  Christmas shopping about now.  Black Friday used to be the beginning point of the Christmas shopping frenzy,  but now stores offer pre-Black Friday sales, and larger retailers will be open on Thanksgiving day.



And then there's the Christmas decorating which seems earlier than ever as I notice homes in the neighborhood already decorated with trees and colorful lights.  Crazy busy is the way of life this time of year.  But I don't want to let Thanksgiving escape without reflecting on why I am thankful.

My sister, Angie, holding a Thankful sign we made this Fall

I am thankful for...

My sweetie.  Mike is my best friend, holding my hand as we walk down this sometimes crazy road of life.

Family and friends. They accept me and love me and are my best supporters.  And they enrich my life in innumerable ways.

Health, which I don't take for granted after my own bout with breast cancer.  Three plus years cancer free, I feel strong and healthy.  Ok, I still have the occasional klutzy move like bruising my arm by falling on a hickory nut, but certainly those problems are self-imposed...

Faith.  My strong belief in God is the cornerstone of my life.

Retirement and the chance to explore life outside work.  I am excited about a world of opportunities to meet new people, try new things and help those less fortunate.

Financial security.  We are so fortunate to live in our own home, have food on the table and live a comfortable lifestyle to pursue our hobbies and interests.

The beauty of nature.  Retirement has afforded a wonderful pause of time where I see beauty each day.  Clouds, flowers, leaves and the sunset give me a child like sense of awe and wonder.

A favorite Life is Good shirt 

And yes, I have been accused of being a Pollyanna with my  optimistic views and "Life is Good" t-shirts, but that attitude gets me through times of self-doubt and worry.  And believe me, I am a pro at worrying.  I tell people that I'm so good at worrying that they should give me their problems, and I'll worry for them.  But really, the problems and worries are so small compared to the good   And for that I am thankful.

I hope you find time during the upcoming holiday season to reflect on why you are thankful...

Diane