Monopolylogue Monday

monopolylogue ~ dramatic work in which one actor plays many roles

It’s officially fall.

Yes, I know, the calendar said fall started a couple of weeks ago. But this morning when I got up I actually turned the heat on in the house. Me, the woman who’s perpetually cold. There was frost on the ground outside and according to the Weather Network it was all of 3 degrees Celsius outside (that’s in the high 30s for those of you using Fahrenheit). It was around 10 C (50 F) according to the thermostat inside the house. So yeah, an extra sweater just ain’t gonna do it any more.

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians! And a Happy Columbus Day to my U.S. friends.

I believe I mentioned last week that I cooked a turkey dinner last weekend to both use up my excess turkey and to give us leftovers. I didn’t get any pictures because although the build up to dinner was leisurely, the actually serving of it was not and there just wasn’t time for a picture.

Yesterday we went to the in-laws for a big family dinner. We all take a dish or two, mine were glazed carrots and sweet potatoes. A long time ago I used to just take carrots, but they’re not a sweet potato bunch and I can’t imagine Thanksgiving without sweet potatoes, so ...

The daughter brought a pumpkin pie and I believe she called it a bourbon pecan pie. It was so pretty it was almost a shame to cut into it, but at the same time it was really, really too yummy to let just sit there. Which is how I ended up spending most of last night in a food coma. ;-)

Thanksgiving is a time for family, and for feeling gratitude for all the things we have. We may grouse about our families the rest of the year, but we still move heaven and earth to be with them at Thanksgiving. Often it’s not just over the hill to grandma’s house, it’s way across county.

Despite the fact that we all live in the same town, we don’t get together with the hubby’s family that often. Sometimes we’ll have dinner with his parents, but with the siblings and their kids, not so much. So for me the highlight was seeing the granddaughter playing with her cousins - one smaller and three bigger. It was pretty crowded and there weren’t a lot of toys, but they had a blast.

This year I’m grateful for friends and families, the food on our table and the roof over our heads. I’m also grateful for the kids. They may be a rowdy bunch, maybe a little head strong, but they’re healthy and happy, and that’s what counts.

What are you grateful for?

Muller Monday

muller ~ flat heavy stone or iron pulverizing tool

Wow, can you believe it’s October already? September sure left in a hurry - must have had an important appointment to keep.

For Canadians, October means Thanksgiving. The local grocery stores have had turkeys on sale for the last couple of weeks so naturally I took advantage of the low prices to pick up a turkey to replace the emergency turkey I was going to use for Thanksgiving.

Yes, that’s right. I keep an emergency turkey in my freezer. You know, in case we’re ever invaded by a ravening hoard. Although it’s to be hoped the ravening hoard isn’t in a rush for dinner because it’s a frozen turkey after all, so it’ll take a while for it to cook.

I also have a large, emergency ham in the freezer for the same reason. I won’t bore you with the tale of my food hoarding tendencies, suffice it to say I must have starved to death in a previous life because in this one I live in fear of someone leaving my table still hungry. :-D

But I digress.

It wasn’t until after I’d already bought my secondary turkey that I learned we were having Thanksgiving at the in-laws this year. And since I’m only allowed one turkey at a time in my freezer and I didn’t want to miss out on the leftovers, I decided to do my turkey dinner yesterday.

Now, if you’re going to do a turkey diner, you have to do it right. That means fresh, not frozen veggies. And lots of them, that I cooked early in the day to make dinner itself less stressful. I even went so far as to buy a couple of those little pie pumpkins to make my pie with.

Actually, I figured I’d be making a couple of pies and maybe some pumpkin bread, but I was wrong. My two little pumpkins resulted in three measly cups of puree. Not sure if it was worth the trouble or not, although the pie did turn out rather well (if I do say so myself).

And I also did something I’ve never tried before - I saved the pumpkin seeds for roasting. It’s a little messy, and I have to admit to having mixed feelings about the results.

I actually divided them in half and did one batch of onion/garlic, and one with Italian spices. Definitely not like store-bought, but I think I could get used to them.

Anyway, dinner was a great success, and it was a trial run for the grandbaby for real Thanksgiving. Without a doubt her favourite part was the turkey - which I don’t think she’s ever had before - followed by the whipped cream on the pumpkin pie. Not the pie itself, mind you, just the whipped cream.

But the main thing is, I have my leftovers. Club sandwich anyone?