NYS Conservationist

NYS publishes this nifty little magazine called the "Conservationist". In addition to the interesting articles on wildlife, environmental conservation issues etc., it has a page titled "On Patrol" with "real stories from officers in the field". (The officers are DEC - Dept. of Environmental Conservation.) There were two great ones this month I thought you'd like.
In Saratoga County the state troopers called the DEC because someone has dumped some snakes between the storm window and the window of someones house. The troopers didn't know what to do. Thanks to our DEC guys the snakes were identified as eight-inch garter snakes, about a dozen of them. The DEC just opened the storm window and let them go. (Sounds like the troopers might have been sitting in their car for this little adventure.)
In the other story, a man was arrested for shooting a firearm across a road at a deer decoy the DEC had set up. (Some folks will shoot at anything although, to be honest, their decoys do look like the real thing. It's just that it's illegal to shoot at them from a road.) This wasn't particularly out of the ordinary except that the man's father had been arrested the year before for the same thing. The father, in addition to his fine, was forced to buy a deer decoy for the DEC - the very same decoy his son was arrested for shooting. Let's hope the stupidity stops with this generation.

Twiglet what???

Pictured is one of our Twiglet "subcommittees". (Thank heavens we haven't felt it was necessary to name ourselves any further!) We worked all afternoon making Christmas arrangements to sell at the bazaar on Saturday. Our goal (accomplished) was 20 arrangements of winter greens in baskets with various decorations and bows. They are all beautiful of course and you can tell by our smiles that we had a good time making them. (The water heater was NOT part of our committee.)

Watercress

Do know the excitement of finding something unexpected? Then you know how I felt when I spotted watercress growing near an old pond of ours. It is almost December, in NY at that, and the watercress is as green and fresh tasting as any you've ever had. I like to think it came from some plants I put there over 20 years ago but I can't guarantee it since most years I don't find any at all.

I must tell you that harvesting this particular patch of watercress was perhaps not as exciting as spotting it. Out came the green Wellies and the safety glasses. (See all those branches I had to fight to get to it?) Speaking from today's experience, I can also assure you that fleece is NOT the jacket to wear while making a path through tall weeds since it picks up every seed along the way. After picking off the worst of them, I'm hopeful the clothes dryer will do the rest. However, seedy jacket or not, I harvested enough this first trip to make me feel very healthy indeed.

How long will it be there is anyone's guess. I'm hoping it will last at least until next week so I can use it in sandwiches I was asked to bring to a tea. This has got me wondering though - how on earth did they know I had my own watercress?!!!

Twiglets

I'm a member of the Twiglets. Isn't that the most ridiculous sounding name? I find it hard to believe a group of adult women actually named themselves that, but they did. The story is that 35 years ago the younger women in our area wanted to help with the hospital auxiliary. There was already a Twig group (the national name for branches of the hospital auxiliary) but these ladies were "old" and the young women wanted a group of their own. They named themselves the Twiglets. The ladies (now older than "old" themselves) assure me this is not the only Twiglet group but I just did an Internet search and didn't find any. Perhaps no one wants to fess up that there is such a group.
Our major fundraiser is the Christmas bazaar the beginning of December. We make Christmas craft items all fall. (The Chinese have nothing on us. We're not proud - we steal their ideas, or did they steal them from us in the first place?) Anyway, this coming weekend we expect to sell out once again in four hours raising several thousand dollars for the hospital. Not bad for a bunch of Twigs & Twiglets.

Thanksgiving

They came, cooked, ate, chatted, played, slept (and will hopefully leave)...

Our gathering just before dinner - a warm sunny day with much to be thankful for.

Steve opening a bottle of wine that Terry brought. That size is know as a Methuselah.

The turkeys being trumpeted into the dining room. It was Wyatt's first turkey carving - he's just behind John. He got an A+.

After dinner a little entertainment. Strumming & singing by Pam Swan.





Then the traditional scoring of the dishes on the meal. The pumpkin caramel pie was not much to write you about but the crowd was enthusiastic about everything else.

Overall the meal rated an 8.5 (Don't ask why it looks like 8+5 instead of 8.5)

London Lizzie got the pig prize for having traveled the farthest.

A little piano playing while others snoozed in the back room (suspect that part at was common across this country.)


And many calls from friends who couldn't make it this year. We miss them all but know that some year they'll be back to join us again.

Day 1 and not counting...

Most guests, more good meals, more wine, and for George, more fresh air...

Stuffing has been made; caramel pumpkin pie - done; salad prepped & dressing made; turkeys in the brine; more guests have arrived but more tomorrow. I think we're up to 26 for dinner and counting...

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving wherever you are!!!

Day 2 and counting...

Cook, cook, cook - a day of getting some of the prep work out of the way for the big day. The worst job? Those darn chestnuts. I HATE peeling chestnuts!!! This year I went to the chestnut internet site and they suggested soaking them overnight, then boiling them for 1-1/2 hours before peeling them. This does make the shells a bit softer, but they still have to be piping hot before those skins come off. But they're done and my fingers are still able to type in spite of the abuse they got from the chestnuts.

This morning I baked all 28 dozen cheddar crisps including the ones with the nigella seeds. If you are looking for something to coat the inside of your veins, these crackers would definitely be a good candidate. VERY rich in fat (mostly butter & cheddar) - it's best not to think about it. The turkey stock I made today smells delicious and with all the veggies I added am sure it has to be a whole lot healthier for you.

Just after I finished the chestnuts (did I mention I HATE peeling chestnuts?) Cyndy from Philly arrived. She always helps me organize and put together a "plan of action" for T-Day (we'll do that tomorrow). And John & Joe harvested the Brussels sprouts - the only ingredient on the menu that I actually had in the garden. If Gourmet would only give me a planting list in the spring I might do better.

George has still been out enjoying the fresh air. At least he saw a couple of deer today (of course he was in the kitchen looking out at the time so perhaps that doesn't count). Did I tell you I HATE peeling chestnuts?!!!

Day 3 and counting...

Found - one sifter!!! Joe, bless his heart, went through the trash in the garage and there it was. I was about to believe the story that had something to do with aliens (and I doubt they meant the kind from other countries).

As far as T-Day prep...
turkeys acquired!
bread cut for stuffing!!
pie crust dough made!!!
You're right - that doesn't seem like very much but I had a lot of other things going on today. I promise I'll make up for it tomorrow.

Day 4 and counting...

John is "in charge" of breakfast on Thanksgiving. This year he's contemplating using the wood cook stove so gave it a trial run this morning - with much success I might add. First to breakfast... Joe, John & myself. George was in the woods enjoying the crisp, fresh air mixed with snow even though, according to Joe's watch, the deer's biorythms didn't start to kick in until 8:30 (just about the time George called it quits). Once again the deer effectively evaded him. Perhaps they caught his scent. I confess. I fed him bean and double garlic kielbasa soup for dinner (I have to do my bit for the deer, you know.)

Some of you have commented to me that you think I'm organized. Well, if I'm so organized, where's my sifter? It has resided in my old-fashioned flour drawer for 30 years except for the last week. I've looked in things, over things, under things. John even went through the garbage. I tried to blame 3 year old Peyton but none of us saw him with it so that's out. Let me know if you have any ideas...

Day 5 and counting...

Today was opening day of deer hunting season - a lovely day (NOT) with spitting snow intermixed with rain. However, if you are dedicated to the sport and have a lifetime hunting license, you're out there. When the rest of us got up, George had already gone "somewhere" with a 5 gallon bucket to sit on and "enjoy" the morning. Joe could have told him this morning's efforts would probably not amount to anything. Joe has this fancy watch that tells the biorythms of deer so you'll know when they are out and about. (You think I'm kidding, don't you? Well, I'm not. If George and Joe's watch ever agree on when to go out, I'll let you know what happens.)

While George was sitting in the rain and cold, John, Joe & I went to Syracuse to do the major shopping for Thanksgiving. Got most of the produce at the Regional Market (can you believe that no one thought to raise parsnips?); then stops at the Italian grocery, another at the Italian bakery; another at the German grocery; and the last at the chain grocery to pick up the remaining few items. There was almost no room for us to sit by the time we finished. The kale that John's holding is NOT on the T-Day menu but it was so beautiful I couldn't resist it, especially for a dollar. Will put it in the soup for tonight.

George is once again out "sitting" having already missed, according to Joe, midday prime time for deer. Will keep you posted.

Day 6 and counting...

Joe (on the right) and George (next to him) finally made it in safely last night. And, like he always does, Joe brought along LOTS of fresh shrimp from the Gulf which he gladly prepares for us locals. He also brings fresh crab fingers which can't be beat. Together with the fresh bread Leigh made and a salad it was a dinner that couldn't be beat. Thanksgiving festivities have offically begun.

George comes early to hunt (deer we think although the only deer he's gotten in the last few years was one he hit with his car on the way home). Now a resident of NC, George brought us one of their local folkart face jugs. Can you tell which it is? John is such a good sport about having his picture taken. This morning he had to have a couple of moles removed on his forehead. As luck would have it they were in just the right location to make it look as though he'd been growing horns and just had them removed. Can you believe I actually found both those horns in the woods this spring? (For those of you not familiar with deer, they shed their horns every spring just so folks like me can find them, then grow better ones over the summer.)

As far as cooking for Thanksgiving, I did mix up the Cheddar dough for the crackers and, like the recipe called for, put Nigella seeds in part, caraway seeds in part, and black pepper in part. What do Nigella seeds look like? Small and black - they don't look very appealing but hopefully they will taste better than they look. These crackers are definitely NOT for the heart conscious - mostly butter and cheese and probably delicious.

Day 7 and counting...

I feel rejected... no one came to have a lima bean lunch with me! Oh well.

On to Thanksgiving... This morning John checked out his charcoal supply since we always cook the turkeys on the charcoal grills - our only variation to the Gourmet menu. Not only is the turkey absolutely DElicious done this way but it frees up the oven for other things. I will tell you the problem with this is that John tends to be VERY parsimonious with the charcoal; so much so that now we assign a "watcher" to make sure John not only starts the charcoal when he should but uses ENOUGH charcoal so the turkeys actually get done. (I did check - we have lots of charcoal, not just the 3 lumps John "thinks" he needs.)

One thing Gourmet has added in the last few years is a suggested time line for cooking. Today's activity was the Cranberry, Apple, Walnut Conserve. I actually got it done as you can see and my test sample rates it EXCELLENT! Nice and tart. If it's half as good on T-Day, it will be a winner.

The cake next to the conserve is not part of the menu. Just felt the least I could do was make a dessert for the first of our T-Day guests (expected momentarily). Joe left from Pensacola, FL yesterday morning and made it to friends in Hickory NC. This morning he & George left for here. The postmen have nothing on Joe & George. Not only have they driven through this major rain storm the east coast got today but when they got to Binghamton the main road north to our place was closed. Now they're trying to reach us by circling west and coming down to us from the north. While I'm waiting I'm writing this. Cooking is done for the day (also baked bread & made beef stew w/limas - somehow I think they'll be so happy to get here they won't even notice the limas.)

Day 8 and counting...

Do you like to shop? Well, today was my first round of shopping for the "Big T". Replenished the olive oil, stocked up on toilet paper, bought backups on dishwashing soap, acquired the pumpkin and cranberries etc. etc. I'm sure you've all been there, done that.

So what treat do you think I bought for myself as a "reward"? Chocolate bars? Ice cream? Cashews? Any other guesses??? Well the answer is baby lima beans. I am probably one of the few people in this part of NY who happens to love them. Why do I think that? The store only had two packages and those were buried behind something else. Want to come have lunch with me tomorrow? My husband will probably opt to eat somewhere else.

Day 9 and counting...

Blogs are worse than "to do" lists. In my "before the blog" life I probably would have put off making those arrangements until the very last day. But since I've mentioned them far more times than you or I want to read about, I spent 20 minutes today making them. (It took me longer to decide on vases than it did to do them.) As you can see they're now on the dining room table waiting for their places.

Although we can with the addition of an extended top to the table seat 16 or so, we usually have more than that for Thanksgiving so set up a couple of spare tables in the front "music" room. You might notice the cat has decided to claim a chair but don't worry, he HATES crowds so folks who come will probably never see him. However, the chair will be used. We just got an email from our niece, Lizzie, that she's coming (EXCITING news for us since she lives in London).

The other photo is of the "back" room. I've been working in the evening shelling cranberry beans. Should have done it 6 weeks ago but didn't. (See what happens when I don't tell you what's on my list to do?)

Day 10 and counting...

Let me confess right off the bat that I once again did NOT get the arrangements arranged - the stuff is still sitting on the dining room table. Maybe tomorrow...

However, the weekend "guest" laundry as well as our own is done and the beds remade. John even vacuumed. As you can see, the Adirondack Room is ready for guests.

Now let's talk "turkey". For years we've gotten our Thanksgiving free-range organic turkeys from Windhaven Farms. This spring they had the bad form to sell their farm and I didn't think the new owners were going to "do" turkeys their first year. Turns out I was wrong AND lucky - they had two birds left which now have my name on them. My turkey worries are over!!!

The other good news is that Leigh is going to make the Pear-Cranberry Mincemeat Pie (also in this month's Gourmet - just not part of the regular menu). Leigh makes the BEST crust so it's going to be a great addition to the menu. I LOVE having multiple desserts to look forward to, don't you?

Day 11 and counting...

Today was to have been a day of catch up. Admittedly "the boys" did the best they could helping wipe the kitchen and pantry floors clean before they left. One forgets how much fun it is to slide around in your stocking feet. I'm grateful to them (even if their parents aren't) for taking home all the dirt their socks and pants picked up from the floor.




Because it was a rainy drizzly day typical of November, it seemed like the perfect time to make the arrangements for Thanksgiving. I had taken advantage this last week when the weather was beautiful to pick wild rose hips along the field and to "shuck" husks off silver dollar seed pods. (If you see silver dollars at the farmer's market and you think they're high priced, take my word for it, they are NOT. It takes a looooooong time to uncover those beautiful pods.) Wild rose hips and silver dollars make beautiful arrangments that work for Thanksgiving, Christmas, late winter, you name it and stay looking beautiful until one day you realize they're too dusty for words. By that time the spring bulbs are blooming and you're ready to throw them in the compost pile anyway. Our cat, like any cat, really doesn't care so long as there's a good basket available for him to use.

Sooooooo, where are all those arrangements? Well, I have to be honest, the one you see next to the pig is all I did for the day. Lots of excuses... guests for lunch and they brought a nice bottle of wine and lots of pictures and stories of Italy to enjoy and an invitation out for dinner and... well there's always the next 10 days to catch up!

Day 12 and counting...

Finding things to entertain the Thanksgiving crew can sometimes be a challenge. This year, however, Norm is receiving visitors who want a distraction. Who's Norm? He just happens to be the "world's largest pig", a 1600 pound Yorkshire (they usually top out at 500-600 lbs.). I guess Norm figured out if he just kept eating and growing he might avoid appearing in the bacon aisle of the supermarket - seems to have worked so far. Peyton & Dillon helped check him out and gave him a "thumbs up" in the entertainment category. (Norm didn't seem at all interested.)

At the fireman's pancake breakfast this morning (they serve their pancakes with real maple syrup!) Dillon zeroed right in on the 4-wheeler being raffled. Trust me, no one left with any change, just ticket stubs. If you're interested in adding more chances to Dillon's free wheeling dreams, raffle tickets will be on sale through December 3rd.

Just to make sure the pasta maker was in working order (we sometimes make pasta to go with the leftover turkey the day after Thanksgiving) we made pasta for dinner. With the help of a stool, Peyton demonstrates the Carroll method of cranking. Peyton is an excellent cranker - cut enough linguine for 8 of us for dinner plus leftovers. Not bad for a 3 year old! He also mixed up brownies for dessert (and consumed his fair share I might add) - another chef in the making!!!

Day 13 and counting...

Terry from Syracuse was at our very first Thanksgiving and all? (my memory fails me) of them since. He also supplies a LOT of the wine (perhaps that’s why my memory fails me!) This is definitely going to be another good year because Steve from NH just emailed that he’s having a case of Pinot Noir (it’s on the menu…) shipped from Oregon.

Steve was also at the first Thanksgiving as was his daughter, Becca, who was just a kid way back then. Becca spent many Thanksgivings with us but then grew up and moved away as kids are apt to do. This year she and her family (can’t believe Becca’s oldest daughter is out of college!) are coming from Pittsburgh to join in the fun.

But enough thinking about wine and who’s coming in two weeks when we actually have a “warm-up” crew here right now. I made a big batch of Bubba cookies today and our godson Dillon and his brother Peyton began “testing” them as soon as they arrived. Are they on the menu? No, but there are meals other than “the BIG one” around Thanksgiving and cookies are a great thing to have on hand (that is if Dillon & Peyton leave any to go in the freezer!)

Today, like Thanksgiving, there were plenty of stories to share. Kathleen and the boys are reading at the bar in the kitchen – probably the most popular place to sit in the entire house.

And to build up an appetite, whether it’s today or Thanksgiving, there’s always a walk in the pastures around the house. Sorry, Randy, I didn’t intend to show just your back but the view was too pretty to pass up. Let’s hope this weather holds for 13 more days!

14 Days until T-Day

Thanksgiving is a BIG deal in our house. A friend asked if I would do a blog he could show folks telling about where he disappears to every year. Rather than create yet another blog, I decided to modify this one just a bit for the next couple of weeks and share with you a bit of history and some of this year’s “countdown” activities. Here goes…

Over 30 years ago we got together with some friends and made the menu featured in Gourmet magazine for Thanksgiving. It proved to be so much fun that we’ve been doing it ever since. Most of us like to cook and ALL of us like to eat and socialize and of course critique the menu.

We never know what’s going to be on the menu until the magazine comes out (did you know that Florida usually gets their magazine before New York?). Nor do we know what it will taste like. Who would have guessed the lima bean puree would be an all time favorite or that the 5 rice stuffing would be so bad (memorable though)??!! Regardless of the menu, we ALWAYS have for a fun time.

This year’s menu, once again, does NOT call for mashed potatoes. Gourmet has this “thing” about potatoes – they never put them on the menu. None of us can figure out what that’s all about so we usually add them anyway. Although we generally make everything here, Paul & Inez from Pennsylvania called for a “make ahead” assignment… perhaps the pear-almond cakes?

The “weird” ingredient this year is nigella seeds. As it turns out I have lots of nigella each year in my flower garden as it self-seeds all over the place. Of course all mine have long ago made it to the compost pile. How was I supposed to know that Gourmet had actually decided to EAT them! Who even knew (other than the birds) they were edible?! Luckily, friends in NYC came through (stores down there have been quickly selling out so I guess we’re not the only ones doing this menu).

No, the chickens aren't ours. They belong to our neighbor Joan - Rhode Island Reds those ladies are (aren't they pretty?) and they lay nice brown eggs with gorgeous yellow yolks. Keep your fingers crossed they'll lay enough over the next couple of weeks to provide Joan and us with our T-Day needs!

Voters in Training

Even though yesterday was looooooooooooooong, it was good day. This is the last year NY state will use their old mechanical voting machines (of course they said that last year too....). Whether it was nostalgia or one of the other reasons we've heard so much about today (is everyone glad to be getting back to plain old toilet paper ads instead of the negative, political ones?), we had over 50% of the registered voters in our district come out to vote. Many of those voters were first time voters and many brought their babies/kids with them. Years from now, the kid on the right should be able to remember going into a "big, old, clunky booth and pulling down levers to vote". The baby in the basket on the left slept through the whole exciting event.

The sign from the last blog??? Duly posted at the election site, of course. For those of you who get the British magazine, "The Oldie", look for it there. A friend picked the picture off the blog after the primary and sent it in. They liked it so much, they included it in the latest issue. We're FAMOUS!!! (well, not quite, they don't print credits.)

Remember to VOTE!

Remember this from my blog on primary day? Well, tomorrow is election day nationwide and I hope you all will go and vote.

I have to work the polls starting at 5:30 AM (that's EARLY EARLY morning - I don't even want to think about what time that means I have to get up) until 9:30 PM (that's at night). Those hours are why I'm posting tomorrow's blog (this blog) today. If I can be there ALL those hours (church dinners brought it or not), YOU can find the time to go in and vote. Who knows, you might also find a good church supper on the way.

Dead Dogs

It was one of those warm (almost 60 degrees!) sunny days in late fall that we who live in upstate NY treasure. Today was also the day that Red, our dog, died. (To be honest I debated with myself whether or not to write about it, but then I figured that dying was part of living and should be included.) Anyway, Red was a wonderful dog and was almost 14 which is old for a large dog. Living with us obviously worked for him!

Tears or not, the reality is we had a dead dog to bury, something we can do in the country. (Even though digging the hole was an effort, we must have it easy compared with you folks in the city - what on earth do you do?) Anyway, my plan to take out part of a flowerbed next spring quickly got fast-forwarded and Red ended up there. It was a good place for him as he always wanted to be close to me when I gardened. Other past dogs are buried by the compost pile (their favorite place) but Red was never much of a garbage hound and besides we couldn't remember exactly where we'd put them (a hazard with getting older and having outlived multiple dogs & cats). Will we get another dog? Not if our cat has anything to say about it!

Waffles

Sunday is our day to have something other than granola or oatmeal for breakfast. This Sunday we decided to have waffles cooked in the old-fashioned cast iron waffle iron that goes on the wood stove. (I bet you're thinking how quaint aren't you? Look at John & read on...)

Last week we gave up after an hour and our first waffle was still sticking to the waffle iron. Got out the old reliable electric one to keep from starving.

This week we went at it again with renewed energy and a better seasoned waffle iron. Again it stuck. Not wanting to admit defeat (if our friend Malin can do it, we should be able to too), we removed one of the stove's surface "plates" and put the waffle iron directly over the fire. John then tried it again while I was busy cooking ALL the others in the electric waffle iron to satisfy my hunger pains. It finally worked as you can see in the photo! (Of course the effect it had on John's hair is another story...) Somehow I think this "quaint" activity may only be for those trying to loose weight.

Wine Tasting

Last night we had a wine tasting. Our first (in name anyway). It turned out to be rather a fun thing to do with friends on a Friday night.

Our restaurant friend had given us a couple of Cabernet Sauvignon's for our opinion. (Why us? We're usually the "this tastes good" types, but anything for a friend, right?!) As usual the internet proved to be a great source of info so I followed instructions on one site (blue cheese and bread for hors d'oeuvres; spicy beef, a stew in my case, for the entree) and printed off a score card. I also covered up the labels (did you know that not all wine bottles are straight up and down? Two or our three bottles were slightly broader at the shoulder than at the bottom. Add that to your trivia collection!)

We also learned the meanings of words such as opaque (are you sure you know?); how to swirl & whiff (after getting a "nose" full, one of our party also learned the importance of not getting your nose too close to the wine); and swirling (keeping a small amount of wine in your mouth, then breathing through your mouth to, theoretically, to "taste the flavors more fully" - you try it without dribbling!).

The result? Most of us thought the 2003 Long Point was the best (it's a NYS wine made from west coast grapes) except it was a bit too light for the stew. For that the 2003 Estancia (Calif.) would be a better choice. (Don't we now sound like we know what we're talking about? - and after only one night of instruction too! Perhaps there is something to the recent findings on the benefits of red wine.)