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.)

Snoring

My cat snores. He didn't used to snore but then neither did my husband or for that matter my mother or my friends. Is this something that happens as you get older?

We have two guest rooms in our house. The bunk room, fondly known as the Adirondack Room (but that's another story), has for years been the favorite. It brought back memories of sleepovers from one's youth. Everyone scrambled to claim one of the mattresses or to juggle another spare one onto the floor because that was THE place to be for the night. Now it's a scramble to see who gets the small guest room. Should it be the person who snores the loudest? Or the person who has the most problem sleeping BECAUSE of the snoring? Or the person who got there first? These days we actually find friends opting for the most-uncomfortable sofa in the world, the space under the piano, the drafty sunspace, and, can it be true, was there a reason all the stuff from the closet floor was out in the hall?

Do I snore? Of course not! Just because I occasionally (that's VERY occasionally mind you) wake up with a throat that feels "funny". ARG!!!!

A Doggie Day

Some days are simply more exciting for dogs (us too for that matter). If you live in the country or even in a village, there's always the possibility of a deer in your yard. Of course this deer knows our dog Red is old and won't go out of the yard so she just keeps an eye on him while enjoying the apples from the orchard across the street. Red, in turn, keeps an eye on her until she's had her fill of apples.

All that excitement called for a long morning nap (by the dog, not us!). This afternoon, just when things were beginning to look boring, a person was spotted walking by (this rarely happens since we live on a little used seasonal road). A couple of minutes later the neighbor's steers decided to go trotting by making their way back to their summer pasture. (Perhaps they know what's in store for them once they "get taken" to the barn or perhaps they just want to make sure the customer gets their money's worth when they buy that free-range cut of beef or perhaps, they too, want to believe that fall will stay with us a while longer instead of the winter snow that's in the forecast.) Nonetheless, a good bark was in order. No need to get up of course.

In for the night, Red's asleep beside the kitchen table snoring and dreaming, we're sure, of all the exciting things that could happen tomorrow. Simple pleasures. We should all take lessons.

Garlic

Does this look like Halloween or what? Shadows?! Is that a grave?! What is that hand doing there and what's wrong with it?! Actually it's just me planting garlic for next year. In case you're not a garlic planting person, garlic is planted in the fall and (according to one old timer) always on Halloween.
This year turned out to be a fairly nice day. (Truth be told I don't usually plant it on Halloween - we often have snow then and I'm not that crazy!). Anyway 150 cloves of garlic are now in my garden hybernating for the winter - 50 cloves of each of 3 varities the names of which I lost long ago. About all I know is one is big, one small and one has a soft neck, presumably for braiding which I never get around to doing.
What will I do with 150 heads of garlic? Gifts and eating of course. What could be better to tide one through the winter and keep the goblins away!

Little Miss Sunshine

If you haven't seen this movie it's about some folks taking a trip in an old yellow VW bus. John & I (thanks to Bridge) just happen to have one almost like it so of course we had to drive it to the theater when we went to see the movie. As chance would have it, a parking space opened up right in front of the theater. As chance would have it again, Chuck, the theater manager was there to take our picture. In fact to get this angle of the bus with the marquee in the background he had to lay down in the street. On Broadway this might have been a problem. In Hamilton it was no problem. Did we get free tickets to the movie? Well, nooooo - the theater is trying to break even. However, Chuck was nice enough to send us photos. Should you see the movie if you haven't already? Rent it & pop some popcorn would be our suggestion. It won't win any awards but it's not a bad way to pass a couple of hours. Is John "Invincible"? Only in his dreams.

Tomorrow John & I are leaving in Tillie (the VW in the photo) heading south to North Carolina to visit friends & work on a Habitat project for a couple of weeks. This blog will not be updated during that time. If you would like to follow our trip south go to www.ontheroadinthevw.blogspot.com Traveling in Tillie is always an adventure.

Hair

Like most folks I get my hair “done” every so often. Earlville may be small (population under 1,000) but we do have a salon. Debra & Diana do a wonderful job for a VERY reasonable price compared with what those of you in the city pay (cut, color, dry/style $35 plus tip in case you’re wondering). Diana, the person who does my hair, is amazing. She not only does hair a couple of afternoons a week but she raises a few chickens & sells their eggs; has a pet sitting service; does catering; has a real eye for landscaping; is a wife & mother; & knows how to drive a backhoe and a bulldozer. Apparently money really does go further in the country as she also drives a brand new Hummer (do NOT think my tips are THAT generous!).

Right across the street from “Hair’s Desire” is Norm’s Barber Shop. Once Around Norm, as he’s affectionately called, earned his nickname because of his reluctance to visit any part of your head more than once. Does John go to Norm? No - he’s been using my “in-house” services for years. I must admit that there are some parts of John’s head that don’t even get one visit these days although John continues to say his hair is just baby fine. John thinks he’s saving money. He might be surprised to learn how often I’ve justified buying something in exchange for cutting that hair.

And in case you were wondering what that other little building was in the first photo - that's our local bar, the Huff Brau. If you give those old guys a push down Norm's ramp they can just about make it in the front door.

Laundry & Birds

I love to hang clothes out to dry - they always smell so great at the end of the day. However, I hate to have my clean undies visible from the road which is why my clothesline is in the trees (of course here I am posting a picture of it on the blog - go figure). Anyway this time of year when days are short, timing is everything. You need 1) a full day of sunshine predicted 2) a light breeze is helpful 3) dirty clothes 4) daytime temps above freezing (I'm a wimp) 5) tell the birds to avoid that area (well, you, I'm sure, can figure that one out!). And walla, at the end of the day you have clothes that smell better than anything that ever came out of the dryer.

Now for the REAL story of the day... My friend Helen was snoozing the afternoon away a few days ago when she heard a loud noise at the door. Since she didn't hear it again AND she lives in a VERY low crime area AND she was enjoying her nap, she decided to stay where she was. When she finally did get up, she found the screen from the door on the floor. It was bent badly enough so she couldn't get it back in the door but that was about all she found. Her yellow lab, Susie, who had also been snoozing, found nothing to indicate further investigation. The next morning when Helen got up (since it was a looooong nap I imagine she got up fairly early) she went to the pantry and a grouse flew up. Low crime area or not, it's a wonder she didn't land on my doorstep she jumped so far. Being a quick thinker, Helen immediately shut the pantry door and called her neighbor who came and caught the bird in a net and took it to the local conservation center. Now, be honest, did you think this neighbor was a man? Well, it wasn't, it was Gert, a GREAT neighbor to have in such emergencies. The end of the story is that the bird had a broken beak so had to be "terminated". (Wonder who ended up having grouse on their table for dinner?) Since then, Helen has had a couple of swallows come down the chimney into the wood stove. Helen says she's not worried. She just builds a fire and they seem to go away.

The Wood Cook Stove

John cooked breakfast this morning. That in itself is not too unusual (he does this every couple of weeks). What was unusual was that he did it on the wood cook stove and, although it wasn't his best effort, everything was edible (it usually is in case you were wondering).

Remember the grate we needed and got last week? Or perhaps you remember the pig hats better? At any rate the grate fit perfectly in the stove so it's now "fired up" and working - the first time in the 15 years we've had it. Perhaps more comforting is we're now sure the "spare" parts John had left (he took it all apart to clean and restore it) were not necessary.

Cooking on a wood stove does mean that breakfast takes a bit longer (a bit being defined as anywhere between 30 minutes and an hour). But that also means the kitchen gets warm in the process. With heating oil so expensive we've been reluctant to turn our heat on so this is VERY pleasant. So far what I like best is that I can set the teapot on a trivet on the stove and it stays nice and hot all morning. Only 4 more years and the stove will be 100 years old. By then we should be experts in cooking on it.