Bountiful

As I mentioned, we are having our Thaksgiving dinner celebration together as a family tonight since we will be all together. I did quite a bit of cooking yesterday so today would be a much easier day for me.

Fresh Cranberry-Orange Relish.........

Finely chop fresh cranberries and a thin skinned orange in food processor.

Add sugar to it in bowl and let stand for sugar to dissolve completely. Then stir in Cointreau.

Ready for the table.

Making pumpkin pies. Sugar and spices.

Lightly whip eggs in anoter bowl.

Add pumpkin and sugar mixture to eggs.

Mix together.

Add condensed milk and mix well.

Pour into pie shells and bake.

I am a cook, not a baker. I cheated and used prepackaged refrigerated pie crusts. They fit 9-inch pie pans, mine are 10-inch and they always cook dark for me. Hmmmmm

Mashed potatoes.......

Peel and cut potatoes in large dice and cover with cold water. Cook until tender. Rinse well and place back in the warm pot.

add cream cheese and butter and whip with handheld electrice mixer. Add milk to get the consistency you like. (You can also add sour cream instead.) Add white pepper and kosher salt to taste.

Whipped and ready to go..........

Place in a baking dish, cool comletely, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. To reheat; remove plastic wrap and heat in a 350 degress F oven for 30 to 40 minutes until heated through.

Apple pie. This was homemade at apple Hill and I just had to bake it off. Look how gorgeous this crust is. Note to self: Master pie crust this coming year.

Simple fall table set.

Stained gourd, placecard and napkin on top of each plate.......

We are so looking forward to seeing the kids and grandchildren! May blessing be bountiful in your life.................

Election Day

Yesterday was such an important election in our country. I believe the most important election in my lifetime so far. It was amazing to see the huge turnout at the polls, people even waiting 3 and 4 hours to vote and that people spoke their minds so clearly. It was a history book making day in our country, one I have prayed to see in my lifetime. As the saying goes, we have come a long way baby! We are filled with hope of much needed change and a man entering the office of president who is seriously dedicated to bridging the wide bi-partisan gap we have had for way too many years in this country. I pray we stand together once again as a nation, listening to one another, working together for the better of our country, and respecting and trusting the man who will now lead our country. God Bless America.

After that political note, I will move on to happenings in my kitchen on election day and other things. The weather has been cooler and David and I have been thinking more on the lines of cold weather comfort foods lately. I made good old-fashioned beef stew last night. It sure smells good simmering on the stove top.

Trimming and cutting beef into more manageable bite-sized pieces.

It's so good to hear from Erin herself on her blog and knowing that she is doing so much better then she was and will soon be making her way back to Fortuna.

Tossed pieces of meat in flour....

The scenario has changed some; Rob will be driving her back home, not traveling by ambulance. She will also be going home with home care nursing instead of going to a nursing facility. The nurses will be directly in contact with Dr. Jackler. We all know how much Erin needs to see her children and touch them.

and browned well in a bit of canola oil.

Jen and her family are arriving Friday to spend the weekend. John has go-kart meetings to attend in this area over the weekend. Since they most likely will be moving into their new house over Thanksgiving, we decided to have our Thanksgiving celebration dinner Friday night. Theresa and Shawn are joining us as well, so we will all be together. That is all that is really important to our family.

Added spices, tomato sauce and water, brought to a boil, lowered heat to a simmer and cooked for about an hour.

I will be making most of the traditional dishes I make on Thanksgiving Day; Rosemary Roasted Turkey with Apricot Glaze, Italian Sausage, Apple and Cranberry Stuffing, Gravy, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Cranberry-Orange Relish, and Whole Green Beans. For dessert there will be Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream that has been whipped with orange liqueur and apple pies. I will be sure to take pictures.

Cutting vegetables into chunks to add to stew.

I am almost done with my Diane's Home Kitchen newsletters for the rest of the year. It's time consuming, but enjoyable for the most part. It will be so nice not having to worry about writing them during the holiday season.

Ready and waiting for their moment. Once in the stew, bring back to a simmer and let cook for another hour or so.

Getting ready for the party season. Yes, I will have to start decorating here at the house next week for Christmas so I have time for shopping, cooking, and gift wrapping before the first Saturday in December when we have out annual holiday party. The menu is still spinning through my head at this point. We are having a fine wine exchange this year for those interested, and also guests will bring bags of appropriate groceries if they care to to donate to "Foods For Family." Together I believe we can make a difference. Giving and creativity feeds the soul.

Piping hot in a serving bowl ready to eat. I have to say it sure tasted good as we watched the election coverage on CNN.

My brother Ron is directing the play "Arsenic and Old Lace," in Omaha. It opened Friday and runs through this week. If you live out that way I hope you will see it. I used to love going to see him act and direct plays when he lives in California. I miss that. Break a leg Ron! Wish we were there.

Blackberry Dumplings. I did not make these, these came homemade and ready to bake from apple Hill.

I haven't done any crafts this week but I have been getting my creativity fix from writing the food/wine newsletters and planning holidays dinners and parties. I have to organize my shelves that hold mostly items I use for entertaining and in my kitchen. Maybe I will get that done before this week is done.

Flaky buttery puff pastry stuffed full of fresh blackberries. Each melt-in-your-mouth bite was a taste of heaven.

Well, speaking of the organization, planning and not mentioned laundry and household chores, I had better get on with my day. Hope everyone has a great day!

Check Out Erin's Blog Post On Her Blog

It's wonderful hearing from her first hand!!!

Erin! Wonderful To See Your Comments!!

I have missed you Sweetie and so good to see you are feeling at least well enough to peek at blogs and your mail on the laptop. What a wonderful surprise to see your comments! Uncle David and I think about you always and continue to send prayers up and good vibes your way. We are so proud of you for doing exactly what the surgeons and doctors tell you too to get your weight and strength back again. Uncle David knows well how slow recovery can be and the frustrations that can bring with it. He also knows the importance of behaving so he doesn't end up back where he started.

Accepting that this is going to be a slower recovery than you had first hoped is the first step in getting better. You are such an amazing woman Erin. You truely are and we love you very much.

Love and hugs both you and Rob.
PS> I bet he is keeping those nurses on their toes and in line!

Moments of My Week

This week has been one mainly spent at home catching up on things I have gotten behind on and playing in my kitchen when I can.

After making so much applesauce and also spaghetti sauce that needed to be frozen, and having been using a lot of things from the freezer, I had to tackle the job I have been putting off for quite a while -- clean out and organize the freezer in the garage.

This is one of those jobs that I never want to do, but always feel so good once it is done.

After I finished with the freezer in the garage, I organized the one in my kitchen.

It is nice k wing exactly what I have again, what needs to be used soon and what can lounge around for longer periods.

I found ham hocks in the freezer I needed to use so I made a pot of pink beans. One of David's favorites.

I make them very simply by adding chopped onion, a touch of granulated garlic and dry mustard. Add pepper at the end.

We did make a trip to Costco this week and they had beautiful golden pineapples from Hawaii. This has been a snacking source this week.

RAIN! YES RAIN! After an October that was mostly in the high 70;s and low 80's we have gray skies and rain. It smells and feels so good! I was ready for the rain and to feel fall weather.

I was way behind on writing my Diane's Home Kitchen e-newsletters so I have been busy with them this week. I am through November and writing the one for the first Thursday in December right now. My goal is to have them done through New Years so I do not have to worry about then except for sending them out during the holidays.

I have been craving pumpkin bread and had pumpkin in my pantry I needed to use and cranberries in the freezer, so I made Pumpkin-Cranberry Bread.

Mix flour, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice together. I use a whisk which also incorporates air into it at the same time.

Mix pumpkin, eggs, sugar, orange juice, and oil together with mixer.

Pour into flour mixture and stir just until mixed. Stir in cranberries, pour into pans and bake for an hour.

Breads cooling on racks.

Inside of bread - moist and the tartness of the cranberries with the pumpkin I love. You can use sweetened dried cranberries for a sweeter taste. I would imagine most people would prefer that with the pumpkin.

Potatoes in the pantry so I made potato soup for diner last night. Perfect for a rainy day.

Addition of shredded cheese and bacon bits from the fridge and pepper and we were set to eat. David likes extra bacon bits on top of his.

I'm a cheese lover myself.

Today I am hoping to bake pumpkin-pineapple breads and make red pepper jam and preserve it. I was not happy with the last batch I made. I have the red bell peppers and everything else I need, so I think I will try it again.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! I am enjoying the rainy weekend at home.

Erin Update - 7:50 PM

Deb and talked again since we had to stop our earlier conversation because someone came to her door. Erin does have to have the metal plate put in at the top of her spine to hold her head up. They are not sure when they will do this surgery. I am sure not until she has recovered well from this last one. They are looking at doing the vocal cord procedure at the same time.

Yes, loving the rain. We needed it here too. It has been in the low 80's the majority of October. It is nice to feel a bit of fall weather finally.

Erin Update - 5:30 PM

I talked to Deb a bit ago. She is doing well with the kids. She was tired today and needed to take a short nap, bless her heart, but she is hanging in there. Weekdays are obviously much easier on her because Steven goes to Nellie's for pre-school. Steven had a great time trick-or-treating with his little friends last night and he is wearing his Steelers uniform again today. Too cute.

Erin is doing good. Dr. Jackler saw her yesterday and said her main goals right now have to be eating, gaining weight and getting her strength back. He talked of having her transported up to Fortuna to her home and having some kind of in-home nursing care for a while. Not sure if that was round the clock or someone who checks in on her every day. Erin is such a thin little thing to begin with so losing weight was not a good thing for her.

Deb also said she did not think they would be releasing Erin from the hospital for at least a few more days. Hope everyone is having great weekend. I am loving the rain we having!