Holiday Countdown

Happy Thanksgiving week! I’ve been absent from my blogging for a few weeks. It doesn’t mean we haven’t been cooking up delicious food because we have. It’s actually been a couple of things first I’m doing NaNoWriMo again this year and second we’ve been busy with work, family going to pottery class, bookclub, and hanging out with a museum meet up I’ve joined; at the end of the day I’m beat. 

For those of you who do not know what NaNoWriMo is, simply its National Novel Writing Month, you write a 50,000 novel in 30 days. It has to be fiction, not published before and  you cannot write the first word before November 1st. You can ponder plot and characters beforehand but you cannot write. 

This week the holiday season kicks in and Dan and I are heading to Fargo to spend it with my Dad, his wife and her family. We’ll have a traditional turkey dinner with mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, home made rolls, and pie. Both Dan and I are looking forward to seeing everyone.

On Friday we’ll head back home and get ready to spend time with Dan’s family. We’re going to the Bruce Monroe light show at the Arboretum and out for dinner - it’s gotten very good reviews - it should be a great time. We’ll probably spend the rest of the weekend catching our breath and then move into a fully packed December. It seems like we don’t have a free weekend from now until January. With that being said, most of it is filled with family, good friends and fun activities so no complaints here. 

As far as food goes, we’ve been cooking up all of our favorites; soup, field roast vegan sausages, roasted root veggies (complete with parsnips and turnips), of course enjoying the squash from our garden. I’ve finally found a preparation for kale that Dan likes and it’s super simple. 

1 -2 T olive oil

8 cups shredded kale

2 - 4 cloves of fresh garlic (depends on how much you like garlic)

nutmeg - to taste

crushed red pepper flakes - to taste

salt 

Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the kale. If it doesn’t all fit in the pan don’t worry  as it cooks down you can continue to add it. Toss in the garlic, nutmeg, salt and crushed red pepper and heat until it is all wilted. I usually take it off the stove, cover and let it sit for a few minutes. 

I’ve also been experimenting with single crust pies. I’m a big fan of fruit pie which generally comes with a top and bottom crust. While I do love my carbs I’m trying to eliminate them as much as possible; some days are more successful than others. 

I had some apples that I mixed up with the lemon, brown sugar, cinnamon, etc. in the freezer that I was originally planning to make into a pie for movie night but things got behind and I had to use plan B - which was chocolate so there were no complaints. 

Since they were already thawed I needed to use them so I decided to make a single crust apple pie and to be honest I liked it better than the traditional 2 crust apple - more apple flavor - less crust I think it’s a winner. 

I’m thankful for all of the things in my life a loving family, talented and fun coworkers, friends and good health. Wishing everyone a happy and safe holiday weekend.