Sweet Patooties

I made up a recipe today! I never do this, I'm NOT a creative cook at all.

But I remembered a sweet potato dish I had many years ago with John's family down at the hunting lease (what is a hunting lease, you ask? ask someone from Texas) in Pearsall, TX. It was sweet and spicy at the same time, but my mother-in-law has no recollection of this dish. So someone else must have made it.

Ever since then, I've wanted to recreate it, and this is the year! It's not exactly as I remember it, but then, MANY of my brain cells have probably died and gone to heaven since then.

I cooked up a huge pot of sweet potatoes and mashed them up.
Added about 3/4 stick of butter, a good amount of maple syrup, the juice from a jar of green chilies, a bit of salt, some nutmeg and a few shakes of cayenne pepper. Oh, and a few generous spoonfuls of sour cream. Then tasted and adjusted for a while.

I think it turned out pretty well! John says the only thing that will make it better would be to put a layer of marshmallows on it, but I say you can only have so many marshmallow dishes in one meal!!

AND, I'm pretty sure the Wampanoags and the Pilgrims did NOT have marshmallows down there in Plymouth, lo many years ago!

Thanksgiving Food Update #2

I'm reporting from the kitchen here at 123 Sesame Street...

Just kidding, that's Ernie and Bert's address! I'm at MY house.

Anyway, the pumpkin rolls are out of the oven and several have been devoured. I wish I could communicate smell on the blog, because the aroma of just-baked pumpkin rolls is AMAZING!

The pastry is chilling in the fridge, the children have eaten. Walter ironed a nice stack of 17 napkins for me!

I'm going to clean up the kitchen and run to Trader Joe's for flowers and candles. When I return, Lucy will take a nap and I think I'll have the boys work on the pies with me and maybe also some more silver polishing.

Fun, fun! Pictures to come on my next update!

Thanksgiving Food Update

The Thanksgiving food preparation in our house began last night. I made the traditional cranberries in wine and began polishing the silver.

This morning I ran to the grocery store before 7 am for the last minute items. I've completed TWO jello "salads" (Are you from the South? Then you know about these. These are in honor of my husband's Texan heritage), a green and an orange. The pumpkin rolls are on their second rise. I'm about to make the pie pastry so that it has time to chill and then I'll probably need to take a break to feed the hordes their lunch.

Walter is about to do some ironing of the linen napkins for me.

The difficulty I run into with all this holiday cooking is that I lose steam for making the regular meals that people still need to eat. What should we have? Cereal? Bread crusts? I wish I were more organized.

More to come as things develop.

What I'm Thankful For

The list of 1000 blessing continues this Monday, our little Lucy's birthday and the week of Thanksgiving.

I'm grateful for the memory of the day of her birth. It was the day before Thanksgiving that year and that labor was hard. I thought the fourth labor would be the easiest, and boy, was I wrong! It took everything I could give to get her out and I'm so grateful that she's here! We just can't imagine our lives without this breath of gaiety, whimsy and yes, drama!

Here is Lucy snuggling in her bed in her new bathrobe with her new Frenchy dog (from Fancy Nancy. Have you met her yet?)

Lucy in her new (to her) princess/bride dress, and me


From our family's Gratitude Journal this week:

#0153-0175

0153
Good Earth tea

0154
Greek yogurt...so yummy!

0155
doing chores together with the kids

0156
repentance and forgiveness

0157
singing at church, really loud. I always sing really loud.

0158
the change of seasons

0159
sausage (guess who?!)

0160
driving along the Charles River in the morning light

0161
coffee very early in the morning

0162
that Clayton finished Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

0163
haircuts - Lucy and me

0164
that he doesn't have to get a haircut yet - Walter

0165
the 84 bus and the 78 bus (at the end of our street!)

0166
the weekend

0167
Fridays

0168
Papa and Lucy having lunch together

0169
Mac B. (Clayton's best friend)

0170
Harvard Book Store

0171
my birthday daisies on the table still look good!

0172
water

0173
buttoning sweater buttons over a tiny round tummy

0174
going for a walk with Lucy and her baby in her carriage

0175
the different personalities of our children

0176
this:

If you'd like to join others in listing God's gifts (even if you don't blog!!), GO HERE and look for the Gratitude Community!

Boring life

Here is what Theo just asked me:

"Mom, have you ever been in prison? Have you ever owned a gun? Have you ever been to outer space? Have you ever been to the inside of the sun and survived? Have you ever been the guy who got stabbed in the heart and then they got his blood working again and he came back to life?

No?

Awwww, DARN it. That's so boring."

"World" Famous

EDIT: The light version of this recipe called for skim milk and fat-free chicken broth. And possibly reduced fat cheese. The bacon grease was NOT the part that made it light, surprisingly! You can easily do these things, but I've made it so many times using whatever I had (don't have potatoes? Leave 'em out). Enjoy!

As requested by "many, many" "people" (What? Am I misusing quotation marks or something?), I share with you now our beloved recipe for Chicken Cheddar Chowder.

Chicken Cheddar Chowder (from Cooking Light 1997; modified by me so that it's not so "light")

At least 2 slices bacon (I usually use much more)
1 pound skinned, boned chicken breast cut into bite-size pieces
1 c. chopped onion
1 c. diced red bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
4.5 c. chicken broth
1.75 c. diced red potatoes (peeled or not)
2.25 c. frozen corn
.5 c. flour
2 c. milk
.75 c. cheddar cheese, grated (I usually use more!)
.5 t. salt
.25 t. pepper

Cook bacon in a large pan coated with cooking spray over medium high heat until crisp. Remove bacon, crumble and set aside.
Add chicken and next 3 ingredients to bacon fat and saute for 5 minutes. Add broth and potatoes; bring to a boil.
Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until patooties are tender.
Stir in the corn.
Place flour in a bowl. Gradually add milk and whisk until blended. Add to soup.
Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until it thickens, stirring often.
Stir in the cheese and salt and pepper. Remember to season to taste!
Top with the crumbled bacon.
This recipe makes around 7 servings.

Happy fall soup making!

Practicing the Song

We're trying to practice the song of gratitude in our family. Following Ann's lead, I purchased a simple spiral pad for our own gratitude journal. Right now it lives on the kitchen table so that we can remember to jot down our thanks as they come to mind.

One thing I'm learning is that on the grumpy days, I need to keep my list more than ever. I need it, I need it.

Here are some from the family's continuing list.

0127
eggs

0128
pizza

0129
rain

0130
snow

0131
Thanksgiving

0132
my mom and dad and grandparents who went home to see their dogs (this was written in Lucy's special script and translated by me)

0133
food

0134
family

0135
baboons

0136
monkeys

0137
fresh bread and butter

0138
very helpful and fun son/mom time

0139
cake

0140
siblings

0141
popcorn and hot chocolate

0142
soda

0143
cheese (are you beginning to sense the food theme? these come from one son in particular.)

0144
Theo so he will get better (Lucy)

0145
musical birthday cards! They give hours of fun!

0146
a fresh gallon of milk in the fridge when you think you're out

0147
trees and oxygen and carbon dioxide

0148
Memaw (that's the children's great-grandmother)

0149
brothers playing football happily

0150
folded laundry

0151
unfolded laundry because it means we have plenty of clothes to wear!

0152
that God doesn't leave us like we are.

"We're not all that we should be, but we're so much better than we used to be." Our pastor says this all the time. He is at work, changing us.
Come, Holy Spirit, come!

Consider joining the Gratitude Community...