A blanket of white is covering the back yard... a tad bit early in the season for my liking, but there nonetheless. It reminds me of a spectacular seasonal side dish that was my favorite growing up.  It is a star at the Thanksgiving table in our family every single year and enjoyed by both kids and adults.  AND it's super-easy to make:

We have turkey at least once a year, as a general rule.  It's actually really hard to get your hands on a fresh one around here... but we FOUND ONE at our local butcher! Ordered it a couple weeks early and it's local, cage-free, bug-and-grass-fed and around $2.75 a pound.   worth. every. penny.   And not really even that expensive, if you think about it.

14 to 16 lbs of fresh Turkey later, we'll all be in a tryptophan coma on Thanksgiving night.  But that's not all!  After all the delicious once-a-year meat has been carved off the carcass it's time to make the best soup EVER... using my grandma's time-tested recipe.

First, you have to roast your turkey!  No deep fryer for me, please... I want this bird done traditionally, so it comes out of the oven looking and smelling like the masterpiece that it is!

 Meanwhile... you can go do something else while your significant other makes:


Pull the giblets out of the (gross little) bag and put them in a 2.5 quart pot.  Add stock to cover the giblets (about 4 cups).   Boil for about 45 minutes.  Remove giblets and reserve liquid.  Melt 1/2 cup margarine in a sauce pan and mix in flour to form a roux. Add stock a little at a time, whisking constantly until it reaches desired consistency.  Add seasalt if desired.

And then, everyone gets to eat this AMAZING bird, with gravy... and the carcass is all that's left.  WAIT!  DON'T TOSS OUT THE CARCASS!  You can refrigerate or freeze it for when you're ready to make:

A bitter wind has started howling through the pines in my backyard and snow was inevitable. Sustained 20-30mph winds rack those trees, year after year and  they still stand tall. Their roots must go just as deep in the soil as their limbs go high up in the air.  And there they stand.  Rooted.

This time of year we turn to our comfort foods. Our lovely, starchy, delicious, subterranean root veggies!

I can't think of a better accompaniment to a seasonal cozy dinner, or a Thanksgiving feast.

But which roots shall we choose?  How about any of them... all at once!  Roasted to perfection, with rosemary, seasalt, and heart-healthy olive oil.

 Preheat oven to 350f.
 Add prepared root veggies to a large bowl and toss with olive oil and seasalt.  Transfer mixture to a large casserole dish.  Sprinkle rosemary on top. Place dish in over uncovered and cook until you can start to smell baked potato and rosemary! (usually about 45 minutes).  It is done when the largest pieces are fork-tender.

I've even made a colorful variation of this recipe for parties using purple potatoes to accent the oranges of the carrot and sweet potato.   :-)

The leaves have all fallen now and a cold front is on it's way in.  This afternoon was the perfect time to sneak in ... well, rather, stumble in through the STRONG winds to pay some attention to my compost pile(s)!  I turned the leaves into this years pile and spread part of last years on to my new apple tree and raspberry bed.  Everything looks like brown little sticks right now, but in the Spring they're going to FLY with the extra boost the kitchen compost will give them.

I try to compost everything, with the exception of meat and really oily leftovers.  Although, in the Spring, I plan to try out something called a "Melon Pit" where you bury ANYTHING organic(meat, bones, pine litter from the cat box, any type of leftovers regardless of composition, roadkill LOL) about 3 feet deep in the soil, cover it up, and plant on it the following year.  I guess I'll know a couple years from now whether it's a good idea or not!   Thus far, composting raw ingredients, bread, and yard waste is working out great for me with minimal effort.  I let the rain "water" the pile and I ignore the prescribed ratios of carbon to nitrogen.  I just put stuff on there as it occurs for one year and then turn the pile at the end of the season... ignore it for the Spring and Summer, and then spread it on the garden in the Fall.

Here's one of my favorite gardening quotes regarding compost, and life:
"If you are a good organic gardener, looking at a rose you can see garbage, and looking at the garbage you can see a rose.  Roses and garbage inter-are." -Thich Nhat Hanh

So, as I mentioned, not too much going on out in the garden right now but what has arrived at the grocery store in the last week is fresh cranberries!   They don't stock them year round... usually only around Thanksgiving through Christmas and New Year.  Then they disappear for the rest of the year.

With Thanksgiving on the horizon I'm looking forward to some awesome home made, super easy, cranberry sauce.  And for the Holidays and beyond I like to make homemade Cranberry Jam.

These recipes are Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Corn-Free, Vegan... and friendly to just about everyone, including my 3-year-old picky eater. You'll never go back to eating that weird jiggly stuff out of a can ;-)

Well, the leaves raining down in the yard made a huge mess and we spent the afternoon mulching them with the lawnmower and spreading them on the garden beds.  A great solution to our gardening and landscaping needs, considering a load of wood chips usually puts you back about $300. And we'd probably need at least one, if not 2, every single year to properly tuck in our yard and gardens for their Winter nap.


Sitting on the kitchen table from this week's haul are a few Acorn squash.  I wait all year for the opportunity to use this ingredient as I find it tastes best during the cold months of the year.  It can be a meal unto itself, or it's lovely served with pork tenderloin.  I love serving this to guests as it's pretty to look at as well as delicious.