November 11, 2010

~ Blessings, love, and many heartfelt thanks to all Veterans out there. ~


It seems like November is flying by! October through December is my favorite time of year. I love autumn ~ beautiful foliage, apples, pumpkins, the cool crisp air. I love walking through fallen maple leaves, the crunch, the scent...  And as the nights start getting colder and people get the old wood stoves going, I love that woodsy smokey scent when you walk outside. I even like the longer, darker nights. There is something so cozy and comforting about being inside, cooking a warming meal for your family. Seeing lights in the darkness from across the street and down the road from neighboring homes. A few of my neighbors have those Christmas candle lights in their windows already. I love it.

I need to start planning for Thanksgiving. (I am aiming for getting my Christmas page filled more here on the blog since it takes such time to get a blog going. Next year I will have a Thanksgiving page, so please bear with me this year.)

How do you all celebrate Thanksgiving? I miss the holidays from my childhood. They were big family gatherings. Now it is a very small gathering. People have divorced, and/or moved away, and sadly, passed away. I never get used to it either. I think all of us miss it. But as the saying goes, it is what it is.

What are you all making this year for Thanksgiving? I definitely do turkey every year. More and more, I hear people say they don't do turkey. They really just don't like it that much and so have started their own new traditions. I say whatever works for your family is the best to do. You should enjoy the holidays. My hubby and daughter love a big turkey dinner, and so do I. So we go very traditional. Home made mashed potatoes and gravy, butternut squash, cranberry sauce, and stuffing. I make bread stuffing every year, and some years I also make an Italian meat stuffing from my childhood Thanksgivings - it's so good! (Next year I will try and get the recipe for it posted here on a Thanksgiving page.) And I make creamed onions. Some years I make sweet potatoes. Sometimes hubby likes to make a green bean casserole, if he's in the mood for it. And then the typical pies for dessert. Pumpkin (and sometimes squash pie). Chocolate cream. Sometimes apple. Sometimes banana cream or pecan.

As a child I took over the job of making stuffed dates. Now my daughter and I make them together every year, with the parade on the TV in the background. The recipe:

STUFFED DATES

pitted dates - whole
peanut butter
walnuts (optional)
sugar

* Make a slice in all the dates, cutting down one long side (don't cut them in half, you are just making a long slit to be able to stuff them with fillings)

* Put some peanut butter in each date, and a piece of nut (if using nuts)

* Roll dates in sugar and place on a small platter

OPTIONS:  You can use cream cheese or mascarpone instead of peanut butter. You can use dried cherries, cranberries, etc. instead of, or in addition to walnuts. You can of course use any kind of nut you prefer. You don't have to roll in sugar if you have diabetic guests or just prefer not to use sugar (but it really tastes so good and makes them sparkle and look nice too).

Enjoy!