I just took the pumpkin chocolate cheesecake pie out of the oven. It looks and smells wonderful. It joins the homemade rolls and the apple pie on the sideboard to cool.
Now I have to cook the potatoes and the vegetables and the stuffing and the green beans. And then I'll make the brine for the turkey and assemble the decadent baked French toast casserole for the morning and -- oh, did someone say something about eating dinner tonight?
Originally, I didn't plan to cook all day today. I had portioned out the Thanksgiving recipes and carefully divided the tasks for this week into tidy little squares.
But life is rarely that neat.
Teyla came down with a cold -- the kind that sends streams of golden goo flowing from her nose every time shes sneezes. (That makes it sound so much more pleasant than it is.) That means I cannot, in good conscience go workout after I drop the older kids off at school; the childcare workers would not esteem me. Plus, the sweet baby just wants me. So we've been joined at the hip -- or, more accurately, the shin bone -- all week. Which makes it hard to cook.
Also, my weary brain has entered into a new phase of sleep deprivation, one in which my ability to multi-task vanishes like frost in the sun. By dinner each night, I find myself sluggish and blurry, my speech slurring, my muscles trembling from the strain of staying upright. (Side note: I still maintain that the sleep training is working. But thanks to the cold, we've taken a break from the seriousness of it all. When she wakes at 4:00 AM with a stuffed nose and a dry mouth, I nurse her and rock her and wrap her in a blanket of comfort.) All that to say -- mushy brain, no focus, stay away from sharp knives and hot stoves.
But Thanksgiving is tomorrow; there's not getting around it. And even with all the mitigating factors, I was so looking forward to cooking this meal. So I cleared my calendar for today, ran one last trip to the grocery store to pick up forgotten ingredients (although I still can't find watercress; guess it will be parsley instead) and got down to business.
The best part about having a whole day to cook is the domesticity. It quiets my soul to work with my hands on what is right before me. That's how I came up with of What I'm Thankful For This Thanksgiving (A Partial List); it's posted over at 5 Minutes for Parenting today.
May God open our eyes wider everyday to his boundless glory. Happy Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving Dinner 2008: The Final Cut
First, I'd just like to say to the recipes who auditioned for Love Well Thanksgiving 2008, you are all winners. Truly, each one of you has something unique that you bring to the table, be it comfort or flair or beta-carotene. I wish I could give each of you a serving dish come Thursday.
But as you all know, there isn't room for everyone. I spent the last several days going over your ingredients list again, and I've finally reached a decision on who will be apart of Thanksgiving Dinner 2008. The final selections are:
Good Eats Roast Turkey
Pioneer Woman's Delicious, Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Simple Stuffing with Mushrooms
Roasted Harvest Vegetables
Green Bean, Watercress and Fried Shallots Salad
Homemade Rolls (emeritus)
Pan Gravy
Land O' Lakes Apple Pie
Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Pie
Those of you who made the cut, I'll see you tomorrow morning. Pie crusts, you'll be up first. Homemade rolls, you're right behind them.
And to the rest of you, don't lose heart. You'll go right back in my recipe box. There's always next year.
But as you all know, there isn't room for everyone. I spent the last several days going over your ingredients list again, and I've finally reached a decision on who will be apart of Thanksgiving Dinner 2008. The final selections are:
Good Eats Roast Turkey
Pioneer Woman's Delicious, Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Simple Stuffing with Mushrooms
Roasted Harvest Vegetables
Green Bean, Watercress and Fried Shallots Salad
Homemade Rolls (emeritus)
Pan Gravy
Land O' Lakes Apple Pie
Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Pie
Those of you who made the cut, I'll see you tomorrow morning. Pie crusts, you'll be up first. Homemade rolls, you're right behind them.
And to the rest of you, don't lose heart. You'll go right back in my recipe box. There's always next year.
And So It Begins
Alternate titles:
a. It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas
b. Kill me now.
c. If it was 75 and sunny at your house today, do NOT tell me.
d. There is no spoon.
Feel free to suggest your own.
7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 1)
In case you don't read Conversion Diary -- and really, if you don't, I'm not sure we can be friends anymore; go subscribe right now -- I'm participating today in Jennifer's new Friday blog carnival.
It's bright and sunny out today. Naturally, it's bitter cold. The digital weather station I got Corey for Christmas last year (it was for him; I swear) said it was 10 degrees outside.
That's right. Ten.
It's winter's catch-22: You want sun? Fine. It's going to be so cold your jeans will creak when you run your daughter across the parking lot to school. What? It's too cold for you? No problem. Here come the clouds. It will be gray and dismal and dreary until you wish someone would sell you a butter knife and make dotted lines across your wrist.
Several of you have asked via e-mail or Twitter how Teyla is sleeping these days. My assessment is that the sleep training is working. But it's slow going.
She is no longer nursing to sleep, most of the time. (Sometimes I just can't catch her before she nods off.) She will fall asleep in her crib without me holding her, although I do still sit next to the crib and remind her to lay down (either verbally or physically) so as to encourage the sleep.
But she's still waking up multiple times each night, and sometimes, she wakes up and is very alert. For example, this morning she woke up at 5:30 and was ready to go for the day, babbling and looking at her fingers and making homemade movies on her little Mac. She eventually went back to sleep by 6:45, but she was up again (and CRANKY) at 7:00.
So we're making progress. But I'm still relying on coffee far more than I like to make it through the day.
And let's not even talk about the napping. It's Phase 2 of the Great Sleep Project.
I completely agree with Jennifer's take on Facebook (#6 on her list). I joined the Facebook cult a few weeks ago, after my family lovingly told me I might want to get with the 21st century.
But like Jennifer, I have zero interest in "finding" any people from my past, nor do I want them to find me. So I'm very hidden on Facebook, and so far, I only use it to keep in touch with my family and my real-life friends (and a few blogger friends who found me before I pulled out my super secret identity).
It's a fun way to keep in touch, but as someone who is already fighting to keep the computer from consuming her, I am playing very coy with it.
I'm trying to finalize my Thanksgiving menu today, a task that is both agony and ecstasy. Thanksgiving dinner is a meal of traditions, not easily refined. No one wants to see a huge fish gracing the table next Thursday, for example. But as a cook, I always want to try something new.
So today is the day. I've been clipping recipes for month, auditioning them in my mind. Today I make the final cut. Should I go with the traditional sweet potato praline casserole? Or should I go with the lighter, roasted harvest vegetables? Should I stick with plain pumpkin pie? Or try the pumpkin-chocolate cheesecake pie? Do I make Pioneer Woman's mashed potatoes? Or Martha Stewart's mom's?
Decisions, decisions.
I'm in heaven.
(Jeni over at One Thing posted a very funny tribute to her foodie sister earlier this week. She captured how I feel about Thanksgiving perfectly. Food is my spiritual gift.)
Given that I'm slightly excited about Thanksgiving, you might think I've been loving the "Dear Food Network: Thanksgiving" specials. You would be right. I stumbled on the dessert episode Wednesday night, and I'm still lusting after a piece of Alton Brown's pear-cranberry pie. And Ina Garten's nontraditional mixed berry cheesecake? Wow. I've never made a cheesecake before. But I'm mighty tempted to try it after I saw that one. (But for Christmas. I can't NOT make pie for Thanksgiving. Tradition, remember.)
I checked out a stack of books at the library last week, the first time I've checked out anything for myself in about a year. (Who has time to read when you have a blog and three kids?) I immediately devoured Tony Campolo's "Letters to a Young Evangelical." I don't agree with Mr. Campolo's viewpoint on many things. But he's a spectacular thinker and communicator, and I believe he's very much a prophet, calling the modern Western church to get back to the basics of Christianity and not be swayed away by the siren call of political power or too much Western thinking. I recommend it.
The sad truth? It's taken me almost six hours to write this post, thanks to constant but sweet interruptions. Which means I'll barely get it posted while it's still Friday. So that clunky title, Jennifer? How about Saturday Seven?
------ 1 ------
It's bright and sunny out today. Naturally, it's bitter cold. The digital weather station I got Corey for Christmas last year (it was for him; I swear) said it was 10 degrees outside.
That's right. Ten.
It's winter's catch-22: You want sun? Fine. It's going to be so cold your jeans will creak when you run your daughter across the parking lot to school. What? It's too cold for you? No problem. Here come the clouds. It will be gray and dismal and dreary until you wish someone would sell you a butter knife and make dotted lines across your wrist.
------ 2 ------
Several of you have asked via e-mail or Twitter how Teyla is sleeping these days. My assessment is that the sleep training is working. But it's slow going.
She is no longer nursing to sleep, most of the time. (Sometimes I just can't catch her before she nods off.) She will fall asleep in her crib without me holding her, although I do still sit next to the crib and remind her to lay down (either verbally or physically) so as to encourage the sleep.
But she's still waking up multiple times each night, and sometimes, she wakes up and is very alert. For example, this morning she woke up at 5:30 and was ready to go for the day, babbling and looking at her fingers and making homemade movies on her little Mac. She eventually went back to sleep by 6:45, but she was up again (and CRANKY) at 7:00.
So we're making progress. But I'm still relying on coffee far more than I like to make it through the day.
And let's not even talk about the napping. It's Phase 2 of the Great Sleep Project.
------ 3 ------
I completely agree with Jennifer's take on Facebook (#6 on her list). I joined the Facebook cult a few weeks ago, after my family lovingly told me I might want to get with the 21st century.
But like Jennifer, I have zero interest in "finding" any people from my past, nor do I want them to find me. So I'm very hidden on Facebook, and so far, I only use it to keep in touch with my family and my real-life friends (and a few blogger friends who found me before I pulled out my super secret identity).
It's a fun way to keep in touch, but as someone who is already fighting to keep the computer from consuming her, I am playing very coy with it.
------ 4 ------
I'm trying to finalize my Thanksgiving menu today, a task that is both agony and ecstasy. Thanksgiving dinner is a meal of traditions, not easily refined. No one wants to see a huge fish gracing the table next Thursday, for example. But as a cook, I always want to try something new.
So today is the day. I've been clipping recipes for month, auditioning them in my mind. Today I make the final cut. Should I go with the traditional sweet potato praline casserole? Or should I go with the lighter, roasted harvest vegetables? Should I stick with plain pumpkin pie? Or try the pumpkin-chocolate cheesecake pie? Do I make Pioneer Woman's mashed potatoes? Or Martha Stewart's mom's?
Decisions, decisions.
I'm in heaven.
(Jeni over at One Thing posted a very funny tribute to her foodie sister earlier this week. She captured how I feel about Thanksgiving perfectly. Food is my spiritual gift.)
------ 5 ------
Given that I'm slightly excited about Thanksgiving, you might think I've been loving the "Dear Food Network: Thanksgiving" specials. You would be right. I stumbled on the dessert episode Wednesday night, and I'm still lusting after a piece of Alton Brown's pear-cranberry pie. And Ina Garten's nontraditional mixed berry cheesecake? Wow. I've never made a cheesecake before. But I'm mighty tempted to try it after I saw that one. (But for Christmas. I can't NOT make pie for Thanksgiving. Tradition, remember.)
------ 6 ------
I checked out a stack of books at the library last week, the first time I've checked out anything for myself in about a year. (Who has time to read when you have a blog and three kids?) I immediately devoured Tony Campolo's "Letters to a Young Evangelical." I don't agree with Mr. Campolo's viewpoint on many things. But he's a spectacular thinker and communicator, and I believe he's very much a prophet, calling the modern Western church to get back to the basics of Christianity and not be swayed away by the siren call of political power or too much Western thinking. I recommend it.
------ 7 ------
The sad truth? It's taken me almost six hours to write this post, thanks to constant but sweet interruptions. Which means I'll barely get it posted while it's still Friday. So that clunky title, Jennifer? How about Saturday Seven?
The Band in My Utensil Drawer
As I was making dinner last night, Connor started sorting through my utensil drawer, on the hunt for “musical instruments for his band.”
He pulled out a solitary chopstick.
“It’s a baton,” he explained.
Next up, my wooden rolling pin.
“A guitar,” he grinned.
My favorite tongs?
“A snapper,” he said, clicking the two pinchers together.
A cookie dough scoop?
“A skoozer,” he said emphatically.
(I don’t ask questions.)
Then my long-forgotten wine bottle opener, a relic from the days I worked at Friday’s and Olive Garden.
“A gun,” he solemnly said.
Because goodness knows, every band needs a gun. Those groupies can get out of control.
My post at 5 Minutes for Parenting today is also about when cooking and parenting collide. Sort of. It's a little esoteric. Go see for yourself.
He pulled out a solitary chopstick.
“It’s a baton,” he explained.
Next up, my wooden rolling pin.
“A guitar,” he grinned.
My favorite tongs?
“A snapper,” he said, clicking the two pinchers together.
A cookie dough scoop?
“A skoozer,” he said emphatically.
(I don’t ask questions.)
Then my long-forgotten wine bottle opener, a relic from the days I worked at Friday’s and Olive Garden.
“A gun,” he solemnly said.
Because goodness knows, every band needs a gun. Those groupies can get out of control.
My post at 5 Minutes for Parenting today is also about when cooking and parenting collide. Sort of. It's a little esoteric. Go see for yourself.
Deep Thoughts, Part One
I have so many deep thoughts rumbling around in my brain right now. It feels weighted down and very tangled. One trail leads to another which leads to another. Eventually, I end up going in circles. And the fact that I'm sleep deprived doesn't help. As I've often said to Corey this past week, I don't think I'm licensed for this.
What I really need to do is journal. It's always been the way I clean out my mind. There's something tremendously cathartic about getting all those thoughts out of my head and down on paper where they can be studied and analyzed and (if nothing else) captured and told to be still. But lately, I find it difficult to journal because the blog guilt is ever present. "Shouldn't you be writing something for the blog? Have you checked Twitter lately? Did you leave a comment on all the blogs you read today?"
Annoying. And wrong.
I've got some ideas about how to balance this addictive and fulfilling hobby with the kind of writing I used to do on a regular basis. But so far, I haven't reached any conclusions. Circles, you know. But still. It's good to be thinking about it. I feel like, the past few months, I haven't had a blog. The blog has had me.
That has got to change.
What I really need to do is journal. It's always been the way I clean out my mind. There's something tremendously cathartic about getting all those thoughts out of my head and down on paper where they can be studied and analyzed and (if nothing else) captured and told to be still. But lately, I find it difficult to journal because the blog guilt is ever present. "Shouldn't you be writing something for the blog? Have you checked Twitter lately? Did you leave a comment on all the blogs you read today?"
Annoying. And wrong.
I've got some ideas about how to balance this addictive and fulfilling hobby with the kind of writing I used to do on a regular basis. But so far, I haven't reached any conclusions. Circles, you know. But still. It's good to be thinking about it. I feel like, the past few months, I haven't had a blog. The blog has had me.
That has got to change.
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