CELEBRATING AND THANKSGIVING

  

                                                                        CELEBRATING AND THANKSGIVING

 Fall is my favorite time of year.  Family birthdays abound. We can't go a week without a party, and then, just as we have

 gone a week without a party, Thanksgiving crops up. The weather is beautiful, even when rain pounds on the roof and leaves fall from the trees. Wasn't the fall color spectacular and long-lived this year?

   Ask me what my favorite time of year is in May, and I'll tell you it's spring. Check back in August or December and I'll have different answers. 

   One thing that happens to me every November is that  without a rigid work schedule, I go on a domestic frenzy of cleaning and reorganizing. The pantry that's a frustrating hodge- podge in July gets straightened up.  I make amazing discoveries:  wow! Did I really intend to have 4 bags of miniature marshmallows squirreled away in there? What was I planning on making with them? Four bags is a lifetime supply for my household. 

  Empty canning jars get boxed up; "freebies" like glass jars that once held mustard get recycled, because---enough! I have enough canning jars as it is. The laundry room gets deep cleaned, because for a room devoted to cleanliness, it's a virtual pit most of the year. 

   In the home office, I shredded, filed, paid and organized. Big thanks to YFM's Bridget for helping, though, because I didn't have the emotional stamina to face that mess alone.

   The cubby of despair, known as the lazy susan corner cabinet in the kitchen got a thorough reaming. Turns out I'm a plastic bag hoarder, washing, drying, saving and never re-using plastic zipper bags. 

    The unexpected result of all this long-neglected homework is:  meh. 

    I'm  no more likely now to attack laundry stains, sit down and pay bills, or stop saving cute, empty jars than I ever was. Why a little bit of clutter bothers me most of the year remains a mystery.

   Outside my window on this bright, cold fall morning, the bluejays are having a clattering conclave. Two huge red apples hang from the bare branches of our tree. 

   At the fruit market, Linda and I often say to each other, "life's simple pleasures ARE the best." It's such simple wisdom that it sounds cliche, but at this time of year as we gather family and friends together to share and create traditions and memories, it's simply quite true.

  Nobody will care if your pantry's a mess, and you shouldn't either.   

Celebrate the seasons! Happy Thanksgiving!

   Fruitfully yours,

   Karin

   

PUMPKIN PUPPY COOKIES

1/2 cup cooked, mashed pumpkin or squash

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

   In a mixer bowl, blend all ingredients together. Turn  dough out on a floured surface a roll to 1/2" thick. Cut with cookie cutters and bake at 350 30 minutes. 

FRESH CRANBERRY SAUCE

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 12 ounce package Ocean Spray cranberries (fresh or frozen)

Combine water and sugar in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add cranberries. Return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Cool at room temperature and refrigerate. Makes 2 1/4 cups.

*For a tart sauce, I use 1/2 cup sugar, and added 2 teaspoons lemon zest.

FIG JAM

5 pounds figs

6 cups sugar

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup lemon juice*

    To prepare figs:  completely cover figs with boiling water.  Let stand 10 minutes.  Drain, chop and stem figs. Measure 2 quarts (8 cups). Combine figs, sugar and water in a large sauce pot.  Bring slowly to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.  Cook rapidly to gelling point.  As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking.  Add lemon juice and cook 1 minute longer. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary.  Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace.  Adjust two-piece caps.  Process 15 minutes in a boiling water canner. 

   Yield:  about 5 pints. Recipe adapted from the  Ball Blue Book. * Linda made the jam pictured here, and she subbed 1/4 cup orange juice for the lemon juice and added 1/4 cup balsamic vinager She brought it to work, served it with rustic crackers and goat cheese,  and it was gone before the closing shift arrived---poor them!

Better than Pumpkin Pie

This pie looks like pumpkin and tastes like pumpkin but its butternut squash! I recently made this out of curiosity to find out if its true that butternut squash can replace real pumpkin in a pie. When I served it at the end of the year party for the market a couple weeks ago it got rave reviews. I like how creamy the texture is without having to blend it. 

Ingredients: 

1.5 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash

1 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1tablespoon cornstarch

1 egg, beaten

1 cup evaported milk

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 pinch ground allspice

1 pinch ground cloves

1 pinch ground ginger

1 pinch ground nutmeg

1 9 inch unbaked pie shell

Microwave the squash for 20 minutes or until cooked. I cut mine in half , scooped out the seeds and laid it face down on a plate. When its done microwaving it will be extra hot - wait a few minutes for it to cool before handling it. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In a blender or food processor, combine butternut squash, brown sugar, cornstarch, egg, milk, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. Process until smooth. Pour into the unbaked pie shell.

Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes, or until a table knife comes out clean when inserted in the center. 

Enjoy!

Stay sweet,

Alisa