A Late November Day

The turkey was gorgeous and what turkey was meant to be. I never knew until now. He made the Contessa's stuffing (and added some of this stuffing's ingredients) and mashed potatoes. I made orange cranberry sauce, pumpkin wild rice soup (that I forgot to serve), gravy, and a Paula Deen casserole (my goal was to use evaporated milk somewhere).

Thanksgiving Menu

November 22, 2012

Pumpkin Wild Rice Soup

Relish Tray

Roast Turkey and Gravy

Sausage and Herb Stuffing

Mashed Potatoes

Peas without their Pod

Vidalia Onion Casserole

Waldorf Salad

Orange Cranberry Sauce

Rolls, Jam, Butter

Pumpkin Pie

Apple Pie

Tollhouse Pie

Whipped Cream, Vanilla Ice Cream

Autumn M&M Cookies

We went to pick up mother's new puppy, Fritz. He is a red miniature Dachshund. His half-sister Freda will join the fray in a few weeks, as she matures. We finished decorating Mother's house for Christmas today. I have not been shopping since Wednesday. My push this year is Swedish trolls. I found a few at TJ Maxx and have been back to no avail. 

Mark and I move into a rental home in Las Vegas on December 1. We will be there only briefly until we can return to San Diego. It will be a great first home with plenty of natural light. We will move in and decorate for Christmas. We are excited to be together for Christmas.

I am reading The House at Riverton. Next on my list are: The Wind in the Willows, Doctor Zhivago, and The Ruby in the Smoke. With our move I am interested in joining a few groups: quilting and books. It will be an adventure. Also adventurous will be living with Mark's two dogs. One is a very smart and ready to please Malinois. The other is an older Whippet who is ruled only by his stomach. He is labelled a pain by those who know him.

When we survive both our moves, we will be in good shape. The holiday will be near. And we will be ensconced in hearth and home.

Set in Stone: The Collection

I'm sure you've seen them. Garish shiny red or black plastico leather bindings. A moon-face of an author. Uniform dust jackets. Gilt gold spine lettering. Orangey-red-clothed from Harvard. They are different families in one catagory: the library collection. A small canon from someone who chose, another who approved. And now, they are for sale.


I don't wish to cast dispersion from my non-Parisian garrett. Even I have feelings of love for Everyman's Library from Knopf under the Random House umbrella. Some collections are pristine. I am first to say I love books, regardless of clothing, paper, typeface. However, they are a noble thing and the press should reflect this. If you are interested in buying the Everyman's Essential set for your home (100 volumes), I will break the bad news. The set is backordered. I like to think they sold out at $2,282.45 per (free shipping?) and are now reprinting.


I love a canon, it is true. I sometimes reflect on what is my approved list of books. And, how would I clothe them? The thought came about from reading this post on one of my favorite movies. I've read the book only once and vowed to find it soon to reread. The English Novel. What is more noble? This book would be in my approved set. The 100 Essentials has chosen instead Forster's A Passage to India, a choice I can easily self-explain. I must start creating a canon of English writers to set me on the path.

In the Stacks

Because I have too much to do, all my library requests have come in. Here are the players:

Burmese Days by George Orwell (thanks, Gretchen Rubin)
The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
The Seamstress by Frances de Pontes Peebles
The New Terrarium by Tovah Martin

Winner of interior page layout: Burmese Days
Last place for interior page layout: an appalling font in Moon over Manifest
First book I'll start after Dracula is un fait accompli: Moon over Manifest (it is due soon and on hold)
Two books that will be flipped through: The New Terrarium and The Food Matters Cookbook
Book likely to be returned before being read: The Seamstress

Read Needs

Gretchen Rubin writes in The Happiness Project of her love of books. On page 229, she accepts her "idiosyncratic reluctance to read any book (or see any play or movie) that centers on the theme of unjust accusation." She then names books she will never force herself to read.

Oliver Twist

Othello

To Kill a Mockingbird

Atonement

A Passage to India

Burmese Days

Crime and Punishment

Arthur and George

I've read all but the last three. There are books I cannot read as well. And those are books of meanspiritedness. I had a really hard time with The Kite Runner. It made me ill. I've begun Lord of the Flies twice and not passed page 2 either attempt. Nowadays I can pick up a book and return it to the library after only a few pages. I can't take mean. Do you have reading limits?

Cranberry Thanksgiving

But forget all that today. It was Thanksgiving, her favorite day of the year. The cranberries had been picked, boxed and sent to the market. The dried corn had been soaked and the corn pudding made. The turkey was roasting in the old iron oven. Turnips, tiny green peas and a pumpkin pie were ready. Then cranberry bread was cooling on the wooden board. The real work was done and the feast was almost ready.

Every year Grandmother invited a guest for dinner and allowed Maggie to do the same. 

"Ask someone poor or lonely," she always said.

It never mattered to Maggie or her grandmother that the red carpet was worn and mended or that the silver spoons didn't match. Friendship and sharing were important. Everyone knew that. 

Grandmother's Famous Cranberry Bread
(Get Mother to help)

2 C sifted all-purpose flour
1 C sugar
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 C butter
1 egg, beaten
1 t grated orange peel
3/4 C orange juice
1 1/2 C light raisins
1 1/2 C fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda into a large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add egg, orange peel, and orange juice all at once; stir just until mixture is evenly moist. Fold in raisins and cranberries.
Spoon into a greased 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan; cool on a wire rack.

Recipe tested by the Food Department of Parents' Magazine.