Joys of Home Ownership

The photos below are not for the faint of heart….

If you are like me, and you have a dishwasher, you probably don't look at it too closely. But a few days ago, I noticed a spoon had slipped out and when I reached to get it from the bottom of the dishwasher, I noticed that the part that traps the gunk was, well, disgusting.  Since we seem to like home projects on holidays, we (read I) thought it would be a good idea to dismantle the appliance and clean it out but good before the onslaught of Thanksgiving dishes. It took longer than I thought it would, and we couldn't completely take out the bottom part, so I had to improvise on how to clean between the thingies. First I worked on it with a screwdriver, then H thought I should squirt water on what was leftover with the water pik from the bathroom. Then we ran a few short cycles with distilled vinegar.  In the end, it was 95% cleaner than before I started, so I was happy. I think I'll check on it more often now...

Before

Disgusting

Much better!

Thanksgiving

What a delightful Thanksgiving 2013! We had some of the very best Thanksgiving food ever. Not many of our traditional recipes (except for the zwiebach), but rather new versions of old favorites. I think I mentioned earlier that C had a board on Pinterest devoted to recipes to try, and this is basically what we had. 

Instead of a roasted turkey, we had a turkey breast that was rolled and filled with stuffing. The mashed potatoes had crispy shallots and some amazingly delicious mushroom gravy (B had made the stock from scratch). We found a recipe from Real Simple magazine for cheesy sweet potatoes, and the pumpkin pie had a praline topping which was, in turn, topping with fresh whipped cream (and a little brown sugar and bourbon).

It's a good thing we went to the gym this morning and then had a nice 30-minute walk through the colleges after dark. I may not need to eat tomorrow....

Double-Apple and Brussels Sprout Slaw

I am anticipating Thanksgiving in a new way this year. Now that I visit Pinterest every day (mostly for music teaching ideas), I find myself following my daughter's Thanksgiving board where she has pinned ideas of what we will make next week. I was excited about this Double-Apple and Brussels Sprouts Slaw that I saw on her board, and I thought I'd give it a test run before the big day. So I made it for book club, and it was pretty good, so I think it will be a go. Even with the ginger grated into it, it's still a little bit sweet.

The recipe says that it takes 30 minutes to make, but it took me longer what with shredding the brussels sprouts as will as peeling and coring and julienning the apples. Other than that, it's pretty easy.

Death Valley National Park

Several years ago I thought it would be great to visit Death Valley National Park over Thanksgiving weekend. We are big fans of the NPS, but August, our big travel time, is the worst time to go to this desert. We waited too long to make reservations then, so this time I was on it early, and booked a little room in Panamint Springs on the far western edge of the park.

It doesn't take too long to get there from here - just about 4.5 hours, and we arrived a little too early to check in. The closest attraction is a little hike to Darwin Falls which requires a bit of rock scrambling over wet places, but at the end of the hike is this sweet little falls.

I think one can feel as though you've seen the best parts of the park if you spend two full days there. Of course, if you go when it is fall/winter, those days are short with the sun setting at 5. We spent the first day from the middle of the park heading south. 

The first thing we came to were the Mesquite Flat Dunes - and we took our time tromping through the sand and taking photos.

After a stop at the new visitor's center at Furnace Creek (with a lovely new movie to tell about the park), we headed to a popular overlook at Zabriskie Point, looking west over the valley.

We decided not to take the walk down into the canyon here, mostly because we did not want to hike back up.

Further down the road we took a little walk to the Natural Bridge through a narrow canyon.

The farthest south and the lowest point we reached is what people think about when someone mentions Death Valley - the Badwater Basin Salt Flats. It's the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level.

Heading north again, we took the one-way loop through Artist's Drive and saw the Artist's Palette - lovely-colored hills of pastels.

So, our understanding of the park is that there is plenty to see, but it also involves quite a bit of driving. Many of the places are accessible once you drive 2-3 miles on gravel roads, and then you walk for 1/2 mile or more. We did not take our usual 4-mile hike in the morning on this trip, but we did get to see many beautiful things.

I Like Pie

Ever since I saw the sign I Like Pie in the Village West Plaza over six months ago, I have been waiting for it to open. It is finally open, and, this being Thanksgiving, I wanted to try it out. I had heard on Facebook that the Pumpkin Cream Cheese pie was really good, so that seemed like it would be perfect for the Thanksgiving table.

I arrived in the early afternoon yesterday, and this is the sign that greeted me. Pretty much anything pumpkin was long gone. So, I decided that Holiday Pear with Cran and Orange would be a good second (and only) choice.

First of all, these pies are individual pie cups, not what you think of as a pie in an 8 or 9-inch round tin. Second of all - pricey. Each of these little cups is, well, it's hard to say. I thought that the sign inside said $4.50 each, but the checkout slip said 1 pie - $5.00, 3 pies - $13.50. There was also a mention that I had requested a box (see second photo), so it seems that it might be the reason for the 50-cent higher price of the first pie. No mention anywhere that it costs extra to have a box.

It seems to me that this place needs to get its business act figured out, and perhaps realize that the cost of the pies is pretty high for the serving size (although I think it is the perfect amount of dessert). So, that being said, along with a little ice cream on the side and a little reheating, these little cups of pastry are very tasty. I just won't pop in very often for one.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers!

Persimmons 2012

Last year I believe was a lean persimmon year, not only with our tree, but with many others in Claremont. Two years ago we had an enormous amount. This year we have had quite a few, and I took one heavy bag to church yesterday morning to help decorate the tables for our Thanksgiving dinner we shared after this morning's service. I was not the only one who brought so many, so I'm guessing that other trees are on a productive year, as well.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A lovely Thanksgiving today. My mom and dad are here, and we were joined by Dick and Kathy Olson for a relaxing and fun time. This is our first Thanksgiving without either daughter at home, which is a little strange, but we managed!

Thanksgiving Sunday

Today is a busy, fun day. We had our annual Thanksgiving dinner at church after the service which was delicious, as usual.

This afternoon Hal and I put in some sweat equity into the yard. I was designated "wood nymph" (which meant that I raked leaves), and Hal was the "planter guy" who moved some of the manzanita plants from the parkway across to the front yard, and replaced them with tall grasses.  With the new gutters, we are all ready for the rain which may come this week.

We also had a lovely 90-minute skype with Claire. She loves London and is having a marvelous time. Today she went to one of the Tate Museums.

Now we are getting ready to go to book club to discuss Ann Patchett's Run. Since it is set in Boston, we are bringing clam chowder. Now that the weather is cooler, soup is good.

Anticipating Thanksgiving

It's time to start thinking about Thanksgiving. Ahhh.

Last year I made Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes which we really enjoyed, especially my family who doesn't like the marshmallow yams. Here is the recipe:

Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds cubed peeled sweet potato
1/2 cup half-and-half
3 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
Preparation
Place potato in a saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes or until tender.

Drain and return potato to pan. Add half-and-half, butter, and juice; mash to desired consistency. Cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring constantly.

Remove 2 chiles from can and chop; reserve remaining chiles and adobo sauce for another use. Stir chopped chiles, brown sugar, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon into potato mixture. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon.
Yield

8 servings (serving size: 2/3 cup)
Nutritional Information

CALORIES 264(22% from fat); FAT 6.4g (sat 3.8g,mono 1.8g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 3g; CHOLESTEROL 19mg; CALCIUM 65mg; SODIUM 328mg; FIBER 4.4g; IRON 1.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 49.4g

Please share with me any of your favorite Thanksgiving dishes!