Preparations for Turkey Day

The countdown to Thanksgiving is quickly drawing to an end: one more day until the big feast. This year is the Call Family year which means we are going to my parents house for the festivities. We will be joined there by one of my sisters, her husband and four kiddos and one of my brothers and his wife, a cousin and of course mom and dad.

Mom has been very excited and has been making preparations for weeks. She has been preparing a big surprise for Alli (my new sister-in-law, Jacob's wife). She has been making room in the rec room for a brand new Ping Pong table! Alli LOVES ping-pong and my mom is more than happy to provide her with her every wish (how is it that youngest children always get that? Even when they marry in?!) and my dad is very excited to stir up a little competition and attempt to give Alli a run for her money.

Mom has made assignments for dinner and I have been commissioned with the Honey wheat dinner rolls, and three desserts: Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie, and Peggy's Famous Sweet Crescents. I have also been designated the official roll-making teacher to help Alli gets some hands on experience with some bread dough. I'm a little wary because I don't know if Alli wants to learn . . . or if Jacob wants her to learn . . . or if mom thinks she ought to learn. If it's the first--hurray--I can't wait. If it's one of the others I hope Alli doesn't mind--I promise to make it easy on you, sis --she's pretty happy-go-lucky so I'm sure she won't mind.

The pumpkin pie and apple pie recipes are just the basics. I'm not allowed to change the traditional recipe AT ALL, under penalty of complaint from my husband and father. The honey wheat dinner rolls are just my own blender wheat bread recipe formed into dinner rolls (now that I looked at that recipe I guess I've developed a new recipe minus starter, plus honey, molasses and more wheat--I'll post it next week). I am making these rolls because my mom is allergic to the ingredients in the other rolls I'm making.

The second set of rolls/the third dessert, Peggy's Famous Sweet Crescents, are a very special recipe that I'm required to use under penalty of my husband not speaking to me for a very, very long time. His only requirement ever for Thanksgiving is "mom's rolls", everything else is more or less negotiable. I make sure to make them every year. These rolls are so soft and sweet and yummy. They are divine. It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without them. To Dave they are the meaning of Thanksgiving: something worth giving everything else up for, traveling half-way across the world for, establishing a new country for to have the freedom to make and eat them as you please. I'm exaggerating a bit but these are still dang good rolls!

Peggy's Famous Sweet Crescents
(My name for them, not hers. She's more humble than that.)

In a medium bowl combine and allow to rise to double (proof):
2 pkgs yeast (2 Tablespoons)
2 T sugar
1/2 c warm water

In a medium saucepan melt over low heat and then allow to cool to lukewarm:
1 cup water
1/2 c shortening
1/2 c sugar
1 t salt

In mixer bowl beat:
3 eggs until fluffy

Add the shortening mixture and the proofed yeast mixture to the eggs. Add:
6 cups flour

Mix well for 5-8 minutes using either the paddle attachment or the kneading attachment. Dough will continue to be sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise 1 hour. Punch down dough, lightly spray dough and cover again. Place in refrigerate and let rise 8 hours or overnight.

Divide dough into 3 parts. Melt and combine:
1/2 c butter
1/2 c shortening

Roll each part into a circle about 14" in diameter. Brush each circle with the melted butter/shortening and then sprinkle generously with sugar (Peggy does not reveal how much sugar she puts on them, I think this is her big secret. Put on more than you do over crepes but less than you put on cinnamon rolls--if that helps). Cut the circle into 12 triangles, like a pizza. Roll triangles beginning with the large end to the small. Place the rolled rolls on greased sheets. Brush tops of rolls with any excess butter/shortening and sprinkle with a bit more sugar. Let rise to double (may take up to 3 hours).

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 8 minutes until lightly browned. Cool slightly on a rack.

These are so absolutely, incredibly delicious. You will be amazed and astounded with their light texture and you will be sucked in by the sweet aroma and taste. These are better than dessert. These are Thanksgiving. Have a good one!

Wish me luck

I had intended to have a nice little post about Thanksgiving and what I'll be preparing and include a recipe or something cute like that. I'm just too nervous to do it though. No, I'm not at all nervous about Thanksgiving (don't be ridiculous, I'm only doing rolls and pies--nothing to get nervous about) I'm nervous about the test I'm taking today: History 201.

AAAACCCCCHHHHHH!!!!

I haven't taken a college level test in 15 years and I'm so much scared-er than I though I would be. I've had a stomach ache since last night. I had horrible dreams. I couldn't eat breakfast. What if I screw up? What if I run out of space in my Blue Book? What if I'm so tired I fall asleep in the middle and don't wake up before my 3 hours is up? What if I have to pee and they don't let me back in to finish my test? What if I totally blank and can't remember the differences between Alexander the Great and Ashoka? Or Buddhism and Zoroastrianism? Or Ancient Greece and Ancient China? What if I can't find the Testing Center that is proctoring my test!!!???

Please, please, please, please, please! Please say a little prayer for me: that I'll be able to remember everything I've been studying and studying and re-studying so that I can be back to my normal self tomorrow and write you a very interesting and exciting and humorous blog--perhaps one with pie and roll recipes!

Get those bulbs in the ground!

Perhaps it's too late in your neck of the wood. Perhaps it's already snowing or the ground is already frozen. Perhaps you will have to live through another boring, bland, colorless spring; I feel bad for you. In my neck of the wood it is not too late. The general rule for planting spring blooming bulbs in the Pacific Northwest is no later than Thanksgiving. I've still got 3 days.

You may be stressing about Thanksgiving and pies and Turkeys and the relatives but not me, I'm stressing about my garden. Three days and 3 bags of bulbs, a bag of garlic, 13 shrubs/plants/trees in pots and a whole heckuvalotta wind and rain. Just my luck wouldn't you know it!

I guess I don't really mind planting in the rain. Generally the soil gives way to the shovel a little easier and damp holes don't fall in on themselves as readily as dry sandy ones. Plants certainly do a lot better when planted during wet spells, their roots get enough water to keep them from going into too deep a shock. Plants are also building their roots in the fall and aren't concentrating on growing--perfect planting conditions.

Perfect planting conditions for the plant of course. My personal preference, perfect planting conditions for the planter (me) would be dry, not too cold, a little bit of winter sun. That was yesterday. Sunday! I don't work in the yard on Sunday it's my day of rest! AND IT WAS NICE OUTSIDE! Oh well, I suppose I'll have a blessed garden for not planting on the sabbath. I know I will.

So, if like me you have not yet planted your spring bulbs and you have a few more potted plants, bushes, trees, etc hanging around waiting for a home you need to get on it. Like you needed another thing to do this week, I know. But the weather isn't getting any more hospitable.

Peace

"No peace in the world without peace in the nations
No peace in the nations without peace in the towns
No peace in the towns without peace in the home
No peace in the home without peace in the heart"

----Tao Te Ching

New Moon?!

So I was in the middle of a PTA board meeting yesterday with four of my best friend PTA moms and was completely and utterly shocked when our PTA Pres. stops everything to inform us she was going to the midnight showing of Twilight New Moon. "You don't have to put that in the Minutes though" she exclaimed as the Secretary giggled leaning over her notebook, pen in hand.

The room suddenly exploded with excitement and jealousy. Yes, can you believe it?! I couldn't believe what I was hearing! Four grown women gaga over the so called 15 year old romance novels. I was incredulous. I was astonished. I was so startled and cautiously relieved that I was not the only grown woman that had been taken in by these books.

Yep, that's right. I'm a bit embarassed to admit it but, yes, I have been reading and enjoying the Twilight series too. And yes, I am a bit jealous that she is going to the midnight showing of New Moon. She didn't even invite us. The audacity!

I'm not usually much of a fiction reader. I prefer non-fiction like gardening, how-to books, cook books and the like. When I do pick up a novel it's generally something classic like Anna Karenina, Les Miserables or Pride and Prejudice. Or it's something I can read to the kids like the Narnia series by CS Lewis or the Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Something like Twilight is almost unheard of for me.

I only started reading it because Dave made me. OK not made me, he didn't lock me up or threaten me or anything. He borrowed it from a friend, read it, enjoyed it, told me very little about it, said I should read it and then buried it away on his bookshelf--He made me! Curiosity got the better of me and I couldn't stand that my husband had read this "little girls" book and I hadn't--HE MADE ME DO IT!

I read the first one and I hadn't had any plans to read the second. Then a few weeks ago we watched the movie On Demand and at the end there were trailers for New Moon. Well, those trailers just looked so intriguing! And I just didn't want to wait 3 weeks to find out what would happen so I checked out the book from the library--just so I'd be prepared when Dave wanted to go to the movie, of course.

My goodness, was I disappointed with the end of New Moon, it really left me hanging. I was so upset about the choice Bella had made and was mad and concerned that they were all making the wrong decisions and was just so darn upset that I HAD to read Eclipse just to put myself at ease. The agitation was killing me! I had absolutely no choice in the matter!

So now I am half-way through with Eclipse and am very happy with the way things are looking for Bella right now. If things go the way I think they will I will finally be able to put down this series and won't have to read the last book. Oh, how embarassing would that be to have read the whole series! A 35 year old, molly-mormon, who's never read a gushy, trash novel in my life, tearing through the whole teeny-bopper action romance series in a months time. What a cliche!

Unfortunately I fear I will be forced to do it anyways. Someone will ask me what I thought about such and such plot twist or a friend will have it casually sitting on the edge of their bookshelf close to falling off--it'll be a rescue mission. Or perhaps the movie will be made (or something totally crazy random like that) and I'll be driven to read every last book. Oh, it'll be terrible, horrible! And of course, mind you, it'll be against my will. Of course!

BTW--I'm team Jacob!!!!!! Edward sucks!!!!!!!

Best prices in town 11/18-11/24

Here it is. Your weekly installment on where to find what on this weeks grocery run. As usual I've only included the sale items that are truly sales and really low prices. I don't shop all of these stores each week but I do decide which one I'll go to based on my needs and what I deem to be the best prices. Happy Shopping!

Fred Meyer
Naval Oranges 48 cents/lb
Canned Veg 3/$1 w/ in-ad coupon
Butter 2/$3 w/ in-ad coupon

Safeway
Broccoli Crowns 78 cents/lb
2-liter 7-up/A&W 3/$1 (11/18-11/21 only) Limit 3
20 oz Dole Pinneapple 10/$10 - 50 cents off printable manuf coupon
Milk $1.99 gallon
$5 reward coupon with $25 purchase (20% off) of the following:
Banquet Brown N serve links 99 cents (79 cents)
Nestle Toll House Chips 2/$4 ($1.60) - 50 cent manuf coupon
Wilderness Pie filling 2/$5 ($2 ea)-55cent/2 manuf coupon
16+lb turkey 27 cents/lb with $25 minimum purchase. limit 1

Albertsons
10lb Russet Potatoes 95 cents ea
butter $1.69/lb
Philadelphia Cream Cheese 88 cents w/in-ad coupon limit 2
Campbell's gravy 47 cents ea - $1/4 printable manuf coupon
Albertson's Cranberry Sauce 57 cents ea
20 oz Dole Pinneapple 10/$10 - 50 cents off printable manuf coupon
Chef BoyR Dee Pasta Bowls $1 - 50 cents/2 printable manuf coupon (perfect for your 72 hour kits!)
Libby's Pumpkin 97 cents ea
save $4 off your next trip when you purchase 4 :
Dreyers ice cream $2.50 each ($1.50 after savings)
16+lb Turkey 27 cents/lb with $25 minimum purchase. limit 1


Saar's Marketplace
Beef Rib Roast $2.99/lb
butter 99 cents w/in-ad coupon limit 1
5lb Pillsbury flour 99 cents w/ in-ad coupon limit 1
Green Celery 58 cents w/in-ad coupon limit 7
Yams or Sweet Potatoes 39 cents/lb w/ in-ad coupon limit 7#
Fuji or Honeycrisp Apples 58 cents/lb w/in-ad coupon limit 7#
Globe Grapes 97 cents/lb w/in-ad coupon limit 7#

How to peel a Pomegranate

I love pomegranates. You may have noticed when I made special mention of them on my birthday. My mom has given me one for my birthday most every year since I was a little girl. I have fond memories of opening them to add to Thanksgiving salads. When we bought a house in Fresno (many years ago, since sold) one of the major selling points was that it had an orange tree and TWO pomegranate bushes in the yard. I love the thrill of the hunt digging through the fruit to find every last little treasure hidden inside the flesh. I love the sweet smell and the tangy crunch of the treasured arils (seeds) as they pop and squirt between my teeth.

One drawback with pomegranates is the mess they make. If opened improperly they are at best a nuisance to clean up after and at worst leave disastrous red stains on walls, counters, floors and holiday clothes. There is a way to open them without all this trouble and as a pre-Thanksgiving gift to you I have put together a little tutorial on how to properly peel or open a pomegranate. So go out and get yourself a pomegranate--on sale now at H&L produce $1 each--and enjoy.

Step 1

Select a firm glossy fruit with a deep red color. Check for soft spots or bruises. Choose a fruit that is heavy for it's size.

Step 2

Prep your area. You will need a cutting board, very sharp knife, a medium sized bowl full of water and a ziploc bag.

Step 3

Quarter the pomegranate. Using a firm swift stroke cut the pomegranate in half. Turn halves cut side down on the cutting board and cut again.

Step 4

Free the arils. Immerse the quarters one at a time into the water. pull the corners of the quartered pomegranate back with your fingers and loosen the arils from the membrane with your thumbs. The arils will drop to the bottom of the bowl and membrane will float.

Step 5

Remove floaters. with your hand or a slotted spoon fish out all the floating membrane and skin and discard. The water will look a little cloudy--that is the juice that would have spattered on you that got caught in the water instead.

Step 6

Store your arils. Drain the water from the arils. Place arils in a ziploc bag. Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 6 months.