Another try at Sweet Potatoes.

When it comes to side dishes that should be on the table on Thanksgiving, in my family, sweet potatoes/yams are one that will only get eaten by 3 people; me, my Mom and my Grandma. My Mom has tried many different incarnations of recipes, sweet, savory, spicy, none of them have gone over as a huge success.

This year, I am trying again to get the rest of the family on board with sweet potatoes. Instead of mashing them, topping with strudel or marshmallows, I am making dumplings. Gnocchi to be exact.

Turkey day cometh! Have you Gravy?

I got caught a bit off guard. It wasn't as if I didn't know it was November. I certainly know what month it is, I just can't believe Thanksgiving is just a couple of days away. I just want to know where the entirety of November vanished to.

I love the holiday season. The cooking, the eating, the family gatherings, the decorating. So even though I have no idea what happened to the rest of November, I have been prepping for dinner on Friday. Yeah, I know Thanksgiving is on the Thursday, but I will be working, as will my mom, so my family is having our dinner on Friday.

Eating and Sleeping.

My husband and I are home again after spending a weekend visiting his family out in the Vegas area. The occasion was his Grandmother's 85th birthday and we spent our extended weekend doing a whole lot of eating and a whole lot of sleeping in. It was glorious. I had pancakes for breakfast 3 out of 4 days, went on a chocolate factory tour and we went out to the Hoover Dam and took the Dam tour. Our last night in town we went out for a fabulous steak dinner.

I got to the point I felt like eating the rest of the week seemed out of the question. Brown sugar banana pancakes will do that to you.

Go forth, conquer, and bring back a great story to share with friends.

I've been doing a lot of thinking, reminiscing, and some crying today. A dear friend lost her very short battle against stomach cancer on Friday night. To say I was shocked would be an understatement; Oyana was young, strong and full of fight. In our few years of friendship, she taught me many things, and the biggest message I take away is to go, conquer, and bring back the stories to share. She was an excellent story teller, and she let nothing hold her back. She wore a hat like no other woman. She told a story like no other. She had even gone back to school and had just finished her first year of law school when she received her diagnosis. Law school! In her mid-thirties! Not many people make the huge decision to go back for a new degree after the first time around, and I bet even fewer go back for something as heavy as a law degree.

Succotash doesn't have to suck.

Ok, so I know that when I say succotash, most people say ew. Especially if you go to that Wikipedia link and see the picture of succotash made with kidney beans. It doesn't look too tasty.

But stay with me, I promise this is good. And colorful.

Grilling In November.

After having a summer full of clouds and cooler weather, summer finally arrived. It took until October/November, but the sun is out and the temps are up.

We grilled on Thursday night, the hottest day of the heat wave. Our house stays pretty cool, but once the temp inside gets up there, it takes along time to cool back down. There was to be no cooking inside, at all, that day. And I have a grill with a side burner for throwing together side dishes as well, so my stove didn't get turned on at all.

There is only one problem with grilling in November: Sunset comes far earlier compared to July. I was grilling in the dark at 6 pm. Well mostly dark, there was still a tiny bit of fading sunlight, but pretty much dark. I am happy to report the weather is cooling back down and rain is on it's way back, which makes much more sense in November. It will make my garden happier too.

Vegetables for breakfast for dinner.

There is no doubt that my favorite meal of the day is breakfast. I will always choose breakfast given the option, whether it is lunch or dinner time.

One of my favorite local restaurants has a breakfast menu I adore, and now they offer it pretty much all the time. I went for lunch just a couple of weeks ago and had french toast while my Mom and Grandmother had an actual lunch.

A few night later, breakfast was in order again at dinner time
Despite the Santa Ana weather here pushing my local temps up into the 90's and 100's, the rest of the country has acknowledged fall is here and seasonal veggies are popping up all over.

I got beets and turnips in my CSA box two weeks (maybe three?) ago when I made this recipe, and I will be completely honest, I'd never cooked with either before.Never ever. I've tried canned beets, and didn't really like the taste. Turnips, when I've had them, likely were overcooked and under seasoned, because I wasn't a big fan of them either.

My Halloween in pictures.

One should always start ones Halloween day with Voodoo.