Fabulous Bunny Downspout

I need this kind of whimsy in my life. Bring back the bunny downspouts! I could spend DAYS on this page looking at other examples. Have fun looking when you need a break from Thanksgiving preparations. xo

Quick Cleaning Tips

This probably isn't the right week to post these cleaning tips since Thanksgiving is on Thursday but who knows, they might come in handy. I had a friend in my youth who didn't have a dishwasher and she used to put her dirty dishes in the trunk of her car if someone called and was coming over unexpectedly. That tip is not on this list. via Pinterest

Vintage Thanksgiving Magazine Covers

Abraham Lincoln issued the first Thanksgiving turkey pardon as a gesture to help unify a divided nation at the end of the Civil War. 

I like them all. My family was quite taken with TV in the early days, so this one is my favorite even though I am not a sports fan. Have a great holiday. xo 

via Google Images

Box of Beautiful Onions

Aren't these the most beautiful onions? 

I am going to eat nothing but vegetables next week. I need greens after eating too much ever since Thanksgiving. I love chopping onions and find they improve almost every dish. Sometimes I don't even know what I'm going to prepare until I start chopping an onion to see where it takes me. via

Webster in This Morning's Fog

Hers's the Wonder Dog silhouetted in this morning's fog. We are having some very nice weather. I didn't even have on a coat when we went out early this morning to snap some fog photos. A flannel shirt and a scarf around my neck kept me cozy. I didn't even need gloves. It will be quite a shock when it finally gets cold for good, won't it? I had my gutters cleaned on Wednesday and I was so happy that the hose could still be used at the end after all the leaves were removed to wash them out and clear all the downspouts before winter sets in. The timing was perfect. Now I can turn off my outside faucets. 

I had a great Thanksgiving and hope you did too. See you later. xo

A Norman Rockwell Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving

This is one of my favorite magazine covers and holidays. Hope yours is as much fun as this one. I made my raw cranberry relish and a Mashed Potato Casserole from the New York Times. I don't think I've ever peeled so many potatoes at one time. It looks delicious and I'm sure it will be a big hit at my gathering with friends. Have a great holiday. xo

via

I added this poem years ago and think it's perfect for the Norman Rockwell artwork.

Perfect Kitchen with An AGA Range

All this and an AGA too? WOW, this kitchen has it all. I'm sure there will be a lot of activity there today and tomorrow getting ready for Thanksgiving! I wish my kitchen were this uncluttered but it's not. I have to clear all the junk from my catch-all farm table today so I can do some serious cooking tomorrow. Have a good one! xo

Cauliflower Melts are The New Grilled Cheese

PHOTO BY JOHN VON PAMER

Yum. Don't these look delicious? Wouldn't they be great toppers for any leftover Thanksgiving mashed potatoes you might have? Or over leftover stuffing?
Recipe found on epicurious. 

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Medium head of cauliflower, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slabs, possibly halved to make a total of 8 slabs
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup white wine (optional)
1/4 cup shelled pistachios
8 1/2-inch-thick slices sourdough bread
4 ounces Comte or Manchego cheese, cut into 8 slices
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

PREPARATION
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add the cauliflower slabs and toss to coat.
3. Arrange the cauliflower on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, flip the slabs, and bake another 10 to 20 minutes, until softened and roasty. Set aside to cool but keep the oven on.
4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, soak the raisins in wine or water for 10 minutes. Drain.
5. In a small pan over medium-high heat, toast the pistachios, dry or with a little oil. Let cool on a paper towel, then chop coarsely.
6. Lay the bread on the baking sheet and arrange the cauliflower on the bread, cutting it to fit as needed. Sprinkle with pistachios and raisins and top with the cheese.
7. Bake until the cheese melts, 7 to 10 minutes.
8. Top the toasts with chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Life's Little Instruction Book | Volume II | Pages 64 and 65

A few suggestions, observations, and reminders on how to live a happy and rewarding life.

More advice from a father to a son when he went off to college.

Amen.

I like all of these, especially the one about the Thanksgiving turkey. I haven't posted these pages in a very long time and I'm glad to see them again. 

Vintage Thanksgiving with Grandparents

Here's my annual trip down memory land honoring the good old days and Norman Rockwell.

Happy Thanksgiving from my cottage to your table. 

Have a thankful day.

Happy Thanksgiving

Are you ready for the big day tomorrow? I'm pretty tuckered out from shoveling the heavy wet snow so I wouldn't have to do it tomorrow after it freezes overnight. I've certainly gotten my share of exercise in the form of hard work this week. Enjoy your day with family and friends tomorrow and eat as much as you can. xo via

It's Snowing As Predicted

We don't have ice yet because it's too warm. Yes, you can have snow even if it's 36° and I'm not at all happy about it for all the travelers going home for Thanksgiving. Mother Nature is showing her bad side once again. Be careful if you have to go out. See you later. xo cardinal on icy branch

Farmhouse Apple Cake baked in Iron Skillet

Apples really shine in this traditional Italian farmhouse cake, where thin slices of the fruit are held together with just-melted butter, a couple of eggs, and a scant amount of flour. Top with crunchy turbinado sugar and bake it in a cast-iron skillet. It’s easy enough for a weeknight treat and impressive enough to join the classics on your Thanksgiving buffet. And it’s just the thing for keeping the doctor away.

Farmhouse Apple Cake

Serves 8

Ingredients:

5 Golden Delicious apples
2 large eggs
8 ounces sugar
2 ounces flour
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
4 ounces buttermilk
3 ½ ounces unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a 10-inch cast-iron skillet.

Peel, core, and quarter the apples, then slice into very thin slivers using a sharp knife or a food processor with a slicing blade. After this is done, pop the skillet into the oven to preheat.

With a wire whisk, beat the eggs and sugar in a very large bowl until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the flour and cardamom, then add the buttermilk, butter, and vanilla. Blend thoroughly. Quickly stir in the baking powder, then fold in the apples.

Pour the mixture into the preheated skillet and sprinkle turbinado sugar over the top. Bake on the center rack until the cake is golden brown and cooked through, about 55 minutes. The cake is done when a small paring knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe found HERE. I think it's a keeper, don't you? Use your favorite apple variety. Right now I have Gala and Stayman Winesap in my crisper. Happy baking. I love that this is baked in an iron skillet. 

Addicted to this Organic Lemon Juice

Okay, you asked for more of my healthy habit tips. Last year around Thanksgiving I happened upon a bottle of this organic lemon juice from Italy in a big glass bottle. I can't tell you how many lemons I end up throwing away because they have dried out in the fridge. Sometimes you just need a little juice and you end up wasting a whole one. Solution found. I got mine at a small green grocer and when I went back last week for another bottle they didn't have it. I almost hyperventilated and my search began. The internet said Costco had it but they did not and neither did Trader Joe's. I finally found it at Bed and Bath of all places in their International Foods section. 

Here is the link with all the good information about this juice. Click on the "Where to Buy" tab at the top. I had to increase my store finder search to 25 miles and my store ended up being only 6 or 7 miles away. It's available online too. There is an expiration date on the cap. The bottle I just bought has a date of July 7, 2014. With summer on the way, I'm sure I will use it up by then with lemonade and popsicles on my recipe list. For now, I use it in my tea and in my hummus. I also add it to my drinking water. The flavor is more like Meyer Lemons and is very delicious. I love that it's organic with no preservatives and the glass bottle is a huge plus. Have fun finding it. Maybe you can go in with a friend should you have to use the on-line ordering system. It retails for under $8.00 per bottle and has about 40 hand-picked lemons in every bottle.  Try it and let me know how you like it. xo

Cabin in the Adirondacks

Camp QP at Ragged Lake in the Adirondacks, New York. I love looking at getaway cabins all over the globe and you will too at this site with beautiful big photographs.

I was invited for Thanksgiving leftovers with friends last night and we dined before an open fire and it was delightful and delicious. My friend Stacey made me a turkey pot pie that I'm picking up this afternoon. I am so fortunate to have good friends, aren't I?

Meet Jack,  my new hero (and boyfriend).

I'm going back to look at more cabins now. Have a great weekend and I'll see you later.

My Thanksgiving

Is there anything more beautiful than a sink full of cranberries?

I made raw cranberry relish and a cranberry/jello/pineapple dish iced with cream cheese and sour cream. I left out the nuts...recipe here. Relish: I just chopped raw cranberries in my Cuisinart in small batches. Then 2 honey crisp apples with skins on, and finally 2 oranges, seeded, with skins on. I chopped the apples and cranberries coarsely and the oranges finely until they were mostly juice. Mix all together and add a little sugar if you wish. I added about 1/3 cup for a big batch, about twice as much as you see in this bowl. The front dish is actually a pyrex loaf pan. I made the jello dish in two of them. One to take to my friend's house and one to keep for myself. That worked perfectly.

Webster got lots of treats yesterday too. The yogurt container was first, followed by pumpkin oatmeal - canned pumpkin mixed in with hot oatmeal to cool it off. 

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving yesterday? I did and have lots of leftovers to enjoy today. Yum.

A Day for Friends and Family

via

I am thankful this Thanksgiving for my fine friends who always remember me on holidays. This is my first Thanksgiving without my dear mother and oh, how I miss her. She loved to wake up early and start cooking while the rest of the family still slept. We always ate in the early afternoon so we could do it all over again with the leftovers later on. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I have to start cooking some things to take to Kelly's, also in the early afternoon. Webster is whining very softly for his breakfast too. I'll see you later. xo

Rain.Day

Webster and I went out and checked all of the downspouts this morning in the soft rain and they are all fine. So far, so good with the weather here. The HARD rain they have been predicting hasn't happened and it's not too cold. Bright sun is predicted for Thanksgiving Day with much lower temps. I'm sorry all the travelers have rain and snow and ice to cope with depending on their destination. Be safe everyone. My animals have gone back to bed and I wish I could too. I can see an afternoon nap in my future. Tabitha got me up way too early this morning.
PS....Never did get my nap and sundown is in 20 minutes. Guess I will just turn in a little earlier than usual tonight. my iPhone photo

Almost Home.

I love seeing houses with lights on in every room. It's so welcoming, especially for family coming home for Thanksgiving. Turn them all on tonight. I usually do this anyway in my small cottage on the main floor because I love the way it looks when I go out in the dark for Webster's last walk. via

Did you read about the 1640 Psalm book that sold yesterday at Sotheby's for $14.2 million dollars? The book was published in Cambridge, Mass., by the Puritan leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony just 20 years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. It was the first book printed in America and it now holds the record for the most expensive book ever. It's small, 6"x5" so check your bookshelves. Story here.

Books, Cats, and Antiques

Rachael Hale Trust, photographer

Cats have always fascinated me the way they can weave around prized possessions and almost never break anything. Enjoy the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday by the retailers. Eat leftovers all day too. That's the big downside to not cooking at home.