Thankful

I didn't take many pictures on Thanksgiving.

And the ones I did take were on the run, and didn't come out too well. 

But, the lack of good pictures doesn't reflect how thankful I am for everything that I have.

And Thanksgiving season (even tho it is December tomorrow) seems to be the right time to think about these things that we are blessed with and by.

[Taylor did a lovely post today on being thankful. You can read it here. You can also see her wonderful pictures about our pre-Thanksgiving preparations here. Lyndsay also has some great pictures of our Thanksgiving festivities here.]

First a few pictures...

I am thankful:

• I am thankful that all 3 of my children and my wonderful son in law and my two favorite cousins all stayed with us for several nights. Even though I had peace and quiet when they left, I missed everyone enough on Monday that I was tearful thinking about them.
• I am thankful that I had a grandmother, Hannah, aka "Grammy", who passed on not only food legacies, {I made her cranberry bread recipe for Thanksgiving [which she always made on holidays] and my cousin Mary made her pecan pie recipe} but also passed on her amazing Irish genes [along with my grandfather] to her two lovely daughters (and one bachelor son) who birthed 10 amazing grandchildren for Hannah. Those two daughters, and seven of those grandchildren were together for Thanksgiving dinner last week, along with fourteen of Hannah's equally amazing great grandchildren. She would have been so proud.
• I am thankful for my dear mother, Alice, [aka Dabi] Hannah's daughter, and her sister Maryann, who together organized this Thanksgiving dinner and were instrumental in getting all of us together. These are the cousins we played with as kids, and it was wonderful to catch up and watch our kids begin a friendship with their cousins.
• I am thankful for the friends that my children brought home over the Thanksgiving break.
• I am thankful for my darling husband, Jim, who worked tirelessly all day on Wednesday cooking and cleaning, and on Thanksgiving--cooking, cleaning, transporting, running endless errands, and spearheading the clean up crew. You are one awesome dude, honey :)
• I am thankful for homemade turkey soup.
• I am thankful for all the help that my children provided, both with cooking and cleaning up and helping Dabi...you guys made me proud!
• I am thankful for my sisters and brother, and my nieces and nephew who helped out so much too--both with cooking delicious food, eating with relish! and helping to clean up with hardly a complaint.
• I am thankful that Christmas is right around the corner and I will get to see lots of these very loved (and very missed) family members again very very soon. 
• A quote:

Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow. 

Edward Sandford Martin

Fa La La...Trader Joe's

 

I promised a post about my favorite purchases from some of my favorite stores. First up is

Trader Joe's,  

and I am thinking that if you haven't been to a TJ's yet, it probably means you don't have one near you!
(Like my poor cousins in northern VT....no Trader Joe's in ALL of VT!)
(or a Target, either!..they are deprived)
Now, despite the fact that Trader Joe's stores are small, they fall definitely into the realm of small and mighty. They carry more cool stuff in their little stores than you could possibly imagine.
Here's a good description off of their website...
"At Trader Joe's, you won't find a lot of branded items. Instead, you'll find unconventional and interesting products in the Trader Joe's label as well as everyday basics"

Shopping at Trader Joe's is not just grocery shopping...it's FUN. They hire the best, most cheerful people you have ever seen, too. They don't have sales, and they don't advertise. (Except a bit on the radio) To see what I mean about fun, their flyer says it all..read it here.

Three things keep me coming back to TJ's:

• They have products that you have never seen anywhere else, at prices too amazing to pass up.

•  They have products that I buy regularly, also at prices too amazing to pass up.

• They have products that are amazingly good....and here are my favorites:

 Condiments

You have already heard me sing praises to their sundried tomatoes...

 Cheeses

The best cheddar on the planet: English Cheddar with Carmelized Onions

 Frozen veggies

The bag of red, yellow and green peppers is so good, 

and the roasted frozen corn is awesome on barbecued chicken pizza

 Cookies

Yum...think OREO's with peppermint inside.

Mini Pita breads

 THE must-have bread item to eat hummus with...

 Flowers

Beautiful, fresh, long lasting and cheap.

Vinegars

My favorite is TJ's rice wine vinegar, but my friend K 

turned me on to this one.

Nuts and seeds

for my granola, naturally

Crackers and snacks

Love these..like eating an everything bagel on a cracker

Oats, etc.

Adds a new dimension to my granola,

and it's organic.

And dare I say it again, cheap?

Cereals

Barbara's Peanut Butter Puffins...

Healthy cereal that tastes sublime at half the price of a typical grocery store

 Great selection of olive oils

Holiday favorites...

like this yummy spiced cider (and the Peppermint Joe-Joes!)

Shopped 'til I dropped...

These past few days I have shopped...A LOT. 

Shopped so much that I haven't had time to even blog.

Now, if you know me, I don't ordinarily like to shop, with few exceptions.

Yup, I did not get the shopping gene when I was born.

I hate going to the mall.

I shop for clothes only when I absolutely have to.

Shoes? Same thing.

I especially hate shopping when stores are crowded.

So you know what that means come Christmas time.

Ugh.

But, there are actually stores that I can spend hours in.
(Click on all the red links)

Bookstores.

Home Goods. (he he, no surprise here, right, dear blog readers?)

Trader Joe's.

Costco.

Whole Foods.

Home Goods. 

(I know I said this one already, but it deserves a second telling).

However, where I shopped the last few days WAS some of those "exceptions"!

 First up was a shopping trip to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods..which I was very excited about

UNTIL, my friend K, (who was coming with me) said the dreaded words. 

I need to stop at the mall on the way.

Oh, boy.

I tried to wiggle out of it.

Can you drop me off at Trader Joe's first I said?

(It's across the street from the mall)

But K said it would only take a few minutes.

And, SHE was driving.

She said it would be OK!

Ok, I said.

Just for you, K.

But, surprise of all surprises.

I LOVED the store we went to!

Restoration Hardware. 

Very cool vibe.

Dim Lights. Sparkly glass. 

Leather furniture soft as a baby's bottom.

Stocking stuffers that cost 20-30 dollars!

Woah. A bit out of my league.

But, as I wandered around the store, I spied their Christmas ornaments
hanging from silver branches.

Beautiful glass shapes in silver, red, gold.

And affordable!

I hung a few on my fingers, and continued to wander.

A bit deeper into the store I found

gold letter ornaments.

I hung an A, J, J, L, D, T, M on my fingers too.

(I am all about red and gold this year!)

Ooo...And I have a great idea for those. 

Just you wait  and see.

I promise it will be the subject of another blog post soon!

Thank you, K, for making me go to the dreaded MALL with you!

It was really fun :)

Thank you for taking me to Restoration Hardware.

(and then leaving right after that!)

My next blog post will show you some of my favorite purchases 

I made at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Home Goods, and Costco this week.

And one other surprise store that just opened which I loved.

(Thanks, M, for telling me about it!) 

I know Thanksgiving doesn't happen until next week...but these 

shopping days have put me in the
Christmas Spirit!!!!

Fa la la laaaa---lalalalaaaaa!

Easy Peasy NO COOK supper!

 Wanted to share with you a fantastic recipe that requires no cooking, other than boiling some pasta.

[But, I hardly call that cooking, do you?]

You could use leftover pasta too, and then you can even skip that step!

This recipe came by way of my friend K, who got it from another friend. We first had it about a year ago at K's house...and we were WOWed. It's just that good. And super quick to make.

I had been gone all afternoon yesterday at the hospital (working, not sick!) and got home the same time as Jim. We were both starving, but on the way home I knew I had all the ingredients for this mah-velous meal. I had pre-planned it all in my head. (Just like what I am doing for Thanksgiving..lol)

So, without further ado....my recipe for

Asian Peanut Noodles

(w/ chicken and broccoli)

• Bring water to a boil and add 1 lb of linguini.

• Meanwhile, into a med sized bowl or glass dish, 

mince 3 cloves of garlic.

•   add 3 Tablespoons of Rice Vinegar

• Add 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar

• Add 3 Tablespoons of Tahini and 3 Tablespoons of Peanut Butter (or all Peanut Butter)

If you have never used Tahini, you are missing out on a very unique flavor, similar to peanut butter, but it adds a great flavor combination when you combine the two.

Tahini separates very easily (the oil) so you need to stir it well before measuring it out.

Keeping it in the frig will help it separate less.

It is much more liquidy than peanut butter. 

[I know, it looks a little gross, here..ha]

• Then add 1/4 cup of soy sauce;

and 2-3 Tablespoons of Sesame Oil; (do not substitute any other flavor of oil)

• And 2-3 teaspoons of Chili Oil (these oils range from very hot and spicy to a milder kick)

• Finally, grate about 1 Tablespoon of fresh ginger into the bowl,

and stir with a whisk

until completely smooth.

  

Meanwhile, with about 2-3 minutes left before your pasta is done, add [to the boiling pasta] about 2-3 cups of fresh broccoli florets (or chopped asparagus, or snow peas, etc)

 

 When veggies are crisp/tender, drain pasta and broccoli and rinse with cool water.

 While pasta drains, prepare optional ingredients.

• Chopped Scallions...

• 2 cups of cooked diced chicken...

• 1/2 of a cucumber, diced

Into a serving bowl, place the pasta and broccoli,

[note:  the original recipe calls for 1/2 lb pasta...which makes the pasta pretty drenched in  the sauce. I usually use about 3/4 of a lb of cooked pasta and it's terrific]
[Totally up to you how much pasta to sauce ratio you would like]

And add the cooked chicken.

Toss to distribute the chicken with the pasta.

Pour the peanut sauce over the pasta...

And toss again to mix well.

Add the chopped scallions, diced cucumber, and sesame seeds.

And serve.

Now, where are those leftovers?