Thanksgiving 2020! Food Galore.

I’ve been trying a new process that seems to work well. I leave a Word document titled Next Post that I leave on my laptop desktop.  When something happens or I think of something I want to mention, I write it up while it is fresh in my feeble mind! By the time I’m ready to post, it is all practically complete. There may be some changes or additions but it seems to come together much more easily and in less time. It is then just a matter of deciding which photos to bore you with!! 

As I write this, just after publishing my last post, I was warming my lunch in the microwave and it blew again! This is the third time and I’m going to request that they replace it. When it blows there is a pop sound and an electrical burning smell, as well as a humming sound and in this case, the plate kept slowly spinning and a light remained on! It has to be turned off at the switch box to make all of that stop! I’m not happy with this happening so frequently and the possibility of fire.

Sandra & Howard, Thank you!

 Imagine my surprise when the mailman rang my doorbell and delivered a large box. I had not ordered anything and even when I saw the return address, I still didn’t have a clue. I ripped into the box to find 10 jigsaw puzzles for Sandra and Howard in the Upstate. I didn’t even know they were into puzzles, but like all puzzle addicts, they must have collected quite a few and decided to share them with me. What a nice thing to do – thank you so much!! This should keep me out of trouble for the remainder of the pandemic (being optimistic!!).

Thanksgiving Day was glorious (reaching about 80 degrees, sunny, with a cloudless, Carolina blue sky) and I’ve never seen so many people out in the neighborhood. So much so that when I took Rosie for her walk, one neighbor whom I didn’t know commented on it. It really was amazing- walkers, joggers, cyclists, dog walkers. As I was doing my little bit of cooking for our get-together, I watched the traditional Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and the National Dog Show. Rosie and I went over to Lynn and Tom’s for an early dinner. They ordered in and Chris picked up our lentil loaf. She added green beans to our meal and I did mashed potatoes, as well as a sweet potato pie (ginger snap crust and coconut milk added to sweet potatoes – my favorite SP dessert!). It was all delicious and it was great to be able to share it with friends…and feel safe about being together. We also agreed that this was an easy way to do it so that all could enjoy our time together I’m concerned about all of the people traveling and ignoring CDC recommendations. I feel like there will be an explosion of positive cases in about 2-3 weeks, and then we’re into Christmas! In any case, I was thankful to have a safe and enjoyable group to share Thanksgiving.

I didn’t have one additional bite to eat after getting home and slept like a baby. Friday was overcast in the morning, still warm, with a light drizzle. So, I prepped for a recipe I wanted to make until Rosie was ready for our walk. It was a layered vegetable dish with a polenta base and two layers of leeks, eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and Gruyere cheese. The first time I made it, my pan only held one layer. It was tasty but I was convinced that the second layer would definitely make it better. After acquiring the appropriate pan, I tried again. Even this pan almost overflowed but the two layers of veggies better balanced the polenta. 

Yum!! Delicious.

To make the day even better, Reyna called and asked me to come over to pick up Chili Rellenos as a thank you for small favors I’d helped with. Hers are really delicious and I eagerly accepted and took her a sample of my veggie dish. Authentic Chilis Rellenos are so involved to make that I felt guilty to accept them for the small favors I had done for her (picking her up and delivering to car repair place….simply things like that!)  Even so, I didn't refuse!! It was after having all this food on hand that I was reminded that the microwave was out of order! After reheating in the toaster oven, I finally tried and settled on reheating in the Instant Pot, which worked very well without drying out the food in the process. 

Yesterday I spent a dreary, rainy morning putting out Christmas decorations. Since I’m not in the spirit, I started with the easy things and everything is out except the large tree. This part has not been difficult and I took my time and enjoyed it. Now is the tree! Even though I’ve invested in a pre-lit tree, it is still daunting. Today, I've spent the morning putting this post together and watching my morning shows. After lunch, I think I'll be able to tackle the tree. Watch this space!

via GIPHY