Thanksgiving Eve, aka Food Prep Wednesday

Today, the day before Thanksgiving, was spent getting all the food preparation done. Some families live for Black Friday shopping. We delight in Food Prep Wednesday. It's become a bit of a familial challenge to see just how much we can get prepared on Wednesday without sacrificing flavor. This year has been pretty successful, if I do say so myself. Tomorrow's menu looks something like this:

• Honeybaked ham
• Smoked turkey breast
• Bacon-wrapped green bean bundles
• Roasted Brussels sprouts
• Cornbread dressing
• Crock pot mashed potatoes
• Marshmallow topped sweet potatoes (brought by guests)
• Cranberry sauce (brought by guests)
• Yeast rolls
• Individual pumpkin cheesecake pies
• Nutella fudge

Between me and my sister in the past 18 hours, we have steamed the green beans, mashed and seasoned the potatoes, made extra cranberry sauce because our guests are notoriously stingy when it comes to cranberry sauce, made a test batch of yeast rolls and then made another batch plus more dough to be baked tomorrow, and completely prepared the pies and fudge. For those keeping track, that means all that's left to make from start to finish is the dressing and the Brussels sprouts. Those two dishes are Mom's to make.

Reward for such miraculous completion? Relaxation tomorrow morning. I will sit back with a mimosa or cranberry cocktail or whatever else I decide to drink and enjoy every second of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Broadway musical performances that are featured before the parade makes its way to Macy's. Spoiler: the musicals are my favorite part. My family teases me endlessly because I actually turn into an excited child.

How about a few pictures from today?!

Test batch of the yeast rolls rising

RIP Test Batch. You were delicious.

They were particularly delicious with Nutella.

Bubbling dough for tomorrow during its first rise

Cranberry sauce simmering away, and Sis's adorable individual pies in the back

Happy Thanksgiving to the Americans!

Thankful Post #2

Yesterday I was thankful for my family. Today I'm thankful for my alone time because sometimes the family can be a little too overwhelming.

We went to brunch this morning and after that, I kept to myself for much of the afternoon working on a few of the projects that I have going. The Roses cross stitch kit has been washed and dried. Tomorrow it'll be ironed. Today is its future owner's birthday, so she got a lovely picture of it and is insanely enthusiastic about it, which is always a good feeling.

I mixed up a batch of the master recipe and made a loaf of bread from the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes recipe book this afternoon too. If you haven't tried it and have an interest in making bread, try this book. I've tried everything from sourdough to sweet breads to yeast breads and nothing was ever as satisfactory as I wanted it to be. The AB5M technique is so incredibly easy and makes delicious breads. And my favorite part is that you're not limited to the recipes in the book. The writers run a blog where they post new variations on the recipes from their books. I've made breakfast bread cups with egg and cheese and several different styles of loaves to great success. Tomorrow I'll be testing a crescent roll recipe from the blog in preparation for Thanksgiving.

When I wasn't working on projects or making bread, I was enjoying my own company. I'm a rather solitary, independent person. I like being around people and am quite social when I want to be, but I love being alone. I like to let myself get lost in thought. I like to plot out new adventures or projects to try. Being alone lets me take stock of how I'm feeling physically, mentally, and emotionally. I woke up this morning and knew I was going to need alone time today, so I made sure to set aside the time I needed to recharge.

I'm thankful that I have the means to give myself enough "me time" to stay sane and that I surround myself with people who respect my boundaries and my need for alone time.

Thankful Post #1

So I figured with Thanksgiving coming up, I'd post some things I'm thankful for, and in honor of my family being in town, the first of these is about them.

We're all healthy, we're happy, and for the most part we get along and enjoy spending time together. Today started with a family breakfast after my mother woke up early (like 5:30 AM early) and started puttering around the kitchen. Shortly after, my sister and I made an emergency run to the electronics store to pick up a few cables so we could watch a football game. We lounged around the house for the better part of the day and never once did the conversation feel forced or awkward.

My family is nuts. We're a little neurotic, a little strange, and quite often much more passionate about things than the people around us. But we love and support each other and that's something I treasure so much.

Mom, Dad, Sis, should you read this, know that I am so thankful for you and all that you do each and every day. And yes, I'll be right there to set up the TV so you can watch old shows on my Netflix account.

The Final Countdown

In a little less than 24 hours, my family's flight will be landing and I will be picking them up. The kitchen is finished, the house is clean, and by tomorrow, all the furniture will be back in its original location. It's been a whirlwind of a few days around here. Everything miraculously fits in the cabinets and the new refrigerator, which is the only one available that's as narrow as it is. The contractor and I are best buds now and are secretly plotting various ways to chew out the subcontractors who don't show up on time.

For the first time in about two months, I'm back in my own bed. My bed is a cloud of perfection and I had forgotten just how utterly cozy it is. And apparently, I'm a stress knitter. Remember my Scylla socks I started five days ago? Yeah, I finished the knitting on them.

I'm so excited for my family to get here. I can't wait to see them, of course, but I also can't wait for them to see the new kitchen. I've been staring at it partially done for weeks now and it's going to be great to finally see someone react to it that hasn't been seeing it every day.

And tomorrow, I'll have a crock pot spaghetti recipe to share. It's easy and delicious and you end up with the most tender meatballs ever. There's an easy joke in there. I'm too worn out to find it.

Pre-Thanksgiving Supply Trip

Oof. I'm exhausted. In one week, I will have picked up my family for their Thanksgiving visit. We will probably be eating spaghetti and gushing over how awesome the kitchen looks. Maybe after that, we'll put a movie in and be incredibly lazy for a Friday night.

But today? Today, just seven short days before my family arrives, I was running all over town. Mom has been watching the grocery store circulars and this morning I got my marching orders for grocery shopping. I made a quick stop at Wal-Mart (I know, I know) to pick up a giant new TV, a larger crock pot, and a few groceries that Mom had ordered, plus a space heater because the thermostat has decided it only wants to work if I do a tap dance around it. Then it was off to the local grocer's, where I felt a bit like an extreme couponer. Largest quantity of a single item? Six 32 oz boxes of low sodium chicken broth. I think it's for Thanksgiving's cornbread dressing.

It's strange to be doing the shopping for a family of four. For the past few months, I've just been shopping for myself. I can cook one entree recipe and two or three sides, divvy them up, and be set for a week. I only buy half-gallons of milk because I can't go through it quickly enough. I usually buy six eggs, unless I plan on doing a lot of baking. I came away with three bags of boneless skinless chicken breasts, two bags of frozen meatballs, four boxes of pasta, two dozen eggs, and two half-gallons of almond milk. And that's not even everything I bought today, nor is it everything we'll be getting in terms of groceries.

Thank goodness the kitchen will be finished soon, or I don't know where I'd put all this stuff!