Vegan Thanksgiving 2015

I have much to be thankful for, first - Jack, Adam, and Steph. Love! Jack and I don't have to worry about being hungry as many do. Today's feast proves that. We started the day with a walk down to the channel. It was warm and the rain had stopped before it started again.

Then I spent the day in the kitchen. Meaning, I had a great day. It was just the two of us for dinner. The things I made don't lend themselves to small quantity cooking - so leftovers!

We started the day with the apple pie Jack baked yesterday. I knew we would have no room after dinner, so starting the day with pie seemed right. It is Jack's best pie to date. He started baking about 2 years ago and is now confident enough to go off recipe and try things. The result was excellent.

Click on pictures for better view.

I took a risk and tried a new recipe - "ham." I didn't realize that it would double in size during the 5 hours it spent in the crock pot. And, the recipe makes two. They will reappear all week as I use them up.

Munchies and Lion's football. The green onions are the last from our garden. The garden is down to lettuce and spinach in the cold frame and kale in a pot.

The first wash up. There were many.

Ready to be added to the dressing.

Yes, very 70's on the casserole. I got it as a gift at my bridal shower.

Next up potatoes.

 I used gold, left the skin on, and varied the spices a bit - recipes are suggestions.

I had planned a green bean casserole but the beans had fungus - not happy. So the next item to be made - biscuits. Jack made the dough cutter/scrapper back when he had a wood shop.

Last but not least, mushroom gravy for the biscuits and dressing.

A last minute "crisis" when I couldn't get everything in the oven ("hams" needed to go in to finish after crock potting) and I put them on too big of a sheet and with the two casseroles it didn't fit. With Jack's help, I got them in a smaller pan and all fit. Then we enjoyed.

The one thing I didn't make was the cranberry sauce. Jack will only eat the jellied canned variety.

With these leftovers, I won't have to cook all week. I hope Jack liked everything - I await his review.

Last batch of dishes - I think there were 4 total.

Thankful, thankful, thankful. Peace.

Trip to the Woods

Hello again. It has been almost a year since my last post. Why? Don't know, but I'm back, at least for now.

As usual when I travel, my trip was on the back roads.

My first stop was at a quilt/yarn shop in Newaygo. I bought a pattern.

Then I proceeded north through the Manistee National Forest. I came upon an historic site sign. I just have to stop at those. Click on the picture to read.

Unfortunately, the Historic and Cultural Center is only open on Saturday. The area is a mix of houses from big grand lake homes, average sized homes to small summer cabins. There was a clubhouse for Detroit folks to get together. I'm betting there was one for Chicago too. The area is large and I didn't see it all.

The lake is gorgeous.

As I was standing on the path, a boy of about 11 or 12 flew by on a bike. He came to an abrupt stop, turned and asked if I'd seen any bears. I told him no and asked if he had. "Yesterday, he was running across the highway. He was a teenager." He was so excited and I'm sure was, maybe still is, telling the story to everyone he met. I would have been excited too - as long as the bear was running away from me, not towards me.

Then I was off for a stop in Baldwin. I found fabric for the pattern I'd bought in Newaygo.

Then I was on to Reed City where I found a quilt store I didn't know about. And I had lunch.

Oh deer! I did manage a vegan meal with a very tasty red sauce.

Then I spent three days at Morning Star.

My cabin:

http://www.morningstarretreatcenter.com/cabins_kay_blue.html

The road in:

The view from my window:

No electricity, no Internet, no phone, no clock. Total silence. My only companion for conversation was this sage old tree.

I read, I walked, I knitted, I sat and did nothing. The time was restful, peaceful and renewing.

After three days, it was back to civilization and the noise. One more stop at a fabric store just south of Reed City.

I meandered home by a different route and found this wonderful sight when I arrived home.

Peace.