perfect day!

the weather outside is ... delightful ! seriously, it's so warm, that i have my doors and windows open, and cooked wearing a tank top! in november! almost december!

and with this warmer weather, the cooking was on the light side ... jackie's mediterranean chicken stew. i have fumbled through many a recipe. but, what made this one so special was, if i had a question, i called the chef directly!

she made this on sunday for dinner ... and it was so simply delicious. i love cooking, and i love knitting, and jackie is a cooking-knitter!

happy thanksgiving !

have you even been grocery shopping the day before a major feast holiday? well, mom and i dashed out yesterday evening for some last minute items. one item on the list for brining our turkey ... kosher salt. on this aisle ... the baking aisle.

the funny thing was the cookie aisle was completely empty!

we also bought a silcone basting brush and a deep pie dish for the apple pie which is in the oven right now, and i'm not sure if it's finished baking or not, because it's not "bubbling" like the recipe says it should be. hmmm ....

if i don't burn anything, i will have pictures later!

home for the holidaze ...

see what justin did with my new bread pan?

the weather here has been all over the place. somedays, it's cold, other days it's balmy, and sometimes it's perfect. sometime ago though, before i brought all my cacti indoors, we had some very cold nights ...


... and my christmas cactus budded! and now it's about to bloom !


... and i wonder if i throw its butt out again, on some cold nights, before christmas, will it bud again?!

i do know, though, that i will do paperwhites again this year. some people think they stink, but i like their fragrance. but, i also like scents such as onions & garlic!


i went to my library's annual book sale this morning. the money goes directly to my library's funding for buying more books. i learned that my library fees go to the county. that was quite a disappointment. so, if you're in the triangle area, please venture out to the book sale!

oh, and speaking of cooking, 'cause i love to cook and i love great food ... i made some chicken chili on monday. i was all distressed because i could not find my recipe ... but, i remembered that i had posted it HERE ! i still haven't found my paper copy, so i sure hope blogger doesn't go under in the meantime!

another wonderful sunday ....

that is how you (or jackie) makes the absolute best chicken & dumplings in the world!

this is the second time i've seen it made, ... the first time by jim (of jim&corbett) when i went up to new york for rhinebeck.


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we also had a little banana bread bake off. i lost. i soooo lost. for starters, i had not read my recipe correctly, and mixed all the dry ingredients first. i was suppose to cream the sugar with the butter. oops. so, i kinda creamed the butter with the mashed bananas. that wasn't such an issue though. then, just before i put it into the oven, i realized i had forgotten the sour cream! so i scraped the dough back in the mixing bowl and added the sour cream. then, as i learned after the fact, my loaf pan is the wrong size. it needs to be just a little bit bigger. oops.

so, guess which loaf is mine? ... i'll give you a hint ... it's probably the one that is super moist in the middle with the outsides well-baked! (yes, the little dark loaf in the left corner!)

see, it's totally beneficial to cook with someone else, or else i would never figure out how to make dumplings and that my banana bread can be better!