A Very Wine-y Mama

The month has admittedly gotten away from me and before any hate mail starts rolling in I figure I'd post something!! My first seed catalog came in the mail already, not my favorite but a glimpse of what's to come none the less. As with each season we learned even more than last. More potatoes topping the list. We're definitely still eating them from the fall harvest and will be for a while but the bakers were our favorite and they are woefully in short supply. The blues did well but were uninspiring and the fingerlings while 'gourmet' left a funny metallic taste in our mouths and won't be repeated. The winter squash an heirloom buttercup, is fantastic with about 15 harvested we should be good till next winter! It's hard not to like something baked with butter and brown sugar but the kids have found a way. Only one type of cucumber will be planted, some fairly interesting experiments in cross pollination left us a little confused. Currant tomatoes will be banned forever, they produced well and long but harvesting the little buggers was way more effort than I wanted to exude and most just rotted on the vine. I think we'll be utilizing bird netting next year as the girls feasted more than I did on many of our crops. Brussels sprouts are still standing sentinel, the last vestige of a fruitful season, the few frosts we've had have sweetened them up nicely, hoping for a full bowl roasted off for Thanksgiving. Arriving in all it's glory next week, my folks making the trek through the gorge to hang out and eat the bounty. The menu currently featuring a brined turkey, roasted garlic mashed potatoes (hopefully enough from the garden), brussel sprouts and roasted squash from the garden. I'll be making the french bread on Tuesday to stale for stuffing, made an amazing stock from a dearly departed friend to supplement the anticipated lack of usable broth from the brined turkey. Contemplating popovers instead of rolls but my success rate is probably 50/50 so not sure I want to risk it. Mom is bringing green bean casserole, funny fruit salad thingy and of course pie, because I would never attempt to match let alone out do my moms crust. So it begins, the holiday season officially kicking off. No, I won't be shopping on black Friday. I'll be snuggled in my bed as the stores fill, visions of caramely monkey bread floating through my head. That's the only thing that awaits me on Friday morning, along with a steaming cup of coffee, I'll dive into the next Christmas gift sitting on my needles. No honking or pushing. No parking a half mile from the entrance only to discover what I was after is no longer there. No crazy traffic or angry clerks. No wide eyed bewilderment at the loot being wheeled cart after cart to the layaway center, screaming children in tow. Coffee, cream and sweet fresh bread, I plan on giving this season all the respect it deserves, a calm reverence for what it's all really about.