'Tis the night before the night before Thanksgiving and I'm already all cooked out! I did something I never do....I started early. I don't start early for anything. Is this the new normal? Am I going to start being one of those overachieving people who has their Christmas cards ordered before Thanksgiving? No! One of those people who makes everything days ahead of time? Yikes! A person who does her Christmas shopping before December 20th? Not yet! Once a last minute person...always a last minute person. Except this year. I'm going to give this "being organized and prepared" thing a try. Foreign territory here!
Today, as I made the cornbread and the pecan pie bars I realized that my empty nest has also resulted in an empty pantry. I thought I had everything I needed but when you don't bake or even cook much you lose track of inventory. I found I was inconveniently out of baking powder this afternoon. Ten years ago I would have never been out of baking powder... or brown sugar. There was a time in my life that we always had something freshly baked in our house. I have made many cookies, cakes and brownies in my life but not many in the last 5 to 10 years... except for the holidays.
Another cooking realization today happened when I looked up at my counter and saw this....
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3 generations of recipes.
The handwritten cards, the cookbook and the computer. |
I had to comb through that recipe box to find my mother-in-law's stuffing recipe. Apparently, the recipe box had been dropped and put back in haphazardly since the cards were upside down and totally disorganized. Grandson handiwork no doubt. I took a walk down recipe memory lane reorganizing the box. So many cookie exchange recipes that I haven't made in years. I have no idea why I still have most of them. The chances of me making enchilada casserole from a random card in that box are slim to none. Pinterest has thousands of them at the click of a mouse. We have come a long way, baby!
This year I am thankful for my family, the opportunity to cook for a full house and grandsons who dump out my recipe box! I hope you all enjoy some good food and some good times this Thanksgiving!
