thanksgiving

Cinnamon rolls rising, fiddling, playing chase, long after we should all be in bed... a wonderful start last night to the holiday together.

pies glorious pies

A week ago we had folks over for pie and coffee which was a delicious excuse to make a variety of pies and spend the afternoon chatting with friends. Here are a few photos of what we made starting with cooking down the muscadines (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscadine), a grape native to the southeastern U.S.
Muscadine hulls. They can be pretty tough and a little bitter when eaten straight but are amazing when baked in a pie!
Bean pie made with navy beans. Our cookbook, Southern Pies (http://www.amazon.com/Southern-Pies-Gracious-Recipes-Chocolate/dp/081186992X), says that bean pie was "developed in the 1930s as part of the nutritional teachings of the Nation of Islam...became standard items at black Muslim bakeries in urban communities from Chicago and Oakland, California, to Detroit and Washington, D.C." The only time we've ever had a bean pie before was at the farmer's market at Garfield Conservatory on Chicago's west side.
Fred Thompson's German Chocolate Pie.
The groaning board, starting with bean pie in the lower left and then going clockwise to German Chocolate Pie, than Muscadine Hull Pie, and finally Dr. George Washington Carver's sliced sweet potato pie.
Post-pie fest.
Muscadine hull pie.

B.W. Kitten

We write with sad news that the kitten we rescued a couple weeks ago had to be put to sleep today after a trip to the emergency vet revealed that he was very sick. We are glad we had a chance to care for B.W. (vet shorthand for 'black and white' kitten) and appreciate that one of the impacts he had on our family was to remind us to not take for granted our cats, Treat and Riley. We'll miss him.

Of Kittens, Bluebirds, and Sugar Days

A few recent photos starting with Morgan doing a great job impersonating a crazy cat lady.
Shitake mushrooms growing on a log that Leon got for us at the farmer's market!
Ships that pass in the night.
"Get me out of here!!!"
Preparing for Halloween.
Bigger mushrooms.
Despite the rains last night, we were not to be deterred from trick-or-treat-ing.
Our little bluebird.
And the bluebird's end of the night bounty.
Bad sign when it's after 9pm and you're explaining what a milk dud is.
The start of the Halloween evening with the bluebird and jackrabbit ready to take to the streets.