It’s been cold in my cube at work. Really cold. I’ve asked the building services people several times to see if they can warm me up a bit, but so far no go.

Friday I was freezing. When I found myself pouring a cup of tea for the sole purpose of warming up my hands so I could type, I realized I needed to do something! And, being a knitter, I knew the perfect thing to do.

Friday lunch break was spent at the Yarn Garden, picking up a skein of Regia 4-ply mini ringel color # 5220. And this weekend I made fingerless gloves. You can see the results at right. Click on the picture for the bigger version.

Yes, I made two. And yes, I matched the stripes. And, yes, my cube is plenty warm today, so I don’t really need these. 😆 But I think they make quite a fashion statement!

I also had a big, big jones for 90-minute Beer Bread. It’s a yeast-bread recipe that really does take only 90 minutes and results in a yummy, hearty bread that’s perfect with soups, stews and chilis. It also takes a bottle of beer — or, rather, it takes a partial bottle of beer (the rest goes in the cook!). I usually use ale, but all that was in the fridge was a bottle of MacTarnahan’s Blackwatch Cream Porter. It was the best batch of Beer Bread I’ve ever made! From now on, Porter it is!

Click on the link below for the recipe. I served mine this weekend with a vegetarian chili. The recipe makes 1 loaf, but I always double it and make two loaves so I can freeze one to have on hand.

I refuse to start Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving, regardless of how many decorations merchants put up or how early they start piping in Christmas music. But now it’s time. So below is my eggnog recipe, plus my recipe for post-Thanksgiving leftovers shepherd’s pie, a tradition at my house. And, why not, I’ll throw in my family’s traditional recipe for Tom & Jerry batter.

Over the river and up the freeway, #1 Son and I traveled to B’s & K’s house. Thanksgiving was great fun. B & K put together an awesome evening. It was a smallish, rather quiet group this year. But the company was pleasant, as always, and the food was yummy, as always. K was very brave this year and used paper plates and plastic ware. You GO K! I think that was one of the best ideas I’ve seen for a long time. Who wants to hand-wash all that china and stuff, not to mention ironing all the linen?

Well… OK, some people do. I like to drag my “good” stuff out every now and then, because I don’t get to very often any more. All the same, I thought there was nothing wrong with paper plates. They had turkeys on them, fergodsake, so they were very seasonal. 😆

#1 Son always feels as though it’s not a successful large gathering unless there is at least one crisis. Last year the boyfriend of the younger B & K daughter was supposed to bring the rolls. He found them in the trunk of his car after the meal was over. But we all gave him credit for trying.

This year the rolls were in attendence, but needed warming. So B placed them in a paper bag and popped them in the oven — the time-tested, traditional method of warming rolls.

But the bag accidentally touched the burner and caught fire.

So there was a bit of excitement for a few minutes while B threw the bags in the sink and eldest B & K daughter attempted to douse the still-burning bag, part of it in the sink and part fallen to the floor. For some reason she grabbed salt instead of soda to smother the fire. Salt doesn’t really work the same way… But eventually the fire was extinguised. Most of the rolls made it through the ordeal unscathed (and unheated).

#1 Son missed the whole thing. “There hasn’t been a crisis,” he said, disappointed, during dinner. He was even more disappointed when we told him about The Incident Of The Burning Bag. But he agreed that the evening was, therefore, a rousing success.

But when the evening was complete and left-overs were being divvied up, a new small crisis presented itself. “Where’s the paper bag I brought the sweet potato casserole dish in?” I asked B, while searching vainly through the kitchen. “I want to pack my loot in it.”

His reply: “It’s the one that burned.”

Oh. Oops! But another bag was found, and, loot in hand, #1 Son and I traveled back down the freeway and across the river and home. This year I will be the only one indulging in post-Thanksgiving shepherd’s pie, being the only two-legged household carnivore (the cats do not get my turkey!). So it will be a small batch, but one greatly enjoyed!

Click the link below for the recipes.

The Persistent Illusion household heads north for turkey day. The last several year’s we’ve gone to B’s house. B is an old friend of mine who I’ve known for many years and worked with a couple of times at different employers. We’ve been invited to their house for Thanksgiving for the last several years.

This year I wasn’t sure that B was having Thanksgiving until I received an e-mail that said, “Will you be coming with your sweet potatoes?”

Now, I wasn’t really sure when reading this sentence if I was really invited, or if he just wanted the sweet potatoes shipped up to Vancouver via FedEx. But I assumed the former and replied that, yes, #1 Son and I would be coming along with the potatoes.

My recipe for candied sweet potatoes (that should probably really be called “carmelled sweet potatoes”) has been passed down through the women of my family for generations. I know it goes back over 100 years — back to the days when nothing was canned (unless you preserved it yourself) and all fresh ingredients were used. It’s very specific about its ingredients, and does not include marshmallows, nuts, or other icky things. It’s a very plain, unassuming recipe. People that claim to hate sweet potatoes love these. I only make them a couple of times a year, but I really like them. So if we are invited someplace during the holidays, I always offer to bring sweet potatoes. That way I know I’ll get to eat them. I’ll put the recipe below.

B and his wife K take in strays during the holidays, so there’s always an interesting and eclectic group there for dinner. It’s a lot of fun because I never know who I’m going to meet.

One year there was a woman who was a proponent of medical marijuana, apparently on a frequent basis. She kept something like 50 or 60 cats and didn’t understand why her neighbors complained. She spent a lot of the visit talking about how wonderful pot was, which pissed me off a little since #1 Son was younger then. But she also complained about having no short term memory. Go figure. She actually turned out to be a walking anti-drug-abuse poster, so I forgave her excentricities.

For several years a couple who made the most wonderful wine came. But I don’t believe they will be there this year since they have moved out of state. It’s a pity, because this year I’m actually not taking any medication that would preclude imbibing. Last year I only got sips.

Whoever is there, it’s bound to be fun and interesting. #1 Son, of course, is now vegetarian. So that means I get to eat his turkey and stuffing!

And I wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Click the link below for the “Candied Sweet Potatoes” recipe.