November 2021
Happy Thanksgiving, Ladies! - I’m so grateful for all of you lovely grannies…
My daughter Betsy and I started out the month of November with a whirlwind road trip to Milwaukee and Chicago, where we saw two fabulous Bob Dylan concerts! These were our 80-year-old hero’s first two shows following the long pandemic break from his Never-Ending Tour. His voice has never sounded better, and he also looked great! Both concerts were held in spectacularly beautiful concert halls that were each built in the 1850s, so the shows were not only excellent music-wise, but we were also able to marvel at the gorgeous venues. What a great trip with my musical soulmate!
I then spent a relaxing and low-key week in Sisters, Oregon, with my brother and his partner in their beautiful home. One night we went to a pizza place to hear some good music, another night some of their musician neighbors came over for a jam, and we ate at a couple of very nice local restaurants. They also cooked some great meals while I taught my online classes and did a lot of walking around the cute town. I had the opportunity to visit one of my former students, who works in Sisters; it was so fun to surprise her! The trip inspired me to once again attempt to learn how to play my guitar, but - as much as I hate to say it - I fear I may be a hopeless case. Ah well…
Some of you know that for over 30 years, one of my hobbies has been songwriting, which for the most part I’d describe as a combination of bluegrass, folk, and country, but I haven’t done much to market or promote my efforts. My trip, however, did give me the courage to start cataloging my songs for an agency that will list and hopefully sell them, so we’ll see how this latest little gambit goes. There must be hundreds of them in this pile on my desk…
Also have been enjoying my online classes with my current group of adult ESL students. They are all so interesting and cheerful; I love our times together. We meet three times a week until the end of March.
Your Secret Recipe That Grandkids Will Make Forever…
Since the holidays are upon us, I decided to include a couple of extra suggestions this month that are both easy and delicious...
First, here’s my take on easy turkey stuffing. All of my grandsons - except for two of them - like it, but its “secret ingredient” is fresh mushrooms (or, as the two youngest ones refer to them, “yucky gross mushrooms.”) If you want to, you can add two beaten eggs to the mixture before you stuff the turkey or bake the dressing, but it’s not essential. I leave them out due to one of the boys being allergic to eggs (the one who happens to love mushrooms!).
Quick and Easy Turkey Stuffing…
Ingredients:
One large bag of pre-cut bread stuffing (I prefer the plain kind rather than the already-seasoned.) - I used to cut the bread into little cubes myself, but come on…
4 or 5 stalks of celery, thinly sliced
1 fairly large onion, chopped
1 or 2 carrots, grated
1 apple, cored, peeled, and diced
1 large container of sliced fresh mushrooms
2 sticks of butter
Dried sage (I tend to use a lot of this; it seems more Thanksgivingish to me that way.)
Salt and pepper
Fresh or dried parsley flakes (I have a lot of this left from my garden.)
1 box organic chicken or vegetable broth (I make half of the recipe with chicken broth, and half with vegetable broth for vegetarians.)
Optional: 1 to 2 cups cooked wild rice (TIP: Instead of cooking the wild rice yourself - which takes forever - a simple cheat is to buy a can of Canoe wild rice; it’s fully cooked and perfect.) Also, sometimes I chop canned water chestnuts to add to the stuffing, but this year I’m leaving them out. You can also add a beaten egg if you like, though usually I don’t.
In a large pot, saute the celery, onion, carrots, apple, and mushrooms together with 1 stick of butter. Take out another large pot, divide the sauteed mixture in half, and place half of it into the other pot. (You only have to do this if you have vegetarians in your group; otherwise, skip this and you’ll only need one big pot.)
Add half of the bread cubes to one pot, and half to the other (again, only if you’re making both vegetarian and non-vegetarian versions).
Melt the remaining butter and pour half of it into each pot.
Add as much sage, salt and pepper, and parsley as you like to each pot.
Mix the ingredients in each pot.
Add the broth to the pots - chicken broth in one pot, and vegetable broth in the other. If you’re including beaten egg, add this now too.
At this point, if you’re adding wild rice, you can now mix that into each pot. This adds both flavor and texture to the stuffing.
Stuff your turkey with half of the dressing, and put the remaining dressing into a buttered casserole dish to bake separately. (I put the veggie broth version into the casserole dish and use the chicken broth one to stuff the turkey.)
Roast the stuffed turkey. Bake the casserole dish for 30 to 40 minutes before serving.
Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes…
This is another Thanksgiving YES that everyone I know loves. Simply cut the recipe in half or less if you have a smaller group.
Ingredients:
12 medium sweet potatoes (each approximately the same size)
1 stick butter
8-oz pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 c. brown sugar
ground black pepper
6 slices cooked, crumbled bacon
2 T minced fresh chives
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Scrub the potatoes but leave the skins on.
Place the potatoes on a baking sheet, prick them with a fork, and bake them for 50 to 60 minutes until they feel soft. When they are cool enough to handle, cut them in half length-wise. Scoop out the cooked potato and place it in a bowl, but save the skins.
Add all of the ingredients to the bowl except the bacon and the chives. Mash the potatoes and ingredients with a spatula. (They will be very soft.)
Refill the skins and place them on a foil-lined baking tray. About 20 minutes before it’s time to serve them, bake the potatoes for 15 minutes until they’re hot. Remove them from the oven and top them with the crumbled bacon and chives.
My final recommendation is a very delicious dessert wine that I have recently discovered; a tiny glass would be fabulous with any other dessert you’re serving. This wine is considered “semi-sweet,” but I’d say it’s more on the sweet side. The good news, however, is that it has a very intense, delicious raspberry flavor and a beautiful color - very festive! It’s produced by a vineyard near Chisago Lakes, Minnesota, and I found the lowest price for it at Total Wine. It’s best when it’s served cold.
Cool Looks for Hot Grannies (or Warm Looks for Cool Grannies; take your pick…)
How do you like my new winter boots? They just arrived today from my favorite source of instant gratification (which is how I now refer to Amazon). I bought them a half-size larger than my usual size, because I wear thick alpaca or wool socks all winter. The leather is very nice, they’re extremely comfortable, and I think they’ll be great to wear outside since they have rubber soles (another one of my musts for winter).
Ingenious Inventions…
Many of you have heard of these ingenious little alpaca dryer balls, but if you haven’t yet tried them, you really should. I’ve been using mine for nearly eight months, and if they ever wear out (which I don’t think is possible), I will definitely purchase more of them.
These alpaca dryer balls are one of my favorite and most useful household items. I don’t use dryer sheets, as I find their fragrance nauseating, but I do like laundry to come out of the dryer without wrinkles - which these little balls amazingly accomplish. They also really fluff up and soften the towels.
These alpaca dryer balls are THE ANSWER to simplifying and improving your laundry life. I put them in my category of “miracle products.”
I’ve copied the following dryer ball description from our friend Luke’s website (www.rusticislandfarm.com), where you can purchase a set of three dryer balls - in addition to many other beautiful alpaca products. (Just in case you’re wondering, Go Granny! does not receive compensation for endorsing any of our “Ingenious Inventions” or other recommended products. I just plain love everything that I tell you about!)
Alpaca Dryer Balls:
Alpaca Dryer Balls make an excellent alpaca gift for friends and family and a simple yet amazing way to show off a unique benefit of alpaca!
Place the alpaca dryer balls in your dryer for a natural way to soften and fluff your laundry. Just leave them there, even between loads. They help reduce the drying time by as much as 25%, saving you money on your utility bill.
The dryer balls reduce wrinkles and static without the use of dyes or harsh chemicals and potentially toxic chemicals, which can lead to skin rashes, asthma attacks, headaches, and difficulty in breathing.
These alpaca dryer balls will last several years. If you want a fresh scent on your clothes, put a drop of essential oils on the dryer balls. Hand made from New Zealand alpaca fiber. Suggested use: use 3 dryer balls at a time per load. Can be used over and over again!
Size: approx 1.3 oz, 2.75-3" each ball. Packaging: 3-ball set comes in a decorative mesh bag and includes an information card.
Friends Who Keep Us Company Forever…
As promised last month, here are three non-fiction books that I’d like to recommend. I find them all captivating, so I’ve read them fairly quickly. Next month I’ll return to some favorite fiction…
My preferred non-fiction genre is always biography or autobiography. Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, by historian Amanda Foreman, is an excellent biography of a fascinating woman. You may have seen the 2008 film titled The Duchess, featuring Kiera Knightley and Ralph Fiennes, which does a fairly accurate job depicting Georgianna Spencer’s highly unusual marriage to the rich and politically influential William Cavendish, the fifth duke of Devonshire. What a story! (As they say, “You can’t make this stuff up!”)
Interestingly, Georgiana was also the great-great-great-great-aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales. Having been to both Althorp - Princess Diana’s childhood home - and Chatsworth, the ancestral home of the Dukes of Devonshire, this biography has become quite “personal” for me. Chatsworth is an incredibly beautiful and meticulously-maintained property in Derbyshire, England, and one to which I hope to return again one day. Exploring the estate’s expansive grounds and the interior of its extraordinary home, I felt closer to understanding Georgiana’s life and her lasting fascination for those who knew, admired, studied, and loved her. If you too enjoy biographies, this one is a great choice.
I’d also recommend a recently-published (2021) memoir written by the highly acclaimed singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier, titled Saved by a Song. Whether or not you are familiar with or an admirer of her music, Ms. Gauthier’s life story is both emotionally devastating - and at times almost too intensely searing to bear. However, the hopeful and powerfully redemptive spirit she reveals through this depiction of her own human trials, as well as those of the broken individuals she has helped through her present form of music ministry, brings the reader to a place of awe and respectful transcendence. This book was a gift to me from a lovely musician, and it’s one that will move any reader to introspection and appreciation.
The last book I’ll mention is an unusual one titled Never Letting Go, by author Mark Anthony. Many folks will find this book completely “loony,” in that it deals with the author’s experience as a psychic medium helping those who have been traumatized by the death of a loved one. I’ve been interested in the author since he was seeking a publisher for this book, which was his first. Since then he has written two additional books and has appeared on endless radio, podcast, and television programs. I like him because of his communication style; he’s non-threatening, humorous, and articulate. By profession he’s an Oxford-educated attorney, but he comes from a family with psychic abilities that extend back several generations. This topic and author are admittedly not for everyone, but the book is a fun, thoughtful, and interesting read for the open-minded.
Best Cool-Rockin’ Tune in a Long Time…
Remember this wonderful movie from a few years back? Most of you have seen this Academy Award performance of “Shallow” from the film by Bradley Cooper and the incomparable Lady Gaga, but it’s so nice that I was in the mood to watch it again… Who could possibly be more beautifully dynamic than Lady Gaga?
“I laugh so that I do not weep.” - Abraham Lincoln
Here’s a rather funny bit of trivia concerning my revered hero Mr. Lincoln…
Following Lincoln’s shocking assassination, there were not many “heroic-style” pictures to be found of the President. In an effort to come up with something, the portrait painter Thomas Hicks decided to simply superimpose Lincoln’s head onto the body of John C. Calhoun from an engraving done by A.H. Ritchie in 1852! Calhoun - a malicious racist and proponent of slavery - could not be said to be anywhere on Lincoln’s wavelength - but amazingly, no one noticed this fake until sometime in the late 1950s or early Sixties! (Even stranger, this is Lincoln’s head that was originally on the five dollar bill, but Hicks reversed its direction for his heroic masterpiece - and Lincoln’s famous mole here appears on the wrong side of his face!)
I hope that you and yours have a fun and delicious Thanksgiving 2021. See you next month!
♥ Gramma Jamie
Go Granny!
© bearclawpublishers, 2021