Halloween has come and gone and that means the Holiday Season is fast approaching. In between Halloween and the Holidays there was a very full first week of November.
In the garden, I counted 10 limes on the Persian lime tree and 4 lemons on the Meyer lemon tree. They don't like temperatures below 50 degrees so David brought them into the kitchen where they will stay until March or April. I am already thinking about Lemon Chess Pie and also about how Bistro in Raleigh makes that Lime Sorbet with Jalapenos.
Speaking of jalapenos there are still some coming along in the garden and also a few cherry tomatoes and a variety of herbs. These will need to be picked today because this weekend we have below freezing temperatures. It's snowing in the NC Mountains. Like they say around here "if you don't like the weather just hang around because it WILL change". And the changing seasons are one of my favorite things about NC.
The most disappointing thing about this year's garden is eggplant. I only planted one plant and it's had purple flowers, but none of them turned into an eggplant. I need to look eggplant up to see if it's like blueberry bushes. Blueberry bushes want to have other blueberry bushes around or they won't produce any fruit.
Most of us are a little like that too. We need other people around to flourish.
One of my favorite groups to flourish around is the Literario Book Club. Literario was founded in 1944 and founding members Celeste and Patsy are still active. We have several members who have been active for over 50 years. This is a diverse and interesting group of about 25 women that includes teachers, business legal and medical professionals, volunteers and moms. Recently they met at our house for dessert, coffee and conversation. One particular thing that I am looking forward to this year is that we are re-reading the southern classic "As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner. There is a lot of humor in the truth and no doubt the book club discussion will be pretty lively.
The night Literario met at my house, I had just gotten home from a trip to Raleigh so I went to the yard to look for a centerpiece. Sasanquas and Knock-Out Roses were blooming and then I found the very first gardenia bloom I have ever had. I put it all together on the dining room table and it smelled so sweet. I didn't have time to make homemade dessert so I went to a new bakery in town for an assortment of pastries. Carol gave me permission to blog about it even though it wasn't homemade, because you just can't do everything. Jerry at the bakery made lemon squares, toffee cookies, raspberry thumbprint cookies, cannoli, and several chocolate goodies. I make a pretty good lemon square, but it is fine with me to depend on Jerry for variety because all of his pastries are so good.
I took an unplanned trip this week because Carol's sweet mother, Velma, passed away. Beth and I decided spur of the moment to make the trip down east to Belhaven, North Carolina. Carol spoke at her mother's funeral and focused on the humor and the happy, fun memories. It was a touching and very sweet service. I really felt like I knew Carol's mother after hearing Carol's stories and after watching a video of Velma, singing with her twin sister, Selma.
Then Carol encouraged Beth and me to drive through Bath, North Carolina to see the oldest church in the state. St. Thomas Episcopal church is a beautiful church where Carol's parents were married. Bath, NC is a small and quaint town with a wild history that includes Blackbeard the pirate. We enjoyed the trip through Bath and Raleigh on the way home. We all shared some tears and a lot of laughs and it was an unexpected but really sweet trip.
When I returned home, I learned that Jay was dealing with a health issue. We were grateful for the attention that smart and sweet doctors provided to help him get back on track.
Sweet people make life so wonderful.
Sweet Pennsylvania people sent a pretty fall flower arrangement to thank us for hosting them last week and then my sweet cousin Debbi, who is a DJ in Philadelphia, gave us all a shout out on the radio. That was a hoot.
Recently I saw a card that said When life gives you rain, God gives you rainbows. I count all of the sweet people in my life as rainbows.
So November begins the holiday season and we are looking forward to more opportunities to gather together. Which may be why Party Mix has been on my mind.
Chex Party Mix
I made Party Mix for the trip Down East and Beth, Judy, Jackie and I really enjoyed it. Everybody has their favorite parts and it's always good when you are sharing party mix with someone who doesn't like the same things you do.
I start with the basic Chex recipe and add cheerios and other things if I feel like it and I always add more of the seasoning than what's called for in the recipe.
1 stick butter
1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
2 TBSP or more Worchestershire sauce
Dash garlic powder and onion powder
Microwave the butter and mix in the spices
Pour seasoned butter over:
2 cups each corn, wheat, rice chex, cheerios, pretzels and peanuts. Or just put in what you want to.
Bake for 1 hour at 250 degrees stirring every 15 minutes. You can do this in the microwave but it really is better slow-baked in the oven. I like to store party mix in mason jars for gifts. And because it travels well!
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