Yeasted Pumpkin Bread with Cranberries, Pecans and Browned Butter

Yeasted Pumpkin Bread with Cranberries, Pecans and Browned Butter

With Gratitude and Thanksgiving — What We Have Forgotten

“Lee apologized for the dinner like an old fool. He blamed the gas oven which didn’t heat like a good wood stove. He blamed the new breed of turkeys which lacked a something turkeys used to have. But he laughed with them when they told him he was acting like an old woman fishing for compliments.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

Home cooking and the gender of who cooks these meals is buzzing in the media. It’s not a new discussion though. Ever since women started working full-time outside the home, cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner has been a timely topic. There’s lots more too, budgeting, planning, shopping and clean-up. Even a bold essay about not cooking at all. I’ve wanted to comment on each of these blog posts, but my response is long and conflicted. I’ve had spurts of enthusiasm with cooking too. I still do. READ MORE . . .

Homemade Dog Treats

Homemade dog treats

Finding Zeus

“Suddenly he knew joy and sorrow felted into one fabric. Courage and fear were one thing too.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

Like so many of my neighborhood adventures, it began on my morning walk. With a bag of foraged lemons nestled over my shoulder I found myself smiling at a large black dog across the street from me. The woman with him acknowledged me and we both kept walking. At one point, she thought I had spoken to her and she invited me over to meet the dog. I started to learn about Zeus. He was a Chow-Chow, four months post-rescue from the local animal shelter. He had been surrendered to be euthanized. Covered in sores and malnourished, Zeus had been living in the dirt under a shed for all of his ten years. Denice told me he was adoptable through Animal Friends Rescue Project. She was a volunteer in the program and Zeus was the 21st dog she was rehabilitating. I returned home and went about my day. Only later did I find Zeus on the AFRP website and emailed his photo to Mr. R and picky daughter. READ MORE . . .