...10.21...2022 Harvest...

...well...as October draws to a close...and the vines start to wither...I think I've left the squash on the vine about as long as I can...nighttime temperatures are dropping into the thirties (near 0 C)...and we've had some frost warnings...

...and they didn't really get any bigger...they're still all what I'd call small butternuts...

...brought them in and gave them a wash...

...sliced them all in half...

...and scooped out the seeds...(or brains...as Our Airman used to say when he ws making Jack-O-Lanterns)...

...because the roasted seeds are truly one of the best parts of the squash...here's how I roast mine...first I put them in a pot with water and a generous spoonful of salt...and boil them for a few minutes...

...and then I just spread them on a tray...

...and roast them until the are dry and crispy...they are so delicious...I love them...

...and they can roast at the same time as the squash...

...when it was done...I scooped it all out...

...and froze it in muffin cups...so I'll have butternut squash for 'pumpkin' pies...haha...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your weekend!

...10.20...What I Ate in a Day...as a Vegan...

...breakfast was a bowl of mixed cereal...just bran flakes and raw oats...I love to sprinkle oats on top of just about any cereal...I also love them just plain with almond milk...because I think I was a horse in another life...haha...

...lunch was one of my deconstructed salads...some lettuce leaves, fruit and nuts...a couple of small red potatoes...and a chunk of baked tofu...with too much BBQ sauce on it...haha...

...for dinner...I found a gallon bag of green beans...gifted to us last summer in the freezer...so over a year old...that I thought might be edible if I sautéed them with some garlic...

...and we had that with rice and baked tofu (again - but you know me...I love me some tofu)...and I drizzled soy sauce over everything...so it had almost an Asian flair...

...for snacks during the day...I made a quesadilla with the Chao Mexi shreds...

...just a tortilla topped with cheese...cooked in a skillet until toasty...

...folded...

...and sliced like a pizza...

......ummmmm...cheesy...

...I ate it with my new favorite salsa...

...and a sliced pear...I do love pears...

...and later I also had an apple for another snack...

...what did you eat yesterday?...

~Have a lovely day!

...10.19...W.I.P. Wednesday...

...Dollie #2 is finished...

...so...of course she needs some 'unders' right away...don't worry the black is just a provisional cast-on...but...

...I thought it would be nice to keep the clothing just a little bit different...but the same...knowing how sisters are...haha...

...so when I cast off...I used a light silver/grey yarn...just for that last row...so that they'd be just a tiny bit different and recognizable...and I remember I once had some unders like that...they were white but had a light grey band of elastic...

...and then I also did a band of the light grey on the little bra...and made a little wire hook for hooking...and the straps like a bra even though the pattern I used was for a bikini with ties...

...all done...and no longer nekkid...

...and posing here...holding hands with her sissie...

...what's in your workbasket this week?...

~Have a lovely day!

...10.18...Tuesdays with Julia...

...we made VEGAN CRÈME SAINT-HONORÉ...which is just the VEGAN CRÉME PÂTISSIÉRE with the addition of the beaten vegan egg whites...and we used aqua faba for that...

...since we cheated with the Bird's custard (veganized)...this was super easy...and it was fluffy and good...

...and all of the particulars are over at The Vegan Version...

~Have a lovely day!

...10.17...Over the Weekend...

...just a very few groceries were needed this week...new to us...Chao Mexican Blend Vegan Cheese...

...and we needed cat litter...we just use the regular plain clay kind...Kitten doesn't like the scented kind...

...so glad it's finally soup weather...so we made a nice big pot of split pea soup...

...and I made some vegan cornbread to go with it...using this plain yellow corn meal...in general we prefer white (unsweetened) cornbread...so this makes a nice change...

...baked at a high temperature in the cute little cast iron muffin pan that Mom gave me...

...so delicious and perfect for these early autumn days...

...and then I "sterilized" a half gallon jar...you guessed it...it's time to make sauerkraut again...and I generally just let the dishwasher sanitize my jars for me...

...weighed my cabbage...I try to get as close to 3 lbs as possible...as that's the perfect amount for a 1/2 gallon jar...

...chopped in my old Emmie food processor...I fill the bowl about half full and process for 10 pulses each time...and it makes the perfect texture...not to fine and not too big...

...packed into the jar...

...and then I take an outer leaf of cabbage...

...and press that in place over the top of the chopped kraut...

...and then add the glass disc/weight...

...and we're ready for the air lock...

...now it will just sit there on the counter doing its thing for 3 weeks...and it should be just about perfect...

...but the highlight of the weekend was probably this walk in the woods...

...the weather was gorgeous...and we were showered with leaves...

...we spied this little guy fishing with his grandpa...

...a quick photo at the trailhead...

...and then we set off...crunching through the leaves...

...the forest is still mostly green...and sun dappled...

...but there was quite a bit of colour too...mostly yellow around here...

...but some red too...

...it was a perfect day...

~Wishing you a lovely fall day!

...10.15...Dinner and a Movie...

...so...sweet potato 'fries' were on the menu for dinner...and the Man wanted his fried...so I did that just in the FryDaddy...the way I always do...soaked in icewater for 30 minutes...then dredged in a cornstarch slurry and fried briefly a couple of minutes...and set aside...just like for regular poatoes...and then right before serving you fry them again to get that super crispy french fry...

...meanwhile...I Griddler-ed my sweet potato fries...you know...so we could compare...

...we also had grilled tofu, broccoli and a salad...but the star of the show was the sweet potato fries...

...a close up of mine...oil free...and not crunchy so much as carmelized and chewy...so delicious...I preferred these...of course...

...and the Man's crispier deep fried version...definitely crispy...and good...but you can really 'feel' the oil more than taste it...

...and it was my turn to choose the movie...and we both like the actor Steve Carell...(we loved the Office)...so I chose Crazy Stupid Love...Carell plays the husband of a woman who decides she wants a divorce...and he is befriended by a real womanizer...who takes him under his wing...and trains him to also be a womanizer...so it's a pretty predictable rom-com...with one funny twist...but I won't ruin that for you...haha...

...what have you been watching lately?...

~Have a lovely day!