Turkey-Day is only 2 days away!!! Complete Thanksgiving Planning Guide and Timeline. Better get there now!

I’ve known this fact for about a year now, bloggers are very nice and supportive people! Look at this sweet post from a fellow blogger and often, nice comment sender, Audrey Larsen, of The Audrey Files. She is my new BFF – so sorry Jen and Peggy and Anne!

Wanna know something that makes my day (in addition to having a new BFF)? Finding a cool new item at Trader Joe’s, that’s what! While standing in the dried fruit/nut aisle I was scanning for dried cranberries. Not that I really need another bag, I’m guessing that I have at least a half dozen partial bags of dried cranberries tucked behind various other partial bags of nuts and fruits and chocolates in one of my two extra freezers, but I am too busy/lazy to dig for one. That is really a whole other story and could be a post on its own! Anyhow, as I stood there scanning, I saw, the new item – dried pomegranate seeds.

Awesome! I was so excited to try them, I had to control the urge to open the package right there and then. The very second I was in the car, I ripped into it. They are tasty, and according to the package they are a “good source of fiber” too. There you go, run out and snag a couple of bags so that it becomes such a popular item, there is no way TJ’s would even consider discontinuing them. Even though I am enjoying eating them straight from the bag, I decided to create a Thanksgiving recipe using them and share it with you… hey, it’s just how I roll.

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Ramen and Broccoli Salad – there are so many versions of this salad around, that I was wondering if I should even post my take on it. But after looking at some of the others, I decided mine did have something unique – the dressing. You can either make this dressing as per the recipe or if you want your own Nihongo (that’s how the Japanese call themselves) on it, opt for some Japanese sauces instead. Nonetheless, back to our recipe for now.

Most of the others call for between 3/4 to one full cup of oil and between 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar. That’s a whole lot of fat and calories ruining a big bowl of healthy vegetables!

This still is not a diet “worthy” recipe; what with the bacon, mayo, and the sodium in the ramen flavor packet, but an improvement just the same. Add cooked shrimp, grilled flank steak, or shredded chicken to easily make this into a main course salad.
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My three-week cooking class series at Les Gourmettes Cooking School is only a little more than a week away and the theme for the first class of the session is “Holiday Open House”.  That seemed all good until I took a look at the menu (that I developed in the summer and haven’t thought about or looked at since) and saw that it includes Assorted Christmas Cookies. Time to get busy and get some cookies baked and into the freezer! I’ll be making a double batch so I can get my own Christmas baking out of the way at the same time, see there’s an upside to everything! Baking is not my favorite thing, so all the cookie recipes will be coming from elsewhere, such as this one from the 2004 December issue of Bon Appetit.
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For me, once November hits, it is cider time. Even though it’s still not quite fall temperatures during the day (today’s high is predicted to be 87 degrees!), the evenings are nice and cool, so I’m ready for a hot beverage!  Here’s one of my favorites – spicy and just a little sweet. [Read more →]