A Canadian American Thanksgiving!

This past Thursday, we celebrated an American Thanksgiving at our house!  I started this tradition a couple of years ago because I had yet to cook a Thanksgiving meal for my family. Every year, my mother roasts the turkey and hosts our Canadian Thanksgiving at her house. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving in October. It's tradition and we wouldn't have it any other way!  She has been cooking our Thanksgiving meal ever since I can remember.  She prepares the turkey, stuffing and potatoes in a typical Portuguese fashion and boy, oh boy, is it ever delicious! 

Sooo, a couple of years ago, I decided to have a go at roasting my very own turkey.  I also made  traditional fixings like sweet potatoes, sage stuffing, and homemade cranberry sauce.  Well, it was such a hit, we now look forward to sharing the holiday with our American neighbors every year.  

Do you know what this means?  It means we get to celebrate Thanksgiving twice!  Two Thanksgivings?!  Yes, please!  

Here are a few highlights (and a couple of recipes) from our Thanksgiving dinner...

Thanksgiving Table

I set the table while listening to the Macy's Day Parade on T.V.  I was too busy with preparations to watch it all, so I recorded it to watch the following day!  

I absolutely love these brass alphabet napkin rings I bought from Indigo bookstore!  We each had our own initial!  The striped napkins I bought (brand new in their package) at a garage sale over the summer, as well as the crystal wine glasses!  :)

Sage Stuffing

Drying the loaf bread in the oven...

Sauteeing onions and celery in butter...

Sage stuffing is ready for the oven!

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients

3 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup water


Directions

Wash cranberries.  Mix sugar and water in a saucepan over medium high heat. Boil for 5 minutes (stirring once in a while). Add cranberries and simmer for another 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.  As the cranberry sauce cools, it will thicken.  Serve warm or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Marshmallow-stuffed Sweet Potato Balls

These sweet potato balls were inspired by a recipe from the mother of a dear friend of mine, Nancy Sussan.  I made them for the first time two years ago following her recipe exactly and used an entire large marshmallow in the center. This time, I cut the large marshmallows in half and in turn, it rendered smaller sweet potato balls.  These are very easy to make and they're so delicious! 

Ingredients

4 large sweet potatoes

6 large marshmallows (cut in half) 

cinnamon

2-3 cupscorn flake crumbs 

Directions

Roast sweet potatoes on a foil-lined cookie sheet in a 400 degree F oven for approximately 50 minutes to 1 hour (or until tender).  Allow them to cool.  

Peel and mash the sweet potatoes.  You can add butter, brown sugar, etc and season them to your liking.  I find that sweet potatoes are sweet enough on their own, so I simply add cinnamon.  

Next, take half a marshmallow and form a ball around it with the mashed sweet potatoes.  Roll the balls in the corn flake crumbs. 

Place the sweet potato balls in an oven-safe pan or dish and bake for approximately 20 minutes in a 350 degree F oven.  Careful not to over-bake them, or the marshmallows will pop!

Tips:

Wash your hands after you roll each ball.  They will get sticky!

It's more affordable to buy Corn Flakes cereal and crush the flakes yourself, than to buy the pre-crushed flakes. 

Let's Eat!!!

My world is sitting right here at this table!  I have so much to be thankful for!

And of course, we saved room for dessert...

Pumpkin Pie!

I made mini pumpkin pies - one for each of us!  We were absolutely stuffed!  

I hope my American girlfriends (you know who you are) had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!  I'm so thankful that I could share this special day with you!  Now it's time to prepare for Christmas!  Can you believe it's almost December?  Where did November go?

Farewell, October...Hello, November!

Hello dear friends!  How lovely it is to be in your company again!  I have been absent from my blog for far too long (since September). I could hardly find the time to write a post considering October was full to the brim with excitement and much goings-on!  I will try to compensate for my absence with a visual account of the past month.

my neighborhood in October

"Oh, Marilla," she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs, "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? Look at these maple branches. Don't they give you a thrill--several thrills?” - L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

The crabapples on our tree out back turned from green to red in early October.


Look at the vibrant fall colors!  I am in love...

Nuno, the girls, and I had tons of fun at the Pumpkin Festival at Chappell Farms!  We took a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch and picked our own pumpkins - right off the vine! 

We enjoyed getting lost in the corn maze, walking atop the hay maze, and visiting with some of the farm animals there (sheep, goats, bunnies, chickens...even turkeys!)  Speaking of turkeys...

In Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving in October, unlike my American friends who celebrate in November.
  This year we were extra thankful, as we were treated to three, yes, THREE Thanksgiving celebrations!  I would like to thank my parents, my in-laws, and my brother-in-law and his girlfriend for hosting and serving such scrumptious food.  The time spent with family on days like these is priceless!

 Here is Nuno, my husband, carving my mother's turkey on Thanksgiving weekend.  Isn't he adorable?

The beautiful view of Canal Lake in the fall.  We spent Thanksgiving day here with my in-laws at their home-away-from-home.


I was amazed to see several robins in our yard the following weekend!

I have never seen robins so late in the season in my yard before.  The last time I had seen one was in late August.  I found it odd to see them back again.  Maybe they came for one last farewell?  Goodbye robins...I will miss you!  I look forward to seeing you again in the spring!

I am happy to inform you that although some birds have flown south, many others are still regular visitors to my yard.  The black-capped chickadees (on the left) visit daily, as do the house finches.  Occasionally, I see mourning doves feeding off the ground and I've even spotted a downy woodpecker (on the right) three times last month!  Oh, and a cardinal came to visit one day, too!


We also got some snow!  Not much, just a tiny dusting one week before Halloween.

Snow on the rose blooms in front of our house.

It didn't last very long, thank goodness!  I'm not ready for winter yet!  There will be plenty of time for that!  By mid-day the snow was nowhere to be seen.

With October came breath-taking sunrises, like this one; the sky ablaze in pink!  It' so very beautiful to look at, yet fleeting; one minute you see it, the next, it's gone! (This shot was taken from my bedroom window).


And finally, it's Halloween!

We each designed and carved our pumpkins while listening to a medley of Halloween songs.  My favorite part is scooping out the pulp!  Nuno and I helped Annabel carve hers!  I saved the pumpkin seeds and roasted them.  We also made caramel apples!  Mmm!

Even our cat, Buddy, shared in the Halloween festivities!

This year, Annabel dressed as a Southern Belle!  She looked so darling!

And here is Anita, dressed as Cleopatra!  She looked gorgeous...I still can't believe how much she's grown in the last year!


How was your October?  Did you have a fun Halloween?  This last month was filled with beauty and blessings at our house. I hope the same can be said for you!

Happy November, dear friends!  I hope this new month brings you much health, happiness, and blessings! xoxo

My First American Thanksgiving

 Hip-hip-hooray!  It's Friday!  I have been trying to post about last week's Thanksgiving for several days now.  After tackling with some Blogger issues, I am finally able to share my photos with you.  I'm happy to announce that I have since acquired my own domain: www.withlovefromthekitchen.com.  It is powered by Blogger so I can still use the same format and won't lose any of my old posts. Thankfully, all issues have been sorted out and I can commence my blogging once again; although I have noticed one change - it seems I can't post pictures as large as I used to.   Oh well, it isn't a big deal. 

 

If you are a regular visitor to my blog, you will know that I live in Canada and we Canadians celebrated our Thanksgiving holiday last month; in mid October.  I shared some of the highlights and pictures in a recent post.  In our family, my Mom roasts the turkey every year and we always celebrate Thanksgiving at my parents' house.  It is tradition and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Last Thursday was Thanksgiving day in the United States.  I decided to celebrate the day again with my American friends.  Why you may ask?  Well, for several reasons.  First of all, because I love the Thanksgiving holiday so much; next to Christmas, it's my favourite holiday.  It was a great excuse for me to cook a feast!  Also, it was my chance to roast and stuff a turkey...for the first time ever! 

The first thing I did was plan out the menu...

roast turkey

stuffing  (Susan Branch's Grandma's Stuffing)

cranberry sauce

sweet potato balls (my friend Nancy's recipe; her mother used to make them)

pumpkin cheesecake (recipe by Susan Branch)

On Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, I baked the cheesecake, made the cranberry sauce and roasted the potatoes for the sweet potato balls.  The cheesecake had to be refrigerated overnight and the cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes needed chilling.  I got a few things out of the way so I wouldn't be overwhelmed on Thanksgiving day. 

On the morning of, Nuno went to work as usual and the girls went to school.  Unfortunately, they couldn't do the holiday, stay-at-home thing, so I stayed home taking care of the details.  I ironed the tablecloth and napkins while watching the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade on television. 

 

Here are some photos from our Thanksgiving feast...

The place settings

I decorated the plates with dried maple leaves we

had gathered on our fall walks.

 

 

 

 

The pumpkin cheesecake

 

 

 

 

The cranberry sauce

 

 

 

The three day old bread drying out to prepare 

for the stuffing (just the way Susan's

grandmother used to do it).

 

 

 

 

Susan Branch's Grandma's Stuffing

 The aroma in the kitchen was to die for! 

 

 

 

 The girls came home from school in time to help too!

Here is Anita shaping a sweet potato ball

(tucked inside is a large marshmallow)

 

 

 

 

Annabel wants to help too!  She did such a great job!

 

 

 

 

 The star of the show - the roasted, stuffed turkey

 

 

 

 

The sweet potato balls

 

 

 

 

A little bit of everything on my plate!

 

 

 

 

And for dessert, a slice of pumpkin cheesecake.  I made

a caramel sauce to go with it and topped it with whipped

cream and ground cinnamon. 

 

 

When Nuno returned from work in the evening, we gathered at the table and enjoyed our Thanksgiving dinner together.  Annabel said a prayer and we took turns telling all the things we were grateful for.  Everything was delicious.  After we ate and sat with our bellies full, it was decided (by Nuno and the girls) that our American Thanksgiving was a success and that yes, we should celebrate with our American friends every year.  This may very well be the beginning of a new tradition!  Like my husband says, "You can never give enough thanks and you can never eat too much turkey!".

 

I hope my American friends who are reading this, also had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  You all provided the inspiration for me to do this.  Thank you!  I am grateful for each one of you. 

 

Tomorrow we welcome the month of December! Nuno, the girls and I are visiting a local tree farm to pick out our Christmas tree!  I am so excited.  Have you put up your tree yet?  It's such a magical time of year!  Thank you for stopping in and taking the time to read my post! Have a wonderful weekend! xoxo

A Blessed & Thankful Weekend

It is the day after Thanksgiving holiday (for those of us who live in Canada).  Nearly one month has passed since my last post and of course, so much has happened since then!  The fleeting fall season is upon us and the autumnal trees are boasting their magnificent hues.  The girls have been in school for over one month now and our family has settled back into the daily routines and orderly schedules of the school year. 

 

On a less pleasant note, our little Annabel broke her arm over a week ago.  I can't tell you how awful it was for me the first couple of days.  But because Annabel is so strong and brave, she keeps me focusing on the positive.  With all the extra love and attention she's getting; fingers crossed, by Halloween, her cast will come off, and she will be good as new again! 

 

Aside from that bit of sad news, everything else is great!  We had such a glorious holiday weekend; filled with so many good things, I just can't wait to share it with all of you!

 

On Saturday, we went on our annual fall drive to see the changing leaves at their peak.  A mere thirty minute drive from our home, in the city of Orillia, we saw this spectacular scenery!

 

 

 

Autumn is my favourite season and these photos are proof of it.  Can you see the vibrant red, orange and yellow leaves?  It is breathtaking to see the trees on a sunny fall day; they radiate such a soft, warm glow this time of year.  It is M-A-G-I-C! 

The girls and I picked pretty fallen leaves and stuffed them in a book to take home and dry. 

 

We stopped for lunch and then went for afternoon tea at this quaint and cozy tea house in Orillia.

Click on the photo for a link to the website!

 

 

At the White Lions Tea House we enjoyed freshly brewed tea and scones!  If you are ever in the area, you must stop in and visit.  Laurie, the owner, is so warm and welcoming, and her freshly baked scones are delicious! 

 

Here is Laurie's selection of loose-leaf tea.  I love how she stores them in clear glass jars.  Even the drawers are smiling!

On Sunday afternoon, I made pumpkin pie to take to my parents' home for Thanksgiving the next day.

Here is the pie dough.  It's the first time I ever made this type of pie edge.  I notice that the more pies I make, the better I become at playing with the dough. 

I also made half a dozen mini pies, to be on the safe side.  Our house is full of pumpkin pie lovers and it would be very dangerous to have a whole pie out on the counter, for all to see. We wouldn't want anything happening to the Thanksgiving pie, now would we?


And finally, the much anticipated day arrived - Thanksgiving day - at my parents' house.

Here is the famous 24 pound turkey, after five hours roasting in the oven.
 For some reason, the turkey keeps getting tastier and tastier as the years go by!

Thanksgiving is about tradition.  Here are a few of ours:

My mom always makes the turkey, stuffing and potatoes
We always celebrate at my parents' house
I always bake the pumpkin pie
My dad always sets the table
Nuno (my husband) always carves and serves the turkey
We always eat too much!

I love this picture!  I was taking a photo of Nuno carving the turkey, when I noticed Anita unaware and staring at the turkey, licking her lips.  Simply priceless!

My plate - turkey breast, stuffing, potatoes and gravy - YUM!

And lastly, our dessert...

a slice of homemade pumpkin pie! 

This year we added something new to our Thanksgiving celebration.  Annabel and I wrote a Thanksgiving prayer together.  Annabel read it at the table yesterday before we carved the turkey.  From now on, the prayer will be read every year at our Thanksgiving dinner. 

I hope that my fellow Canadian friends enjoyed yesterday's Thanksgiving holiday. I hope it was filled with lots of love and gratitude.  I am thankful every day, but particularly on Thanksgiving day, for my wonderful family, my dear friends, my loving husband, and precious daughters. 

I am glad that a holiday like Thanksgiving exists; reminding us to take time out from our busy lives to fully appreciate all of our blessings.  Because no matter where we are in this life, no matter what the circumstances, there is always something to be thankful for.

Many blessing to you all!  Have a wonderful week and continue to enjoy the autumn leaves, while they're still here!  xo



The Gift of Thanksgiving Tradition

From our house to yours...

This past weekend, Canadians celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday .  Our country has been celebrating Thanksgiving yearly, since 1879.  It used to be held in November, but in 1957, it was proclaimed that Thanksgiving would occur every second Monday in October.  And so it has been...

On Thursday, January 31, 1957, the Canadian Parliament proclaimed:

"A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed – to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October."

I am the daughter of immigrant parents.  I came to Canada, from Portugal, with my parents, in 1978.  I was a little over one year old.  My parents came to this country in search of a better life for themselves and to give me the opportunities that they never had.  One of the first "gifts" they gave me, was the gift of "Thanksgiving". Although it is not a holiday celebrated in Portugal, my parents took on their new role as "Canadians" and celebrated by making Thanksgiving day special.  Every year, my Mom cooked a turkey lunch or dinner for us.  This soon became our tradition.  When I started dated Nuno, back in 1992, he too, became part of the tradition, and every year since, we have been celebrating Thanksgiving at my parents' home.  That's 20 turkeys, since we met! 

This year, of course, was no exception!  When Fall arrives, we begin to anticipate the coming of Thanksgiving and the delicious turkey feast.  My mom is always the chef that day.  She makes the turkey, potatoes, and stuffing.  I am the pie baker.  I bring along the whipped cream and pumpkin pie!

I made a pumpkin pie on Saturday evening.  It was the first time I made a crimped edge with the pie dough.  I was quite pleased with the way it turned out.

On the morning of our Thanksgiving feast, I made popovers...

So simple to make these.  Only four ingredients - eggs, flour, milk and salt!

And 30 minutes later, Ta-da! 

Pumpkin pie and popovers!

While I was making popovers, our 20 lb turkey was already cooking in my Mom's oven, since 7:30 that morning!  Lunch was for 1 pm.  We got ourselves dressed and ready for the one hour drive to Toronto.  

And this is what we saw on our drive to my parents' house.  This photo was taken by me, while driving along the highway.  The fall colors are stunning!  And I forgot to add how beautiful the weather was.  It was so warm, people were wearing shorts and flip flops.  It was quite an unusual weather weekend for October!  I don't remember ever celebrating Thanksgiving in such summer-like weather! 

And here it is...the moment we had all been waiting for...

...the star of the show - the 20 pound turkey!

Here is my plate - sliced turkey breast, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, and a popover to dip in the gravy!

This year, we were happy to welcome a new face to our table, a friend of my Mom's who hadn't any family or friends to celebrate with.  We all ate, enjoyed, laughed, talked, and felt thankful and blessed to be gathered here together, another year.  We let our stomachs settle a bit before we had dessert.  

A slice of pumpkin pie, with whipped cream on top - the perfect end to a delicious Thanksgiving feast!

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I give thanks for my family (parents, grandparents, in-laws, nieces, cousins, aunts, uncles) my friends, my husband, my daughters, all of the special people in my life.  I live in a world, full of life, beauty, and wonder.  I am thankful to wake up to it each morning and celebrate it with YOU!  

I thank the universe for all the blessings it has bestowed upon me.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  

I hope all my Canadian friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Our American neighbours will soon be celebrating theirs!  And I know one of my English friends will be celebrating a special Thanksgiving in America this year.  Not everyone celebrates  "Thanksgiving" as a holiday.  We don't need it to be thankful.  It is a wonderful reminder, however, to be thankful, always.  

Have a wonderful week everyone!  Thank you for stopping by.  If you enjoy reading my posts, please follow my blog!  It would mean so very much to me.  xoxo