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



Pie Dough, Mini Pies and Hunter's Moon

On Tuesday morning, I brought the girls to school, as usual.  I was standing outside the fenced-in yard talking to one of the other moms, discussing Thanksgiving weekend...things like, "Where did you spend Thanksgiving? Who cooked the meal?  What did you eat?".  When I mentioned that I baked a pumpkin pie for dessert, she said, "Oh, wow, I haven't had a pumpkin pie fix in such a long time!" (I hope I'm quoting her correctly).  She went on to tell me she's the only one in her home who likes pumpkin pie, so she never buys a whole pie, or she would have to eat it all herself!  We eventually said goodbye and wished each other a good day.  As I walked home, I kept thinking I couldn't allow this poor soul to be deprived of pumpkin pie!  Everything in me was telling me to bake a pumpkin pie for this woman.  Was I crazy?  I didn't even know her name!  Then it hit me! 

I remembered I had bought a set of mini pie tins at a garage sale this past summer. I still hadn't used them, so I figured I could make mini pies.  The tins would have come in handy the other day, when I baked the pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.  I wanted to bake two pies, one for us, and one for my brother-in-law, who loves pumpkin pie.  Unfortunately, after I had rolled out the dough, I noticed my only other pumpkin pie dish was missing.  I ended up baking just the one, not remembering that I had the mini pie tins tucked away in a drawer.

Anyways,  I thought I would show you how I make the pie crust, since many people are "afraid", just as I was, before I first started making it from scratch.  I find it gets easier and easier, the more you practice, like most things. 

In a bowl, whisk 2 cups of all-purpose flour with 1 tsp salt. Add 3/4 cup of chilled shortening (cut into 1/2 inch size cubes).  It's very important that the shortening be well chilled.  You can even chill the bowl and pastry blender in the refrigerator, to keep the dough as cool as possible.

Using a pastry blender (as seen in previous photo), cut the shortening into the flour until you're left with crumbly pieces,  the largest being the size of peas.

To the crumbly mixture, add approximately 6-8 tablespoons of ice cold water (I put cold water in a cup in the freezer before I begin).  By the time I'm ready, the water is ice cold.  Make sure to add water, 1 tablespoon at a time.  Use a fork to incorporate the flour and water, bringing the dry flour on the bottom of your bowl to the top, each time.  You'll know the dough is perfect when it holds together when pressed between your fingers.  It has to be just right, not too dry, not too wet.  I ended up using 7 tablespoons of water.

To a clean counter top, sprinkle some flour, gather and press dough to form a ball.  Divide ball in half and into two identical disks.  Wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper and refrigerate for 20 minutes.  You have enough dough to make one 9 inch double crust pie or two 9 inch single crust pies!

This is my pie crust after rolling it out on my floured counter top, using a floured rolling pin.  Make sure the dough extends 1 inch from the edge of the plate.  I cut around the excess and then tuck in the overhang to rest on the edge of the pan.

Believe me, I am no professional when it comes to baking pies.  I'm just trying to show you how simple this can really be.  I remember being scared of attempting a home-made pie crust, and I want you know it's not that difficult!  

Crimping the pie dough is new to me.  I need more practice, but I'll get there. 

Whisking the pumpkin pie filling

Filled and ready to go in the oven

In the meantime, I rolled out the other disk of dough and cut out six circles to fit into my mini pie tins.  I filled them with pumpkin filling and put them in the oven when the large pie was done.

Large pie cooling on a rack

Filling mini pies

Using the dough scraps, I cut out some tiny leaves to decorate the tops.  Don't they look cute?

I ended up keeping the large pie for ourselves to feed our pumpkin pie loving family.  Not only do I love pumpkin pie, but so do Nuno and the girls.  We've been savoring a slice of pie after every dinner. 

Full Moon

This is a photo of the Hunter's Moon on Tuesday evening.  I took this photo on my walk to our local community centre.

 This photo was taken on my way back home.  Isn't it beautiful? 

The mini pies were sent off to pumpkin pie lovers.  The mom at the school was so happy with her pumpkin pie!  I only gave it to her this morning because the kindergarten students have school every other day. She said she will enjoy it for dessert, after she eats her lunch.  I sent the last mini pie to school with my niece this morning.  She was one happy camper!  

This morning, in my neighbourhood, it is grey, rainy and blustery - a typical Fall day!  I hope you are enjoying the Fall season, no matter what the weather!  Happy Thursday!  xoxo

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