use real butter

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I suppose people have completed their festive meals, had their family brawls, drunk too much, and are ready to pass out by now? Ahhh, the good old days. Jeremy and I try not to travel over the Thanksgiving holiday. Driving or flying with potential delays, death, or dismemberment due to weather or stupidity or both can really take years off of your life. We really do cherish our sanity. This year we turned down a few invitations and opted for a quiet meal at home.

As expected, I ditched the notion of a turkey dinner in favor of something easier and in my opinion, far tastier. Rather than one ginormous blowout meal, we grazed through three courses starting at noon. My original plan involved surf and turf, but driving home from the grocery store earlier in the week, I came to the conclusion that I was planning an obscene amount of food for Thanksgiving. Thus we had surf and surf and surf… Turf got booted to tomorrow.

In the morning I prepared parts of dessert and made some treats for my pup. I cook all the time, so much so that the dog will snooze under the kitchen table as I work or wander into the great room to soak up all of the sunlight striking the Earth’s surface. She knows better than to beg while I prep. Somehow, she clues in when I am making something for her and she’ll come around sniffing at the edge of the table or she’ll plant herself squarely in front of me, waiting ever so patiently…

kaweah loves squirrels

**Jump for more butter**

With the trails on the upper mountain closed due to snow (sheesh), we could have attempted another steep trail this morning, except I was tired of the frenetic pace of waking early to hike hard and fast only to return to the timeshare to entertain my parents for the rest of the day. This morning I took my parents to Brandywine Falls, a nearby short hike to what turned out to be the best waterfall I’ve seen in the area.

brandywine falls – a spectacular display

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: peanut butter honey drop cookies (for dogs)

I have been reunited with tofu, because I love it and because it’s been a while. Cold silken tofu cubes with chopped green onions, chopped preserved mustard root, sesame oil, soy sauce, and some shredded dried pork.

memories of home, feels like someone should be screaming at me to study more

tiny bite

Today is my baby puppy’s eighth birthday! We began the morning with me working on the diss and Kaweah working on her beauty sleep. But come lunch time, I decided to make her something special since Jeremy is getting home late tonight. I found a recipe for some doggie treats (selected for the sole reason that it was the only one I had all ingredients for in the house). I literally whipped up the dough in 5 minutes. Now, I cook All The Time, and Kaweah usually sleeps nearby or hangs around in case I drop something edible. But this time, she was sitting right next to me, licking her chops and looking at me expectantly. How did she know?

**Jump for more butter**