With the coming of fall, the smell of vanilla fills the air.  Summer time is perfect for those light citrus scents like orange or mango, but the cold air of fall and winter demand something deeper and richer and vanilla fills that role perfectly!  Did you know that vanilla is the most common scent around?  From beauty products to household air fresheners, the fragrance of vanilla is everywhere!

I, for one, am quite happy to be surrounded by vanilla.  Just looking around my apartment, I know that I am pushing the vanilla agenda!  I have a great Yankee candle (almost burnt out now) on the kitchen counter which emanates a great vanilla scent throughout my apartment. Then there’s my Crest Vanilla toothpaste in my bathroom!

With the holidays approaching though, my mind has shifted to thinking of gifts for my friends and family.  Luckily, I know I can’t be the only vanilla lover and it seems like the safest and best scent to give.  Besides  the great Rodelle vanilla gifts available from Cost Plus World Market, I’ve been keeping my eyes open and I’ve seen some wonderful products you might want to check out for your closest afficionados!  There is a beautiful Black Vanilla Leave-In Conditioner from Carol’s Daughter (a natural company) and Graham Webb has a Vanilla Plum Fortifying Conditioner.  For skincare, there are vanilla lotions and vanilla lip balm.

Somehow, though, even though I know these are great products made by good companies, it doesn’t feel like enough.  I also want to do a green Christmas this year and add a homemade touch.  A few years ago, my best friend made a series of bath salts with different scents.  I loved mine and quickly used that up and I think that was a really neat idea.  That’s why I was so excited to find out that there are a ton of easy recipes for homemade making vanilla candles, vanilla perfume, vanilla bath salts, vanilla lotion, vanilla shampoo and conditioners and even vanilla lip balm!  I’ll be making some of these over the next few weeks and I’ll let you know how they work out!

Vanilla: A scent made for giving! What are some ways you all are personalizing your holiday gifts this year?

Thanks to AngelSK and kendiala for the pictures!

Laura

I say fantasy because I’m not in a position this year to take control of creating a heart-filled dining experience at my house. Why? Here’s my living room:

In case you missed it, I don’t have any proper seating furniture. My kitchen is adequate for preparing a meal, although I don’t own a roasting pan (there goes the bird!!) and my serving ware is pretty thin (how much can a paper plate hold?). That’s why I’d invite people over. Except. Well. The furniture.

But a girl can dream, so here I go. First thing’s first. I like putting a fresh spin on classic dishes and I believe in sourcing food locally and seasonally, whenever possible. My 2009 Fantasy Thanksgiving Menu favors this approach but recognizes that I don’t live in California. Part nod to and part break from tradition, my menu combines flavor, color and inspired simplicity. Now let the begging begin! Please, pretty please, will someone cook it for me?

Cocktails:
All good entertaining starts with cocktails, especially since most family gatherings require a bit of sauce to get you through (if you know what I mean!). I’ve had my eye on Rodelle’s Vanilla Bean Martini. Where did I put the glasses?

Appetizers:
Just as you’re achieving proper light headedness from said martini, your hands go wandering for sustenance to get you to the Main Event. That’s when you put out sweet potato wedges like these, or these. Looking good!

The Bird:
Ok, so our cultural turkey fetish has turned gobbler production into a virtual nightmare. My Thanksgiving meal requires a Heritage turkey. If it’s the only bird I’m going to cook in a year, it’s worth the extra expense to make sure my friends are eating a bird that is naturally conceived and raised, and still ambulatory. Roasted, please. Not in a bag, not in hot oil. Not at 500 degrees. Just roasted, and stuffed. Makes for better gravy! Let the mouth watering commence!

Stuffing:
I’m so excited about Rodelle’s French Cornbread Stuffing, I can hardly contain myself. ‘Nuff said.

Potatoes:
Like my Dad, I love mashed potatoes; especially when they aren’t creamed to the consistency of custard. I like chunks of tater blended in with the mash. Butter, salt, a bit of cream and herbs. Et voila!

Greens:
Salads are much more than lettuce. They give fresh, local produce a chance to have a party in a bowl. I’ve selected this Arugula, Pear and Goat Cheese Salad with Pomegranate Seeds recipe because I love rocket, pears are fantastic in salads and the pomegranate seeds (which you may be surprised to learn don’t grow in Colorado) look gorgeous (they’re also EXTREMELY healthy for you!). Photo by Sarah Shatz: www.food52.com

Cranberries:
I’ll be honest – I’ve never been much of a cranberry girl, but when I found this recipe, my heart stopped. The color alone is enough to get me excited about it’s presence at my Fantasy Table.

Bread:
Now I’m on the fence. Do I make my own yeasted variety of whole grain and seeds, or buy Seeduction from Whole Foods….?? Thoughts, anyone?

Beer:
Hey! It’s MY fantasy, remember? I think the flavors of this meal might pair better with a sour or brown beer. I love these recommendations but am currently a huge fan of New Belgium’s Lips of Faith.You might want to consider sampling some!

Pie:
Ha! Move over pumpkin! Carol wants Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie. No ice cream. I know, I know, if I were really doing the local thing I’d make pie from the pumpkin I have sitting on my counter. Dang! Now I’m feeling guilty…better eat some chocolate…I’ll be right back…

So what do you think? When are you coming round? If you can’t make it here, remember…time is running out to assemble your 2009 Fantasy Menu! Let me know how it goes. And if anyone tries any of these recipes, I’d love to hear about it. Especially the stuffing!

Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving feast,

Hats off to the following photographers for their splendid imagery: ExperienceLA, Stephen DePolo, Sarah Shatz, and mkasahara.

Carol

This past week was banana bread baking week for me.

The other day, my husband went to the freezer and was startled at the sight of nearly twenty frozen ripe and over-ripe bananas perched like plantain spiders next to the ice.  He came to me with questions.  Considering I’ve been tossing bananas that are past their prime in there for months, I had a few questions of my own:

1) Why do we buy so many bananas when we can’t possibly eat them all?

2) Why did he just now notice?

and 3) What am I going to do with them?

While the first two questions may remain unsolvable mysteries, the third question has a delicious solution: banana bread.  I love making special breads of all types like this very festive cranberry-orange bread or this sweet potato spice loaf, but banana bread holds a special place in my heart (and, apparently, in my freezer).  My mother used to make banana bread en masse around the holidays and hand them out to our teachers and neighbors.  Now, I do the same, adding in muffins or smaller loaves.  Banana bread baking week is also the one time of the year when I am willing to put aside my reservations and use that good ol’ Southern staple: vegetable shortening.  I revel in the familiar recipe and the pleasant memories of home evoked during the process.

Home. I imagine that people have various criteria for what makes a certain house or apartment a “home”.  To me, having beautiful scents drift from the kitchen during this time of the year is a must.  Something else that I associate with turning a house into a home is a name.  Not like, “Carrie the Condominium” or “my apartment Jason” but a name that fits the place.  Again, this might be my Southern roots pulling at me, but I spent time on ranches called things like “Bear Creek” or “Canyon Way”.  The names are often very descriptive of either the land or the owners.  My parents have a house outside of San Antonio.  Having met while in the military and moved every two to three years of their married life, when they finally settled down and built their retirement home they christened it “Landfall,” an old navy term for when a ship comes into home port after many months or years at sea.  Fitting, yes?

I think that the Rodelle house, the one on their label that looks like a French chateau, needs a name too!  When I first started to use Rodelle I didn’t even remember their name, but I remembered the chateau on the bottle.  My husband was once sent to the store with directions to bring back “that vanilla that has a chateau on the front”.  Such a memorable home (which I am sure smells fantastic) deserves an unforgettable name.  What do you all think?  Write in with your name suggestions for our chateau!

Laura

It’s been a contemplative week. A dear friend has been in the hospital, an old friend has been struggling with some life issues and I’ve been feeling a little less zippy than usual. With Thanksgiving coming fast on our heels, I’m reminded to look for the goodness in all things and to see abundance where I am prone to sense a gap – in finances, in love, and in work.

While walking about with a slightly heavy heart, I thought of the kids I don’t yet have. Traveling down imagination lane made me think of my friends’ kids who I know and love so dearly. I wondered, what could Thanksgiving mean to them, at 6, 7 and 8 years of age?

So I called up Zoe, age 8, for a little realignment (you can always count on kids for realignment!):

Carol: Hey Zoe, what are your favorite things about Thanksgiving?

Zoe: Eating turkey and mashed potatoes.

Carol: Yeah? Anything else? Like a favorite memory?

Zoe: It was funny when we dressed Capo [their dog] up like a pilgrim.

Carol: How fun! OK, what about Thanksgiving – what does it mean to you?

Zoe (without hesitation): I’m really thankful for my house and all the food I eat and I’m glad I get to live in this country in a good neighborhood with a good mom and dad and a good school.

Carol: That’s a lot. You’re lucky, Zoe.

Zoe: I know. I also really like how I get to bake the pie with my mom.

I love how Zoe skipped saying, “Thanksgiving means being thankful for….” Instead, she went straight to the heart of what she’s thankful for. It’s like she carries this gratitude with her daily, regardless of the holiday. Thank you Zoe for reminding me that goodness follows me everywhere I go!

This is what I love about Thanksgiving. It offers everyone the chance to turn inward and rejoice over our gifts while considering how we may give. Perhaps that is what I love most about this holiday, we each have our own spin on what Thanksgiving means. We can make the holiday mean whatever we want – from finding common ground to continuing the time-honored tradition of beating our cousins in football.

Even more, we can make it mean something different every year. This year I’m taking time out to celebrate my good fortune by baking new recipes and sharing an amazing meal with friends and family. Is that any different than last year? Not really, but, I won’t be in Moab on my mountain bike. If I’m lucky, I’ll get to dance around – it’s only my favorite thing!

But enough about me, what about you? Send me your reflections on what Thanksgiving means or your favorite turkey day traditions and I’ll raise a glass to you and give thanks this holiday season!

Enjoy,

Carol

Thanks to rachel r, stuckincustoms, and sassyradish for the use of their excellent photos.

Happy Holidays! Rodelle Vanilla will be giving away an ECO-FRIENDLY HOLIDAY BAKING GIFT SET to our Facebook fan who submits the best holiday drink recipe and gets the most support from their friends.

THE GIFT SET WILL INCLUDE

• Rodelle Vanilla Beans
• Rodelle Vanilla Sugar
• Rodelle Gourmet Baking Cocoa
• Rodelle Gourmet Vanilla Extract – 8 oz.
• Rodelle Organic Vanilla Extract – 4 oz.
• Rodelle Vanilla Extract Gift Set – flavors from around the world
• Eco-Pie Plate – Pure by Chantal
• Bamboo measuring spoons
• Oversized copper snowflake cookie cutter

** Valued at over $80! **

RUNNER-UP GIFT: Rodelle Vanilla Beans & Gourmet Baking Cocoa

Contest dates: 11.13.09 – 11.30.09

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS

1. Create your own recipe for a tasty holiday drink using one or more of the following: vanilla, vanilla beans, or cocoa.  Your drink recipe can be for a warm drink on a cold day, an adult cocktail or a kid’s holiday drink.

2. Post the recipe on Rodelle Vanilla’s Facebook fan page wall. Feel free to include a personal story or upload a picture or video of you enjoying or creating your drink.

3. Get your friends and family to support your recipe by ‘liking’ your recipe or making a comment on your recipe about why you should win.  How do you do this? “Share” the Rodelle fan page with your friends and ask them to vote for you. Remind them that they’ll have to become a Rodelle fan in order to vote. And, offer to bake them something tasty once you win!

Click here to get started!

THE WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RODELLE VANILLA & BASED ON:

1. The amount of support from your friends and family, so spread the word!

2 .The quality of the recipe so spread the word!

3. Creativity of the post
The Rodelle fan with the second-best recipe and friend support will receive the Runner-up Gift

This is a fantastic gift set for the environmentally-friendly baker from Rodelle Vanilla. Rodelle’s facility is wind powered and portion of their profits go to promote biodiversity and improve farmer livelihood in vanilla growing regions. For this gift set, Rodelle choose environmentally friendly baking supplies such as bamboo measuring spoons and eco-friendly pottery (free of coloring agents that reduce environmental impact by up to 50%). If you win, your recipe may be used on the Rodelle website’s Holiday Recipes page!

** Rodelle Vanilla reserves the right to disqualify and/or remove any entries that are not original recipes. We also reserve the right to extend or end the contest at any time.**

The bird. You know the one. The one that rules November. It always begins right about now. I get that feverish, antsy and concerned look in my eye as I flip through glossy food magazines in search of the perfect turkey and stuffing combination. My mother, bless her heart, is a tried and true Butterball and bread-giblet stuffing gal. Not me.

If I have one holiday tradition I can call my own (aside from skiing on Christmas) it’s that I want to experiment every year with a different stuffing recipe. I first learned that stuffing had depth and character when I was in college and living in Seattle. My roommate Tina made garlic stuffing that was out of this world! I’d never seen whole garlic gloves added to the roasting pan. I didn’t even know garlic could be cooked to the point of melting. I was enthralled! The experience sparked a revolution.

But look, I’m slow to take on traditions. They scare me. They’re fraught with meaning and import and seem to revolve around family bliss. It’s just me right now. I mean, I live in my hometown and both my parents are alive and well, but I’ve moved nearly 30 times in 20 years, so committing to this stuffing tradition on an annual basis has been challenging. The revolution has been incubating for something like 18 years. It’s not really a revolution anymore…

The sad reality is that since I started the quest for the perfect stuffing recipe, I haven’t yet found one that competes with the one Tina made back in 1990. I’ve dabbled over the years by simply adding garlic to my mom’s stuffing. I’ve had a hankering for recreating a corn bread recipe I once heard a friend talk about. But my progress been hit and miss.

Then last year, after much internal debate and reflection, I decided to make apple sausage stuffing – my first ever made from scratch. Also, the first turkey I ever stuffed on my own (with the willing help of my friend Sharon – a DVM – who was very excited to stitch up the bird), and the first bird I ever shepherded through the roasting process. The outcome? Tasty. Sort of moist. Partly rich. B-plus. We used the oven bag technique, but the bird just wasn’t the same as Mom’s.

OK – not perfect, but perfectly suited to my new tradition. I would find the best recipe – and ingredients – next year. Now that next year is here, it’s time to get cracking. So I thought I’d consult my favorite blogs like 101 Cookbooks and Smitten Kitchen and head to the library to check out Food & Wine and other favorites in search of other tempting stuffing recipes. But wait – I just learned that Rodelle has uploaded a fantastic new French Cornbread Stuffing recipe that features their Herbes de Provence. Finally, I can fulfill my cornbread stuffing fantasy. Thanks Rodelle!!! The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of their Herbes de Provence, which is also featured in their new roast turkey recipe. Perhaps I have to look no further…

Yes, I think the cornbread recipe may be this year’s winner unless, that is,  you can offer me something even more tempting… So, feel free to pass along your favorite bird cooking tips. How do you seal in those juices??

How’s your bird coming along??

In gratitude,

Carol

Thanks to Marco Veringa, Patries71, and Rodelle Vanilla for their marvelous photos.

What does your ideal kitchen look like?

I think the character of a home is identified through its kitchen.  This is my kitchen:

I love it.  It’s where I’m learning by trial and error (mostly error, actually) to cook and where I easily re-create cookie and bread masterpieces.   The atmosphere of my kitchen is a natural evolution of the kitchen my family had while I was growing up.

Have you seen that commercial (I think it’s a margarine commercial) that depicts an iconic 1950s kitchen? A happy housewife with a bob haircut and a white apron in the immaculate kitchen, cheerily opening her oven towards the camera, showing neatly arranged trays loaded down with foodstuffs?  Yeah, our kitchen was nothing like that.

Our kitchen was always clean, but constantly in motion; a gathering place.  In the warm and open room, there would be a slight feeling of chaos in the air; Mom would squint at the recipe trying to decipher faded, scribbled handwriting, Dad would take advantage of her distraction to steal a dollop of batter from the bowl and the five of us kids would be teasing each other and trying to “help” until Mom shooed us all out.

The kitchen in my apartment now feels like neither the Stepford 1950s kitchen nor like my childhood kitchens.  Instead of open and airy, it’s small and packed.  The slightly claustrophobic sensation is heightened by the frenzy that I often find myself in when I’m making something for the first time.  Instead of the soothing rise and fall of voices discussing the day, it’s just my voice talking myself through the recipe that I have pulled up on my laptop, occasionally punctuated by an expletive as I realize that I should have taken that one pan off the stove five minutes ago.  My husband mostly stands safely off to the side within easy reach of the fire extinguisher, gently interrupting only to prevent me from forgetting about that same pan again.  Things are often calmer on the nights when he cooks, although I will say that the food he prepares is less adventurous!

The tools of the trade have also changed over the years.  I don’t remember my grandmother having any sophisticated kitchen appliances.  Her favorite utensil was a wooden spoon and her hands; even her egg mixer was the kind you used by cranking the handle.  My mother, on the other hand, has several big appliances that dominate the kitchen and force the ingredients into submission, like a beautiful bread machine and a big Kitchenaid stand mixer in that too-ripe avocado color that was popular back in the late 1970s.  I probably own more kitchen helpers than both my mother and grandmother together, although mine are less sophisticated.  I am the proud owner of a rice cooker, an electric hand mixer and a crockpot; I am also the shameful owner of a SlapChop.

Even basic ingredients vary across the generations.  My grandmother swore by boiling all water before using it, milk that came in soft pouches, butter packaged in small tubs and brown eggs. My siblings and I grew up on tap water, powdered milk, shortening and egg-beaters.  Now that I do the shopping, we use a Brita filter, drink soy milk (although I do mostly bake and cook with regular milk), butter is bought in sticks and the eggs are organic.  None of these preferences are inherently better than any of the others but they do give you an idea of each of our personalities and priorities.

But enough about me: I want to hear about you!  What’s your kitchen like?  Send me pictures and memories of your kitchens!  How do your kitchen practices follow or break the mold from your parents’ or grandparents’?  I would love to see the different way you all have individualized this essential room!

Thanks to Roadside Pictures, Limonada, dogs & music, smiteme, xdijo, Danielle Scott, Paul Worthington and Nancy Hugo for the pictures!

Laura

Nearly two feet of snow fell here in Colorado over two days last week. Suddenly, our lovely fall turned to winter. Schools closed, traffic halted, and in a strange twist on tradition, I made and consumed Ibarra hot cocoa before heading out to shovel. Something’s amiss.

What I love about a show stopping snowfall is how the world folds in on itself. The very atmosphere seems to breathe a sigh of relief. There’s nowhere to rush. We retreat indoors. We bake gooey cookies. We nap. We play games with family and friends.

Then, without our permission, the cold and snow subside, schools reopen and we’re back to our demanding lives. Even as we consume the mountain of bite-size Halloween Snickers we bought just in case the Trick-or-Treaters came out in record numbers, suddenly the holidays are upon us. Of course then, because we’re wired to emulate Martha Stewart and create the best holiday ever, the rush is on with menus to plan, birds to roast, pies to bake, gifts to buy, parties to attend, and people to please.

In these moments, it’s easy for us to get disconnected from the higher purpose behind the holidays. We tend to focus on what (to buy, bake, give, wear) instead of why (to give back, nourish our souls, deepen relationships, celebrate the seasonal passage from dark into light). This year, as you ride the wave of the holiday rush, consider how to take time out for yourself and to stop and truly enjoy what the spirit of the season means to you. Turn off your TV. Walk outside. Take a deep breath and stare into the starry night. Here are a few other ideas you might try:

1. Make gifts. Vanilla infused vodka, cranberry orange bread, salt scrubs and more. No need to get crazy. Just keep it simple, inspired, and fun.

2. Plant garlic. Harvest is mostly over and the ground is cooling fast. But I love garlic and the idea of planting a taste sensation that will give back to me come summer is just too tempting to refuse. Thank you soil!

3. Take hot baths. Lock the door. Sprinkle essential oils into your bath water. Light a candle. Pour some tea. Sit back. Relax. Do this again and again.

4. Listen to jazz. Fall and winter just seem right for the mellow sounds of John Coltrane.

5. Give back. There are countless ways to put your time, energy and ideas to do good works.

6. Play outside. Tag football with the fam. Participate in a Christmas Bird Count. Ski/hike/bike/walk on Christmas.

7. Start your own tradition (remember Festivus?), or reconnect with ones from long ago. In college, I was bent on celebrating Winter Solstice and the return of light. Let nature inspire you!

What antidotes do you lean on to soothe the holiday crazies? Please share your ideas and remember to enjoy this magical time of year.

As always, thanks for the photos: Sean Dreilinger, gobucks2. The snowy patio furniture is mine!

Until the next,

Carol