Happy Thanksgiving!

 We had our family dinner last night. We usually do have it on the Sunday of the Thanksgiving weekend so we have all day Monday to relax and do whatever we like.
 This morning my men are out fishing and I am getting ready to head to the next town to get more things for a Pumpkin Pie. All of it was gobbled up before my son got a piece (he was too full for dessert and wanted to wait for his piece) so I told him I would make him a new one today. ~smile~
 We had the usual for dinner last night  - Roast Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing (My hubby makes the very best stuffing!), corn and turnip and carrots mashed with butter and brown sugar. Oh and Crescent rolls - funny how they are almost the highlight of our meal. I don't buy Pillsbury Crescent rolls except on holidays so they are a treat I guess. Funny how that goes...homemade bread or rolls are not a cause for excitement here but store bought ones are! It is like that with cookies too. I bake a lot - basically everyday so when we get store bought cookies it is a rare occasion. My friend Nancy once told me she went to some event where there was a meal and all the "Non Amish or Mennonite" men and children were so excited for the homemade cookies and all the Amish and Mennonite men and children were super excited for the store bought cookies!
 I thought I might show how I decorate my pumpkin pies. I make a batch of pie dough. My recipe makes a double crust so I use one for the pie and the other I roll out and cut out leaves and make vines and bake them on  cookies sheet with and upside down cake pan on it so I can have some flat leaves and some bent ones so the will lay nicely one the pie.

Then once the pie is cooled off I arrange them on the top. It just makes the pie look a little more special.

 Our Pastor yesterday preached a wonderful sermon from Psalm 92 about Thanksgiving to God. And how it should be done on a regular basis. It isn't something for once a year. It is good to start and end our day in prayer and thanksgiving. He said we need to be exuberant in our praise! If we aren't praising God much anymore we need to examine our hearts and get them back in line with Him. Praise is inexhaustible - we will never run out of reasons to praise God. We need to praise God in EVERYTHING! Our thoughts are not His thoughts and we can trust that whatever happens in our lives is in His control.
 We also had a time where a few people in our congregation shared things they were thankful for. What a beautiful time! It actually brought me to tears at one point when a lady shared that God is in the details. The fall colors around us are amazing and a joy and God could have made the world grey and He didn't. She went on to talk about how nothing is out of God's control. I so needed those reminders yesterday as I have a new health issue troubling me and I am waiting to be able to see a doctor this week I hope but I do trust that all is in His hands!
 So it has been a blessed weekend of worship, family time and food! I hope everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving whether today in Canada or next month in the U.S.
Thanksgiving Blessings,
Liisa

Wild Grape Jelly

Wild Grape Jelly

  Near our town is a wild life area that used to be farms and as a result there are many, many apple trees and also grape vines. All have gone wild now but still produce an abundance of fruit that is free for the taking. As a bonus it is pesticide free!  So, I picked SEVERAL big bags of apples (more on that later) and picked a big bowl of the wild grapes.
  Wild grapes are quite small and tart. They are also super dark! The jelly I made looks almost black! To make it I washed the grapes and then plucked them from the stems. (wearing gloves to avoid purple fingers) ~smile~ Then I put them in a sieve and tried pressing them to strain out the juice. That did not work! So I had to get my gloved hand right in there and squeeze them and squeeze them. There was a lot of juice from these little grapes but it was super thick, even after I strained it through cheesecloth. My jelly came out very thick.

To make the jelly I used Redpath Quickset for jam.

 I use this for all my jams and jellies and it works so well - very quick and so simple to use. All you do is put the required amount of juice in a pot add the quick set and some lemon juice, stir and boil for a few minutes and that is it! Couldn't be easier!

 I added a bit of unsweetened apple juice to the grape juice to get the needed amount of liquid but you cannot taste it at all.

 So that was my wild grape adventure - now I have to deal with all the apples I have waiting for me in the kitchen!

Blessings,

Liisa