I have to tell you that Thanksgiving is NOT my favorite ‘family get-together’. My memories of Thanksgivings past are colored (stained?) by visits to a relative whose culinary skills focused on putting butter into everything and sending my gall bladder to an early grave. Other people watched tv on Thanksgiving – a much younger Aunt Toby was in the bathroom. I have never attended a Thanksgiving where a fairly large proportion of people were not suffering within 30 minutes of the meal’s end.
The first Thanksgiving was NOT like that. (more…)
Last month, in what was viewed as a pretty shocking move, the American Heart Association not only connected heart disease with the intake of sugar but also made specific recommendations in terms of how much. 
All veggies are good. The more colorful the better. The less cooked, the better (steamed rather than boiled to death). The only problem with veggies, and this happens no matter where you live, is that everything is not available all the time. Nature of the beast. 
As long-time visitors to the Kitchen know, Aunt Toby takes a very focused view of food. Since protein is by far the most expensive nutrient out there, I’m always looking to get the most ‘bang for the buck’ when it comes to buying protein. I’m also looking for more goodies and fewer baddies coming along for the ride. That’s just the position I take – other people take other positions depending on their philosophy, religion, medical Rx and so on. (and by the way, this photograph is of cashews in their natural state before they have been hulled and roasted – interesting aren’t they?) 
Oats have a lot going for them, in comparison to other grains. 
Although I’m really someone who likes to have food put by, I’m not into just freezing or canning just to freeze or can. The point really is to produce something that you and your family are going to want to eat later on. For the longest time, I made the big mistake with freezing veggies of blanching them far too long and then when we reheated them from the frozen state, they turned to mush. Made it hard to get the Little Siberians to eat their home grown veggies in January. 
If you are (ahem) old enough to recall the Ed Sullivan Show, then if I mention the words “Italian acrobats with spinning plates”, you will know exactly what I’m talking about. For the less ‘elderly’ among Aunt Toby’s readers, suffice it to say that this family group had a hilarious act whereby they set up poles with plates spinning at the tops and they ran about the stage, back and forth, making sure the plates were spinning and not falling to smash on the floor. The big finale was their all picking up the poles and catching the plates. Voila!!
As promised, the DH and I (along with The Boy) went to a local berry farm to augment the strawberry ‘stash’ at Chez Siberia. The DH picked 17 pounds of berries on Friday, most of which ended up being frozen and used as the starter for his strawberry wine (more on that another time). So, with the freezer inventory reading at the ‘danger, danger, Will Robinson’ line for strawberries, we knew we needed to get back to the farm for more.
As promised, this is total immersion in Strawberry goodness and THE number one question (and actually, this is the gateway to all others) is: 
So much to tell you, my greedy little buggers and so little time. 
