A Toast...To Being Grateful Every Day

Happy Thanksgiving! Please enjoy my toast, potentially the longest toast ever written, to being grateful each day, for exactly the way things are.

If I could make a few big sales, I know that I'd be grateful,

I'd have the things in life I want, while rarely being hateful.

If I could have just one more chance at true love, I'd be happy.

I'll never ask another thing... oh man, I'm sounding sappy.

If I could just have one more day with those whom I have lost,

there's been too many holidays since last our paths have crossed. 

Wait a minute! Hold that thought...I'll not go down that road,
 paved with what I wish were true, I'm thankful, truth be told.

Mostly for my family, 'cause we're all in this together,

and friends who've sailed along with me through bright and stormy weather.

I'm thankful that my house is warm and food is in the kitchen,
and folks at work still like me, turning deaf ears to my bitchin'.


I'm thankful that I rarely hurt, I'm luckier than many.
OK... well maybe things are good...I'm feeling like a ninny.

For wanting more instead of being thankful for today,
being glad I'm here, right now... it is the only way.

To happiness! For friends and family, most of all our host,
For all that I am thankful, here and now, I share this toast.

I know that it's OK to dream of all that I can make it,
but if my life, today, is all there is? Thanks, God... I'll take it.


Maple Roasted Butternut Squash
Delicious low-fat side dish with turkey, pork or beef! Has all the flavors of the high fat and high calorie sweet potato casseroles with none of the guilt. Also good using other winter squash varieties. The tangy cheese combined with the sweetness of maple syrup and the lavender in the herbs are super!



Maple Roasted Butternut Squash with Goat Cheese

 4 - 5  cups cubed butternut squash or sweet potatoes - peel and seed the squash first.
1/2 cup onions, large dice
1 T. Olive oil
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp dried Herbs Provence
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 generous T. pure maple syrup
1/4 cup crumbled plain or herb goat cheese

Toss ingredients except maple syrup and cheese together on a baking sheet. Roast 20 - 25 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Check for doneness at 20 minutes. If almost done, toss the maple syrup with the squash and return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes to finish cooking and to caramelize the syrup on the vegetables. Watch so it does not burn. When tender, remove from oven, place in serving dish and sprinkle with cheese. Serves 4.

Cranberry Apple Chutney with Less Sugar and More Flavor!
Cranberries are one of the healthiest foods we can eat, boasting powerful anti-oxidant and antibacterial properties. However when combined in a typical sauce recipe, with 1 to 2 cups of white sugar, it becomes another problem of the holiday table. This recipe sweetens the berries just enough and is great with all types of meats or on your leftover turkey sandwich.

1-12 oz bag fresh cranberries
2/3 cup chopped onion
1 tsp. olive oil
2/3 cup fresh orange juice and the zest of one whole orange
2 apples, cored and chopped

Apple Cranberry Chutney

1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 generous T. honey
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
black pepper to taste
dash of salt
1/4 tsp. curry powder
1/2 cup raisins or currents
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional - added at the end.

In a large sauce pan cook the onion in the oil for about 3 minutes until tender. Add the rest of the ingredients, except nuts, bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook covered until the apples are tender and the sauce has thickened, about 20 - 25 minutes.