Even More Thankful

it is 11:30 p.m.  i just took the dogs out for a stroll.  it stopped raining and it is actually pleasant outside.  it seems warmer. the air is fresh from all the rain.  it was pretty quiet.  my silver fox was sitting in front of a car near my driveway.  he stared at me from a distance.  he looked like a cat.  as i got closer i realized that it was the silver fox from the valley at the end of my street.  

he ran off but turned to give me a glance goodbye.  i guess he's hungry.  the dogs were already getting agitated or i might have looked for something to feed him.  i know that foxes can be rabid.  this one looks healthy; but then again, i am not an animal doctor.  let's just say he wasn't foaming at the mouth like cujo.  i wonder what foxes eat.  i bet turkey would have been to his liking.

i cooked and prepped for about seven hours yesterday and i put in another seven today.  i also cleaned the house.  i made the zucchini and string bean dishes and i made baked apples, a green salad and i made non dairy whipped cream.  i added almond milk to the soup before i heated it up.  i made the wild rice.  it was a first for me.  after it was cooked it was a bit hard.  i added more water and it didn't seem to help.  i wanted a pilaf so i sautéed some celery and scallions and added dried parsley.  i was out of shallots and onions. i should have added some turkey stock. it would have been so rich.  

 i set the table with an old linen tablecloth from the past with a pilgrim turkey motif.  it's funny but i don't remember this table cloth from my youth.  it has yellow stains.  i had a much better and newer, disposable thanksgiving turkey motif tablecloth in the pantry; but i decided to go retro.  i took out the old champagne glasses from the cabinet and used them for the rum breezes.  it was chic. the ladies came all dolled up.  i even put on some eye shadow and lipstick.  we were a legal party of 5.  we sat one seat apart from each other.  after a glass of rum breezes we were feeling no pain.  we were actually giddy and animated.  it was the first time that we all got together for a meal since the dreaded covid.  it was wonderful.  it was enchanting.  we kept on singing the old: "We gather together to ask the Lord's blessings".. traditional thanksgiving song.  we couldn't remember all of the words.

the food was so delicious.  the butternut, sweet potato and chestnut soup was to die for.  it was so hearty and smooth and healthy.  it was luxurious.  the corn muffins were fabulous. they were light with a taste of honey and made with whole wheat flour and organic rice milk.  the cranberry sauce was glorious.  it was so sweet and dark and rich.  i made it with dates and fresh orange juice and ginger and a splash of maple syrup.  i couldn't stop eating it.  it's better than store bought comfiture.  i can't wait to have some smeared on a corn muffin tomorrow morning.

the muffins are gone.  i gave the remainder to the ladies for a treat on shabbat.  i will gladly go back to my non sweetener regimen on shabbat morning with a bowl of ground oats, banana and dates.  i might just throw the rest of the cranberry sauce into the oats.  it's that good.  the teriyaki string beans was the hit of the meal.  i grated fresh garlic and ginger and added some honey to the store bought teriyaki sauce.  i reduced it somewhat and then added crushed peanuts.  it worked well.  i debated about using the traditional sesame seeds instead; but in the end i went with the peanuts.  good choice.

i loved the zucchini with canned organic tomatoes and basil but it was overlooked at the meal.  the turkey wings and drumsticks were scrumptious.  the gravy was heavenly.  the turkey meatballs were light as feathers.  i only added an egg and a bag of ground fresh parsley.  i only had one wing because i was busy eating all of the sides.  i didn't even try the salad.   i lost it on the wild rice.  it was addictive.  i couldn't stop eating it.  my friend, the picky eater, thought it was mushy.  i beg to disagree.  i thought it was just right and that it had the crunch of the al dente celery.  everyone else thought it was just delicious.

i made tahini sauce and a mustard, honey and garlic vinaigrette for the salad.  i served a brandy spiked coffee and a brandy spiked hot chocolate.  both were topped with non dairy whipped cream.  i then served the baked apples.  i didn't have room for one. i can have it for breakfast or i can add it to the oats for saturday morning.  i topped the apples with cinnamon and a splash of maple syrup and a drizzle of honey.  i also added a sugarless dried pineapple slice on each apple for texture.

we started eating after 4:00 p.m. and we were finished by 6:00 p.m.  we were all satiated and ready to get home and back into our jammies.  i am thankful that i have tasty leftovers for shabbat and that my house is clean and that i feel warm and cozy right now and that i don't have to do anything tomorrow morning and that i have been invited to eat downstairs tomorrow night.  i am even more thankful that i was able to host such a lovely meal for my friends.

Being Thankful

 it is 7:00 p.m. in the holy city of safed.  i started cooking this morning at 7:00 a.m. and pretty much finished by 3:00 p.m.  i decided this month that i wanted to do a thanksgiving 'like' dinner for a few ladies.  i have been shopping for weeks for the traditional items.  i managed to find turkey wings and drumsticks.  i bought a package of ground turkey to make a stuffing.  i have never seen whole turkeys here.  our ovens are smaller than american ones.  there is no roast turkey happening here in safed.

i found frozen, uncooked, whole cranberries in town.  there is no ocean spray cranberries in safed that i know of.  we do have the nectar and juice.  i was lucky also; to find cornmeal.  sometimes they are all out at the supermarket. i wonder what israelis and sephardim do with cornmeal.  i don't know anyone except for americans that know what cornbread is.

i bought a butternut squash to use as a pumpkin substitute.  i am so through with trying to make pumpkin pies, latkes and breads.  i decided to make soup.  i also found fresh chestnuts.  no more packaged prepared chestnuts for me.  i  even read how to boil them first before roasting.  in the end; i made pumpkin, sweet potato and chestnut soup.  i didn't roast the vegetables or the chestnuts. i wasn't really that invested, in the end. i added a splash of almond milk and fresh ginger.  it is quite tasty.  i had two bowls of it.

i also made a sugarless cranberry sauce.  being true to my new dietetic lifestyle; i used dates in place of sugar. i did succumb and i added 3spoons of pure maple syrup to the orange juice and date paste.  the color is off but the taste is great.  i couldn't stop eating it.  i haven't used any honey or maple syrup in a year.  i did dip my apple in a splash of honey on  rosh Hashanah.  i have been using a banana for my sugar substitute all along.  i thought about adding one in the cranberry sauce but i chickened out.

i ended up; after a long deliberation; making cornbread muffins.  i used three tablespoons of honey and one tablespoon of maple syrup.  i made a dozen muffins.  i used whole wheat flour for a change.  i have been baking with oats all year.  the muffin was lovely.  boy, that honey goes a long way.  i really was hyper.  i marinated my beets already.  i made a pot of braised turkey parts and threw in some turkey meatballs.  i added the remainder of a semi sweet bottle of white wine and added fresh rosemary that i bought at the supermarket up here.  i also scored some fresh dried sage in town.  i bought some dried thyme, too.  i added a bit of tumeric for color; otherwise, i stayed true to the traditional thanksgiving spices.

i bought a package of organic wild rice at the health food store.  i want to do a pilaf.  i can't use mushrooms because one of the gals doesn't eat them.  i still have celery left and some chives.  i used up my remaining large onion and the rest of the tiny shallots. i want to bake some small pink apples. i will just sprinkle some cinnamon and drizzle honey or maple syrup.  i have a large bag of frozen string beans.  i wanted to ad almonds but i realized today that i had only bought ground almonds.  that might be good with the cinnamon for the baked apples, actually. 

i am not going back to the supermarket tomorrow.  it is supposed to rain all day and i am already coughing and sneezing a bit.  i decided to use some store bought teriyaki sauce on the string beans.  i already cleared it with my lady friend who is the picky eater.  i will sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on the beans.  i know that she will be disappointed that i don't add the almonds.  i am not making one more supermarket run again until next week.  i did think about buying a non dairy coffee creamer for a friend who drinks endless amounts of coffee.  we will see how the weather is tomorrow.

i don't really have a dessert planned.  i thought about making a trifle out of the leftover store bought honey cake in my fridge.  i bought a package of vanilla pudding and thought about stewing apple slices and then layering the glass with the cake, fruit and pudding.  my picky eater friend said that it sounded weird.  she also went off on vanilla pudding.  she is definitely a chocolate pudding person.  i thought about making my own chocolate pudding; using almond milk and cocoa.  let's wait and see how i am tomorrow.  

i washed all of my training and fleece pajamas this morning in the bathtub.  it was a sunny day.  i never thought that it would storm tonight.  they have been predicting winter weather starting tomorrow.  i panicked.  i was suddenly cold and didn't have any winter weight jammies to get into.  suddenly i discovered a pair of clean training pants and an old fleece housecoat from once.  i didn't shower.  i just put them on really fast.  i washed one pair of slippers but luckily; i had another pair.  finally, something to be grateful for: warm jammies and slippers!

Gonna Shop Til I Drop

 it is 7:00 p.m.  i am exhausted.  i went to a local bargain store yesterday to get some toys and treats for the kids.  they may be coming for shabbat.  i spent a small fortune.  i thought about putting some of the loot away for chanukah.  i keep hearing that there may be another lockdown for  chanukah.  i was thinking about travelling to jerusalem to visit during the holiday.  who knows what will be.  it is scary thinking about travelling on a public bus these days but my grandson will turn one on chanukah and my granddaughter will have her ninth birthday a couple of weeks before.

i might just buy their gifts this week and have the kids schlepp them back to jerusalem.  i can't carry anything heavy.  i have been shopping for a couple of days.  i got a bit of money from the government for disability and i have been enjoying; 'blowing' it.  otherwise; i am broke.  today i went to a an american second hand clothing store in the artist colony.  i have been wanting to do this for months.  i adore good used designer clothing.  i seldom buy israeli made clothes.

i used to work in a second hand clothing store and had the perks of the first picks.  in this store; almost every item was eight dollars.  i got a couple of very cozy hoodies, a jeans skirt, a corduroy skirt and a fancy dress skirt. i also got a fake leather black jacket and a very thin oversized sweater.  my friend said it didn't do anything for me.  she doesn't get how comfy and cozy it is to lie around in this sweater over my sweat pants in bed.  i wasn't planning on wearing it out but i might just do that under a coat.   i spent about seventy five dollars at this store.  it was really a room in a converted yehiva.  it once was a bedroom.

we spent three hours going through every single item on every rack.  we were the only ladies there.  we were elated as we found: Isaac mizrachi, old navy, jones of new york, h&m and other designer labels.  my friend did better than me.  she is also thinner and could fit into more things than i.  she also used to work in retail and she knows her clothes.  we schlepped our packages back to town and caught a bus home.  my packages were really heavy.  i wanted to take a taxi home but it was easier getting to the bus.  i was starving when i got home.  i had left the house after eating an avocado and a hand full of walnuts.  i had a cup of chai tea and ran out. 

i had planned o walk to town but it was too hot.  i wanted to check out another store to buy a few more chactchkas for the kids.  we didn't know if the second hand clothing store was open yet.  we went into a skirt store; first.  we then called the clothes store and found out that they were open.  we were so excited.  i got a bit lost and totally forgot where the yeshiva had been located.   we eventually found our way.  i can't believe that we stayed for three hours.  the lady made her day's rent on us.  between the two of us we spent about 127 dollars.  not bad for a used clothing store.

A good Week

 it is 6:30 p.m. in the holy city of safed.  shabbat ended abut an hour ago. it turned out to be a lovely, warm and sunny day.  the house is already freezing and in winter mode.  it was not so sunny in the morning.  it definitely looked like rain.  the dogs woke me up at the usual 7:00 a.m.  i took them out at 11:00 p.m. last night but it didn't stop them from getting me up early.  i was pretty tired this morning.  i usually go to bed early on friday night. i find that during the week; i don't make it to bed before 3:00 a.m.  since shabbat comes in at 5:00 p.m. now; it is very difficult to fall asleep right after the meal.

i do doze off during the day while i am watching television.  i tried very hard not to nap today.  i usually cannot fall asleep on saturday night.  i had my shabbat lunch at about 10:30 a.m.  i had chicken and mushy rice.  i had a huge bowl of raw oats with chopped peanuts, banana, figs and blueberries at 8:00 a.m.  i put it in the food processor before shabbat and made it into a paste like consistency.  i then added some coconut rice milk.  the local supermarket was all out of the almond milk.  i actually like the coconut rice milk but i think the almond is probably better for you.

i finished eating last night about 7:00 p.m. but i stayed and schmoozed with the clan downstairs until nearly 11:00 p.m..  everyone was noshing on candy and popsicles and nuts.  the amount of soda consumed was outrageous.  i had a cup of hot water with fresh mint.  i couldn't eat another thing.  i ate chicken wings and a chopped meat filled pastry before shabbat.  i was pretty full.  the pastry was made from spelt and quite filling.  it didn't stop me from partaking in a home made pita at dinner.  i had a bit of egg salad and a slice of tilapia with greasy carrots. 

i didn't leave my house last week except to take the dogs out.  it was a record rainfall.  in some places in israel it flooded.  it was also quite cold and windy.  i really enjoyed staying in all week and not having to brave the rain.  i stayed in bed and watched a ton of movies.  i have been holed up inside for nearly nine months.  most of it has been due to the covid.  i finally started taking long walks and then we had a monster heat wave and once again; we seniors were told to stay inside.  i sat shiva and went into isolation for a couple more weeks and then we had another lockdown for the jewish holidays.  i think i jut gave up after that and decided to stay in.

i decided to get out this morning and take a walk.  i met up with my friend from the neighborhood and we went over to visit another gal pal. i was dressed for winter and the sun was pretty strong.  i was very uncomfortable.  i actually, was pretty sweaty when we got back.  i quickly got back into sweats and lay down for a while with the pooches.  i got up and had a plate of cooked wheat from the cholent.  i saved the chicken for the dogs. it was very tasty.  the sephardi grandma added a bit of date syrup to the stew.

i just made a shake with a banana and some blueberries.  i thought i wanted it but in the end; i put it back onto the fridge for tomorrow.  i do want a snack but i think that i hit the peanut butter pretty hard already today.  i can't have a yogurt because i ate the wheat that was cooked with chicken. i also had my figs consumption earlier.  i do have cucumbers.  who knows?  maybe a cuke would be nice right now.  i need to go food shopping tomorrow.  i need fruit and more almond milk.

the kids might be coming for shabbat and i need to get some stickers and chatchkas and treats.  i am planning to go to town.  i haven't been there in awhile.  i might even walk there if the weather stays dry.  my granddaughter what's app'd me on thursday on her way home from school.  i was a bit embarrassed but i didn't know what day it was.  she didn't know how to say it in english but she did tell me that the next day was shabbat.  i was pretty shocked.  i thought that it might be wednesday.  oh well..... 

Living The Life

 it is 10:00 a.m. in the holy city of safed.  i am living the life of an invisible elderly person.  i walk the path of the least resistance.  i go out two times a day to walk the dogs.  i don't go into town.  i don't use public transportation.  i hardly get dressed.  i avoid people and particularly, children.  i go to the local supermarket when i run out of chai tea or almond milk.  right now the store doesn't have any almond milk.  i bought a coconut rice milk last week.  it probably will be good in my baked oatmeal muffins or banana shakes.  i am not sure if it will tasty in my chai tea.

the health food store no longer receives pompadour or celestial seasonings teas.  i am desperate enough to buy the Israeli brand.  it is pretty weak.  i am forced to use 2 bags at a time.  it is also very expensive.  i pay $5 for 25 tea bags.  this is not something i am prepared to give up; although i do think about it.  how can i justify this spending on tea and almond milk? it sounds pretty ridiculous, i know.

i do not take walks anymore.  i pretty much stay in bed watching the food network all day.  my body aches.  i have managed to maintain my weight; which is miraculous considering i do not move.  i tend to eat all day long, too.  i try to start my nightly diet early.  i try not to eat after 7:00 p.m.  our shabbat starts these days around 5:00 p.m. so it is easy to stop eating by then.  i no longer limit my carbs consumption.  i have no muscle tone left on my body.  i am a thinner , more giggly, me.

 i am eating pretty simple foods now.  i have no patience to cook anymore.  i even started eating my oatmeal raw.  i pulse it in a machine with an apple and wheat germ and a couple of dates or dried figs.  today i added peanuts.  it is like a paste and then i add almond milk.  it is similar to muesli without the slivered almonds and raisins.  i also make chicken wings in a pot and add the rice and water.  i don't bother adding spices or even salt.  i share it with the dogs.  on some days; i eat almost all of the rice and give the dogs the chicken.  i like my large lettuce salads with hard cooked eggs, beets, walnuts and tuna.  i know, it's weird.  i have an apple and raw peanut butter every day.

yesterday i found a chocolate wafer in the street.  i wanted to eat it ;badly.  i saw it again this morning.  i was tempted to open it.  i managed to throw it out this morning.  i had a third of a can of barbecue pringles in the closet and thought about eating it.  i imagined myself doing a food binge.  it has been a year without food binges.  i am not a person who can have one scoop of Ben And jerry's or one piece of chocolate.  i am not cured.  i still have urges; like an alcoholic.  i simply speak to that inner voice that eggs me on to eat bad things.  i just tell said voice, that it will not be good for me in he end.  i will be broken if i gain back all the weight i lost.  i feel so much better without that extra bulge.

i simply do not give myself permission to hurt myself with food anymore.  and yes, some days i eat too much and on those days; i start my nightly fast earlier.  it is amazing to be able to fit in my clothes and not have to rely on elastic waistband skirts.  my clothes are getting larger these days.  yeh!!