Planting garlic and Thanksgiving preparations.....

The last few days have been unsettled, fall weather. Its either cloudy and rainy and clears later, or starts clear, like today, but by noon is overcast and raining again. Some days have just been miserable and wet all day!

I've taken advantage of the better weather days, and got the garlic bed covered with composted manure, turned over, and planted. Job done.

garden string, graduated stick and planting dibbler

101 hefty cloves!

Leaf mulch, hardware cloth and rocks

Today was a kitchen morning, making dressing for the Thanksgiving turkey, using my own dried savory and sage, and making a batch of pastry for the TG pies.

I made a full batch of Madame Benoit's pastry, which never fails me. (My husband bought me her Encyclopedia of Cooking, Deluxe Edition, for my birthday, the first one after we got married. Its a beast, 8 1/2 X 11 inches and 3 1/2 inches thick, and weighs just under 6 1/2 pounds, and has been used for many things, as well as for its contents!)

I keep everything cold and handle the dough as little as possible. Out of that, I got enough pastry for a fluted crust for the pumpkin pie, three 9 inch shells and lids, and a small pie and lid. I have a lattice topper, that I just lay the pinned out pastry over, roll the pin over it, then pop out the little squares and trim the outside. It is easy, peazy, and it uses less pastry than making a proper lattice top.

 The shells and lids are frozen for future use; the fluted shell handy in the kitchen freezer, as I'll be making the pumpkin filling, and baking it later this week.

I still have to make the cranberry sauce, then most of what I can make ahead will be done. There will be lots of leftovers...the best part!