In Gratitude
Posted: 11/25/2010 Filed under: Food + Drink, Photography, Recipes | Tags: America's Test Kitchen, corn syrup, gratitude, maple syrup, Melody Beattie, molasses, NPR, old-fashioned pecan pie, pecan pie, recipe, Thanksgiving 1 Comment »Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
It turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today,
and creates a vision for tomorrow.
- Melody Beattie
A holiday afternoon of good food, good company, and good entertainment (Pictionary and Taboo, anyone?) awaits. Oooooh, I am looking forward to it all!
Kitchens across the country have been whirlwinds of activity this morning. Ours was no exception! Matt whipped up wild rice stuffing with pecans, apricots, and cranberries, plus a spinach salad. I was on dessert duty: pumpkin pie and — inspired by an America’s Test Kitchen recipe mentioned on NPR yesterday morning (click “Old Fashioned Pecan Pie” in the sidebar at the link) — my first pecan pie ever!
The pie is made with real maple syrup and molasses instead of corn syrup – yum! I must admit this truth about pecan pie, however (a truth which I never knew until making such a pie myself): in reality, pecan pie is sugar pie with a few nuts thrown in. (They call it Karo Pie down here in the South for a reason, it turns out.) But I say: if you are going to eat sugar pie one day a year, Thanksgiving is THE day for it!
Today, Matt and I are especially thankful for all the good that has found us this year — wonderful people, experiences, and opportunities. Our love and gratitude to you all!
Happy Thanksgiving!
The pie looks mouthwatering! I never knew how much sugar goes into anything until I started baking. In a desperate attempt to bake cookies that were better for us, however, I successfully offended our taste buds on numerous occasions. It’s either taste+butter+sugar, or nothing at all. And so, I too am saving sweets for special moments.