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We had burgers on the grill and fries.

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Northern Spy is the standard, old-fashioned apple used for baking here in New England. But you never see them in stores. I guess because they are not the best for eating out of hand. We get them at the orchards or farmers' markets.

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I had a green salad and my husband had a hot dog and home-baked beans.

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I cover the turkey with foil, but take it off for the last half hour or so to brown it. My store did not have any of the Pepperidge Farm blue bags two weeks ago or this week. So I bought their herbed dressing but in cubes instead of the "crumbs". I assume it has the same seasonings, I hope, and I may try to chop up the cubes a bit in the Cuisinart.

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Mike, ginger preserves are easy to make but time consuming. It's just peeled and chopped fresh ginger, water, and sugar - simmered 'til thickened. Sometimes a little pectin is used also. But I just buy mine in a jar. This time I used Bonne Maman.

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I bought a 20 lb frozen turkey today, the smallest one I could find. I was debating whether to put it in the freezer for a couple days or let it start thawing. It turns out my freezers are too full for such a big bird, so it is in the fridge. This discussion is making me feel better about that.

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I made sliced kielbase, potatoes, onions, and cabbage for dinner.

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This afternoon I got my Moderna booster shot. I'm glad I did all the cutting in of butter, stirring, etc when I baked in the morning, as my arm has already begun to ache a bit and stiffen up. I didn't have any problems after the initial shots (only the severe bruising and swelling that lasted 2 weeks following the 2nd shot, but that was from the needle, not the vaccine) so I expect this will last only a day or two. And what a pleasant experience I had compared to the first two vaccinations last February and March. No long lines and long waits, plenty of privacy and sanitation, friendly folks, good organization. We seem to have learned from earlier mistakes.

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This morning I made a coffeecake, with ginger preserves for a filling and a cinnamon streusel topping.

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I made Tropical Treat Bread. It's a yeasted bread with lots of chopped dried fruit, and although it is not very sweet, does get some sweet flavors from the fruit. I used pineapple, mangoes, orange peels, apricots and coconut.

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Last night we had boneless chicken thighs, roasted brussels sprouts drizzled with oil and maple syrup, and mashed potatoes.

Tonight, we had leftover pizza stuffed spaghetti squash.

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I made Wild Rice and Onion Bread, from Brother Juniper's Bread Book. I haven't made it for years, but recalled that it would make tasty rolls to have in the freezer for soup meals. It came out very sticky, wet, and I had to add about a cup of flour. I don't recall that this was a problem previously. I used fresh chopped onion, which added to the moisture in the bread (compared to dehydrated onion, which was an option). I also subbed whole wheat flour for 2 cups of AP. The rolls came out fine, and smell wonderful.

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We had leftover soups and gougeres. Tomorrow I will freeze the leftover leftovers - probably 2 bowls of each kind.

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I have gougeres in the oven now, to go with our soup for dinner. These have cheddar and parmesan, with a pinch of chipotle pepper. I usually also put in chopped chives or green onions, and I potted up a clump of chives from the herb garden a month ago just so I would have chives growing all winter---specially for gougeres and scones! But I forgot to use some.

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This morning I made 2 large pots of soup: clam chowder for my husband, and mushroom for me. There will be plenty left after dinner to put into portion sizes and then into the freezer for busy or lazy days.

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