About Me

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West Virginia
When I started my retirement travels in 2009, I wanted a way to share it with family and friends as it was happening. Hence, "My Travel Journal". However I realized I wouldn't always be on a trip and wondered what to do with the blog in between times. My daughter pointed out, wisely, that travels can also include trips to the kitchen to try a new recipe, trips to visit family, trips to my neighborhood Starbucks, or a fun day trip with a friend. You're welcome to join me on any of these journeys! I've set up individual pages for each of my major trips (see tabs above).

Also, I have an Etsy shop where my current needlework resides. The last pieces I posted here were in 2013! So if you'd like to see what I have accomplished recently, go to (and I apologize for having to copy and paste):

www.etsy.com/shop/thedollhouseneedle

I recently added an "Italian Word a Day" thingie which shows up at the bottom of every page. You see the word and can click to hear it pronounced. I've been enjoying it and I think my accent is improving as time goes by.

November 26, 2011

Thanksgiving Dinner for One

Once again this year I had decided that just because I was going to be alone didn't mean I shouldn't have the pleasure of a day of cooking and an evening of eating, so after an hour or so perusing cookbooks a couple of days before, I finally decided on a pork roast.  I found all kinds of great recipes for roasted chicken and thought that's what I'd do, but the recipe I found for roast pork was one where first you do this, a little later you do that, and that's what I wanted - something to fool with periodically throughout the day.

What with also making a pumpkin pie, fiddling off and on with the roast recipe, peeling and boiling some shrimp for a shrimp cocktail, and getting my sweet potato and asparagus in the oven, I ended up pretty much in the kitchen most of the day!

The only thing that wasn't good was the roasted asparagus I made for a green veggie - and I should have known better - it's very much a spring vegetable.  But everything else was very good (if I'm allowed to say that myself) and I was thrilled with the pork roast.  It cooked like a pot roast - covered and with liquid and I had never cooked a boneless pork roast that way.  Always roasted them open and dry and then made good gravy with the drippings.

I ended up taking parts from two similar recipes and I've posted the resulting recipe HERE.  If you like cooked cabbage and you like roast pork, I think you'll love this recipe!

Here are a couple pics of the end result of my efforts.  On the left, my shrimp cocktail as appetizer (even pulled out one of my mother's pretty pieces of crystal)...and on the right, dinner!  The cabbage didn't stay that bright, pretty purple color but that's probably just as well - it would definitely have clashed with my table rug (tee hee...)

4 comments:

Christopher said...

It sure looks like a delectable meal... I especially love the appearance of the all-important pumpkin pie at the appetizer course, and during the entree course---as if to remind you what you really came here for... :)

Mary Lynne said...

Yes, I wanted to keep it close - if I had left it in the fridge, I might have forgotten all about it.... NOT!!

xo

jamie said...

sure looks good! And so lady-like! I'm glad you had fun just relaxing and cooking. Just remember - our door is always open! Literally - I mean we hardly ever lock it! :)

Mary Lynne said...

Gosh, Jamie - I hope no one ever figures out where you live!! And no wonder you're scared at night!

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