Another question that came up the night we had all our neighbors over was whether or not one leaves cupboards and drawers open while working in the kitchen. 

It was my husband who asked it because I do it and it drives him bonkers. 

(And then he breezes through slamming things shut while I’m working. The audacity.) 

But here’s my defense. I hate the wasted energy and time of repeatedly jerking open doors and drawers. Better to leave them hanging wide for easy access. 

I even occasionally leave my cold pantry — aka the fridge — open for a minute or two at a time if I’m running back and forth from fridge to stove for milk, bacon fat, eggs, cheese, etc, etc.

Once I’ve got the goods, then I close it. 

When my husband asked the question, the response was unanimous: everyone closes up shop as they work. Which I should’ve expected, considering their bed-making and sheet-washing tendencies, but still, I can’t help but think it’s a little silly. It’s hard enough to get yourself into the kitchen to make the food in the first place so why go to the extra trouble of closing up shop while working? Isn’t that like shooting yourself in the foot? 

Which brings me to another kitchen contention: trash.

Specifically: what do you do with the balled-up napkins and empty bags and bits of plastic wrap and tin cans — the cooking detritus one amasses whilst cooking? 

I do what I think is entirely logical: I toss it in the sink along with all the dirty dishes. Then at the end of my mess-creating, I just harvest the trash and shove it where it belongs — which is in the cupboard beneath the sink where the receptacles for recyclables, and the true and burn trashes, are housed.

Because (again) why waste energy repeatedly bending and opening and closing when you can just do it once at the end?

This habit of mine, my husband doth not abide. Which shouldn’t much matter since I’m the one in the kitchen doing the cooking, but when he reports for dishwashing duty before I get to the clean-up stage, I have to swoop in to pick all the bits of trash out of the sink while he stands there and practices deep breathing. 

So here’s your homework. This week, mid cooking marathon, pause for a sec and do a quick scan. Are your cupboards flung wide? Is there trash on the counter? I have a hunch that people might say they run a tight-n-tidy ship but when the shizzle (aka Thanksgiving) hits the fan, the truth comes out. 

Enjoy your turkey.

P.S. The one thing we do agree upon: when pouring/measuring messy things, all storage spaces directly beneath must be closed. No one wants a milk flood in the flour drawer.

This same time, years previous: the struggle, the quotidian (11.28.22), how we homeschool: Jen, the quotidian (11.25.19), the quotidian (11.26.18), Chattanooga Thanksgiving of 2017, in my kitchen: 2:35 a.m., a treat.

Quotidian: daily, usual or customary;
everyday; ordinary; commonplace

Newsflash: fully baked apple crumb pie freezes and thaws perfectly.

Cutting up.

We missed the window for Lodis, so this year it’s a VA Gold-and-Yellow Delicious blend.

Anyone have a sourdough muffin recipe that’s not a stodgy, gummy disaster?

Natural-rind Fat Cow: the creaminess levels are off the charts. 10 out of 10.

Cheese and chocolate.

Pie pastry for dayssss.

Virginia is colder than Mozambique.

Mongers, if you need a model, I’ve got one.

After weeks of rehab, I’m running again!

It looks peaceful but that’s one heck of a mouthy trio.

Old trailer, new paint.

Check out those guns. Here, let me help…

Mm-hmm.

This same time, years previous: truth and reconciliation, Grace, 2022 garden stats and notes, what I don’t do, pie!, a fun kitchen hack, the quotidian (11.20.17), curried Jamaican butternut soup, apple crumb pie, apple raisin bran muffins, how to use up Thanksgiving leftovers in 10 simple steps, a big day at church, the new bestest ever.

I have a new granola recipe for you, but before I go any further, a disclaimer:

If you are prone to addictive behaviors in the presence of crunchy sweet nutty seedy deliciousness, click away now. 

I’M SERIOUS. The first time I made it, I ate it three meals in a row.

Now SCAT.

For the rest of you controlled, pious souls, yes, yes, I already have four other granola recipes — this is our standby, this is our fancy splurge, this one and this one have had their day — but this one, I promise, deserves a whole post all its own. 

Because this granola is special on four different accounts:

• It doesn’t have oats
• It contains exotic ingredients for an authentic cooking high
• It’s gluten-free (not that I care, but some of you might)
• It POPS with per-sonality and pi-zzazz. 

In fact, my husband calls it the “Fun Granola.”  

The most tedious part of this recipe is sourcing the unusual ingredients, but once you’ve got everything, it’s a snap to assemble and it bakes up in less than half an hour. 

The end result is a deliciously spiced, light and crunchy granola which is ridiculously fantastic eaten out of hand, like a hybrid cracker-granola bar-cookie.

If eating as a cereal for breakfast (or a bedtime snack — no judgement), I recommend adding copious amounts of dried fruit.

And it’s lovely as an ice cream topper and — oo, oo, oo, if you’re a plain yogurt person, add fistfuls and then drizzle the whole kit-n-kaboodle with honey. 

HOLD UP, FOLKS. I just opened Samin’s book to check the ingredient list and realized that she calls it “cereal”, not granola. This is a cereal granola, not a granola granola, which prolly explains the lack of oats and why it’s so freaking FUN.

Henceforth, this deliciousness will now be known as…

Samin’s Fun CEREAL Granola
Adapted from Samin’s new (and utterly fabulous) cookbook Good Things.

Mahlab is the ground kernel from the inside of the seed of a particular species of cherry — Prunus Mahaleb. They say it tastes a bit like bitter almonds and cherries, and it has floral notes. I think it’s a pleasing flavor — and very mild. I won’t be at all surprised if it soon becomes all the rage.

I use melted homemade lard instead of oil. (Lard, I learned from daughter-in-law, does not impart a flavor in granola.)

A single batch makes about a gallon. Doubling is recommended. And I’m only using weights here — no cup measurements. Get a scale already.

80g puffed rice cereal (or wheat or Kamut)
80g puffed millet
85g pecans, rough-chopped
85g almonds, rough-chopped
50g pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
30g sesame seeds
1 tablespoon ground cardamon
6g salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground mahlab
150g melted lard (or oil)
150g brown sugar
110g honey

Combine the puffed grains, nuts, and sesame seeds in a large mixing bowl. 

Measure the sugar, honey, and oil into a saucepan. Heat over medium heat until melted. Increase the heat and bring to a boil — the oil may separate at the start, but whisk steadily and it will eventually become cohesive. It’s done when there are lots of bubbles on the top — about 5 minutes of cooking total. Add the salt and spices and stir well.

Pour the hot spiced syrup over the grains and quickly stir to coat evenly. Transfer the cereal to a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. Stir well, and then bake another 5-10 minutes. Keep a close eye on it! When the cereal is golden brown and caramely, remove it from the oven. Cool completely and then break the cereal into pieces — keep them large for snacking treats and crumble them smaller for cereal-and-milk consumption. 

Store the cooled cereal granola in an airtight jar on the counter. (Or hidden away out of sight if you find yourself struggling.)

This same time, years previous: unlearning, my kids love motorcycles and this is how I feel about it, jammy crumble cookies, perimenopause: Laura, age 48, introducing how we homeschool: a series, my new kitchen: the refrigerator, the quotidian (11.12.18), unleashing the curls!, enough, for now, George Washington Carver sweet potato soup with peanut butter and ginger.