Last month was a quiet one in my kitchen. I am not sure where the time went, how can it be suddenly November with Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner? It’s time to start thinking about decorating, and holiday cooking and gift giving. Oh my! We’ve gone for what seems forever without those things and I’ve lost the habit of holiday momentum. That must be a worry of retailers as well as I started to see Christmas catalogs even before Halloween was over. It gets earlier each year. Don’t you just hate that? I am usually tired of the whole thing by the time the actual holiday roles around.

But, I am looking forward to gathering with family and friends with a new sense of thankfulness and appreciation for what is truly valuable in my life.

The cooler wet weather meant it was time to pull out the Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker) for winter soups, stews and long braises. The flavors of this dish were amazing but I think it would have been better with a fattier cut of meat, maybe lamb shanks or a lamb shoulder instead of the leg. Next time.

I won’t post the recipe until I get it perfected.

Instant Pot Moroccan Lamb with Chickpeas

In My Kitchen (at the Oakland condo) I have a new sous vide wand. I got tired of toting the one from the Fort Bragg house back and forth so have purchased a second. We will be spending Thanksgiving day with good friends in Oakland and it’s my assignment to cook the turkey since half the guests are vegetarians. I have found sous vide the very best way to cook turkey, most especially the white meat which can be (and usually is) dry and tasteless. But it’s quite delicious cooked slowly sous vide and not dry at all.

Sous Vide Wand

Overnight Sous Vide Turkey Breast

As a bonus the breast can be cooked ahead and gently reheated before serving.

Sous Vide Turkey Thighs

I will cook a boneless turkey breast and several thighs separately from each other.

The pictures above are from pre-pandemic holidays.

A trip to the Bay Area is not complete without a visit to Trader Joe’s. We have a wonderful grocery store in Fort Bragg and a farm stand just down the street a bit, but no TJs. I haven’t been in to a department store in a couple of years now. Food stores are different, I enjoy browsing what’s new and usually find some interesting things.

I think these colorful felt trivets would make wonderful holiday gifts.

Felt Trivet

‘Cauliflower Slims’ are a good bread or tortilla substitute. They make larger ones but I have found they fall apart too easily. These toast up nicely in the toaster oven.

Cauliflower Slims

Although I can make my own, they also sell pre-riced cauliflower which is very convenient. I substituted it for the rice in this fried rice dish which was spiced with cumin and mixed with peas, scallions, roasted delicata squash, and baby spinach then garnished with pomegranate seeds (also from TJs).

Cauliflower Fried Rice

Sheet pan dinners are a welcome time saver. I’ve been working my way through sheet pan chicken by Cathy Erway. This was coriander-crusted chicken with crispy chickpeas, fennel and pomegranate.

Coriander-Crusted Chicken with Crispy Chickpeas and Fennel

Coriander-Crusted Chicken with Crispy Chickpeas and Fennel

In the garden the last of the cauliflower had started to bolt, they weren’t nice firm solid heads anymore. But I actually loved that, when roasted, those looser heads resulted in more crispy bits. My favorite.

This was another sheet pan dinner with cauliflower, new potatoes and olives.

This orchid was a house warming gift last October, it has bloomed continuously for over a year. I can see it from my kitchen in the Oakland condo. Orchids are the perfect houseplant for as they thrive on neglect. The only time I’ve killed one is when I overwatered it. This one is beautiful.

We took the dogs (yes, all three) to the condo. It was Shanna’s first time in the city. Country girl turned city girl.

Shanna – first city view

I could watch her from the kitchen. She was absolutely fascinated by the activity in the streets below and the birds flying at her eye height.

We thought she might find the trains (the AmTrack station is next door) frightening but she took everything in stride. She did want to make friends with everyone we saw on our walks, probably more people and dogs than she had seen in the total combined first 6 months of her life.

That’s it for me this month. This post is part of a monthly round up from kitchens around the world hosted by Sherry of Sherry’s Pickings. Please stop by and consider adding your own post to In My Kitchen.