Thanksgiving is almost here!

It is hard to believe it has been a month since I was last here.

We have been working on our Thanksgiving menu...I DID want to get a free range turkey until I saw the price tags on them. We went to the Whole Foods Market on Westheimer and for one the size we need it was over $79! We compromised and got a gain fed, no antibiotics, ORGANIC raised turkey. Not cheap, but only $23 - so by comparison, much more economical.

We are going to prepare the dressing outside the bird this year, so we got some organic garlic, onions, celery, oranges, and apples to fill the cavity and infuse the bird with flavor. I did that a long time ago and remember all the compliments I got on the moistness and delectable taste of the turkey. The gravy that I made from the drippings was absolutely WONDERFUL.

For many years we have had broccoli, cheese & rice casserole, but this year we are going to have organic whole wild grains with organic brown rice. They look beautiful in the package, and I love rice pilaf, so am really looking forward to that dish.

My husband is just going to have to suffer this year because we are going to forgo the candied yams with marshmallows...we have family members who shun marshmallows because they MIGHT have been made with gelatin that came from pigs feet. That's fine - we found a recipe in Penseys for yams or sweet potatoes mashed with ginger, maple syrup and pecans. YUM!

Of course we will have regular mashed potatoes, too - Mom wants to make them with the skins included, so we bought a bag of organic, tiny, thin-skinned reds for that dish.

There was a dish I saw on Emeril Green that I really want to try, so we got organic Bosch pears to roast with honey & wine, and top with crumbled goat cheese. I can hardly wait.

We are still debating about the green side dish, maybe just a salad with a special dressing - we bought some organic vinegars and exotic oils at Whole Foods - now there's an idea.

I talked my mom into having home made cranberry sauce rather than canned, too. We have a huge bag of craisins (dehdrated cranberries) that I plan to reconstitute with red wine, honey, ginger, and let it cook down until it is thick.

Oh, man it is too late at night to be eating now, but I am making myself HUNGRY!