Poor in Money

I wanted to write something about Thanksgiving this year.  It was a quiet day, with Craig and I cooking up a frenzy and Fatty and Lulu (we were dogsitting for a hilarious pomeranian) looking on greedily.  We made a beer can chicken, sweet potatoes baked in a lemon honey sauce, mashed buttercup squash, mashed potatoes galore, stuffing, green beans, gravy, and a key lime pie.  Really, too much food for two people and two dogs (who think they are people).

 If you have found your way to my little egocentric corner of the internet, you know that I live something of a charmed life.  I am lucky - I have found a series of jobs that allow me to travel around the country (and sometimes the world), meet amazing people, and work outside every day.  It's easy to forget how lucky I am.  Something that I always appreciate about Thanksgiving is that it is a day devoted to the reminder that we would not be here (albeit by rape, pillage, small pox blankets, etc.) without the help of others, and we take for granted our everyday luxuries - food, friends, family, health, freedom (if only it weren't such a damn patriotic word...).

I'm not going to list the things that I am thankful for, but I am going to spend the next month basking in them.  Cause I may be poor in money, but I'm rich in love and food.

Carrot Cakes are the best kind

Craig and I both have fall birthdays, which is not that exciting and / or important, other than the terrifying prospect of transitioning into our late twenties and creeping closer to the cusp of the big 3-0.  The important thing is that birthdays, especially ours, are a good excuse to make the best of cakes - carrot, of course.  And I have devoted myself to the smittenkitchen version of carrot cake, with some small modifications: use 2 T of fresh, finely shredded ginger (instead of ground ginger) and 1/2 t of cloves.  I splurge for organic and/or local carrots (because they are so much sweeter and less starchy) and grate them finely, which is a pain in the ass but much better.  I also keep the frosting a la carte, and have no real maple syrup, so just make it a simple cream cheese-butter-powdered sugar frosting.