It is not often that I have someone come to the Bayou and serve me. More oft than not, I do the cooking. Mark does cook occasionally and when he does, it is phenomenal but usually I do the food preparation. I do not see myself as a "good" cook but at least what I prepare is edible and at times tasty. I prefer home-cooked meals over fast food or any other type restaurant fare. If the food is cooked here, I can control just what goes into a dish and there are no nasty surprises to be found.
With my son and daughter-in-law visiting the Little Bayou House, I have been treated to a life of luxury. They have prepare most, if not all, of the meals that have been served. Both of them are extraordinary cooks! They not only create the tastiest of dishes but the presentation is stunning! (That is one of the parts that I am lacking! While my food meets the need it is not pretty.) Yesterday evening, they went out to dine at a really nice restaurant. When they returned both of them were fully impressed with the meals they had eaten and decided to replicate the food for us. Tonight, we dined upon some of the most delightfully tasty and beautiful foods to ever grace our dining room table! Wow! I felt like a queen! How nice to have such wonderful kids! I am blessed beyond words.
I am thankful for loving kids who, even though they will be out of town on the actual day, cared enough to spend "Thanksgiving" with their dear old mom. Yep, we celebrated Thanksgiving a few days early so I would not feel neglected. What wonderful, caring, loving kids!
While our dinner could not actually be described as the traditional meal shared on this day, we had plenty to eat and enjoyed lots of visiting. Yes, we did have a turkey...sort of...as I baked a turkey breast, but we also had samosas, stuffed squash, a vegetable medley, homemade biscuits and assorted other goodies. I guess in a way, those samosas were the only thing that set the pace as a bit different other than the fact that ninety percent of our meal was vegan. Both Darling Daughter and I have changed our diets to include less meat. She became a vegan years ago and health issues have just recently forced me to rethink what I eat. I have found that being a vegetarian (other than eating seafood) has vastly improved my well-being. So, our meal reflected the cooks' choice of dishes. Enough said. We all dined until full but still saved room for dessert. AND it was that dessert that was the talk of the afternoon!
Elizabeth had made two pies for our feast. One was a vegan pumpkin pie. Its deep rich filling was perfectly seasoned and creamy rich. She had used honey as the sweetener and used cornstarch instead of eggs to thicken the filling. It was delicious! The other pie was an apple/pear pie. This..she proclaimed was the heaviest pie in the world with the "hugest" crust! Not so in a bad way! Yes, the pie was heavy because I think she used a good twenty apples in it and then decided to throw in a few dozen pears for good measure. The crust had to be "huge" to contain all the goodness therein. The pie was delicious! Both were and I am so glad she decided to leave leftovers with us! Yum!
While our meal was most delightful in itself, it was more the whole family time thing that made the day perfect. We missed Mark, my oldest son, my daughter-in-law and my grandchildren but those of us who gathered today felt truly blessed...none more than me. Happy Thanksgiving...a few days early.
Nothing doing! That is exactly how the Praying Mantis from yesterday felt about my offering of a free meal. Nothing doing! The mantis absolutely refused any handouts. My offering would have pleased the critter except for one minor detail....it was dead. Yep, that Praying Mantis was a little too uppity or, perhaps, had a too refined palate for dead bugs albeit a large dead bug.
Actually, I should have known better than to go to the trouble. A Praying Mantis is fully capable of catching its own supper and does not need my help but I just happened to have found a lovely dead horsefly and thought I would give it to my friend. My efforts were spurned with an upturned nose! A mantis prefers live prey. It is the motion of a live bug that actually attracts the mantis in the first place not just hunger. Mantises do have voracious appetites, though! They seek out the movement of a live bug and then stealthily await until the prey is within range. Once a bug is deemed worthy and is near enough, the mantis pounces. In just a split second, the mantis is feeding. The prey never knew what hit it.
It makes me happy to see so many mantises wavering about the garden. Their back and forth motion as they mimic a leaf in the wind, makes them quite difficult to see unless you are careful. I have learned to search the plants for them before harvesting. I would hate to inadvertently snip one in half! They are wonderful insects to have about the place even if they are a bit persnickety about their meals!
