Double Turkey

Spent last weekend in Asheville NC doing Thanksgiving with the in laws. There's nothing like a good southern turkey day. We decided to travel the week before the holiday to miss out on traffic and momma works retail and would have been busy. It turned out great since we missed all the weather and it means we get T dinner twice. It is always nice to visit the mountains I always feel at peace there. Had a great dinner with all the fix ins and talked hunting, guns, work and politics with no arguments at all we seem to all see eye to eye on such things finished the weekend out helping get some more fire wood in order for the folks and back in the car for 8 hour trip home.

view from in laws porch

 

splitting wood

 

 

Tonight I'm getting ready for dinner with my family two holiday dinner in less than 7 days not good for the waist line and I sure didn't split enough wood for what I ate. We took the turkey and ham down south but tomorrow I'm only on the hook for dessert, so because I got to work for a few in the am tonight I set about baking bread. Down east Maine pumpkin bread to be exact. Now I have baked a lot of bread but this would be a first pumpkin. I googled pumpkin bread and this recipe has the best reviews so time to prepare. Bread is a process so first you need to gather tools, my new pampered chef bowl from goodwill can opener, spoons, measuring cups and ingredients. Next get beer you simply should not bake without alcohol.

 

 

I chose to start with a nice hickory stick stout that I picked up down in NC.  Now preheat oven to 350 and grab a bowl and crack 4 eggs empty 15 ounces of pumpkin puree 1 cup vegetable oil and 2/3 cup of water. In another bowl mix 3 cups white sugar 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon ginger. Pause drink beer. grease 3 7x3 loaf pans. Pause drink beer. Now slowly mix your dry into your wet ingredients drinking beer as you go. pour in pans and place in oven for 50 min. Mine took 60, yeah me more time to drink beer. Now pumpkin breads good but pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting well ....         so 1 stick of unsalted butter half a block or 4 ounces of cream cheese 2cups powdered sugar 1teaspoon vanilla extract. Pause drink more beer in large bowl beat   mix together (a man mixes with his hands (OK I still haven't unpacked mixer) ) butter and cream cheese then slowly mix in sugar then extract. And you guessed it drink beer. Now if you drank enough beer this will resultNow let cool grab a beer frost and try only 2 will make it until tomorrow . Now blog about it drunk cause merica.

 

Levi kept the wife busy until I cleaned up the kitchen and put tools away sorry bud some one had to take one for the team.

Proof I cleaned up now 1 more beer then bed some of us gotta work in the am.

Moving sucks... Cheers from the Beach House

The end of October and the first few weeks of November have been a blur of work moving and more moving and more moving. If you haven't figured it out by now I  moved. I like moving about as much as putting my nuts in a meat grinder but after all the work and many beers I think it was worth getting out of an apartment and being able to spread out a bit. It hasn't been a lot of fun and I had zero times in the woods or on the water though the later is painfully close I have been working 6 days a week and the seventh at the house. I think the view alone is worth it and now that I'm catching up I might just get to enjoy this.
                   

view from my porch

 

I deliberately left the kayak in storage so I would not be tempted and the ole lady would not shoot me.

needs a little work but the rents cheap

And a mans fire wood stack should not be that empty this late in the year but I will fix that in a hurry

Cheers from the Beach House