No! vember

Welcome (?) to November, the month when we begin descent into the deep freeze in earnest. I'd rather confine food to the deep freeze and keep myself out of it, but nature has other plans.

Here to take a tiny bit of the sting out of November is Betty Crocker's Cooking Calendar (1962). What are our fruits and vegetables this month?

Apples and potatoes! I suspect just about anybody can be happy with that! Everybody loves potatoes in at least one of their delicious manifestations: mashed, deep fried, scalloped, souped.

As for apples, I will admit that for a long time I didn't like them much.... Then I realized that I had mostly been given red delicious apples, which are about as good as trying to eat a wax apple that has been soaked in cough syrup before serving. Once I was old enough to realize there were other varieties and I could choose my own, I discovered that I am crazy for Cortlands (even if they're hard to find) and pretty fond of McIntoshes, too.

I was curious to see Thanksgiving recommendations for 50+ years ago, so here is Betty's idea of a good Thanksgiving:

I love the picture of the avocado green turkey running around the sheaf. Either they're not to scale or the farm grew seriously big turkeys and seriously short wheat!

Thanksgiving dinner is quite traditional: vegetable relishes, roast turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberries, crescent rolls, even perfection salad since no holiday meal is complete without gelatin. I half-expected Betty to recommend making everything for the holiday meal from scratch, but instead of the expected pumpkin pie, dessert is made from cake and frosting mixes. At least it will be fall-ish: honey spice cake covered with brown caramel fudge frosting and decorated with tiny, hand-sculpted pumpkins, squashes, and apples. I really wonder about the "fondant" made from white frosting mix, butter, and almond extract!

Maybe the thought of cozy autumn evenings filled with potatoes and apples capped with a Thanksgiving feast will make the coming of the cold and dark a little less daunting.... Try to enjoy what's left of fall!