Weekend links and photos

by Aimee

I couldn’t toggle my schedule this week enough to get a second post published, but I felt good about giving one of my most personal stories a bit more time in the spotlight.

Thank you all for the warm (and tender) response to my post on returning home and salmon spawning. Your comments were incredibly touching and showed me I’m not alone in feeling that tug of homesickness after so many years.

Many of you are prepping for Thanksgiving this week and you are in my thoughts. The questions are already rolling in, and I am delighted to answer them, so please don’t be shy. If it were me, I’d make the simplest turkey ever, perfect mashed potatoes, these brussels sprouts and this butternut squash gratin. Done!

Forgive me if I am already in Christmas mode. I have to get much of my prep done early, as I’m taking two quick trips in the next few weeks: Toronto and…London! As in the U.K. As in Notting Hill, Piccadilly, Westminster Abbey and Jamie Oliver, especially the last one. Keep an eye on my Instagram feed for those adventures. I’m assuming London in December is going to be just like stepping into Love Actually…right?

Here’s what I loved reading this week:

• Eggs in a Grilled Cheese Nest :: Dinner with Julie
• Thanksgiving stuffing dinner rolls :: Two Red Bowls
• Frosted Rum Raisin Tea Cake :: Kitchen Heals Soul
• Vegan Swedish cinnamon buns :: Izy Hossack for Jamie Oliver
• You’re Doing It Right: Thanksgiving ::  Cheryl Sternman Rule for The Kitchn

This week was a pretty one with the first snow dusting our world white:

I love how the snow brightens everything up, like a fresh clean start.

One day after school, we celebrated the arrival of snow with a picnic of hot cocoa and apple butter sandwiches. We’re long time fans of the snow picnic.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Good thing, too, because I’ve started my baking.

Biscotti is a cookie I make early and freeze (it also travels well, for mailing packages to loved ones). This year I made a sensational Espresso Hazelnut Chocolate Chunk biscotti from the The Messy Baker cookbook. Such a great book!

I’m also baking from the brand new Saveur: The New Classics Cookbook. I’ve dubbed it an instant family heirloom, perhaps to replace those battered copies of Fanny Farmer and Betty Crocker. This was a Salted Caramel Apple Pie, which we shared with friends on Friday night to celebrate my cookbook going to press!

These super simple, 3-ingredient scalloped potatoes are back for winter. They are my favourite do-ahead potato dish for company. Find the recipe HERE.

My mornings start with a dash through the snow to the chicken coop to collect the fresh eggs before they freeze. It’s not a bad way to begin the day, actually.

Have a wonderful weekend, all!

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