Sylvia's Scenario

I am in the midst of preparing our traditional Thanksgiving meal again this year and last night I made the pies,  pecan pie  and  pumpkin pie , our two traditional desserts for Thanksgiving. I've made my   list  and I've been checking it off as I go.  I seem to be writing more and more on my list these days because I think my memory is getting worse and worse each year!   I started my list last week by making the menu first which is easy since we always eat the same thing for Thanksgiving. Then, I copy off all my recipes so they're at my fingertips and then make the grocery list.  I started my grocery shopping on Sunday.  Monday was my day off work so you can see I had a lot to do.  I worked on Tuesday so I did the last bit of grocery shopping on my way home from work and made pies last night.  Most the cooking will be on Thanksgiving.  Today, I am making the , cranberry sauce , the shrimp spread  for our appetizers,  shrimp toasts   and the famous  Hernon

My turkey cake is done!  This year I used a recipe from Chocolate Chocolate and More   blog.  I like to make a turkey cake to eat for Thanksgiving morning so it's more like a coffee cake.  I look for bundt cake recipes which work well for my turkey pans.  This one will be a real treat and it will certainly live up to the occasion. 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 1-3/4 cups sugar 3 large eggs 2 tsp. vanilla 3 cups flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1 cup sour cream 2 cups fresh cranberries 1 cup chopped walnuts For frosting 2-3 ounces white chocolate (chips, candy melts or bark all work well) 1 tsp. shortening, if needed 1. In a medium bowl, combine cranberries with 2 Tbsp. flour, tossing to coat berries.  Set aside. 2.  Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add in vanilla.   Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 3.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Sadly, this is the last day of our vacation in Japan but I can't help think about how much I like it here. I kept saying to Nick during our visit that my impression is so different than what I thought it would be. Here's why. I like the way everyone walks, rides bicycles or takes the train to get around and that they have parking lots for bicycles. I like how you don't have to tip at restaurants and you get the bill immediately and leave when you feel like it with no sense of rushing. I like the unspoken rule of no eating, drinking or talking on cell phones while on public transportation. I like how polite, respectful, considerate and thoughtful people are. I like the shiba dogs everywhere and now I want one! I like how everyone eats fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I like how you don't see any overweight people or need bariatric chairs. I like how they illustrate menu items with fake food that looks

I have decided that two of my favorite foods in Japan is the curry and the ramen.  The Japanese curry is brown or a beef-type and the ramen is like nothing in the U.S.  For that reason, Nick took us to the Ramen Museum in Yokohama which was spectacular.  We were headed up that way to take the bullet train to Osaka so we stayed overnight another night there to experience more Yokohama.   The Ramen Museum is set-up to look like shops from around the world. It reminded me of the old Seattle Food Circus where I worked as a teenager.   We learned that ramen is from China but it has spread into cultures all over the world.  Each culture, such as Japan, has their own version of ramen.  At this museum, they have different restaurants from various countries that rotate through the museum for sampling of their ramen. So, since Nick has been here before, the samples of ramen are different from the last time he was here.  There were about 10 different types of ramen shops to