Haveil Havalim #244 Is Up

over at A Mother in Israel. So go check it out! With ICLW under way I'm not sure how much reading I'll get done this week, but I always find interesting things.

Carnival Thoughts (and a picture)

Today is the Mothering.com blog carnival and I'm at a loss as to what to write. I had wanted to present a beautiful, well-written essay that exemplifies some of Mothering's core values and the way it is reflected in my life.

But I'm not going to.

I was laid out Monday evening with a migraine. Tuesday I was almost better and went to Disneyland with the girls anyway. That evening the migraine started reviving and I'm sharing my Wednesday with a low-grade migraine that I'm combating with pretty much everything I have. Good week to have a Shabbaton and not need to prepare any Shabbat meals! Yay!

Now I'm back to where I started, though. What to write? As I thought about this more and more my left eye starts throbbing and I realize that this is what I'm writing.

I have long and often remarked that attachment parenting should be rebranded as responsive parenting. A parent needs to respond to the needs of the child and the family unit and work towards a common goal. That means Ima's needs also need to be responded to and met. Right now I need to relax and rest and not worry about a blog post.

So that's where I'm headed now. First, though, a gratuitous photo from yesterday...

Other Mothering.com Writing Women

http://codenamemama.com

http://greenvneck.blogspot.com/

http://www.moderatemeans.blogspot.com

http://www.oneplustwoislove.blogspot.com

http://paxye.com/blog/

http://moosaidthemama.blogspot.com/

http://simplyjess.wordpress.com/

Third Tuesday Cooking Carnival

Welcome to the first installment of The Third Tuesday Cooking Carnival! (If you have a better name, please share. My brain has stalled.) Sign up with Mister Linky below and visit the other participants' blogs to check out their recipes.

Recipe: Grandma Hanken's Sweet Potato Casserole

When I was growing up, the best part of any holiday meal was my grandmother's sweet potatoes. They weren't too sweet and sticky and there was always plenty so we had leftovers. It was one of those dishes that, no matter how many times she shared the recipe, never turned out the same. After she passed away my step-sister found a number of versions of this recipe in Grandma Hanken's recipe box. Who knows which one she cooked from.

Over time I experimented with different variations and my memory got fuzzier. I finally settled on this recipe which has been made kosher parve and fits into a traditional foods lifestyle. Should those things not matter to you, you can replace the melted coconut oil with vegetable oil or melted butter and the sucanat/rapadura with brown sugar.

The visual key of this recipe is the placement of the pecan halves. Rather than scattering them across the top, they are placed in neat little rows and patterns. I used to cover the top with a thick layer, but have decided that more spacing tastes better and isn't as heavy.

Ingredients

3 pounds sweet potatoes or yams

1 egg

4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup orange juice

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

a few gratings of nutmeg

1 t. vanilla

1/4 c. sucanat or rapdura

1/2 c. pecan halves

Cook potatoes using your preferred method. (If I have the oven on already, I'll roast them. If not I steam them.) Let cool slightly and mash. I like to leave some chunks. Mix in the rest of the ingredients except for sucanat and pecans. Spread into a greased baking dish. Sprinkle sucant on top and then top with pecan halves. Bake covered for 20 minutes and then uncovered for 20 minutes.

You can prepare them up to the baking and keep in the fridge or freeze. If frozen, defrost thoroughly before baking. You might need to bake covered a bit longer if it is really cool before going into the oven. Be careful not to burn the pecans, though, by keeping them uncovered too long.

You can find my other recipes here!

Haveil Havalim #243 Is Up

Phyllis at Ima on and Off the Bima is hosting this week. Go check it out. It usually takes me a week to get through all of the posts, but I'm hoping to get some time while Aba and the girls watch a movie to read. We'll see how that goes.

Linky, Linky, Linky

Some more NaBloPoMo participants for you to check out:

http://www.oneplustwoislove.blogspot.com

http://www.codenamemama.com

http://www.moderatemeans.blogspot.com

http://paxye.com/blog/

http://simplyjess.wordpress.com/

http://3boysandadog.com/

http://greenvneck.blogspot.com/

On November 18th I'll be participating in a blog carnival of women from Mothering.com. If you'd like to join in, just sign up on this thread.

Also, don't forget the cooking carnival I'm hosting right here on November 17! This month's theme is Thanksgiving!

Mark Your Calendars and Start Cooking!

I want to let everyone know that on Tuesday, November 17 I'll be hosting a blog carnival for recipes! (I'm still looking for a good name. Got an idea? All I could come up with is Tasty Tuesday and...well...I'm not loving it.)

Just in time for Thanksgiving, I'm hoping to see a lot of recipes for your family's traditional Turkey Day treats, left-over savers and light pre-Thanksgiving meals.

Have fun with it and post your recipe by Tuesday, November 17 and then come back here to sign up on Mr. Linky. (I'll have it go live at midnight Pacific time.)

Spread the news and get working on those posts! The more we have the better the carnival is and the greater the likelihood you'll find something that strikes your fancy. (If you don't have a blog, feel free to email me your recipe and photos and I'll be happy to post it for you. Or go get yourself a blog!)

Just a reminder, this will not be a kosher carnival, a traditional foods carnival or a gluten-free carnival. So all of the recipes might not work for everyone. There are wonderful kosher and gluten-free carnivals out there, though.

JPix Carnival is Up

over at A Mother in Israel. Be sure to check it out!