“Tradition” such a lovely word! (Musica for you girlfriends, it’s our tradition — welcome to my world!) That word brings up memories of childhood and feelings of security for the lucky ones. Traditions are the solid foundation of a family . . . a bridge from the past to the future. With our changing times, many traditions have been lost, but what’s wonderful is that we can start new ones! Maybe one of these:
Tradition’s don’t have to be fancy, it’s just doing the same things the same way every year, for years and years; until a 
season, a holiday, or your birthday just won’t work for you until you’ve had your dad’s root beer floats, your mom’s brownies, or your Grandma’s Molasses Cookies! (These foolish things, remind me of you . . .♥) I know some of you have tried my Grandma’s recipe, but if you haven’t, you should! She made these cookies year after year for us, brought them to Thanksgiving, or sent them for Halloween, wrapped in waxed paper, through the mail . . . now I can’t have Autumn without them.♥
Old-fashioned, bendy, spicy, and frosted, they are perfect for tea in front of the fire, delicious with Pumpkin Latte! My dad loves them. Here’s the recipe♥
And another tradition I could not go through the season without . . . because my house would just not smell right at Thanksgiving unless my Grandma’s stuffing, buttery, sagey, oniony, was roasting in the oven. I love to open the door and come into the kitchen from the cold outdoors just to smell that wonderful smell. It takes a little bit of preparation for this recipe, so I thought I’d remind you about it now, to give you time to think about if you’d like to try it this year. Unless you already have a traditional stuffing that your family could not live without! Then, of course, forget about this!
You can find the recipe on page 64 of my Autumn Book — but it’s so easy, with so few ingredients, here it is in a nutshell:
The way my mom did it . . . I remember her, three days before Thanksgiving, laying the bread out on cookie sheets; putting the pans on top of the hutch, on the washing machine, anywhere my seven brothers and sisters and dogs couldn’t get at it. Nowadays, I set up my ironing board in my pantry and it works perfectly. The bread is the plain, cheap stuff; get two loaves of white, one loaf of brown. For three days, I turn the slices in the morning and before I go to bed at night. I want them to be hard as rocks. Fancy bread and/or trying to dry them in the oven does not work. Packaged bread crumbs don’t work either. This is very old-fashioned way of doing it; my grandma’s mom made it this way too. ♥
You need a big bowl, preferably the kind you remember from your childhood.
My Grandma always came the day before Thanksgiving . . . on Thanksgiving morning, the bread would be ready; she and my mom, and now me, fill our clean kitchen sinks with the hottest water our hands can stand, about six inches of water, and then, one at a time, we dip each slice of bread in the water, and immediately wring it out. You can see my finger marks in the bread above. It gets thick and chunky, doughy, chewy; you break it up, just a tiny bit, not too much, into chunks and bite-sized pieces.
When you’ve done all the bread, you melt 2 sticks of butter in a large skillet, then slowly sauté six stalks of chopped celery and three medium chopped onions until softened . . .
While that’s happening you take an entire jar of dried sage leaves (not ground), and do what my mom and Grandma taught me to do: pour a little into the palm of your hand 
and rub it together over the top of the bread bowl; then, before you drop it in, look at it closely and discard any large or woody stems. Continue rubbing the sage until you use the whole jar. Then pour your onions and butter over the bread and, using your hands, being careful not to burn yourself, mix it all together well. Now the tasting, which at our house was a family affair, I think half of it was eaten while we were tasting! My dad was the final judge: He always knew . . . more sage? More butter? Salt, oh yes! It needs to be just a little bit salty, the turkey will absorb it . . .
You can add any other ingredients you want to make this your own; people always ask me if they can, and yes, I’m sure it would be delicious with cooked sausage, apples, nuts, oysters, or prunes, if you are of that ilk; but we have never done that and never would, because we are stuck in our ways; we like it plain and simple; the texture is glorious; with gravy, it’s pure poetry. Have it your way, as the song goes, because tradition requires that you make yourself happy!
I miss my grandma very much; she was my friend. See that ring on my finger? She gave that to me for my thirtieth birthday; I’d been trying to pull it off her hand since I was two and she finally gave up. She’s in heaven now, but when I smell her cookies baking, or her stuffing roasting on Thanksgiving Day, she’s here.♥ And that is why family food is so important, and why traditions mean so much.
It has been cold here this last week; Joe is still working in the barn, making us a wood box now, but he’s wearing a hat and jacket while he works.
And me? You know where I am. Tucked in, listening to the rain against the window, making our book. There are lots more wonderful wall/winter RECIPES for you HERE, candidates for possible Tradition-making inclusion to your family repertoire. With love from the Heart of the Home, and me, my mom, and my grandma. xoxo. P.S. Did you love that song? Then dancing is in order: Play this, get up, twirling is a wonderful way to start the day — just ask Angie! ♥ Love you.
Angie will LOVE that you said we should twirl! Thank you for this Autumn gift! Love your stories about times with loved ones. Grandmas are soooo special! I love that you have HER recipes to help keep her memory alive. I do, too! I made your German Pancake today! And lo-and-behold it DOES puff up so beautufully! Hubby loved it! Happy weekend….LOVE seeing you working on our book….funny that we’re calling it “our” book and you’re doing all the work! xoxo….Karen
Thank you Karen, I made sure I did a “shout out” to Angie because you are so right! She is such a twirler!
I know, isn’t that pancake like magic?! 🙂
I may be doing the painting, but you are my inspiration. xo
Do you every feel like Beatrix Potter when you’re sitting at your desk with your watercolor brush in hand, painting our book? Because that is what struck me as I was re-reading the blog this afternoon! You certainly paint as well as her!! xoxo
I pretend sometimes, especially when I was in England! (thank you!)
I don’t think a girl ever grows out of pretending, does she?
It almost helps to BE what you want, by just pretending to be what you want!
Practice makes perfect!
Good morning Susan… what a beautiful post!… we went from a gorgeous Autumn right into winter and today are covered in over three feet of snow!… I promised myself I would enjoy winter this year… I am trying!… your post just made my day!… I always carry on family traditions too… and I make Jack’s Nana’s stuffing… LOTS of black pepper and sage, and like you, I dry my own bread, like my mama did and my grandmothers too… the photo of you and your grandma is just precious!… so cute she gave you the ring you always tried to get off her finger… I am sure many precious memories are wrapped around your finger with it… and I know she is there with you always… carrying on traditions with you even from Heaven, where my mama and grandmothers are as well… I have all your cookbooks and today I want to make your molasses cookies for this cold wintry day!… I have that same big yellow Bauer bowl as you… and it’s my favorite to make my stuffing in or today a batch of your cookies… your kitchen always looks so cozy and welcoming whenever you show it… also, I have been wanting to order one of those beautiful cups from you from Emma Bridgewater… are they microwavable?… sometimes I need to zap my coffee… I would hand wash it, but wondered about the microwave?… thanks for sharing some of your family traditions… much love, xoxo Julie Marie
Yes, they are microwavable, you will love it, they are truly wonderful cups. Also, be sure to get some Vitamin D3 at the health food store; it’s a huge help for light deprivation, makes the winter much easier to bear! xo
Thanks for the advice on the Vitamin D3… we just have such cold, harsh winters here in Utah… okay, I am ordering my cup now!… hard to decide which one… I am torn between the squirrel and the robin!…
That is always the problem! Which one! Plus, they go out of print after a while, and never come back!
Hi Susan… I ordered the Robin!… can’t wait to get it, thanks!!! xoxo Julie Marie
I didn’t want to say it, but now I’m so glad you chose that one first!
I got the Emma roses cup last week from you and it is beautiful! I have a collection of two! One with hearts and the one with roses. They “go” well with each other. So glad that you have them Susan! ♥
It’s funny, I think no matter what the pattern, they seem to “go” together! Glad you like them Martha Ellen!
Julie Marie,
You could purchase both cups and then invite a friend over for tea or coffee!
Hi Priscilla… I thought about that!… maybe I can get the squirrel from my hubby for Christmas!… wishing you a beautiful day!
I just received my “reindeer in a snowstorm” mug–love love love it!
Oh good Shannon! Happy you like it!
~Good Morning~
Love this post~ love them all you know~ especially love my Grandmas!
Have to tell you I found 2 more Grandma bowls at an estate sale last week $16 for both!
Will use them today to make something warm and yummy~ even though our high temp today is 65 in Wisconsin~ I will take another day of it!
Off to our Holiday Parade and tree lighting tonight~ already~ fun with my kids, grandkids and extended family~ such a fun tradition!
~Hugs~
Lynn
Forgot~ love the song!
Tree lighting tonight? Is it Christmas already? I thought I was getting ready for Thanksgiving! Have fun Lynn!
~Hi~
Hard to believe Thanksgiving is in 2 weeks! The Holiday season seems to start earlier every year~ which I don’t really mind~ as long as it is about what matters and not all the commercialism.~ Good grief! ~We just got finished with all the politics!!
I forgot to add along with the Grandma bowls she threw in a very well loved and used wooden spoon like the one you have in this post~ jackpot!!
~Keep a happy heart!~
Lynn
Lynn, YOU lucky duck!
:)!
Hi Susan ….. Everything you write and all of your pictures and recipes always make me feel so warm and cozy inside and also make me cherish my home .
I have been looking through some of your Christmas books that I have , they always get me into the spirit of the season. I can’t wait to see that book you’re working on ! Happy Thanksgiving to you & Joe :o)
Hugs , Sue
Trinkets & Treasures
Monson, Ma.
…Dear Susan, good morning…again thank you for such a sweet post…I want to try your Grandmom’s stuffing for Thanksgiving…can’t wait…yes, traditions are wonderful,,so full of comfort and security…..hey, I am so happy that you stocked your ” Girlfriends Forever” in your web-store !!!!…that is the only book of yours that I didn’t have…also the other day I received the brown-bird tea-cup and I absolutely love that as well…thanks again for all you do…loved the photos of you doing your work (so well )…take care !!
xoxo Mary!
Good morning everyone! Such a beautiful post Susan, now you have me missing all my grandmas and gg’s. I was one lucky girl to have grown up with all of them. One of my gg’s lived to be 104, and my daughter got to know her too. My father’s mother and grandma were my favorites. They were Texan through & through, very old fashioned in everything they did. They taught me to sew, embroider & quilt. Sometimes, when I’m home alone, and it’s really quiet, I can feel them right there with me, watching me sew. I know that sounds crazy, but it makes me happy to believe it.
On a totally different note, remember last Christmas when I wanted a kitten? Well, Santa was a little late, and I had to find her myself while on a trip to Michigan, but I have a new little tiger kitty! She is so adorable and a bit naughty, so her name is Nellie Jane (after Nellie on Little House series). My boy can LOVES her, gives her baths and everything. My sweet Abbey, who I thought would like her, does NOT! She gives me looks with her big green eyes, like… “what were you thinking?”, “wasn’t I enough?” – – – Well, I’m babbling on here, but all you cat people understand.
Happy Saturday everyone!
Congratulations! A kitten! You’re going to have so much fun!
Dear Holly,
Your new tiger kitty has the perfect name. Nellie was my dad’s mom and Jane was my mom’s mom. I love it. Have fun with her.
Andi in Pennsylvania
Oh, and by the way Abbey is my daughter, funny coincidence.
Lovely blog, considering I am the Grandma in our family. The traditional stuffing for our turkey is your recipe plus oysters. Always has been, bread, celery, onions, butter by the pound, sage, and oysters plus salt and pepper. Carved in stone, no additions or sunstitutions allowed. Funny, how a family attaches themselves to traditions. Two Thanksgivings ago we had dinner at the Plymouth Plantation and as much fun as it was, the next day we had to have our “traditional” Thanksgiving dinner. My boys are rarely interested in cookies but when they come home they want Mom’s Fried Chicken, or Mom’s Beef and Noodles that they call “Pot Pie” because their grandmother called it that. Probably a derivative of “Bot Boi”, a Pennsylvania Dutch recipe, made with homemade-square-cut noodles cooked in beef broth. Families are everything and friends run a super-close second. There is so much to be thankful for in this season and you are one of my blessings.
Lovely comment Pat!
Just the same out here in Indiana. It’s so mystical, first you dry the bread, then you wet it! WHAT? But I just spent three days drying it??! Magic-like all wonderful family food! I’m off to buy ham hocks. Making your Indiana Ham and Sweet Potato Soup today! (From Autumn, if someone else is reading this!) YUMM. LOVE YOU! Twirling, Angie, I’m twirling!
Byeee JoEllen!
lovely, just lovely…thank you, Susan…for the Saturday morning warmth, memories and smile ♥♥♥ Have a wonderful weekend!
Hi Susan,
Yes I miss my Grandma too. She brought me up on a big farm. Thanks for the reminder on making stuffing. I forgot about the hot water part.
Nice post, just about can’t wait for your new book. I have a Suasn Branch section here on my shelf just waiting.
Nancy JO
Hi Susan…Love seeing you in your studio! And yes I do have my own traditional stuffing using sausage and water chestnuts (and lots of sage). My husband wanted to try a different recipe one year and the next year I put my foot down!
It’s going to be in the 60’s today and I should be outside mulching leaves and picking up branches from “Sandy”, but I don’t want to leave working on my MV scrapbook. I did 9 posts about it on my Blog in September, but felt I still needed to put it in a “forever” album. Blogger could go down and that would be that! Although, I do make PDFs of my posts each time so I have some kind of record. But it’s just not the same, is it, having something you can hold in your hands. That’s why your English Diary is going to be such a treasure!
Wonderful traditions you have there, Susan. Here, our “traditional” stuffing is made from cornbread! I must begin baking it today! Hopefully, my husband will not eat it all up before it is time to make the stuffing. Our favorite cornbread has no sugar and no flour in it – just eggs, buttermilk, baking soda, salt, and canola oil. I will often use a blend of white and yellow cornmeal.
We have had some cold mornings this week with a bit of frost around, but the Knock-out roses still seem to be unharmed. Dare I hope they might last until Thanksgiving Day? We have lots of sun today!
My husband has been to the garden and brought in lettuce and turnips! The turnips are roasting in the oven now! My activity is temporarily a bit limited because of an ankle sprain.:-( Never had one of those before, and it certainly wasn’t on my “bucket list.” It is definitely on the mend, and I hope to be back operating on all cylinders by the time I need to do all that prep in the kitchen.
Have a wonderful Saturday doing what you love most!
xo Nellie
Thank you, hope the wrist feels better soon!
Nellie,
You must be from Texas–cornbread dressing/yellow cornmeal–my faves, also chicken rather than turkey until I married a “big city” guy. Also, we had sweet potato pie–not pumpkin–and I still prefer it when I find it at Publix! Traditions!!!
My husband is from TX and his family’s tradition is fried cornbread dressing. His sisters have sent me their mother’s recipe and instructions, I have watched them all make it…I can not get it right. I finally stopped trying and his sisters always make sure there is a pan full when we are able to get there between Christmas and New Years most years. Personally, I prefer the regular bread stuffing I grew up with, but that’s one of the joys of marriage…the blending of two family’s traditions and making of all new to you traditions. Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I could just devour that entire bowl of stuffing! Could smell the fragrance of sage across the miles!! Making turkey stuffing is one of my favorite things to do and growing my own herbs adds to the pleasure.
Your recipe pages are so beautifully composed, and makes cooking even more of a pleasure. Thank you for putting us in the Thanksgiving preparation mood!!
The photos of the bread all layed out are too funny. I will be doing that too when I make my Mother’s stuffing recipe – I think that is the secret 🙂
I don’t think there could be a more perfect “base.”
Thanks for your lovely post about traditions! I am the grandma and have been preparing Thanksgiving Dinner these last 25 or so years! We do have our traditions, one is starting dinner with peanut soup!! I serve it in turkey and pumpkin covered individual dishes. Wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without it! One Grandson, that lived with us, is away at college and can’t get home so he asked for the recipe to cook in his dorm!! I love Traditions!!
If you would like to share that recipe, I don’t think anyone would mind! 🙂
Peanut Soup
2carrots peeled and chopped
1 onion diced
1 TBL butter
2cups chicken stock
1 cup creamy p-nut butter
2 cup 1/2 & 1/2
Melt butter in saucepan add carrots and onions, cook until onions begin to soften. Add stock and bring to a boil then simmer until vegetables are very soft. Puree the vegetables. I use a hand blender. Add p-nut butter, mix until melted and blended in, add 1/2 & 1/2 heat until hot but do not boil!
Serve, garnish with chopped peanuts if you like!
For my family I quadruple this amount or more!!
I started making this with my students for Presidents day as it is definitly a Virginia recipe!
MMMM, and I bet it’s good with hot buttered French bread!
Sounds delicious! Will have to try this!
Christine, here in VA we are known for our peanut soup. It’s so yummy! So nice to hear you make it.
In Colonial Williamsburg they serve it with sippets–basically long slices of Sally Lunn bread toasted with butter. You dunk the sippets into your peanut soup–Yummy.
Molasses anything makes me happy. I’ve got one or two molasses cookie recipes I use, but I think I must try this recipe! Thanks so much, Susan. Your home looks cozy and warm and ready for winter.
xo
Claudia
Another warm and wonderful post dearest suzy branch.
The things you love make me happy…you are by far the best!
I can feel your finger marks in the stuffing…
love you-
sweet pea
xoxo
So glad to hear you and Joe and the kitties are tucked in and still working and smiling…been thinking about you all so much with the weather happening on the east coast…we’ve been watching winter storm Brutus headed toward Minnesota…rain tonight and maybe snow tomorrow…lovelovelove Rod Stewart…thanks for starting my Saturday with more good ideas~my Mother did her stuffing the same way your Mom and Grandma did…bread drying on the washer and dryer…ah, sweet memories…xoxo…
Susan, I must tell you I made that stuffing last yr…my grandkids thought it was so funny that grammy had that bread spread out everywhere for days…It was the best Ive ever made and Ive been making it for yrs…. Just a few days ago my grandson said ” Grammy are we gonna throw that bread around the Kitchen again this year” he doesnt know it yet but he made a memory we will treasure for yrs to come… Linda
I think you did!
Susan,
When I’m about to read your posts, the radio gets turned off and I get wrapped up in the music you’ve chosen. In this post, you’ve reminded me of how my mother would spread out the slices of bread and how, you’re quite right, the onion, celery and herb flavoured mixture would have to be sampled before it ever made it into the turkey.
I love the photo of you, surrounded by your paints, creative juices flowing . . . I’m still looking to find some to squeeze out of myself. Perhaps if I wring a wee bit harder . . .
-Karen
Look around, I bet you create something every day! ♥ We’re all artists in our own way!
Hi Susan,thank you, I came into the house (spending an afternoon working in the garden) and there you were on my computer ! The molasses cookies are becoming a tradition in our house,my 13 year old daugther loves them and she is not the only one! The German pancake? Do you have a recipe? I would like to try it,it looks yummy! Thank you again,love,
Loes
Here is the recipe Loes, for German Pancake . . .
THANKS, kiddo:)
although I don’t quite get how you “spread” tbsps. of butter 🙁 on batter???
I was reading the recipe and was wondering about that too, Judi. Did you figure it out yet? I would love to surprise my Hubby with a German pancake some evening when he gets home and is tired & hungry from working late.
Oh! I meant you spread bits of butter over the batter! Sorry!
Hi Susan,Judi and Sue,
thanks!
Loved the Rod song…reminded me to rummage through my cd’s and pull it out and plop it into machine…will make my morning soooo much nicer. Thank you. Fall has finally come to Southern California. Changed today from flip flops and shorts to sweats and sweat shirt for my morning chores. The season is fast approaching. Saw my first holiday play last evening at our local area theatre – “Spirited Holidays” – it was called…cute! Happy Morning Everyone!
good morning susan!
loved your post to us this morning! puts me more in the mood to make plans for the holidays. thanksgiving has always been my favorite. its been hard to get my mindset for it though as it has been summer weather here. monday was record highs in the 90’s! but yesterday and today its cool, 60’s with a cold wind. so now it feels more like it is almost thanksgiving. i want to try the homemade stuffing recipe i think, sounds simple and homey. we have a couple of family traditions in the kitchen that comes from my own dear grandmom. we have to make sweet potato casserole, its chunky rather then mashed like the pie, and we have to make the egg nogg which has its own tradition. the men folk would wander into the kitchen one by one and “taste” the nog (1/2 a cup at least) then declare it needed a bit more of the nog (brandy, rum, whisky, whatever that years flavor) . by the time it was declared ready it was more nog then egg, lol. one of my funniest family get-together memories. i think i will play more of the musica and look thru the recipe collection. make a menu of mixed traditon and something new to try. thanks so so much for the pictures and inspiration!
Blessings on you and the crew!
Thank you Natasha, loved that egg nog story!
LOVE. IT ! Everything about this post. Especially the pic of wonderful YOU, happily writing and illustrating away….the anticipation building! Love, from Alabama…
Dear Susan,
Your photos are perfect for the season, thanks for posting them. I have made your grandmas molasses cookies, they are mouthwatering good. Also, sadly to bring something up from a previous post, I just received a letter from the post office asking for my opinion as to what they should do with our small town post office. I am going to attend a meeting on December 5th to see what they have to say. It could me shortened hours or so long for good. Hope I didn’t bring you down too much. Your post made my day, thanks.
Andi in small rural PA.
I hope you get to keep it!!!
Dear Andi in small rural PA. We had the same meeting at our post office last month. The more people that turn out the better, so tell your neighbors. We are going to have shortened hours, but that’s better than losing your post office. It all hinges on the amount of mail also. Had they closed our post office, which would have been so sad since it is the meeting place of our community, we would have had to drive 20 miles to town to the post office and in town it is just not the same, not to mention the inconvenience. No one can really understand what the rural post office means to those of us, who as I say, live in the middle of nowhere! Good luck Andi, I wish the best for your community. Chris
Ahhh, the memories of Thanksgivings past, families, traditions, favorite grandmothers, mothers, recipes passed down….the list goes on. Your unique talent for bringing forth all those wonderful memories brought warmth to my heart and tears to my eyes this morning, and gave me renewed resolve to pass the same torch of tradition ignighted with love to those we will leave to share our memories. Blessings to you this time of Thanksgiving!
Thank you for the beautiful post, Susan. Your bright posts always help to bring me back to my balance. With our busy home, things get out of whack so easily. Right now, my hubby, Ed, is back from his walk with the dogs so I can’t stay. I’ll come back later and reread the directions for Molasses Cookies and give them a try. They look like they are in one of your books, so I’ll look there too (Maybe the Autumn Book!)
Janet xoxo
OH! MY! what a lovely post and what gorgeous music! It’s Saturday and baking time at my house! Everyone is going to love these cookies!
Susan! I love the Rod Stewart songbook series! There are FIVE of these albums and now he’s got a Christmas album out, too, and it’s absolutely delightful! (In case you want to watch, PBS is airing his Christmas concert on Nov. 26th. Check your local listing. I can hardly wait!) I loved both renditions of “These foolish things.” They are both just magical!
Thank you for bringing so much “magic” into our lives……..I love your tales of the traditions handed down from your grandmothers. You really touched my heart with memories of grandmothers this morning………I adored mine so! I have MY grandmother’s ring! Isn’t it wonderful when you get to wear their rings and remember them all the time! I have one of her quilts and her cookbooks and she and my mother have always loved cats the way you do! I also have her cornbread dressing recipe which my mother has always made and now all my family (I am “the Nana” now) calls for on birthdays and holidays. We have to make extra so everyone can take some home with them! Traditions are so lovely…………I think your Grandmother’s cookies are about to become a TRADITION in MY family, too! Must run and begin baking! Have a warm and wonderful Saturday! Best wishes from Alabama!
Thank you Nanette! I put the Rod Stewart concert on the calendar, that should be fun!
Ah, there is a Saturday post! My favorite. Checked earlier and found the election day post still…so caught up on the girlfriends’ comments. Now took a break from cleaning and wa la. Traditions! Love Thanksgiving, probably my favorite holiday, because it’s ALL about the food!. I used to make my stuffing very much like yours, completely with drying bread a few days before. But after I met Jim (18 years ago, oh my where does the time go?) he always did Thanksgiving dinner for his family. So now we do it his way (combination corn bread and bread) and it’s good too. Now that he’s 83, his daughter, our granddaughter and I do everything but the turkey and dressing. That’s still his baby.
And speaking of traditons. This morning I made your Pumpkin Latte! Good-bye Starsbucks….they cost too much anyway and requires a trip to town! The Molasses Cookies are next on my to do list.
Thanks for being so generous with your recipes….well back to cleaning! Thanks for the pleasant break. Chris
Oh my Starsbuck?(sp)!?
Lovely post. Our family has wonderful traditions that my nieces and nephew ask for each year. It warms my heart because these traditions were practiced by my mother and she got them from her mother and so on.
Wanted to share one of my favorite quotes about my favorite place:
“This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle, this earth of Majesty, this seat of Mars, this other Eden, Demi-Paradise, this fortress built by Nature for herself, Against Infection and the hand of War, This happy breed of men, this little World, this Precious stone set in the Silver sea, which serves it in the office of a Wall, Or a moat defensive to a House, against the envy of less Happier lands,–This Blessed Plot, This Earth, This Realm —This England.
William Shakespeare
“King Richard II”
Beautiful! That Shakespeare! Thank you Carrie!!
Thanks for the photo of YOU at the end. Can’t wait for the book. I think I will try to make your stuffing this year. I read the recipe every year and get a little overwhelmed with the setting out of the bread to dry. But I will do it this year! Need to make dishes ahead this year so on Thanksgiving I can just hold my new granddaughter and direct the other family members.
Just loved seeing the photo of you with your Grandma so sweet ♥ ♥ ♥……ah, traditions really do give you get that warm, cozy, connected feeling….and they are so much fun to look forward too…..every year, no matter what the season. The same yummy smells, the songs, old stories or funny tales can take you right back to those times.
Thank you for the recipes…..I am looking forward to making both…..and also for the photo of you in your studio working on “our book”, that was so much fun to see.
And cheers to Angie Tink…she is going to be so excited about the “twirling” that she will be dancing and poofing fairy dust everywere!
Bless you, dear Susan, painting with words and memories…and paint! I’m always so grateful that you share with us:).
Your little grandma looks so cute, I noticed too that she had a little open shelf full of mugs , just like you do now. I find myself copying some things I remember in my mother’s home, so home is such a combination of my granny, my beppa(dutch grandma), my mother and myself — its as if they are all here with me sometimes — so comfortable. Its a cozy time of year and those cookies look just right for enjoying on a cold crisp day – I hope I don’t gain my traditional 10 pounds this Holiday season, thats one tradition I can do without. – I can tell that your new book is going to be really charming. Bye All
We’re actually at my house in that picture — but I definitely know what you mean!
What a wonderful surprise finding this lovely post. Yes, twirling is a wonderful way to start a morning…lol Molasses cookies are the husband’s favorite so will get some in the oven this morning. Thank you for all the inspiration! Love your photo from your work table. I can feel the creativity! Also the music…Rod Stewart and Artie Shaw! Doesn’t get any better. Have a wonderful day, Sue, and hope Joe is warm enough out in the barn.
XO
Jackie
i turned my computer upside down to see if i could see what you’re painting…….didn’t work. do you put all the stuffing in the turkey, or save some for a bowl?? and if you do, do you put it in the oven??
I bake some in the oven too, and mix it with the stuff inside the bird!
Karen, I laughed my head off at your comment. I thought I’d be the only one who’d think to do something like turn the computer upside down. Funny!!
What a charming post! The perfect post for a traditional girl like me. This time of year makes me dwell on the past and I love it. All of the the precious moments spent with family and friends ~ well you have just sent me on a nostalgia trip. I will be making those molasses cookies and your stuffing recipe could not come at a better time. I make the entire Thanksgiving dinner every year and the only complaints I ever receive are about my stuffing. Apparently the consensus is that it needs tweaking. So … I am making your stuffing this year. I’ll pop in an old favorite movie and put that bread out to dry. Have a fun weekend. I know with your cheerful attitude you will. Thanks for bring joy into our lives!!!
Big Hugs,
Susan and Bentley
Can’t wait to hear the reviews! Good Luck!
What a precious photo with your grandma. My only grandma around when I was born died when I was quite young but I do have many traditions from my own mother to treasure. The photo of the molasses cookies (and your wonderful autumn plates) are from a long ago Country Living magazine. Years ago I cut out the whole article and have saved it ever since. Someday I may find and purchase some of those plates 🙂
I can’t believe you remember. That’s wonderful.
Susan, I love it that you have your traditional stuffing. I’d try it, but…I can’t. We have to have our cornbread dressing, which I learned to make from my mother. For years she cooked everything by herself, but when she was in her 90s, she wasn’t able to do everything herself like she had always loved to do. I started helping and learned how she did it. Then I was in charge when she reluctantly gave up the kitchen. Last year at Thanksgiving, she wasn’t able to help at all but she said “The more I eat, the better it tastes.” I had graduated and that was my diploma. This will be our first Thanksgiving without her, but we will have the dressing.
Loved this post. I want to make those molasses cookies. They sound yummy.
Here today the wind is blowing the leaves in whirling circles, but it is warm. We will be getting a cool front this weekend with some rain.
I know how you feel about graduating … I remember the first time I did the whole Thanksgiving alone for the parents of my husband-to-be! It was scary, but my graduation came with a hug and lots of praise from his mom.
Dear Susan, I don’t have your Autumn book but I would really love to have the recipe for your Grandmother’s stuffing. Do you have it posted anywhere? My husband and I are opting to have our own Thanksgiving this year … much easier to stay home than drive our two little ones all over Illinois!
I don’t seem to have it posted anywhere, at least I couldn’t find it; Kellee could do that on Monday if you remind me, but just so you know, I did write everything you need into that post.
oh ok thanks! I was just hoping for a print-able version somewhere so I could add it to my recipe box 🙂
I think I could really smell the stuffing baking in the oven—or was it the Molasses Cookies? Susan, last year you gave us a bookmark to print with a list of the Full Moons for 2012. I keep it on the desk in “my little room” and am always reminded to watch for the next full moon. (I LOVE full moons!) If I ask with a pretty please…could you do another one for 2013? Pretty please….:)
I think we can work that out! 🙂
YIPPEEEE!
Yes! I have been hoping there would be a new Full Moons bookmark coming soon! I’ve looked at mine all year, also. Ditto Linda’s “Pretty please” … adding “with sugar on top”! Thank you!
It will be our New Year present!
I’m thinking the bookmark should become a Tradition! Thank you again.
Good idea! I was thinking the same thing!
I am so happy this will become a tradition == my moon bookmark resides in my bedsidebook of poetry!
Thank you Susan! Your Thanksgiving memories are so wonderful! We are 27 degrees this morning by Puget Sound..a nice frost on the ground! My dogs are very thankful for the cool weather!! I love your memories of your Grandmother!! This time of year also stir memories of my mom and her cooking traditions!! God bless you!!
Thank you Jane, stay warm!
It must be the week-end for ‘traditions’ in the kitchen. Yesterday I began what I call “a crazy cooking marathon”, spending three glorious days filling the freezer for the holiday season. Even this is a tradition, born as a sanity saver for a young mom with 6 kids! This morning I tried something new, Sweet Potato Poundcake. Tasting time soon. I believe your Grandma’s Molasses Cookies will have to be next. How convenient that I picked up molasses on my supply trip. As I wait for things to bake, ingredients to come to room temp, butter to soften…I work in my studio and who is serenading me with Christmas music…Rod Stewart 🙂 New holiday CD is nice!
Mmmm, sweet potato poundcake, that just has to be good!
Hi Esther, I recently made a Sweet Potato Poundcake and it was so moist and delicious. I took it to work for Monday morning meeting and it was devoured in no time. I got the recipe from one of the latest issues of Country Living Magazine. I am thinking it would be fun to make the “mini” loaves of it for gift-giving. Something different!
Susan, I love your post today! Traditions are the glue that hold a family together. My grown children say that the holidays wouldn’t be the same without certain things and foods during the holidays. My dear sister Susan was the dressing maker in our family. Since her death that mantle has been passed down to one of her daughters. She made her dressing just like you do-as my mother and nanny did–tradition indeed. I love the picture of you and your grandmother! What a treasure for you. Thank you for all that you share from the heart of your home! xoxo ♥
Susan, Now I am all warm and cozy seeing and reading todays blog. It is the lighting in all your photos.
Rod Stewart can really sing as in the days gone by.
I have a different childhood memory of my grandparents. They had a pet turkey named Dilly. He was a white one compared to the black ones you see in the clearnings here in Pa. He was nice, though I never petted him.
The week-ends are when we have our treats. Your molasses cookies will be this week-end treat. I will bake them this afternoon. 🙂 Loved todays blog! Thank you for all you share. You make our lives “Brighter”
Thankful that Jack wasn’t hurt from his accident. He has great parents, so he will recover from the shock really fast.
He’s lost in the ball retrieving moments of his life, I think he’s already forgotten the coffee pot!
Great!
What did I miss? Jack had an accident? Where was this mentioned? Glad he’s no worse for the wear it seems but didn’t think I’d missed anything here — read blogs and comments and even go back to look at repies and responses. Sigh. So give little Jack a kiss on his cute mustache for me.
He just knocked the coffee pot on the floor and it broke! Kind of shocked him, but he is fine!! I will be SO HAPPY to give him that kiss.
Hi Susan, love the music and recipes! I do have a traditional stuffing recipe from my grandma and mom but one day I would like to try yours too as it looks very delicious!! I’m always making something that I learned from my grandma and mom and my daughter loves some of the recipes so much that I know she will keep the traditions going. Sometimes she’ll say “I love this! Is this one of your grandma’s or nan’s recipes!!” and then in that moment they are there with me and my heart smiles. xoxo
Too funny. I was looking through your website, just for fun, I needed a little Susan Branch fix. When I went back to my inbox there was an email saying you had just updated. lol Back to the website and a little more Susan. I like to think my thinking of you sent the notification my way–or not!
Maybe it did!
Where’s Jack?? I miss my daily dose of Jack. (Actually I have my own precious Tuxedo Kitty named Bruno, but more is better.) Is this his first Thanksgiving? I can’t remember. Please post pictures of him helping with the stuffing. Love love that kitty. And you, of course.
He is right here! Today he did his very first damage, knocked the glass coffee pot on the floor and it shattered. Scared him, scared me, and we don’t care! He’s fine!
Oh poor Jack. I’m sure he felt so sorry. Believe me, he will never do that again. Cats are so sensitive and so smart. He’s still learning. I can just imagine Girl if she had witnessed that, with her “I tried to tell him !” look on her face.
He did feel sorry, I could tell, poor little thing!
Okay — NOW I see the accident report — poor Jack, indeed — scary when our pets do such things and can do real harm to themselvss because they get frightened. I remember — first corral the frightened pet and THEN deal with the disaster. Poor Susan, too.
We are good. Who needs coffee when you have a little mustache kitty!
a lovely day to you!it is cloudy and cold here. but i love it. i was half way through your blog when my husband phoned. he was at a home improvement store and had locked his keys in the car and it was running. i found a neighbor to take me there.she left and i went to find rich inside. we went out to car and it would not start. so out i got and began to push. two other people joined me and hurrah it started. rich and i had to laugh. many times in the distant past i had to push whatever old car we had. i did not drive back then and so i did not know how to ‘start’ the car from a push! so it was just tradition for me to jump out and push! tradition! happy to finish your blog and enjoy your tradition and food ideas! b
I’ve been there too Barbara!
Wow look at Nana’s bone structure,what a beauty! I may not celebrate holidays but I do celebrate seeing women at work, either in the kitchen or at the kitchen table painting–thanks for the peek at my favorite artist/author keeping busy making beautiful things to send out into the world, truly something to celebrate no matter what the time of year 🙂 Keep warm, I’m freezing in Seattle too!
The family has been thinking about trying a new stuffing recipe, and now’s the chance to try yours! It always intrigued me when you wrote about it, all those pieces of bread on trays…anyway, it’s my job this year to stuff the bird and I will give a nod to you, one of my favorite people. Love, Jacqui
Hope you like it Jacqui!
Susan Branch,
Your writings are so deeply touching, that when I read them, you become my sister, my mother, my best-girlfriend now, my best girlfriend in grade school, my favorite teacher, my sweetest neighbor, my aunt, all rolled into one perfect woman! ~ but def NOT my grandmom….she was mean and smelled like mothballs. Sorry grandmom. 🙁
Your blog bring back sweet memories for me, of growing up in the 60s with my sisters and brother, in a big house, with a mailman dad and a stay-at-home pie baking mommy. Of Christmases (is that a word?) with Sears’ wishbooks, and big brightly-colored bulbs, a silver tree with a rotating color wheel…(which I just bought at a flea shop.) Of Thanksgivings when my grandpop wore a paper bag chef’s hat, made by my father, to carve it….of riding my bike and playing Bridge (one kid would stand on the sidewalk as the toll booth guy, and we would ride our bikes by and use tree bark as toll money.)
I could go on and on ad on…but thank you! You really are a special gem, and I relish this blog. <3
hahaha, playing “bridge.” We always had such descriptive names for our games too, we had one called “feet” and one called “library.”
Oh, how my favorite was always……Green Water! 🙂
LOL! Not that I know what that is, it’s just the way we named things!
Susan, we leave to drive from Illinois to California on Monday. Can’t wait to get there and begin getting ready to share the Thanksgiving Table with our kids, g-kids and the rest of our family. Thanksgiving was always when we celebrated my dad’s birthday…this will be our 2nd Thanksgiving without “old guy” as my g-kids called him. His favorite part of Thanksgiving was the dressing, with lots of sage. I am going to make yours this year, just to remind us all of all those “things” that remind us of those we love.
Thank you so much for all that you share with us “girls” throughout the year. You are a blessing and and I am thankful for you.
Happy Thanksgiving…
xoxox
Thank you for this delightful post. Sadly, the cookies are my favorites but my health won’t allow such things anymore. Traditions are wonderful! One tradition in our family is grandchild of the week. We have eight grandchildren so far. Each week in rotation, one child gets books and cards from Grammy and Papa. I have done this with each one, since they were about 2ish. We pray especially for that child all week, too. It’s such a great tradition, since they all live far away. Also, it allows us to send lots of fun and useful gifts without adding to their overwhelmed state on birthdays and Christmas.
Now that I’ve begun watercolor painting, I send Strathmore watercolor cards with my own artwork and a letter inside. I have the big color set from Michaels and the tiny set also. So far I find these colors adequate, but will likely become a paintophile like you. Your painting advice has been valuable beyond measure.
How nice to hear! xoxo
Oh Susan, Once again you have stirred memories, made us wistful for those gone before us, and carrying on the traditions , hopeful that little eyes are watching and absorbing it all. My seven year old granddaughter now helps make pumpkin pie because her Bunny and Mommy love it. She did too at her first Thanksgiving. Now I must add your passed down molasses cookie recipe to our baking together. Thank you a bunny bunch for sharing your joys, and letting them become our joys. Shirley
“…a bunny bunch…” That is ADORABLE, Shirley! :>)
Dear Susan, thank you so much for your posts!!! I so look forward to seeing them. I am grandma now and I love how you inspire me to create traditions that my grandchildren will love…thank you so much!!!
Think I’ll try your stuffing recipe this year . . . my bro and wife are coming from Texas, and my sis and hubby from Florida, a “tradition” that has been going on now for years. They used to come between Thanksgiving and Christmas, when Mom and Dad were here, and we were calling it ‘Thanksmas’! But since my Dad passed on, and Mom is in a nursing home, our get-together is now always at Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite time of year now. We just hang out for a week (mostly on the back porch), eating, sipping holiday drinks, and merry-making. So I’m in the planning stage, and think I’ll tap into a couple of your traditions (the stuffing, and oh-h-h those yummy molasses cookies)! Thanks for posting . . .
Susan, thanks so much for a perfect post! I am making your molasses cookies right now and can’t wait, the house smells fantastic! I hope to get a cookie or two since my son hasn’t gone anywhere today and is waiting for them to come out of the oven….they never grow up when it comes to food…I love it.
It is 71 degrees here right now, which feels rather odd since it was cold last week and will be again in the coming week. However, it gave me a chance to take the dogs to the woods this morning and we (they sniffed them out…they think) brought back acorns and leaves and branches and berries to decorate with. A perfect day and your post simply added the perfect touch. Thanks so much!
First, I got Artie Shaw music with “these foolish things” – delightful, loved it! Did some get Rod Stewart singing??? Does the computer know how old we are:::!!!??? sooo funny. What a heart touching post. Love the pic of you and your Grandma. How wonderful your family was to take such endearing pictures. You young ones out there – LEARN – from this. I have ONE with my CA artist Grandma Florence who I only saw maybe 6 times in my life and NONE, sniff, with my blind Grandma Amanda (glacoma in the 40’s) who was a wonderful woman and knit constantly up till her death.
My Mom’s recipe for molasses cookies calls for rolling in a ball, then roll in sugar. When you bake them they “crack” and are delicious dipped in milk, yum. I hope to try your Gramma’s recipe too.
A very melancholy time of the year for me. Loved your ‘throwing the bread all around the kitchen” 🙂 as the little one saw it. My best dressing mix came in a box (my kids even mailed it to me from MN to FL) and now it is not made anymore:( the bag cube stuffing mix works now. I add lots of melted butter – more than they say, (add and mix in first to cubed bread mix), and then I grind up my trimmed giblets in the food processor and simmer with water and cut up celery and onion – then fold all into cubed bread after butter. I always make extra stuffing. Line a large stainless steel bowl with foil, put some mixed stuffing in – then lay the neck in – then put more stuffing on top – then put foil on top and seal. This bakes ALMOST as long as the turkey. The stuffing in the bowl comes out a bit crispy on the outside – everyone wants that. I mix it in with the stuffing from the turkey. (I save the neck for the next day – it is delish) I NEVER thought I would eat such a thing but…it is really good when made this way. My kids (5) all love my dressing and all have asked how to make the turkey and stuffing when they moved far away from home.
From a family of 3 sisters. Oldest – Easter brunch Middle – Christmas Eve – Youngest (ME) – Thanksgiving. It all worked wonderful for many years then….the families got to big and we had to split 🙁 up. The most I had for sit down dinner was 32, uff da, now I am down to 7, perhaps 9 this year:)
That was fun to read! xo Thank you Judi!
Hi Judy!
I am in the midst of 32 Thanksgiving guests! I try to keep the “uff-da’s” to a minimum 😉 Can feel kinda cRazY! Sometimes, I will disappear and go upstairs for a few minutes of quiet….and just listen to all the noise downstairs…. I’m not sure what “Musica” it would be…but, I think it has been in the Top Ten for many generations! This Thanksgiving…I bet your ears will be ringing….you will surely be talked about at many Thanksgiving dinners….”remember, when Aunt Judi….” and many may be missing and wishing for Your Stuffing! Traditions make the most wonderful memories don’t they?! I always enjoy your comments and hope you have a beautiful Thanksgiving Judi and when Christmas comes …..do you crave Lefse?! 🙂
Thank you for always saying just the right things…memories are sweet. Loved the music! I am making mincemeat. It takes me most of the day. But, mince pie is a must for Thanksgiving. I grow sage and always take the sage leaves and add them to melted butter and pour that over my turkey before it goes into the oven to bake. My stuffing is always Bell’s stuffing as that is how my Mum made hers. I loved seeing how you make yours, really from scratch. Looking forward to the book.
Happy day Susan…Your Frosted Molasses Cookies look very much like my Aunt Dorothy’s (from Kansas) Ginger Creams Cookies! I will have to find her recipe and see if they are the same or similar. These were my favorites growing up and then became the cookies left for Santa every Christmas in our home. My Aunt Dorothy had an old cookbook that I loved to look through. I remember a drawing of a US soldier in the margin of the cookbook next to the Ginger Cream recipe. Funny what small details you remember. We would bake these cookies, put wax paper between the several layers and pack them in a tin…perfect for shipping off to the troops! Wish I had that cookbook today. I have many fond memories of baking with my favorite aunt in her kitchen. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours…can hardly wait for you new book!
That was a great memory!
Everything I love about you, packed into this post! You know how much I adore those molasses cookies. And that traditions list is one of my favorite parts of your Autumn book.
So wonderful seeing you at your work table….or is it ‘play table’? 🙂
All the leaves are down here, Rafael is walking (!!!!), and we’re waiting on snow that will stick.
Are you spending the holidays on the island?
Lots of love to you, Joe, Girl Kitty, and Jack!
xoxoxoxo Dawn
Yes, we’re staying home Dawn, how about you? Rafael is walking! Too soon! xoxo
Hi Susan – Just came in from planting tulip bulbs to find your message. What a lovely post ! How wonderful to meet your grandmother through your memories and photos. Love the big stuffing bowl…I have my grandmother’s bowl ( never knew her, she died when I was 11 months old…) and it looks just like that, except it is green. I love using things from other generations…and your post made me think of this quote by Harry Kemp…
The countless generations
Like Autumn leaves go by:
Love only is eternal,
Love only does not die…
Enjoy the Fall, your memories, and all that is yet to be !
Thank you Ann, very beautiful, and congratulations, on getting those bulbs in!
Hi Susan! My dad made the Thanksgiving stuffing similar to yours. He got it from his mom. So now I make it that way too. I put out bread for 3 days to dry it out. We always sprinkle ours with Swanson’s chicken broth, add lots of finely chopped celery and onions and lots of salt, pepper, and of course sage. Yum!! Of course to me and my family it is the best! Thanks for the lovely post. We are having 62 degree weather in Detroit area today. It is so nice to be outside and do more yard work.
Have a lovely weekend! Julie
I think that weather is coming our way, thank you very much! I want to go out and play for another couple of days too!
Susan – THANK YOU for all of the Autumnal things . . . . my favorite time of year! Especially since seeing X-mas stuff in the stores (WEEKS ago) and on the TV . . it depresses me when I can’t enjoy Thanksgiving just by itself . . .
I agree, should be one day at a time!
This post made my heart ache with a happy little ache that is an appreciation of beauty, coziness and love. The molasses cookies sound delicious, the stuffing, too. And the thought of you sitting snug in your home while a fire blazes inside and the rain beats outside – well, there’s just nothing better. Sigh.
This afternoon I hope to twirl in the leaves beside the ocean with my granddaughter (2).
Sounds just wonderful!
I love traditions, especially holiday traditions, they are, as you say, a bridge between the past and present. And to keep the ones we have lost close to our hearts. My grandmothers were gone by the time I really had a chance to know them, so I love to hear stories from girls about their childhood memories and then I strive to create my own traditions for and with my family.
Now…I have a need to make some molasses cookies! I’ve had your Autumn book sitting on my island for weeks, just waiting for the perfect day to make something. Thunderstorms here in the Midwest! Very crazy weather! ;-D
XO,
Jane From Chicago
I think I was lucky because my mom had me so young, so I did get to go stay with my Grandma sometimes in the summer, and got to know her.
I was going to bake cookies later today but did not soften butter–just margarine–can it be substituted? Got cold here yesterday so the leaves are turning–raking time ugh! Liked your post even though I have no family around anymore..I won’t do the Thanksgiving feast for just me…but all sounds delicious! Look forward to your book. Always like it when you include a photo of yourself so I can picture you talking to us one on one. Thank you for sharing.
I’m sure margarine is OK, I haven’t actually tried it, but I’m sure it’s interchangeable.
I just love the picture of you with your Grandma! That is priceless 🙂 I have many wonderful memories of holidays and our family traditions. It was difficult after my grandparents died, but now my generations carries on the traditions. Now my kids love the traditions we have passed on. You are so right about certain foods being so important for the holiday to be just right. This year, I will be making your stuffing -I have wanted to try that recipe for a long time. I can smell it now….
Thank you for another wonderful post.
Hi Susan,
Grandmothers!!! My dear grandmother was 103 years old when she passed away almost 2 years ago. She was 4’10” tall at her tallest and I was scared of her! If she gave you that “look”, you knew she would get you – in later years with her cane. She was deaf and even though her daughter didn’t think she was a good cook – I did. I make my chili just like her and think of her every time I put a spoonful in my mouth! Traditions are what makes a family a family – all of that remembering as we sit around the table at Thanksgiving or Christmas. It is truly LOVE!!!
Love that memory!
THANK you so much for the wonderful post! I loved the photo w Grandma, so glad you have a photo like that! Thanks for all your lovely words reminding us of the blessings of Family &Traditions! God Bless your Day!
Love you too Susan!
It is so nice to be girlfriends with you. You bring such “homey-ness” to our day.
I think Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday as it isn’t commercialized too much. You can buy the ingredients at different prices and have variations of each dish, but it is still a traditional, shared dinner for everyone. A lovely way to give thanks.
Blessings to all.
xoxo Pam
Love the recipes you shared with us today! I am going to have to get industrious and try them out. Everything looks so delicious in your beautiful kitchen, with all your lovely cookware. I do believe you could serve boiled water and it would look yummy, lol!
Maybe if it was in an Emma Bridgewater cup!
My mother’s dressing recipe is very similar. She always made two 9 x 13 pans (never actually stuffing the bird!). One was her regular dressing, the other was the dressing including oysters.
This was to keep peace between those who thought oyster dressing wonderful and those who… did not.
She has been gone a long time now and I make that recipe every year. However, a few years ago I read in some cooking magazine that dressing should be made from the very nicest of breads. So I did just that… blech! It made horrible dressing, or at least I thought. The very next year I was back to the cheap stuff, too.
Your writing always makes my day a little more joyful. 🙂
I tried good quality bread too, and it didn’t “dough up” the way it’s supposed to, it kind of turned to sawdust! Thank you Brenda!
Susan …… I so loved the picture of you and your Grandma.
Take care, Helen
After coming in from toiling around the base of a tree getting it ready for some bulbs, all I can say is…..I loved this blog. And I love chewy molasses cookies! I first read your recipe for stuffing in “Christmas from the Heart of the Home,” which I really need to replace after it made it through an apartment fire many years ago in grad school (best creamed onions ever, btw, there is no other recipe), and loved your story about trying to sneak out of bed when your grandmother was sleeping with you — NO SUCH LUCK! Looking forward to the new book. And to Thanksgiving!
She was too tricky for me!
Your post today was just what I needed. Feeling blue today for many reasons, however, reading this post reminded me of so many wonderful memories I need to be thankful for! Thank you Susan for reminding me to count my blessings once again. Your post lifted my spirits ……..and I shall hold that thought for tomorrow is another day! Thank you so much. Love the array of watercolours out on your table……what a joy to see! I wonder if Santa will be able to deliver some new books this year? Thanks for this post!
Tomorrow is another day Paulie! xo
Hi Susan,
Wonderful post. I’m so glad you posted the pictorial of the stuffing in progress. I have the Autumn book but I couldn’t get my head around what wrung-out bread was supposed to look like!!! We like white meat so I will be baking turkey breast and baking “Grandma’s Stuffing” in a separate dish. Do you do anything different when you do that?
The best part of the post is the photo of you all bundled up in your wrap-around shawl!!! Beatrix Potter has nothing on you when it comes to cuteness, talent or how much you love your readers!!! Or how much we love you back!!!
xoxoxoxo,
Kathy
I do cover it, but that’s all. You are so sweet with that last comment! xoxo Thank you Kathy!
Thanks so much for sharing! I look forward to every blog. I cherish the stories and pictures, oh, and the Musica. Sometimes I laugh and sometimes I cry when I relate it to my memories of family growing up. There were 5 of us kids and my Grandma so 8 total and a dog and sometimes other Pet interlopers. Oh, and one time my brothers friend who ran away from home for 2 days and stayed in the closet….LOL. I can’t wait for your new book.
Love to you and your family, Girlfriend!
Sounds just like home! 🙂
I can smell the stuffing now. Stuffing is what everyone in my family wants me to make. Ok it’s the main thing they want. I can hardly change my menu because everyone goes wacko if I do but I slide in something different just to keep them on their toes. Plus I had to include two son in laws. So I asked them for something they looked forward to every year and added them to the menu. Family traditions are very important and I’ve done my best to keep them. I have given my girls my recipes so they can carry on. My favorite family recipe though is my great grandmother’s Suet Pudding that was probably her great grandmothers from England. That is what I want every Christmas. Treasure your special things at the holidays, it’s what keeps families going.
Thanks for sharing yours Susan!
Dear Susan,
I just want you to know ,that no matter how bad a day or week that I am having all I have to do is log on to your blog and the writing and the music are all I need to feel so much better. We got a new computer system this week at work and I don’t need to tell you how bad that can be. Thank you so much for being there.
Also, tradition is so important, especially around the holidays. Thank you for sharing yours with us. I hope you and Joe and you family’s have a very Happy Thanksgiving !!! Janet
Wow! “Traditions” blog on the same day that I’m practicing one of mine. Two ladies were sisters (Sadie and Bess Delaney) and they lived to be 105 and 107 (I believe, what’s a year give or take?). They wrote a book, “Having our Say – the First Hundred Years”. Sadie and Bess loved their father and after he died, every year on his birthday, they gathered the family and made all his favorite food and had a big party.
My aunt died in 1988 and shortly after that I read this book. Now I celebrate her birthday by having a ladies lunch, going to a tea room or to somewhere I know that she would love. Tonight my friend, Lacy, and I are going to The French Cafe for dinner because today is her birthday. I know she’d love scallops in champagne sauce, so that’s what I’ll have.
The book is also an audio book read by Whoopie Goldberg and it was made into a movie. Everyone can draw inspiration from these two feisty ladies. You’ll fall in love with them just as I did, and maybe even start to celebrate the birthday of someone you’ve lost.
I treasure my Autumn book, Susan, it’s truly Heart of the Home.
Fantastic way to remember those we’ve lost!!!
Patsy – “Having Our Say” is the best book – and all true too! Both me and my mom read it and loved it! We were all talking about it – what those two ladies lived through is just incredible! CANNOT recommend highly enough! Especially if you like to read history or biography. This one is a “steel magnolia” book – you will be laughing and crying at the same time! :>)
Still in the upper 80’s here in Houston so not really in the fall mode yet. But your blog and music always make me smile! And miss my Granny Annie! I think I will make her Honey Cookies tomorrow! Thanks for the inspiration!
…two of my favorite things…my Grandma’s homemade dressing and my new-found molasses cookie recipe…I won a blue ribbon on it at our fair here but I’m still going to make yours…mine is crinkly on the top with little grains of sugar and yours looks different and I love to add “new with the old!” Would you like my recipe to add to yours? I would love your opinion, Susan(-: I can’t wait to make yours….and I bet our Grandma’s would have been friends!
Blessings from…
Julie in MO (a mere baby) (-:
I think everyone would love to have your recipe Julie!
Thanks!….so..here it is for all who love to bake 🙂
***Sweet & Simple Molasses Cookies***
3/4 cup (12 tbs) real butter, unsalted
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup plain molasses
1 large egg
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
**sparkly white sugar or sugar in the raw for cookie tops**
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and molasses; beat for one minute. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl; whisk together lightly. Add the dry ingredients slowly to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined. Cover and chill dough for 2 hours, or until firm. Roll heaping tablespoons of dough into cookie balls and drop into a small dish of sugar; lightly toss in the sugar. Drop onto parchment-lined cookie sheet, two inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until tops just begin to crack. This will result in soft, cake-light cookies. These are worth the wait of chilling the dough……they are equally delicious with a glass of cold milk or a cup of hot tea! Happy Autumn…. ENJOY!!!
Thank you Julie!!
Traditions are so wonderful. Makes everything seem all right, even in the chaos of modern day living. This will be the first year in a while that all my children and grandchildren will be at my house for Thanksgiving, and I’m looking forward to it so very much. My stuffing is pretty much like yours, but I add sausage to what is going in the bird, and make a separate one without for the vegetarians. I think the most important thing is the gravy. I like gravy on everything. Don’t really care if I actually eat turkey, just love it for the gravy. And Thanksgiving has so many wonderful side dishes, I can catch up on turkey eating with turkey sandwiches the next day. Just give me a big ole plate of stuffing and mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberries, rolls, and wine, followed by pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and apple pie with ice cream. Yum!
Love this post………I make a similar stuffing that I learned from my mother, probably her Mother’s recipe. Your fond memories of your Grandma made me think of mine. I sure hope that my Granddaughters have good memories of me. They both love my collection of tea cups and some day I’ll divide them between them just as your Grandma gave you her ring. Thank you, Susan, for bringing such joy with your blogs…..the photos of you, Joe, and the kitties make you feel like family.
Nettie
I tend to read a cookbook like a novel….and yours, well, ranking up there with the Bronte sisters and Jane Austen. 🙂 I remember your family turkey stuffing recipe made with “bunny bread”. I know the bird is supposed to be the star, but for me, it is all about the stuffing and sides. xo
Now that’s what I like to hear! LOL! xoxo
A cold front came in, the wind blew, the rain fell, the temperatures fell, the leaves are changing color and falling, it’s November 10th and autumn has finally arrived in central CA!!!!! It’s beautiful!
Isn’t it funny how so many of our memory involve smells? It wouldn’t have been Thanksgiving without that celery onion smell of dressing that we woke up to when we were kids. Molasses cookies smell like Christmas. And when I make apple butter it reminds me of growing up in a small New England town (which I never did – that’s pretty powerful!) 🙂
My grandmother also came early to help with Thanksgiving dinner (and Christmas and New Year’s). She was the pie baker; her crusts were perfection. I am so grateful to have known both my grandmothers. I just wished I had asked a few more things and learned a little more from them before they were gone.
Now I have a wonderful girlfriend that, even though I have never met her in person, touches my heart with her memories and traditions and books and all she shares of her life. Thank you, Susan. You are keeping our hearts warm. =^..^=
OH Mona, thank you so much!
Wonderful post ! Brought back memories of me mum making her stuffing and filling the bird ! I have my mums huge mixing bowl from my childhood . A lot of it came over with her from England , sent from relatives or she brought things back when my parents went over for visits ! I love the photo of you at your drawing table being the magical creator that you are ! Have a wonderful weekend !
I ‘ve made those cookies, from your book and the stuffing, yes I have, I have to say I questioned it at first dunking the bread in water but you have believers now, the book will be wonderful, I just know it, I have a spot ready for it (other than my greedy hands) after I finish reading it! .I’m sooo looking forward to it, I enjoyed your trip so much, have a wonderful weekend!!
Thank you Laurie!
I wanted to let you know that your blog is my happy place, Susan. I also wanted to thank you my dear friend.
Love Arlinda
Thank you back Arlinda!
Oh Dear!!!! The first time I have contradicted Susan Branch, who by the way, is my idol!!!! But I must cast a vote for cornbread dressing. It’s understandable though becauce I was raised in the south and that’s all I know! Having said that……I click on my inbox at least 10 times a day hoping, praying for a blog entry. You are such an inspirationm, Susan!!! Keept it up….please!!!!!
Thank you! And I love hearing what everyone does, one thing it all seems to have in common is Tradition!
Hello Susan! What a beautiful photo of your grandmother and you in the kitchen!! How blessed you were to have such a talented granny!!! I can’t wait to try the cookie recipe! Perfect for Thanksgiving week when my daughter will be home from college. What is the best way to store them and how long do they stay fresh?
Air tight container, I could easily eat them if they were a week old!
Good evening, Susan!! Apologies I couldn’t comment earlier in the day, my husband absconded with our MiFi for the day for work and I was chomping at the bit to see your post in real size, the iPhone doesn’t due proper justice!
I always wished I’d had a grandmother, thanks for the vicarious experience. She looks like such a sweetie. Think I need to do some baking tomorrow ;).
It was 73 degrees here in central IL today, windy as ever. We’ll pay tomorrow when a cold front come through…didn’t feel like Novwmber at all. So glad you fared well with the Nor’easter. By the way, when did they start naming nor’easters?? That was a new one on me.
Wishing you a blessed Sunday. I love the photo of you surrounded by your watercolors, looks like pure bliss to me!
Sending bunches of love and hugs,
Jeanette
They named that storm? I didn’t know!
Yes, it was named, Athena! Guess they’re starting with “A” and going from there! Go figure!?! A bit baffling.
Have a splendid Sunday!! 🙂
Thank you for another wonderful post! I was just writing something the other day about traditions. I thought the Musica might be the song from Fiddler on the Roof, but what a surprise. Love Artie Shaw, and that song is so poignant! Love the photos, the fire place, you with your grandmother, and you working in your studio. Here in southern California, we have just about skipped Fall and gone straight from summer to winter! A week ago it was in the 80s, and now I have to turn the heat on! I just want to find a cave and hibernate until summer again. Although someone kindly gave me some homemade pumpkin bread, and I must say that’s a treat! The recipes are lovely! Thanks again!
You look so beautiful in that picture with your grandmother. The part about the scent of her particular dishes bringing her back brought tears to my eyes. My grandmother means a lot to my family as well, and her cooking is the most precious heirloom our family possesses. Leave it to Susan Branch to know just the right heart strings to tug.
It’s so easy this time of year, something about the season!
Hi Susan-
Oh YUM! I can smell the sage and onion dressing as I read your blog, in fact Im a bit embarressed to say that Im salivating just thinking about all that good food you wrote about…LOL! Don’t you think the smell of a roasting turkey with sage and onion dressing is just about one of the most wonderful aromas ever? The way it perfumes the entire house is heaven and makes you feel that all is right in the world.
I love connections to family recipes and enjoyed reading about yours, such love in the telling. Those times together in the kitchen are some of lifes most precious moments.
I follow your Grandmother’s turkey dressing recipe up to not adding anything and dipping the bread in water, I add heated chicken stock instead. My Grandma from out East always added some home made mashed potatoes to the mix. She called it Pennsylvania Amish stuffing. We wouldnt have it any other way either! My other Gran always made oyster dressing, which we children were not fans of sorry to say, and now I sort of like. She made it with fresh oysters and it had the best crunchy topping of cracker crumbs and butter. She has been gone for well over eighteen years now, but it would be fun to reintroduce it as a second dressing choice and also to remember her by. I think she would like that since cooking was what she majored in college and prided herself in being pretty handy in the kitchen. Thanks for this blog today it has gotten me to remember so many wonderful things.
You look so cozy in your pretty shawl working on the England book. Thanks for giving us a peek into your studio, such a treat! Have you ever done a blog on your studio and your favorite things you love in it besides Jack?
Are you getting excited to see the book done? Im excited at the prospect of reading it. Sort of like waiting for Santa to arrive!
Now off to bake some of those chewy molasses cookies for all my cookie monsters big and small!
Fondly-
Jamie 🙂
I’m SO excited, yes, it’s really fun to see it coming all together! xoxo
What lovely thoughts, Susan! The picture of you and your grandma cooking together is a real treasure. You look so blissfully happy while working in your studio on our book. Isn’t it the perfect way to relive all of your vacation memories again and again? Your words and illustrations must magically transport you right back to England! Such happy memories!
Dawn ♡♡
Hi there. I am going for bean soup for sure….those molasses cookies will be a good combo.
Thanks,
Jena
Wild, Snowy Wyoming.
Ooooohh – Sue’s bean soup is so wonderful! Love it! Perfect for chilly, rainy November… :>)
Good evening my friend, You are so lucky to have that wonderful picture of you and your Grandmother. It was always fun to go my Grandmothers for a visit. She had a big black stove in her kitchen with the tea kettle always ready for a good cup of tea. I have never met anyone that could drink tea as hot as she could. I wish I had a picture of the two of us together. Your blog brought back many memories of her. At Thanksgiving she made Suet Pudding, with Lemon Sauce. It is a pudding that you steam. I loved it!!! It was a tradition in our family until she died. I have made it, still love it, but my husband and children didn’t have the love of it like I do. I have only two special things from her. One is a pendant that she wore on her wedding day, and her diamond ring. I am so happy to have these treasures. My Aunt tells me I am very much like my Grandmother. She had the love of cooking and did wonderful hand work. Wish I could have spent time with her after I got married. It would have been wonderful to share the things we loved. My stuffing is very much like yours, but I have always used Bell’s seasoning.
The company that made Bell’s was the next town to us when I was a kid. I am another one who likes to taste the dressing before stuffing the bird. Thank you for bringing back good memories! Thanksgiving is #1 in the line of favorite holidays. Happy Memories, Marion