While we did go briefly to Mexico, where Boombadeus got to finally see where I grew up, we have been hardworking on various things. One of them being our little 10′x20′ plot.

As summer starts, I start kissing most of my weekends goodbye. Weeds grow fast if not checked. Bugs attack at any given time. Plants develop and start shadowing others making you have to transfer or trim back.

But, after all the hard work, this is the delicious reward that you get:

for delicious salsa, and these

which are delicious caramelized  along with a steak; or perhaps these:

which can be made into a delicious salad like this one.

Not everything makes it though. We had a bout of flea beetles, and lost our broccoli rabe and broccoli to that. The green beans grew so healthily they blocked the light to the snap peas. A couple of cayenne peppers were lost somewhere in between the patty pan, which grew quite a bit larger than I was expecting.

But the best part is that I get to enjoy a lot of these:

(I’m planting more and more flowers to attract more pollinators to our little spot)

But you know what? it’s okay. I’ll enjoy what I got and as for the rest, I’ll give it a try again next year.

Can you see who the guests of this week are? Lemme help you:

That’s right! If you’re in Philly tomorrow, head on over to 4th and Market around 2pm…you’ll be entertained, get a chance to enjoy some free food after perhaps learn a few things about…macaroni and cheese! Yup, that’s tomorrow’s theme!

If you can’t make it, don’t worry, the podcast will be on sometime next week at www.forkyou.tv!

Check it out…

One of the things I’ve always enjoyed is being behind the scenes of things. I’m a little shy to be in the spotlight (and besides, if there is anything to memorize, I just mess my lines anyway); on the other hand, the fixing of last minute problems, creating baby Jesus out of sweaters, making sure things don’t fall on people, creating sceneries or costumes…that is what I call fun.

Another one of my joys is food (heck it only took one week for my new coworkers to find that out)…and Fork You (above a picture of Scott and Marisa, the co-hosts of the show) has combined both of these joys for me! And did I mention that it is a lot of fun?

This month Fork You is doing Thanksgiving; one of the holidays I have come to enjoy because it involves plenty of cooking*. Since last week was also the first Fork You anniversary (time goes by flying when you’re having fun!) what better way to celebrate other than leaving you with links to this month’s delicious recipes?

Week 1: Brine! Fire! Turkey!

The most delicious smoked turkey you’ll ever have. It was moist and flavorful thanks to Marisa’s brine and the Orion cooker (which we’ll hopefully use sometime soon for other Fork You endeavors).

Week 2: Turkey sidecar

Fluffy mashed potatoes, followed by carrots and peas. Simple is beautiful…and delicious.

Week 3: Pumpkin Cheesecake and Cranberry sauce (link coming soon)

Easier to make than I thought. Delicious enough that I had 4 servings (yes, and I am not ashamed to admit it, and this was all after the turkey). I forgot to get the recipe that day so I’m looking forward for it being posted. I am very tempted to have it again, hopefully in company so that I don’t eat the whole thing… and the sooner the better!

And with that, we bid adieu for now, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving! …and safe travels.

*Now, I have never been against Thanksgiving, it just so happens that I did not grow up in this country. I first heard of it thanks to Telemundo and Univision, two US based Latin American TV broadcasting companies, that were starting to broadcast in Latin America too. Watching these channels as a child I kept on wondering “what is this Día de Acción de Gracias about?” and “why won’t people cook turkeys any other day if they’re good in salsa verde? and besides, they deserve to be eaten, they’re just scary birds! The neighbor’s turkeys are always trying to bite me!”.

Wonder what ever happened to the neighbor’s turkey… I think i’m getting hungry!