Happy Veggie Thanksgiving!!!

Someone asked for some good vegetarian Thanksgiving dishes, which prompted this post.

Here's what WE are having for our Thanksgiving meal (it's the second year in a row we're hosting it - last year Rod's dad spent it with us, and this year my mom and dad are coming):



cream cheese mashed potatoes
corn pudding
cranberry relish
tossed salad with fruit
sweet potato casserole
apple pie
smoked chicken (Rod is proudly smoking a small chicken over cherry wood for the non-veggies among us)




Recipes:

CREAM CHEESE MASHED POTATOES
2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 pkg. cream cheese
3 Tbsp. margarine/butter
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. pepper
Boil potatoes for 25 minutes- drain. Mix with cream cheese and remaining ingredients with electric mixer until fluffy.

CORN PUDDING (Roberta Ress)
1 can cream corn
1 can whole kernel corn
1/2 stick butter/margarine, melted
1 16 oz. container sour cream
1 box Jiffy cornbread mix
Mix ingredients, bake at 375 for 1 hour.

CRANBERRY RELISH (Nannie Ress)
1 8 oz. can whole cranberries (or the closest thing you can find to whole berries)
1 6 oz. can mandarin oranges, drained
1 c walnuts
1 c pecans
Mix ingredients and serve.

TOSSED SALAD WITH FRUIT (Jane Kline)
romaine lettuce
cauliflower
broccoli
pineapple chunks
mandarin oranges
shredded cheddar cheese
slivered almonds or pecans
Marzetti's poppyseed dressing
Mix ingredients and serve.

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE (Roberta Ress)
3 c cooked mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 c milk
1/2 c butter
Mix and place in greased 2 quart casserole dish. Top with the following mixture:
1/2 c brown sugar
1/3 c flour
1/3 c butter
1 c chopped pecans
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

APPLE PIE (my Great-Grandma Gertrude Paulin/Pappaw Ress)
5 tart apples, sliced thin
3/4 c sugar
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. butter
Mix ingredients, add to frozen Pillsbury pie crust. Cut aluminum foil in thin strips and cover edges of crust. Put the pie in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes, lower temperature to 375 and bake for 30-35 minutes until crust is golden brown.

For breakfast I'm making Mammaw's zucchini bread using some frozen squash that Rod grew this summer. It's WONDERFUL!

ZUCCHINI BREAD (Mammaw Thorn Capps)
4 eggs, beaten
3 c sugar
1 c oil
1 tsp. salt
3 c self-rising flour
2 c shredded zucchini (or squash, mashed bananas, shredded apples)
3 Tbsp. cinnamon
3 Tbsp. vanilla
1/2 c nuts (optional)
Combine eggs, sugar and oil. Mix on high speed until well-mixed. Mix salt, cinnamon, and flour together- add half of this to egg mixture and mix well. Add zucchini and mix well, then add the rest of flour and nuts. Pour in 9x13 OR 2 loaf pans, greased. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

We'll be having leftovers for a couple of days after that, but to supplement them/for light snacks, we'll have:

BEGGAR'S PURSE (Marjo Howe)
1 roll crescent dough, rolled into 1 solid sheet
1 wheel Gouda cheese, place in center
spread thinly with mustard, and top with pecans
gather dough at top and tie loosely with cloth string
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

PIMENTO CHEESE SPREAD (Nannie Ress)
6 oz. package Velveeta cheese
small can Carnation milk
small can pimentos
Chop cheese and pimentos. Add milk. Stir constantly over low heat until smooth (not too long).

Although we're not having any of the following this year, these are tried and true classic pumpkin recipes that you're sure to enjoy!

PUMPKIN ROLL (Margie Mullins)
3 eggs
3/4 c sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
3/4 c flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 c pumpkin
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
6 oz. cream cheese
1 c powdered sugar
4 Tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
Geat eggs for 5 minutes at high speed. Turn to low and gradually add sugar, pumpkin, and lemon. Add flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.
Grease and flour cookie sheet. Pour batter on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Turn out on a tea towel and roll up- let cool then unroll. Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla. Spread on cook pumpkin bread and roll up. Wrap in wax paper, slice to serve. Will freeze well.

PUMPKIN BREAD (Roberta Ress)
3 c sugar
4 eggs
1 c oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin spice
1 c nuts (optional)
2/3 c water
3 1/2 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 can pumpkin pie filling
Put all ingredients in bowl and mix well. Pour into 4 greased, floured loaf pans, filling each 1/2 full. Bake 50 minutes at 350. Cool slightly, turn pans over- bread will slide out. Freezes well.

PUMPKIN CAKE
2 c flour
2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 c sugar
4 eggs
1 c oil
1 can pumpkin pie filling
Mix ingredients, put in greased pans, bake 40 minutes at 350. (Makes 2 medium round/rectangle sheet cakes, or 1 2-layered cake).
Icing:
1 stick butter
8 oz cream cheese
32 oz box powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Mix and spread on cooled cake.

PUMPKIN SOUP
25-30 oz. canned pumpkin
1 can coconut milk
2 1/2 c vegetable broth
1 Tbsp butter
salt and pepper
Warm all together in a saucepan.

PUMPKIN PIE FILLING (Great Grandma Nettie Ress/Pappaw Ress)
1 1/2 c pumpkin
1 c milk
2-3 eggs
3/4 c sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp all spice
(can replace last 4 spices with 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice)
Mix together and pour in 9" Pillsbury pie crust. Cover edges with strips of aluminum foil. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes, then 350 for 45 minutes.

I hope you found something you'll enjoy!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! REMEMBER TO BE THANKFUL FOR ALL THE BLESSINGS YOU HAVE!

GoD and DoG

This is VERY worth a watch - touches the heart! If you love dogs, you'll love this!

Gulf Coast Sea Turtles

As a follow up to my last post, I did some research to find out how sea turtle nests are faring on the Alabama coast as a result of Share the Beach's efforts.

2005: 37 Loggerhead and 1 possible Kemp's Ridley nests were identified, although four major storms that season proceeded to ruin many of them

2006: 45 Loggerhead and 1 Kemp's Ridley nests were identified, and only four nests were known to be destroyed by storms; an estimated 3,603 hatchlings reached the water safely

2007: 54 Loggerhead and 1 Kemp's Ridley nests were identified, and it was estimated that 3,465 hatchlings made it safely into the Gulf

2008: 78 Loggerhead and 1 Kemp's Ridley nests were identified, and an estimated 3,520 hatchlings made it into the surf

From 2003 - 2008, an estimated 17,390 hatchlings successfully entered the Gulf of Mexico.

So far this year, 66 nests have been located, but data haven't been entered for all nests yet, so the results are yet to be determined!

We amazingly witnessed the ONLY Kemp's Ridley nest of 2008 hatch - what luck!

Sea Turtle Hatching, Bon Secour NWR

It will be hard to beat my one year marriage anniversary. Rod and I spent it in Gulf Shores, where we had our wedding, and unbelievably witnessed the hatching of not one but TWO sea turtle nests!

Share the Beach is a volunteer program overseen by the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, and for years whenever we were vacationing in Gulf Shores I'd stop by the refuge office to find out which nests were close to hatching and where they were located. My family and I traipsed down to numerous nests at night, hoping we'd catch some hatchlings emerging. Although we came close on several occasions (volunteers monitoring those nests could hear the tell-tale "waterfall" sounds of the sand falling into the spaces created as the babies moved towards the surface), I'd yet actually seen it happen.

Until July 28, 2008, exactly one year after Rod and I were married. Dad had a contract to write an article on Share the Beach and sea turtles for the Huntsville Times, so he'd gotten the low-down on the "ripe" nests, and we headed to check one out. The attending volunteer said the waterfall sound was pretty loud, and thought the hatchlings would emerge that night... but when? Unbelievably, only minutes later, a small indention appeared in the sand. A short time later a small dark head - was it a head?- appeared. We stared at that dark spot on the sand in the glow of the red light from the filtered flashlight for so long we'd decided our desire for it to be a turtle fooled us into thinking it was a turtle, when suddenly it lifted its head, and there was no doubt. This was the "scout", and that little booger sat there for an eternity before finally deciding to come on out. Once he decided it was time, the rest followed!



This was an extra special nest, too, because it was a Kemp's Ridley nest, rare nesters along the Alabama coast. We spent about four hours out there that night with a team of about 25 volunteers, and saw every single one of those babies to the water. I saw firsthand the effect that light pollution has; there was an incredibly bright street light behind us, luring the hatchlings away from the water in the wrong direction. We had to continually turn them around and redirect them towards the water. I feel certain that without these volunteer teams who shepherd the babies to the water, the mortality would be astronomical, as they would end up in the street due to the allure of beachfront lights or predated. I felt so blessed to be part of this amazing event. Sadly, Dad wasn't to join us in Gulf Shores until the next day, so it was Mom, Michael, Rod and I who had the fortune to experience this... Mr. Writer missed out! However... all was not lost!

AMAZINGLY, the very next night we lucked out AGAIN and watched a Loggerhead nest hatch! This time Dad was in tow... thank goodness. Two species in two nights - WOW. Also, we discovered that as we were herding baby turtles to the water, another mama turtle was laying a new nest just yards away from us! The next morning we saw her signature tracks in the sand. Dad got to patrol with a volunteer on the ATV in the early morning hours, and got to help dig up and move a newly laid nest.



The fun still wasn't over. We were invited to take part in an "excavation" - 48 hours after a nest empties, they dig it up to get a count of the total # of eggs laid, figure out how many didn't hatch, and possibly determine why. Well, to our surprise, once they started digging, they kept finding live baby turtles still in the nest!





Because the belief is that the turtles have to make the journey from nest to ocean to imprint upon their natal grounds, we stood by as the remaining babies made the long journey to the sea. At least they had a trench to help guide their way!





We saw the last hatchling into the water as the sun was beginning to set. It was an experience I'll always treasure!




All sea turtles are listed as endangered or threatened and face numerous threats to their survival.

ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY ROBERTA RESS

The Nature Conservancy | Planet Change

My friend Laura Marx (who was on my OTS course in Costa Rica) tells us why trees are important to carbon sequestration in this GREAT video clip - check it out!

Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society Photo Contest

For all you photographers in Northwest Arkansas, the NWAAS is hosting a photo contest! But hurry, the deadline is September 25!

DETAILS:

Three Categories: bird, nature, scenic

$50 David Nolan Prize for Best in Show

Four additional prizes in each category

1st prize: $40 Bordino’s gift card
2nd prize: $25 Bedford’s gift card
3rd prize: $10 Bedford’s gift card

Entry Deadline: September 25

Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society
2009 Photography Contest Rules

Amateurs only
The contest is open only to amateur photographers. An entry may not previously have won an award in any photography contest.

Entry requirements
You may enter a maximum of ten photographs.
Minimum size: 8'' × 10''
Maximum size: 11'' × 14''

Categories
Each photograph may be entered in only one of three categories. You specify the category of each photograph on the entry form. The three categories are:
1) Birds, 2) General Scenic, 3) General Nature

Entry locations
Bedford Camera, 1320 W. Walnut, Rogers; 3277 N. College, Fayetteville, or
Collier Drug Store, 100 W. Dickson, Fayetteville

Entry Fee
$5 for each photograph entered. A separate fee and entry form must accompany each photo (place in envelope and submit with photo). Please write your name on the back of each photo in case the form and photo get separated.
Cash or check is accepted. Make check to:
Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society

Damage
While all possible effort will be made to avoid loss or damage, Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society (NWAAS), entry locations, judges or display locations may not be held responsible for loss or damage to any submitted photograph.

Selection of winners
A panel of outdoor and nature photographers selected by NWAAS will judge the entries.
Best of Show will be the entry judged best among all entries. The remaining entries
will be divided into the three categories and the entries in each category will be ranked.

Announcement of winners
Winning photographs will be on display at the Shiloh Museum in Springdale on October 10 from 1pm – 4pm. There will also be a presentation from Lynn Sciumbato of Morning Star Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and a question and answer session about birds by “The Bird Guys”, Dr. Doug James and Joe Neal, authors of Arkansas Birds. The event is open to the public.

Winning photographs
Winners agree that their entries may be published as winning photographs in this contest. Winning photographs may be picked up at 4 pm on October 10 at the Shiloh Museum. Any photos not picked up will be returned to the entry location where they were submitted.

Non-winning photographs
Non-winning photographs will be returned to the entry location where they were submitted.

Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society
The NWAAS is a registered non-profit organization serving the four-county region of northwest Arkansas, and is committed to preserving the natural world in northwest Arkansas through education, environmental study and habitat protection, and to promote awareness and enjoyment of local and regional natural areas. For more information or to join, visit: http://www.nwarkaudubon.org/

Nature Writing

My first assignment for my online class was to start a nature journal, which I chose to do in my backyard. Here are some excerpts from my first week:

Monday 8/31 – 6:55 pm-7:17pm

I’m starting this journal for my writing class. I am to observe the same spot day after day. I’ve chosen our backyard. I don’t spend enough time here anyway. Scooter’s accompanying me this evening. It’s unseasonably cool- probably mid-70s now, and with the deck in the shade it even feels chilly. I only have two feeders out right now – thistle and hummingbird – at least until fall migration begins. The south side of our fence is overgrown with trumpet creeper, and the hummingbird feeder is on a shepherd’s pole nestled among the vine. The north fence Rod planted squash and sunflowers alongside of. I think the squash has stopped producing for the year. Many of the sunflowers are still in bloom. Three days ago they were laden with American Goldfinch, but now, with the exception of one that just flew over, they’re nowhere to be found. A Blue Jay is calling incessantly overhead, and a cicada just flew by. I watched a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird feed uncontested from the feeder. She then flew up to perch on the power line – moved approximately 18 inches over – moved about 18 inches over again… ah, I think she found her spot. I can only surmise the warm sunshine felt good, as the first two perches were shady. A Grey Catbird flew down and hopped around in the smilax vine behind the sunflowers, but must have sneaked out the back – I don’t see it anymore. The sounds of nature are shattered by a train whistle. Ah! The hummer is back and has brought a friend – two females. Funny – one drinks from the feeder while the other sits patiently in the trumpet creeper. Whenever I see two together they’re usually vying for a monopoly of the feeder. The feeder bird left, and the other sat for 1.5 – 2 minutes more before taking its spot at the feeder. It’s too bad we have only one species, when they regularly get up to 14 in (ah, she just flew off) areas of the southwest we just visited. The breeze is chilly! I think I’ll call it good for my first journal entry. Until tomorrow!

Tuesday 9/1/09 – 9:10pm-9:27pm

I’m supposed to spend a night journaling in my spot, so here I am. Mostly just because it’s the first chance I’ve had to get out here! The night is filled with the sounds of insects. Wish I could identify them all: a constant buzz – background noise. Once that chimes in fours, very consistently. A lone insect calling – chirping – sporadically from the crown of a nearby tree. One occasionally pipes in that sounds like two marbles clicking together (of course, that’s how I describe cricket frogs too!). Now, in the background noise, I detect a “humm” separate from the “buzz”. I also hear what I’m pretty sure is a species of cricket. Wow, what diversity! It’s crisp and chilly. The moon overhead is almost full – a little squished on the upper right side yet. I believe it to be waxing – this is good for my observation skills! Had I been out last night I’d know! Some small insects are flying around the porch light. Neighborhood dogs are barking in the distance. Scooter has joined me again tonight – Haley has no interest. There is a gentle breeze – all the chillier for me! The stars are scarce – cloudy night, or overpowered by the lights of Fayetteville? I do not know. I suppose I should be thankful for the light, despite their pollution. Michael sent me a satellite photo link of completely blackened N Korea (except for the capital city and Kim Jong Il’s home) surrounded by the illuminated S Korea and China, where the people are forced to live without power. It’s peaceful out here – I should take this time more often. Next time I’ll bring a jacket – in August? I know, crazy!

Thursday 9/3 – 5:43 pm-6:10pm

It is overcast today and the temperature is very pleasant. The multiple hues of green from the surrounding trees stand in stark contrast to the grey sky. A cardinal is repeatedly fluttering above the neighbors’ fence, just into my view, then down again – I wonder what she’s doing? A bee (sp?) is feeding from the trumpet creeper. I wish I knew my plants and insects better (yet never take the time to learn!). I hear flowing water, that’s a new sound – wonder if our neighbors installed a water feature? Would have to climb over the privacy fence to see, and not in the mood. Female hummer is back, and twittering from a trumpet creeper vine. She left without feeding. The thistle feeder is empty. Quite bird-wise today. I can still see remnants from the ice storm. The trees will likely show the wear and tear for years to come. Ah, the hummer is perching on the wire. No sun to bask in today. Now she feeds. A Carolina Chickadee is flitting between the Sycamore and the pine. A second joined her. And now descend the House Sparrows. On that note, I’ll head inside.