…flakes drifting from the heavens astounded my little bears just a couple of nights ago. While I was yearning for a wild and beautiful adventure outdoors, I was thinking more of the lines of pathless woods where society would not intrude on my thoughts or even a trip back in time to my favorite trails where the rock meets the ocean, we nonetheless didn’t trot beyond our front steps for some all day long adventures outside thanks to the melt-away offerings from above. Mounding the white presents into tiny packs of oblong shapes, the older bears thought it to be all the more wiser to save them in the freezer like a souvenir next to their forgotten Halloween candy. One wore a left-handed glove while the other wore the right-handed one…the other pair was forgotten on a bus ride with the first sign of brisk air. I’m hoping they landed in a pair of hands that needed them more than ours. After realizing that they were not coming in for a while (merriment distracts the mind from recognizing that one’s digits are frozen) I took baby bear for a walk down the street for another pair of gloves all the while hers kept warm under the blanket she was shrouded in. Upon my return, the first snow ball fight had already ensued and requests for some hot cocoa instead of our impromptu walks for gelato were made. So, in I went to fill some mugs with steamy goodness to warm up some elated bears. I continued to make more treats with our depleting seasonal decorations, so far there’s pumpkin seed brittle, pumpkin seed milk, butternut squash and apple soup, pumpkin cake smothered in buttercream frosting, pumpkin mysteriously tucked into taco meat (add when caramelizing onions) and my favorite pumpkin pancakes for a warm breakfast treat.Baby bear enjoys them so much she whips out the pan from the cupboard even if it’s not breakfast time in hopes that she will be offered another flap jack or two. So, my great outdoor adventure must wait another day or two…how I miss my former front yard by the deep ocean, music in its roar that beckoned me out the door.

Since I am doing less trotting and no items to tinker within the nest, I am creating in the kitchen. It’s a bit lonely with barely room for baby bear and I but I whipped up this cheery salad and will make it again and again this season since it looks so festive…another edible arrangement for our makeshift nest. Do present it next to the Thanksgiving bird this year and may you and yours gather around your table in good health.

Red Edible Arrangement

2 Red Endive
½ Red Onion
½ Pomegranate seeds
2 Beets
1 Cup of Cranberries
1 Orange for juice and rind
Sprinkle of Pumpkin Seeds and currants
Drizzle of Lemon and Olive Oil
Dash of Salt and Pepper

Roast beets in oven for about forty minutes. When cooled dice them up and caramelize them with cranberries, honey, juice of half of the orange, dice the remaining half of orange with rind and add to pan for caramelizing. Once you achieve a gooey consistency allow to cool before mixing it in with rest of the salad components. I like to slice my onions thinly and soak them in lemon juice for at least fifteen minutes then I add the olive oil with salt and pepper and give it a good stir. I prefer to trim the end off the endive and present it in its whole state. Sprinkle with pomegranate and pumpkin seeds and drizzle some more lemon and olive oil and enjoy!

Pumpkin Seed Milk