Monthly Review: November 2023

It is dark too early now, and the sleepiness sets in as the sun goes down. As the nights grow longer and colder, we must make our own light.

I suppose this is the reason that I, though raised with the staunch belief that Christmas decorations were appropriate no earlier than the day after Thanksgiving and no later than Epiphany, have adapted to my husband's delight in setting up for Christmas pretty much as soon as Daylight Savings Time has begun. We expanded beyond just our Christmas tree this year to garland for our banister and ornaments for our front windows. Through the shades, our living room glows all night.

As we shopped for our Christmas trimmings, my husband asked whether I wanted anything special. Yes, I told him, I want candles for the windows.

This was no childhood tradition of either of ours, and I had only a vague idea of where we would even put candles. But I knew I wanted them, and I knew why.

On a foggy back road in December of 2019, sometime around 3:30 AM, I remember opening my sleep-hazed eyes to see, rising from the blackness, a two-story farmhouse. In each of its many windows glowed a single candle. It seemed almost unreal before me, a place where I like Ebenezer Scrooge might encounter ghosts and wake to believe them a dream. Yet I was awake, though barely, and for the few moments before we passed the house entirely I peered through the steamed-over windows and fixed the sight in my memory. The gleam of those faint specks of light is burned in the backs of my eyelids as though I have stared down the sun, and those candles shine before me even now.

Might not I be that light? Though I do not live on a forsaken country road, though my candles will fill only my porch windows and not each of our home's 25 windowsills, I may still set out candles. Their lights will be small, yet still they will shine. They will be beautiful, not merely for the light they provide but for the reality they represent: the light shines out of darkness, and the darkness cannot put it out.

---

Here's what I read, cooked, and created in the month of November.

What I Read

• Confessions, St. Augustine (★★★★★)

• Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, John Bunyan (★★★★★)

• Pax, Sara Pennypacker (★★★★)––reread

• Pax: Journey Home, Sara Pennypacker (★★★★★)

• My Calamity Jane, Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows (★★★)

• I'm Glad My Mom Died, Jennette McCurdy (★★★)

• This Time It's Real, Ann Liang (★★★)

If you want to hear the rationale behind my rating, head to my Goodreads for full reviews.

What I Cooked

• Cranberry Pie with Pecan Crumble

Difficulty: ★★

Flavor: ★★★★★

Keeper: Yes

Comments: I have been scared to make my own pie crust since my best friend tried teaching me in high school and the dough ended up looking like a crumbly Germany, but I have owned the most gorgeous pie plate for several years now without using it. This pie was a beautiful moment of redemption. The crust was flaky, the filling was punchy, the topping was abundant, and the bottom was not soggy.

• Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Difficulty: ★

Flavor: ★★★★

Keeper: Yes

Comments: Definitely needs more liquid––I added some partway through because I was worried it would dry out. It wasn't anything to write home about, per se, but it was a good, hearty stew.

• Roasted Carrot Salad

Difficulty: ★

Flavor: ★★★★

Keeper: Yes

Comments: This does not need 4 shallots. It needs maybe 2.

• Slow Cooker Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes

Difficulty: ★

Flavor: ★★★

Keeper: Probs no

Comments: The ranch seasoning gave these potatoes a weird aftertaste, and the crockpot ensured that they lacked the texture needed for a good roasted potato. I did not add the cheese until right before serving; I can only imagine what a disaster area it would have been if it had been in the crockpot the whole time.

What I Created

• Part of an essay

May your days be filled with beauty, and may your heart be filled with the willingness to see and give thanks for it.

Monthly Review: October 2023

You are the sound of falling snow,

the morel that explodes

into existence overnight.

You are kite-tails and streamers

swirling as you drift.

You are a drawstring purse,

opened wide then cinching tight,

for even owning nothing,

you are precious

for your hoarded mysteries.

You are the child’s awe-dropped jaw

(can you see us seeing you?)

Through glass, through bottled ocean,

through your own crystalline skin—

a ruby glows.

You are a strange and lonesome luminary,

an envoy from the darkness

here before us, who could never visit your far country.

You tell us, unspeaking, that there are far more wonders

floating just before our eyes, and yet beyond our grasp.

---

Here's what I read, cooked, and created in the month of October.

What I Read

• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot (★★★★)

• Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classic Stories Awaken a Child's Moral Imagination, Vigen Guroian (★★★)

• Beware the Night, Jessika Fleck (★★)

If you want to hear the rationale behind my rating, head to my Goodreads for full reviews.

What I Cooked

• Pistachio Pudding

Difficulty: ★★

Flavor: ★★★★

Keeper: Yes

Comments: I love making pudding when I entertain because I can do it ahead of time, and it feels special to have something homemade. The flavor and texture were great, and the only bad part was individually shelling my pistachios because I couldn't find pre-shelled ones that were both unsalted and raw. Such is life.

• Creamy Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake

Difficulty: ★★★

Flavor: ★★★★★

Keeper: Yes

Comments: I made as directed for a 9x13, and while this recipe was a little fiddly (as many of her recipes are), the payoff was well worth the work (again, also the case with many of her recipes). If you need to bring a show-stopping dessert for Thanksgiving, this would be a good choice.

What I Created

• Original essay "Counting My Blessings Every Day"

• Original blackout poem "Plot Twist"

• The end of a poem I had forgotten about for 2 years

May your days be filled with beauty, and may your heart be filled with the willingness to see and give thanks for it.

Monthly Review: September 2023

I hate the tree that turns

too early,

hate its foolish blush, its thinning branch.

How I despise the colors as they come too soon,

before the frost,

before the wind can say summer’s goodbye.

I loathe the leaf that dies and drops,

a little herald of the hard reality:

so too, too soon, falls death.

I shuffle through with old man steps,

then stop.

One leaf, though russet red, has yet

to curl and crack.

Its gold veins glow; its perfect points remain.

I tuck it in my pocket, take it home

to press between the leaves of Dante,

that it might find there

life eternal, life beyond decay.

---

Here's what I read, cooked, and created in the month of September.

What I Read

• Don't Follow Your Heart: Boldly Breaking the 10 Commandments of Self-Worship, Thaddeus Williams (★★★★★)

• Them Before Us: Why We Need a Global Children's Rights Movement, Katy Faust (★★★★★)

• Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng (★★★★)

• Commonwealth, Ann Patchett (★★★)

If you want to hear the rationale behind my rating, head to my Goodreads for full reviews.

What I Cooked

• Soft Multigrain Bread

Difficulty: ★★

Flavor: ★★★★★

Keeper: Maybe

Comments: I made this to see if I liked it as well as Sally's simple sandwich bread, but honestly, they turned out about the same. Perhaps that is because I used oats rather than this multi-grain cereal she talks about; perhaps it is because I am not yet at the point in my life where I want to grind seeds for my own bread. In any case, it was a good loaf of bread with a few extra steps.

• Summer Corn Salad

Difficulty: ★

Flavor: ★★★

Keeper: Yes

Comments: I barely followed this recipe (didn't use avocado or cucumber), but it is good for those few ears of sweet corn you've got leftover after they're cooked. Holds up decently well in the fridge.

• Zucchini Brownies with One Minute Frosting

Difficulty: ★

Flavor: ★★★★★

Keeper: Yes

Comments: This frosting might become a brownie necessity. Next-level good.

• Ultimate Zucchini Bread

Difficulty: ★

Flavor: ★★★★★

Keeper: Yes

Comments: The quintessential spiced zucchini bread recipe. I liked it so much I made it twice in one month (the second time as muffins, which I daresay were even better).

• Summer Garden Pasta

Difficulty: ★

Flavor: ★★★★

Keeper: Yes

Comments: This was great the first night but not the best reheated.

• Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Pasta

Difficulty: ★★

Flavor: ★★★★

Keeper: Yes

Comments: A little heavy on the vinegar––could cut back to 1 T. Even if you are only using half a pound of pasta, make a whole sauce recipe.

• One Pan Italian Sausage and Veggies

Difficulty: ★★

Flavor: ★★★★

Keeper: Yes

Comments: I love a good one pan roast. This was a great one pan roast.

What I Created

• Unpublished original poem "Day One"

• Additional progress on my project

May your days be filled with beauty, and may your heart be filled with the willingness to see and give thanks for it.