On The Road Again with Wyke

He is 15 months old and has travelled miles with us in the past year.  We found a Crowne Plaza in Asheville that loves dogs.  Honestly, we checked in and Wyke immediately found a friend in the lobby and after a proper greeting they had a lovely romp.  Right there in the lobby.  We have been very diligent with a few things with our Wyke.  One of them is how he is introduced to new dogs.  My rationale is I know how he will react so we must wait to see how the other dog reacts and be prepared to move on if the other dog does not appear to be inclined to friendship.  I put Wyke in a sit and told him to Wait until the other dog had come over and sniffed him.  Wyke didn’t move a muscle, he just waited until the other owner said all was well and I, too, felt all was fine and then I let him go.  Lots of room in the very large lobby and very few people so they chased each other in a tight circle for a few moments and everyone was happy.  Our room was large with a sitting area and a balcony with sliding doors.  We were one floor up from the outside so it was very easy to go out with him in the morning.  Our daughter Margot and her dog Brewer and guest Chihuahua, Ellie, who runs the show by the way, came over every day for a good long hike and run.  It was Ellie who really got them going.  I think she weighs about four pounds and she was definitely the boss and kept up with the big boys with no trouble at all.  I think you can see her in the picture hidden behind Brewer.

Turkey Trot and Hike

One way to combat eating at fabulous restaurants and also a superb Thanksgiving dinner, is to get out there and move.  In preparation for my next, and final race of the fall on December 2nd, I needed to get in some hills.  The race takes place on the Talmadge Bridge in Savannah which is the closest thing we have to a hill here in the low country.  The first training was to participate in the Asheville Turkey Trot.  Margot and Hadley ran it and I walked it as fast as my two little feet could go.  I don’t have the official results but I saw the clock when I crossed the finish and it was at 48 and something minutes.  Margot and Hadley said they ran it in 27 minutes.  I was very pleased with my time as I had been  determined to beat 50 minutes for a 5k.  The weather was perfect.  In fact, it was perfect the whole time we were in North Carolina.  Yes, we ate wonderful meals but we certainly felt that we earned it after our exercise, besides look at those smiles!

Dinner with Friends

We have much to be thankful for each and every day but what fun it was to celebrate Thanksgiving Day in Asheville with Margot, Hadley and all their friends.  Two of their friends are our very good friends who happen to live in Black Mountain which is only about 30 minutes away.   They provided the brussels sprouts and pies.  We had a wonderful sweet potato side dish that John thought was served with marshmallow fluff, imagine his surprise when it turned out to be yogurt.   This is the first time that I can remember that we have not hosted Thanksgiving in many, many years.  We used to go to John’s mother’s for Thanksgiving when she lived in a house but she moved out of her house in 2001.  Prior to that time we shared the duties.  There were years when the children were small and we lived far away that we would drive to Hartford to celebrate Thanksgiving.  Some of those drives were traffic nightmares because we were coming from Delaware and had to go through or around New York and New Jersey.  Other years we were driving from Maine and hit the traffic coming out of Boston heading towards New York.  One year we tried to have American Thanksgiving in Canada.  Nope, doesn’t work.  There is no build up to the day, no panic buying at the super market, no Black Friday shopping, nobody wishing you Happy Thanksgiving.  It was a dud.  We did get the Thanksgiving Day parade on the television but that was about it.  This was a success.  The only thing I miss is not having the leftover turkey to make soup and of course the traditional turkey sandwiches.

The Long Way Home

Never one to go in a straight line when a crooked one will work.  Our dear friend, Ashleigh, moved to Knoxville a year ago.  Now Knoxville isn’t very close to us in South Carolina but it is only about 100 miles from Asheville so we couldn’t resist making a trip to see her.  We left Asheville around 9 and drove through the beautiful mountain that separate North Carolina and Tennessee.  The Great Smokey Mountains.  The road really winds its way through the mountains with driving speed really reduced in some places.  It was a glorious day for a drive.  Good thing because it would be hours before we got home.  We had a wonderful visit, Wyke met one of Ashleigh’s cats who did not appreciate a giant blond dog in his house at all so he went out on his new deck and they stared at each other through the window.  Wyke really wanted to play.   We ate a sumptuous luncheon of soup, known as “John’s Minestrone with a Twist“, grilled cheese sandwiches made from the best Unexpected Cheddar Cheese from Trader Joe’s, and a light and healthy Waldorf Salad.  It was worth the drive to Knoxville for that lunch.  Wyke was made to feel at home and he was a perfect gentleman who never left Ashleigh alone in the kitchen, just in case.  We left there at 2:00pm and drove back to Asheville, waved out the window as we passed by on the highway and arrived safe and sound back in our South Carolina home by 8:45 that evening.  A long day but a wonderful one.

So here is John’s original Minestrone Soup found in Canadian Living Magazine .  He makes it every year to take with him on his fishing trip with his buddies in Northern Quebec.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 4 hot or mild Italian sausages (about 1lb/500 g total)
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 2 onions chopped
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 2 cans red kidney beans drained and rinsed
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 stalks celery chopped
• 2 carrots chopped
• 1 can tomato mashed
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 small zucchinis chopped
• 1/2 cauliflower chopped
• 1 cup small short pasta (tubetti or macaroni)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Prick sausages all over. In Dutch oven, heat vegetable oil over medium heat; fry sausages, turning occasionally, until browned, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

Drain off fat. Add onions and garlic; cook, stirring and scraping up brown bits from bottom of pan, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add beans, 6 cups (1.5 L) water and bay leaf; bring to boil, skimming off foam. Cut sausages into bite-size pieces; return to pan along with celery, carrots, tomatoes, oregano, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add zucchini, cauliflower and pasta. Cover and cook until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes, adding more water if soup is too thick. Discard bay leaf. (Make-ahead: Let cool for 30 minutes. Refrigerate until cold. Transfer to airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Add more water before reheating if desired.) Stir in parsley. Serve with cheese.