Off into the sunset….

This is my final Vegan MoFo post, since I usually don’t have time to blog on the weekends. As such, I wish I had something more interesting to write about! We’re not planning any culinary fanciness tonight, because tomorrow will be taken over by a massive backyard apple butter-making party. A friend’s family has been doing this for decades, and over the years Red and I have been brought into the fold. It’s a good time. The apple butter is made in a very old-school way, in a massive copper kettle over a fire. The stirring implement is only the second of its kind and is made from wood, PVC, and welded metal. I should really take pictures so you stop thinking I’ve lost my mind. It is not usually on Halloween, so I have no right to complain about that, though I certainly have done so. Also, as Red points out, I’ll be able to stir a cauldron this year.

So, we’ll be doing that. I’m making a pot of minestrone tonight. Ostensibly I’m bringing it to share, but we all know it’s just so I have something to eat! Last year, my friend’s grandmother harrumphed over the lack of meat in my minestrone when there were two or three other soups that were clearly meat-tastic. I love old people, but she once tried to force lentil soup on me after plucking out the hot dog slices that had been sitting in it. BACK OFF, LADY.

In a shameless act of ungratefulness, we’re also taking that ill-fated challah bread. I know it’s shitty to unload lovingly-baked desserts on other people, like the culinary version of regifting. To that, I say it’s better to let the omnis eat it than allow it to take up valuable tofu space in my freezer. Enjoy the cholesterol-laden goodness, my pretties! If I get my act together, I’ll thaw a loaf of zucchini bread and take that too, though I sort of want to keep that for us. Maybe I’ll make pumpkin bread instead. All this in preparation for several dozen people asking me why I’m not eating the turkey wraps or oozy, sticky meatballs.

Tonight, Red and I are going to rest up for Apple Butter-palooza. We’ll probably build a fire in the back yard and make s’mores. Just hang out and commune with each other and the season. We so need some time to just step off the crazy train and get back in the rhythm of not being constantly busy. Our plan for November is to actively avoid any unnecessary events or obligations, so we can have a little breathing room as the holidays draw near. I’m pagan, and in my tradition, Halloween (Samhain) is the New Year. I can’t think of a better approach than Vegan MoFo to help me focus my attention as the year closes and new demands press upon me. And, despite my whining over the lack of a more traditional Samhain celebration, I can’t think of a better way to welcome the New Year than by stirring a cauldron of apple butter.

Image ripped from Oestara Publishing.