Early preparation

This weekend, I bought the ingredients for green bean casserole, which I will make for Thanksgiving. It is what I bring to the family meal. Some years, I've waited too long to buy the stuff, and find there are no dried onions in the store, or only cheddar flavored, or only in goofy little containers. So now I'm all set.

The other thing to watch for while shopping for this treat is to buy just plain Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup. If you're not careful picking it out, you might end up with low-salt, "Healthy Choice," or garlic flavored, or some other unnatural brew.

Finally, there are the green beans. Some years ago, the recipe used to call for French cut beans. One year I bought whole beans by accident, but I cut them into French cut. Yes. I cut each individual bean in four cans of beans (I double the recipe) into fourths lengthwise. Can you say obessive? But the feedback (har: feedback on food) was that these were better beans. My dad, a former farmboy, said that the bad, ugly beans get cut up into French beans at the factory, but only the good, beautiful beans get put whole in the can. So for at least a couple years I French-cut whole beans. Finally last year, I just used the whole beans. I still like having them French cut better, but it's just too much work.

So that's the green bean casserole situation.

Oh, and I also use more onions than called for because I like them.

Autumn Wind

Here is about a 1-minute video of the wind and leaves blowing in our back yard last week.