From where I'm sitting November is just flying by. Fortunately it looks like my weight is going to be where I was hoping it would be, the same as it was last year, at Thanksgiving. There will be plenty of other things that won't be the same though.

For one thing this will be the first Thanksgiving without my mother-in-law although she wasn't really present in any true sense for the last few years.

The other change is that the hostess, my SIL, is going to have to work on Wednesday and Friday this year. This is not a wholly bad thing in that it provides an opportunity to make a few changes in the meals without creating any fuss.

We'll be taking everyone out for dinner to the Cafe Tandoor next Tuesday. I love this Indian restaurant (highly recommended by my mother's Indian-American friends) because I can get any kind of dish made with paneer or tofu (I don't like to eat meat when I don't know where it came from) and I'm planning ahead for a lot of the Indian breads, the samosas and the rice.

Wednesday our nephew will be grilling kabobs made with lamb and veggies that I'm supplying and this year I'm taking a batch of Tuscan white beans to serve on garlic bread before or with the kabobs.

I'm also planning to take a pumpkin stuffed with mascarpone, porcini & white truffles that will only require heating before the Thanksgiving dinner and at least one box of field greens in lieu of the chopped iceberg that's usually served.

I'm already beginning to panic about getting it all in the Mini...