I Like Thursday #115 ~ Welcome November!

Welcome to  I Like Thursday,

I Like Thursday @ Not Afraid of Color

This is the last rose of summer. 

This last pink rose on the climber on my garden arch is bravely opening to the sun today even though we had our first nip of frost last night.  This beauty was protected by a nearby fence.  Many of our more exposed annuals were shriveled up this morning. Some of our hardy mums are still blooming.

Most of the leaves on the maples have dropped and the oaks are falling, too.

The colors of late fall are dark and vibrant, nature's fiery salute to change of seasons.  I do love all the seasons of the earth.

I finished my October cross stitching and am planning a winter project.  

You can help me decide on my aida cloth color Here.

 I have been sewing.  I made some more blocks for my 

Sampler Spree Quilt ~ Started Here

This has sat in its project box near my sewing machine waiting for me.   I decided that since I chose a Christmas fabric collection, it may be a good time to pick this one back up again.  I do like making these blocks. 

When I have not been sewing or stitching, I have been playing with my new toy:

After reading about her new at home exercise machine Here on Jocelyn's Blog, I did something I have been thinking about for some time  I purchased a

 Cubii Jr 2 seated elliptical machine.   This  is very easy to use and is much better for me than the older model standing elliptical that Mr Scrapatch has set up in the cellar . I have only been using this Cubii for a few days but my legs are feeling more energetic and I have no pain in my knees.  Since there will soon be ice and snow on the ground outside I will not be getting out to walk and am looking forward to exercising my legs inside all winter. Thanks, Jocelyn, for giving me the nudge I needed in the right direction. 

Fall makes me want warm comfort foods, like Mac and Cheese.

I decided to make a veggie based version of this  old favorite.

I made my own version of this classic British dish,  Cauliflower Cheese.

I made this for lunch and leftovers.  

For dinner, we had it as a side dish with grilled chicken and a garden salad. 

My recipe for Cauliflower Cheese:

1 large (or two small) heads of cauliflower.

I take off the outer leaves and cut into medium size pieces and steam it for a few minutes, just until it starts to get fork tender but still has some crisp.

While the cauliflower was steaming,

I toasted 1/2 cup of bread crumbs in a small pan with a little olive oil.

I also made the cheese sauce:

I melted

1/4 cup butter

2-3 tablespoons of olive oil

in a large saucepan.

I added 1/3 cup of flour and blended until smooth and just starting to turn golden.

I slowly added 2 cups of milk, stirring to keep it from getting lumpy.

Just as it started to boil I added:

1 cup of sharp white cheddar grated

and 

1 cup of yellow jack cheese grated 

I stirred until smooth, adding salt and pepper and a dash of paprika to taste.

Then I spread the cauliflower gently into a 2 quart baking dish

and poured the cheese sauce over the veggie.

I sprinkled the top with a little more jack cheese, the toasted breadcrumbs and some parsley.

Then I baked it at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes until the cheese started to bubble around the edges.

Enjoy! 

May you and yours have Happy Thursday and a Thankful November!