Hello from weather that practically feels like fall in South Carolina!
...Family
Happy Birthday Jay!
Today is Jay's birthday, and to celebrate he slept through the night in our bed all by himself, lucky duck, and then left for a work trip this morning. He also forgot it was his birthday until I said something to him. 
Pros and cons to that one, tbh. Two nights in a hotel room alone sounds AMAZING. Two days of PowerPoints and projections...yawn. Hopefully the food will be good.
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For Granny B
Today is my mom's birthday. Sometimes as we age birthdays come and go with little fanfare, with a lot of fanfare, or hardly noticed because so many other things are going on. We have a lot going on, so this is a little bit of fanfare for you, Mama. 
I also have come to realize that some people don't like pictures of themselves splashed all over the internet, so instead, for visual appeal, we have pictures of Beck In Glasses, which I find very appealing. Yep, I'm biased, and this is my site, so look or don't at the cute kid. I dare you not to smile a little bit.
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Friendsgiving.
ONE WEEK TO THANKSGIVING! 
This isn't about that, though. There are definitely some links below on what you should definitely absolutely cook, but this is mainly a gush-fest about the best.weekend.ever that I had a few days ago.
I've talked about this before, but my a cappella work now stems from my a cappella group in college, think Andy from The Office meets the cast of pitch perfect but with no autotune and more legit problems. Same adoration for each other, same adoration for the music.
So a bunch of us got together last weekend! Six from my old group, one fiancee, and one baby. It was the best ever, and I came back so refreshed and reminded of how much I love those women, how lucky we are to have each other, how stupid we are to not see each other more.
I was also lucky enough to cook a lot of the food, including a big Friendsgiving spread with my friend Lexy, and a soup on Friday night that I'm going to show you very soon. It's perfect for the come-and-go crazy holiday weeks we're entering into right now.
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Light Citrus Sweet Potatoes (In the Microwave!)
...I type as I'm going back and forth with two different families about Thanksgiving menus, aka MY SUPER BOWL. 
I love meal planning so much, it's just the best.
THESE, also, are just the best, I present to you, Grandmother's Sweet Potatoes. My grandmother was a lifelong reader, and very often would send me recipes or clippings of food articles she found that she thought would interest me (they all did, I adore reading about food). I think that's how this recipe came to be; she found a version of it in the newspaper or in a magazine, then my dad started making it once he took on Thanksgiving for our family. We have these sweet potatoes every Christmas and Thanksgiving, and I've already made them once this year for a Friendsgiving! They are SO good, and really different from anything else sweet potato you've had before, I can almost promise.
First and foremost, this entire recipe can be made in the microwave, which is huge when it comes to fighting for oven space before big meals. We've finished these in the oven or microwave, and I swear you can't tell the difference one way or another. The sweet potatoes are also initially baked in the microwave, which saves time and doesn't heat up the whole dang house. THEN, the potatoes are mashed with lemon juice and orange juice and just a teensy hint of salt, sugar, and butter. The mixture goes into a baking dish, is nuked or baked a little more, and the lightest, brightest sweet potatoes ever are ready for your Thanksgiving table.
Reviews last weekend included "I was not expecting to like these at all but I did!" So, there. Glowing? Glowing!
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