Collard Greens w/ Smoked Turkey Wings | To Kill a Mockingbird #FoodnFlix

This month, the Food 'n Flix club is watching an American classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, based on the book of the same name by Harper Lee. I should probably start off with an admission...one that I'm actually ashamed to admit, especially afer introducing it as an American classic, but...I'd never actually seen or even read To Kill a Mockingbird until last week.

[Insert collective gasp!]

Split Pea and Smoked Turkey Soup

If you know me and my "soup preferences", you're probably surprised to see this recipe. I'm not a very big (or even small) fan of thick, pureed vegetable soups. I usually avoid them like the plague. It feels like I'm eating baby food. And yet, here I am pushing a big pot of baby food in your direction. My only explanation is one I use often—I am a walking contradiction.

I haven't gone dark side, this weekend was simply a "clean fridge and pantry" kind of weekend, and well, necessity is the mother of invention. I had a package of yellow split peas that were nearing their best-by date. I still had about a third of a smoked turkey in the fridge. Plus, there's never really a time that celery and carrots aren't waiting their turn in the crisper. Soup it was.

Fast forward to the fact that today is actually the start of the 11th week of the Twelve Weeks of Winter Squash—and I've been a true slacker in this department for an entire month. Seriously, I've neglected to post a winter squash recipe for the past four weeks. I'm ashamed. Needless to say, I fell short of that goal this year. But I couldn't let another week go by with only my best intentions to show, so I grabbed a can of pumpkin puree from the pantry and added that to the mix.

Smoked Turkey and Spinach Curry inspired by Bridget Jones's Diary | #FoodnFlix

"It all began on New Year's Day, in my 32nd year of being single. Once again I found myself on my own and going to my mother's annual turkey curry buffet."

She says it like it's a bad thing. I suppose that in Bridget's situation I may feel the same. But since my mother doesn't hold an yearly Turkey Curry Buffet, and never once tried to set me up when I was single, I find it a fairly brilliant tradition. I'm thinking about starting my own New Year's Day Turkey Curry Buffet tradition, actually. It sounds both fun and delicious. Of course, I also think a summertime "Tarts and Vicars" party would be a blast, so...

In case you hadn't guessed yet, this month the Food 'n Flix club is watching Bridget Jones's Diary. I was excited for this pick since I hadn't seen it in years. I watched it way back when, and have caught bits and pieces on tv now and again over the years, but I'd pretty much forgotten it. I couldn't actually recall any of the scenes if my life depended on it. Apparently I didn't appreciate it as much at 25 as I do at 39 (perfectly sandwiching the age that Bridget was slogging her way through in the film)...because certainly I would have remembered it if I did. That all changed after I cozied up with it on New Year's Eve this year. I kind of love it now.