I am thankful for my friends. And for you, Jen. Thank you for all you've done.
I am also thankful for every miracle, including the Internet, Mozart's concertos, allergy medicine, running water, dolphins playing in the surf, weeds that find there way through the asphalt, the growing up of my children.
Jack and I volunteered at the Salvation Army on Thanksgiving (okay, I volunteered Jack to volunteer...). As Thanksgiving goes, I usually find myself relegated to the kid's table. In the case of volunteering at the SA, I was at the table of high schoolers, while the grown-ups attended to more important matters, like stuffing making. One task assigned to the kids was to write Thanksgiving messages to Meals-On-Wheels recipients. What to write? Whatever I might ever even conceive to write has been much better written by Emerson, Thoreau and Whitman. Goes without saying. So, I pull out my go-to quotations to write in these notes. To my dismay, these high schoolers, most in their senior year, had never heard of Emerson, Thoreau and/or Whitman. In my view, you simply cannot send young people out into the world without having read Emerson, Thoreau and Whitman, am I right?
Since everyone of a more mature nature was already tasked with stuffing making, turkey carving, and green bean casserole making, the last task, making mashed potatoes fell to me. That meant using the big Hobart. That's right, the Hobart: Suck it, stuffing makers!
I like volunteering on Thanksgiving, because, if I am frank, Thanksgiving makes me feel a bit resentful and I usually need a good dose of perspective. But let me whine, a bit, okay? I'm the mom, right? And although there was a rather successful women's liberation movement (for which I am immensely thankful: Thank you, sisters of today and of yore!), here I am to be tasked with lots and lots of shopping and cleaning and cooking, cooking, cooking, all whilst the fam can go about and do as they enjoy. Cooking. With Mr. Roper.
Because the flames on Mr. Roper's cooktop only exit to the right, and because the oven is heated only from the bottom, there is quite a bit of pot turning and content rearranging to avoid what one would otherwise think impossible, but Mr. Roper makes probable: Burned and raw at the same time!
But I got through it. And have found a couple of new favorite recipes that go great with poultry: artichoke gratinata and cranberry/ginger/apple chutney! Holler! (I made the chutney with about half the vinegar of the recipe and I liked it). I also winged an apple cake recipe! Which I will share, once I make it again and figure out exactly what I did.
Other details: I have these old 50s "Go to the Head of the Class" board game pieces, so for place cards, Jack was Cowboy Joe, Anna was Bonnie, etc. etc.
I hope your holiday was full of hope and joy and fun and yum and laughter and hugs!
1 comment:
And thank you!
This year, because the new kitchen is a really old kitchen and I didn't think a big bird would stand a chance in my oven, we ordered Mezza from the Middle Eastern restaurant. What a relaxing and easy holiday it turned out to be. I did make pies, because I love pie... a lot!
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