Happy Thanksgiving

by Bryan

16 comments

1 hipparchia { 11.22.18 at 1:26 pm }

happy thanksgiving to you too!

If you have no intention of participating in the Charcoal Grey Thursday Sales, you are a true patriot.

well, we are going out to eat today, so that no one in the family has to either cook or clean today, so I guess that’s not truly patriotic. we are all avoiding the shopping part of it, so maybe we’re at least a little bit patriotic.

meanwhile, the cats are going to get turkey-and-giblets cat food tonight, but I am planning to eat anything NOT turkey today, if at all possible. I’m hoping for fresh(ish)-caught local fish, but we’ll see.

2 Bryan { 11.22.18 at 7:03 pm }

Other than Waffle House, I’m not sure any restaurants are open over here. People rushing out to go into debt for stuff they don’t really need when so many need so much not 70 miles East of me, if rather off-putting. Fortunately I know ‘doers of good deeds’ who can take my excess and direct it to those who need it.

If you want fresh caught, you had better plan on the catching 🙂

3 hipparchia { 11.22.18 at 7:42 pm }

🙂

it was grouper, or possibly “grouper,” but it wasn’t turkey and I didn’t have to catch, cook, or clean anything, so it was delicious.

4 Bryan { 11.22.18 at 8:06 pm }

I see. My Mother to say “I paid for grouper” when asked what she had. The people around me think I will starve if they don’t bring me food on Thanksgiving and Christmas. I wonder what they think I do the rest of the year. I thank them profusely because I didn’t have to cook or clean anything.

5 Anya { 11.23.18 at 2:34 pm }

We did not go out yesterday being too broke to even contemplate holiday shopping. Dinner consisted of a pre-prepared, frozen, boneless turkey breast (with gravy, freezer to oven, no thawing necessary!) and stuffing. Maybe we’ll get pie week after next when we get “paid.”

As for cleaning, I didn’t do any. I put the Professor to work on that. 😀

6 Bryan { 11.23.18 at 3:10 pm }

You’re too young to remember what Thanksgiving was like at Grampa Dumka’s. It was his busiest time and it was all hands on deck to kill and prep turkeys. The birds on his table were rejects he couldn’t sell. Dad hated it, but Mother insisted if we were in the area that we get involved in the process. I assume your father never willingly returned to New York for Thanksgiving.

7 Anya { 11.24.18 at 9:22 pm }

I do recall one dinner at the farm, could have been Thanksgiving, but it might have been Christmas. I was very, very young, and I hated having to sit still at the table and behave, being so young and… wiggly. I was rather mystified, however, at Gramps and some of the young men at the table having to jump up and run out of the kitchen for no reason that was apparent to me….

Life explained.

8 Bryan { 11.25.18 at 7:42 pm }

Even on Thanksgiving or Christmas, if someone came by for one or more turkeys, they were accommodated.

The last time I remember seeing you was at Gramps funeral and you and Carol were really young.

9 hipparchia { 11.29.18 at 6:14 pm }

“I paid for grouper”

well, *I* (mostly) paid for “didn’t have to catch, clean, or cook anything” but various members of our group actually *liked* their grouper too, so it was a big win all the way around.

for a lot of years, we’ve done the “many hands make light work” kind of holiday cooking, and eating, and that can be a lot of fun, but after this year, we’re ALL sold on the “let’s do this again next year!” version. 🙂

10 Bryan { 11.29.18 at 9:55 pm }

I was in line behind a couple who were obviously in charge of Thanksgiving for their family and they rang up a $200+ bill covering two carts worth of stuff. The Winn Dixie deli does the whole thing for a lot less than that and you just have to warm it up. Going to a restaurant lets everyone get exactly what they want to eat and it keeps down the near riot atmosphere of some ‘family’ dinners.

11 hipparchia { 11.30.18 at 8:00 pm }

I did offer at one point, in the planning stages, to do the Winn Dixie (or Publix, or …) deli run, but the decision was made to not do any more work than it took to drive to the restaurant.

it was an excellent decision. and yes, everybody got to eat exactly what they wanted.

12 Bryan { 11.30.18 at 9:42 pm }

Well, yes, there is definitely more labor involved in the deli run. Over here you need to like Asian to go to a restaurant on Thanksgiving or check in to a hotel. Not having to clean up is certainly something to be thankful for.

13 hipparchia { 12.03.18 at 8:01 pm }

i love Asian.

it’s also my second-favorite version of cooking ( my first-favorite is the deli run 😛 ) — chop stuff up, toss it in a big pan on the stove, stir it for a few minutes, throw some spices on it, and voila! food!

although, that’s probably more “Asian” than Asian, but I do frequently tell my friends and family that it’s fusion and that it’s an ART. 🙂

14 Bryan { 12.04.18 at 7:30 pm }

Ah, yes – crock pot if you remember and wok if you don’t. Rice, sesame oil, soy sauce, and whatever is in the fridge – it’s hard to beat.

15 hipparchia { 12.04.18 at 8:35 pm }

Rice, sesame oil, soy sauce, and whatever is in the fridge

you bet. everything tastes better with sesame oil (except when it tastes better with olive oil – spaghetti with olive oil, parmesan cheese, and basil is another of my all-time favorites).

crock pot if you remember and wok if you don’t.

drat, now all my secrets have been discovered.

16 Bryan { 12.05.18 at 9:07 pm }

I’m considering an Instant Pot. A friend loves hers and bought one for her daughter. She keeps bringing it up, so I thought I would give it a shot. I have been sending a lot of appliances that I rarely use to Panama City/Mexico Beach and the path of Michael. If it works, it replaces a lot of those remaining.