Don't get me wrong, I have lots to be thankful for. I am very thankful for my little Moonshine, my wonderful husband, my physical and mental health, a good job that pays well and affords me a wonderful maternity leave, my family and friends around the world and so so so much more. I mean, really, my life is so good, one of such privilege, I have LOADS to be thankful for. And I think it's great to have a day that brings that into stark relief, even if only for a moment.
But it's funny how celebrating a holiday that you've celebrated your whole life just doesn't always feel right if you don't have all the "parts".
The biggest thing missing this year is family and/or friends. Joel and I had dinner just the two of us, which of course is nice- but we do it every night. And Thanksgiving is definitely about being with extended family- whether that is blood or a family of friends. We had some great ones in Latvia and in China. Last year we ate alone too. I think the reason I don't try to host anything here is because it's SO hard to come by ingredients that I hate to even TRY to plan something.
Anyway...the second thing that just wasn't right this year was the food. I made stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin, sweet potato and there was cranberry sauce (acquired in South Africa).
Well, the stuffing was good. Great in fact. I used the same recipe I used last year, except like last year, I didn't put in any raisins or nuts (because I didn't want to) or sage (because it is like THE herb that you can't find here or there or anywhere). But anyway, the stuffing was good. I made a whole 9x13 pan, and I have no doubt it'll be eaten before it goes bad. :)
The mashed potatoes turned out kind of funny. I was glad when I boiled them to see that they looked fluffy- you never know what type of potatoes you're going to get here. There is only one kind of the shelf and it's take it or leave it. I added butter and milk to the potatoes when mashing, but they just came out dry. Joel asked if I "over-mashed" them. I'm not sure if you can over-mash potatoes, but, they were just not the best potatoes ever. And usually, I'm the Mashed Potato Queen.
The gravy turned out very nicely- the only issue there was that I made enough for the group gathered at my uncle's house in Indianapolis today, rather than just the two of us. I made it out of a roux, and didn't realize how much gravy the amount of roux I made would yield. Well, at least we have plenty to pour on the potatoes.
The sweet potato was a disaster- didn't even make it to the table. I have bought sweet potato in Angola before, so when I saw it at the store on Tuesday, I figured it was worth picking up one big ole potato to add to the menu for tonight. I baked it in the oven until it was soft to the touch. Imagine my surprise when I cut it open to find dry, white flesh! It looked *almost* like a regular potato- except a bit stringy. You could smell the sweetness, but it was faint. The sweet taste was very faint too. But the darn thing was so dry and odd that I just didn't even know what to make of it. It ended up in the trash. :(
The pumpkin was out of a can. I don't know why. But it was. It was ok, but it was also bought in South Africa, and you can tell that the pumpkin it was made from was SUPER watery. The consistency was just not right. Flavor was ok.
Lastly, the cranberry sauce tasted fine, but, was the consistency of something that I would happily pour over ice cream. It was very thin, but viscous, and also had whole berries in it. Like I said the flavor was ok, but the eating pleasure was just not there.
Oh, and Joel had an ostrich steak with his food. I just cooked it for him on the pan, and he topped it with gravy. It was the first time he'd eaten it and it seems he liked it. So at least he had some bird- even if it was red meat (seriously, does it count as foul, because it was red?).
So, Joel with the spread:
(that's gravy in the tea cup, and don't mind all the stuff behind the stuffing- that stuff is always on the table)
And hey, the mashed potatoes and stuffing are usually my favorite anyway, so at least I have plenty of leftovers to take for lunch(es)!
The lovely thing is that I have already convinced my family to have a belated Thanksgiving when I get home. Mostly, because, the Thanksgiving spread is a collection of lots of my favorite foods. But also because we've got a lot to be thankful for, and I would love to be in that space with my family.
So there you go...that's our Thanksgiving round up. Hope yours was better than mine!
No comments:
Post a Comment