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Sunday, October 11, 2009

Thanksgiving dinner

A friend asked me what I generally cook for Thanksgiving dinner, and it was too complicated to do a Facebook reply, so here’ my typical menu.

Roast Turkey - I follow the Joy of Cooking method, which is quite similar to this recipe:
http://www.cookingnook.com/roast-turkey-recipe.html

Stuffing - my mother’s recipe is like this one they call “bread celery” stuffing:
http://recipes.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_make_three_different_turkey_stuffings

Gravy - A basic, no-frills variety, similar to this recipe, though I may add a few mushrooms:
http://www.ehow.com/how_6982_make-turkey-gravy.html

Cranberry Sauce - I hate to admit it, but I use the whole cranberry sauce from a can, that turns out kind of like this:
http://www.cooksrecipes.com/sauce/homemade_whole_cranberry_sauce_recipe.html

Classic mashed potatoes - that’s an easy one:
http://www.cookingnook.com/mashed-potatoes-recipe.html

Also, what I discovered are called “American Fried Yams”, but I use brown sugar instead:
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/319/American-Fried-Yams84680.shtml

Then there’s the question of vegetables. I hear brussels sprouts are traditional, but I detest them, so I do other things.

Dressed-up green beans:
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/green-beans-almond-lemon-brown-butter-10000001609295/

Green peas were always on the table of my childhood home. I can’t help myself - I don’t really dress them up, and I only have a spoonful but I can’t seem to pass by the aisle of canned veggies without tossing a small can of peas into my shopping cart:
http://recipes.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Canned_Peas_Recipe

Depending on how many people I’m cooking for, I may supplement the green beans with a simple tossed green salad, which I have to explain here. My friend, Sharon, taught me tht the key is how the salad is tossed. To get the right result, use very fresh lettuce (I prefer Boston or curly leaf) and a bit of basic or green onion. Toss the ingredients with a bit of good olive oil for 20 times, then add a bit of salt and an acid (lemon juice or balsamic vinegar) and toss again for 20 times. The 20 tosses are important!

Then, dessert. Pumpkin pie, of course. I cheat and buy one, then top it with real whipped cream, made fresh.

I like to do fruit, as well. This year, I’ve bought a fresh pineapple that promises to be splendid. Other years, it’s berries or a bake pear dessert.

And that’s the whole story. Tomorrow, photos of my holiday table.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Custom songs makes for light-hearted gifts

A long while back I heard about a site called Songs to Wear Pants To. In cleaning out a bunch of old business cards, I came across the site name and thought I’d see if the site was still there, and it is!

Andrew is a songwriter who creates custom songs based on whatever criteria you provide, no matter how odd. All you need is a little pancreas? No problem. Crazy candy theme? His pleasure. Polka loca? Of coursa. Celtic techno burrito? Why sure-o. The site even has its own theme song. I have to hand it to Andrew for the longevity of the site, the way he’s found to make money doing something he loves, and for finding a way to stay good-humoured about the weird and whacky requests he gets for songs.

Considering that my family is entering “birthday season” - a few of us have birthdays between late November and end of January, then just about everyone else’s birthday is clumped together between end of March and beginning of June; something like 18 birthdays - this may be the gift that everyone gets this year!

Saturday, March 08, 2008

International Women’s Day

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve actually done anything for International Women’s Day other than take a moment for myself to think about the implications for my own life and the women around me. There’s not much discussion of it any more, just like there’s not much discussion of feminism any more. It drives me crazy when women say they’re not feminists, and that the feminist movement did nothing for them. (Oh yeah? Do they want to go back to the days when a bank manager wouldn’t give a woman a bank loan? Or give a woman a mortgage? Or give a woman a hassle about opening her own bank account, without the signature of her husband or father?) The completely irrational cop-out of “well, I don’t want to call myself a feminist because some thirty years ago, there was an urban myth about women burning bras that I don’t want to be associated with” drives me crazy.  The “I don’t want to call myself a [name any group] because there are some [name the fringe element to that group] that give that group a bad name” argument is so lame. I always want to respond with “well, I don’t want to call myself a lesbian because there were some incidents about man-hating separatists that I don’t want to be associated with. Apply that to religion, culture, status in life (motherhood, for example), profession ... anyhow, back to International Women’s Day.

I’m quite thankful for many of the women in my life. There are a couple that I want to throttle right now - I wish they’d renounce their womanhood so I could simply distance myself completely from them. I would like to be able to say that they have NOTHING in common with me, not even sex or gender. Well, one in particular I don’t consider to be of the same gender though she’s of the same sex. But life isn’t simple that way. We have to live with ambiguity and complexity, and interconnectedness of circumstance. I remind myself of this because even if I were able to say “we have nothing common,” it would still not give me license to hate. The difference in gender doesn’t stop me from deeply loving my grandsons. The difference in the values with which my granddaughters are being raised doesn’t stop me from deeply loving them. International Women’s Day reminds me of all these things, and more. - it’s a day for us, and for all those affected by us.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

St. Louis, Missouri

So I spent a few days in St. Louis, Missouri with a long-time friend and her family. During the week, I spent most of my time working, just as if I’d been at home, but on Saturday we ventured out. The weather was quite nice. I expected it to be cold and snowy, but when we went to the Botannical Gardens, it was warm enough that I elected to leave my coat in the car. The gardens were in their winter state, of course, but I could appreciate what they look like during the spring and summer. I would love to be there when the Scent garden - lilac, lavender, rosemary, lemon thyme, chocolate plant, sage, and other fragrant plants must be spectacular. We did go into the biosphere and see the tropical and temperate foliage. The afternoon at the basilica was nice, also. It was quite beautiful, very ornate. I loved the black marble and appreciated huge efforts that went into the over-height small-tiled mosaics.

The oddest things I saw were two signs. One was on the door of an upscale ice cream shop that said “Concealed Weapons Forbidden on These Premises”. The other was a billboard advertising a Bike Show that had across the top “Register Now to Win a Free Breast Augmentation”.

There was a great bookstore called The Left Bank where I would have bought a trunkload of books, had I not been traveling by plane and had to clear customs. But I have to admit that I was turned off by trying to get coffee mid-afternoon and finding that in The Loop, the places near the bookstore that served coffee were only serving in their bar areas, where people smoked indoors. How last century is that? But we did find a Starbucks, which is always reliable - in its product, in the cleanliness of its premises, and its no-smoking atmosphere.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Celebrating Holi

I was fortunate enough to be invited by the Shree Mahalakshmi Temple - they are part of the MultiFaith Action Society, as is our synagogue - to represent Ahavat Olam at a Holi celebration at the Michael J. Fox Library in Burnaby. Some twenty years ago, when I did community radio, I was introduced to this holiday, and ever since, wanted to be part of an occasion that celebrated colours. At this event, there was no throwing of colours, so I was slightly disappointed about that, but there were wonderful dance performances that demonstrated various aspects of the holiday and culture. And as a representative of the synagogue, I was honoured with a gift of flowers and a beautiful shawl, and a book about Holi and Hinduism which, it turns out, has many similariaties with Judiasm.

Though my social comfort level is generally awkward when I’m left on my own in a room full of strangers, I enjoyed myself immensely, and in that “small world” kind of way, ended up talking with two women, only to discover that we had friends in common, kind of - one of the women’s sons works with a friend of ours. These small things make us come away a little less feeling like a stranger in a crowd. I may just return next year, with a friend or two in tow.

Friday, March 09, 2007

So small a gesture, so large an impact

Was at a meeting last night, and my rabbi handed me a baggie with some Purim goodies - a belated treat bag - this year, I barely noticed that the holiday had come and gone. I burst into tears at the unexpected kind gesture.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

The un-holidays

This year, I chose not to write about my birthday because it was really combined with our other celebrations, and there seemed to be little to actually write about. We did have a cake and, when we couldn’t find a birthday candle, someone rustled up a full-sized dinner taper. I got a bracelet, which I discovered scratched up my computer case, so I took it off and put it with the other bracelets I don’t wear. Today I bought myself a late birthday present: the smallest photo printer I could find so it would fit on the little desk in the den. I did this after packing up the inkjet printer to take back to the office, after realizing that though it seems smaller enough in an office setting, at home it would take up te entire desk.

Yesterday, we had an un-Christmas day at home. Everyone does something a little different on the 25th of December - a day with the family, dinner with the folks, a frenetic day spent ferrying children in a sugar-induced high between variuos relatives. We said that any of our friends feeling the need to escape from relatives, take a break between sets of inlaws and mincemeat pies, or just wanting to come by for a visit, could feel free to stop in for some decidedly un-Christmas hang-out time. What they’d find at our place was us, in sweatshirts and slippers, playing ABC (anything but Cristmas) music and movies, and serving up comfort food (chicken soup, split pea soup grilled cheese sandwiches, or home made mac ‘n cheese), and a hot cuppa.

We had a small but steady stream of friends who came by to say hi, have a cup of soup, hang out for a bit, see new pictures of the grandkids, and ten go of to their next engagement. It was wonderful - perhaps we’ll make it an annual tradition.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Christmukah, West Coast style, part 2

What is a West Coast Christmukah without adaptation, otherwise known as compromise? If you don’t have sufganiyot, those little jelly-filled doughnuts, you go to Tim Horton’s and get an assortment of Timbits. If you don’t have traditional potato latkes, you make a low-fat version in a cast iron frying pan on a BBQ. We lit Chanukah candles and played Chanukah music, but also had a Christmas tree and played Christmas music. We exchanged Chaunkah gifts on Friday night, and Christmas gifts on Saturday night. The children enjoyed the gifts equally, not matter what type of paper was used to wrap them. The older kids entertained the middle kids, who entertained the younger ones, and a good time was had by all. Grandson #2 (designation by age) had a soccer game [deleted].

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Christmukah, West Coast style, part 1

Last Thursday night, Vancouver suffered a terrible storm that knocked out some 3,000 trees in Stanley Park, downed power lines all over the city, and created all sorts of other urban havoc.

Needless to say, Friday morning’s carefully choreographed trip to Vancouver Island was not destined to go smoothly. It was supposed to go something like this: Finish printing corporate holiday cards by 6:45 AM. Granddaughter and grandson #1 (designation by age) gets dropped off at 7 AM. Son arrives at 7 AM. Load up car with luggage. Drop cards in mailbox. Pick up potato latkes and sufganiyot order at Solly’s bakery. D rive to home of granddaughter #2. Transfer everything and everyone into their family van. Son takes my car away. Drop off other car at the airport Park ‘n Fly (for the wife, when she arrives from Europe the next day, as she has no car keys). Continue to ferry terminal and get onto 10:15 ferry, crossing to Vancouver Island, crossing over to terminal where we drive north to Nanoose Bay, home of grandson #2.

Well, grandchildren get dropped off - 10 minutes early, even! - but the schedule goes downhill from there. The power lines are down between their house and mine, so my son’s alarm hasn’t gone off and his car is locked in his underground parking garage. So we have to drive over and pick him up, which is in the opposite direction of where we’re going, and the traffic lights are out everywhere, and the city crews are out everywhere, clearing fallen trees from the road, and it takes a very long time to get onto the highway. So we load the kids and luggage into the car and send them off the to ferry while my son and I head to the bakery. But between the traffic and the lights out ... well, we never do get to the bakery - thank goodness they were gracious enough to understand - because we’d miss the ferry otherwise, so we turn down a side street and head to the airport. Except we keep hitting traffic jams, so we alternately speed and crawl to the Park ‘n Fly, and then boot it to the ferry terminal. I jump out of the car with 10 minutes to spare (they’re supposed to cut off ticket sales 15 minutes before sailing) and plead for them to sell me a ticket because my grandkids and my luggage, even my reading material, is on board, not to mention that I’d have to wait for hours for the next ferry. The kind fellow lets me through, and I hoof it to the ferry, where the staff are waiting for me to board so they can close up the boat and pull up anchor (or whatever they do). I should know by now not to choreograph things so tightly.

More about the weekend later ...

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Doug and Bob: Look what you started

Doug and Bob McKenzie did a Hoser rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas that started out with: On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ... Beer. How can you top that? Well, I saw a sign on my way to work the other day:

What says Christmas
Like booze and strippers?
Book your Christmas party here
And let our strippers
Show you their Ho Hos.

Nuff said.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

More on avoiding Christmas [music]

Actually, I realize that I’m not avoiding Christmas, per se. What I’m avoiding is “holiday music”. It’s the endless repetition of songs I was never crazy about in the first place. It would be like loving classical music, and then being ambushed by disco music for two months of the year, or loving country music and having the radio suddenly burst into the same two dozen opera songs, repeatedly, two months of the year. I suppose that for those who have grown up with “holiday” music and have fond memories associated with it, there’s a certain reverie that comes with that time of year. But for me, it’s just an annoyance.

This morning, in a Nyquil-induced stupor, I wandered over to the sofa and turned on MuchMusic (a youth-targeted music station like MTV) just in time to see a commercial where a star topping an Xmas tree starts to sing a generic holiday song, wherein an ornament goes postal and demands that it stop. After a frantic sequence involving earmuffs and a chainsaw, bedlam ensues and the ad closes with a “holiday wrap” theme. So it seems that my sentiment is echoed quite widely.

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Avoiding Christmas, Part 2

Alright, I admit defeat. I’ve been ambushed once too often to be able to say that I successfully avoided Christmas. What did it was Boston. Yep, good old Boston. The first booby trap was the ladies’ room at the airport. At first, I wasn’t going to count it, because I wasn’t going to count hearing one bar of a song (the length of time it takes to hit the mute button on the remote), and what was playing in the ladies’ room was a medley of the first bars of many Christmas tunes, all crammed together and played at a frenetic pace, an octave too high.

But then, I got into the shared van, and whatever radio station the [probably Middle Eastern] taxi driver had on had a Christmas portion. And then the hotel lobby ... and in Walgreen’s ... and then, no escaping it, the restaurant I wandered into (Vox Populi, the one with the sweet ex-Torontonian gay guy who took such good care to seat me where I could read my book) which unfortunately had lots of loud Christmas music playing.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Avoiding Christmas

This year, I have one simple goal: to not hear any Christmas music. As of last week, I realized how Hurculean a task this is going to be.

First, I have to stay out of stores. I realized this when I stepped into the elevator at IKEA last Friday and got ambushed by some jazz version of a Christmas tune. I don’t remember which one, just that I recognized the first bar, at which point I stuck my fingers in my ears and started to hum, loudly. I didn’t care that I made the other woman in the elevator so uncomfortable stood WAY on the other side and scooted out the door before it even opened all the way. But I figure that I can do any holiday shopping online, either through Amazon or eBay. Even my groceries can be ordered online through Stongs. I just have to make sure that I turn off the sound on my computer - some sites ambush you with cheesy Christmas music when you least expect it.

Second, I have to keep my hand firmly on the remote control. The second the commercials come on, hit the mute button. Watching actors contort their faces and offer up merchandise that I would never, ever want to buy, while wearing decidedly Christmas-themed clothing, can be quite amusing, actually. But the sound track that goes with it drives me round the bend. So watching television is no longer a relaxing activity, it’s one filled with great vigilence. And once December proper rolls around, I may have to stop watching altogether, as the insidious strains of those same recycled Xmas tunes will make their way into the plot lines themselves, and the most caustic of shows will go mushy “for the holidays.”

Third, stay out of the public domain. Shops blare music out of stores, and some office buildings pipe special Chrismas muzack into their lobbies and elevators. You notice that despite being the public domain, which suggests Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and other religious and cultural traditions would be honoured, it’s only the same old, same old Christmas music that gets played over and over and over and over again. I have yet to hear any Kwanzaa muzack, or Chanukah muzack. Just those same tired carols, over and over again each year.

Fourth, beware the radio. This one is the hardest because it’s hard to start changing stations while driving down the highway, and there is no guarantee that the change will be to a station not playing Christmas music at that moment. This year I have satellite radio, so I’m hoping it will be easier. Maybe I can find a nice Xmas-free station and just keep my radio tuned to that station until Dec 25th. What are the chances?

Fifth, avoid recitals. This one I’m not sure I can get away with. I’ve already been told I need to attend the recital of the granddaughter who sings with a juried choir. I can’t imagine they’ll be singing anything but Christmas carols. I won’t tempt fate by faking an illness (though it is tempting), but I am wondering if I can wear earplugs and just smile sweetly through a cotton batting fog.

Someone asked me the other evening why I hated Christmas music so much, and I must say that his premise is all wrong. I’m not Christian and don’t celebrate Christmas, so I can be benevolent and appreciate someone else’s tradition. But Christmas is one single day long, and I don’t want to listen to Christmas music for 16% of the year. That’s almost 60 days of the year, which is about 58 days too many days of Christmas music. (Can you imagine the outcry if the 8-day long holiday of Chunukah got its music billed for 4 months of the year? We’d all go mad listening to I Had A Little Dreidel five thousand times!)

I think what bugs me the most is the collective cultural blind spot to the invasiveness of Christian doctrine as part of Christmas. When my granddaughter went to a Montessori daycare that prided itself on it ecumenical-neutral stand, they would go into a Christmas frenzy at the beginning of November and continue on through the end of December. I heard more about Santa, reindeer, wise men and stars, and so on - it got nauseating for me, and I wasn’t even there all day! But talk about Chaunkah, and the response ws that “we don’t do anything religious.” So until things change, to adapt the words of the Seinfeld soup guy, No Music for Me!