Moody for the Holidays

The Thanksgiving turkey is in the oven and I am enjoying the nostalgia which the aroma of the roasting meat brings to my mind.

The food itself — the main course, the stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, baked lima beans, cole slaw, sweet potatoes, rolls and tomato juice — is inconsequential for my real motives.   After all, I’m doing all this cooking for just…me.  We have not invited anyone to share in our feast.  To be fair, no one, not even my brother, invited us for their Thanksgiving dinner.

Having guests over today would not have worked anyway.  Warrior Queen is under the weather, and (truth be told) I haven’t really invited her to share the turkey dinner with me either.  Yes, this situation does make for a certain awkwardness being we both live under the same roof and all, but hey, this is her choice.

Warrior Queen hates turkey. I will enjoy the meal itself today and, if she is feeling better later, she can enjoy the Thanksgiving entrée of her choice: a single serving lasagna.   Oh, she has expressed some interest in having some stuffing and she is certainly welcome to as many crescent rolls as her heart desires.

What?  Did you think I intended to eat my feast in front of my bride without offering her a morsel?  Please!  What do you take me for?  An insensitive conservative?

As I mentioned above, I have other motives for preparing a meal for at least 4-6 people.   This is part of my plan every year.  I spend so much at our local grocery store to qualify for a “free” turkey, cook it for one meal, then repack and freeze the leftover meat and stuffing for innumerable lunches or dinners throughout the rest of the year. 

Sometimes I’m able to have enough turkey meals for myself until it’s time for the grocers to offer their “free” Easter ham.   And then the whole process is repeated.  A large chunk of meat is brought to the house, cooked for a holiday meal which only I enjoy. (Yes, Warrior Queen is averse to the holiday ham as well.)  Then I repackage the leftover slices and random chunks for use as breakfast or sandwiches until it’s free-Thanksgiving-turkey-giveaway-time again.

Oh yes, I did mention nostalgia.  The roasting fills the house with a good old time quality of memories from my childhood.   Mom would have taped cardboard cutouts of Pilgrims and turkeys throughout the house in the weeks leading up to the feast. She would also break out the Currier and Ives Olde Curiosity Shoppe china which we only used for holiday dinners.

Dad, being the professional meat cutter, would prepare the turkey and personally oversee the roasting.   Then he would make the gravy from the drippings left behind when the bird itself had been lifted out of the pan. Then the entrée, vegetables and side dishes would be brought into the dining room.

Small glasses would be filled with an appetizer tomato juice cocktail.   We would fold hands, bow heads, give thanks and consume the banquet.  This is the way it was at our house for several decades.

Mom and dad are gone, and little brother will most likely be busy with his in-laws for the holiday.  This leaves me to recreate those old family gatherings as best I can with the Currier and Ives china and tomato juice appetizer.  Yes, it will be a lot of food for one person, but I will be in a better frame of mind, safe with my memories, and away from the uncertainty of current events.

Otherwise I’m not in a holiday mood!

(Thank you for reading.  Bon appetite, America!)