2020, Business, Family, Food, Gatherings, holidays, home, Seasons, Uncategorized

Happy Thanks-Carb-Giving

55 Comments

For the first time ever, it’s just me and YA today.  Even though it’s just the two of us, YA is determined that at least the food will be the same as always.   Normally all I ever bring to Thanksgiving dinner is my Sage Sourdough Stuffing (vegetarian) and sometimes a dessert.  With at least four or five other families, everything else is covered.

I did find some nice platter-sized paper plates and matching napkins along with a paper table covering at The Dollar Store, so we’ll have a festive table.  Here’s the final menu:

  • Sage Sourdough Stuffing
  • Scalloped Cheesy Potatoes
  • Mashed Potatoes w/ Vegetarian Gravy  (YA making)
  • Sweet Potato Casserole
  • Green Bean/French Fried Onion Casserole  (YA making)
  • Cranberry Sauce
  • Dinner Rolls
  • Cornbread
  • Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

Any plans for the day?  In a particularly difficult year, is there a way you are maintaining any gratitude?

55 thoughts on “Happy Thanks-Carb-Giving”

  1. Oh yes! Gratitude is not an issue, at all. I have somehow managed to surround myself with a community of kindred spirits. They lift me up daily.

    Our plans for the day are modest. I’ve ordered a complete Thanksgiving feast, including a pumpkin pie, from a local restaurant. All I need to do is reheat it, arrange it on a platter, and serve. I’ll plate up a serving for Philip and take it to him, so that he, too, can enjoy a Thanksgiving meal and a friendly chat.

    Finding things to be grateful for is not difficult at all. While there are lots of things that aren’t as I want them to be, there are far more than I have any right to expect that are perfect. I have a roof over my head, plenty to eat, a mind that’s reasonably nimble and interested in exploring all kinds of stuff, and lots of unread books to delve into. There have been lots of trials and tribulations in my life, but on balance, I have no legitimate reason to complain.

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  3. I made two pies last night (peach and maple pecan), whilst embroiled in funny, long distance cooking drama in both Brookings and Tacoma. I shall write a post about it.

    Husband brined a small turkey in buttermilk. He is the sole chef today. I am staying out of the kitchen. It is a simple meal. Roast turkey, roasted potatoes, cranberry salad, and peas..

    I am very grateful to be home with good food and a good husband. I maintain hope and gratitude by slowing down, breathing mindfully, and doing daily devotions. It also helps to laugh.

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        1. Is this something new? I never heard of it before this year and now I know three people who are doing buttermilk turkey today.

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  4. I am alone today but my immediate family is gathering via Zoom at noon. Usually I spend my Thanksgivings with my brother-in-law’s family so this will be a special treat even though we will not be physically together. My dinner will consist of mashed sweet potatoes, roasted vegetables, turkey dressing (Stove Top), whole cranberry sauce, and homemade dinner rolls. No turkey but I might grill a small chicken breast. As a nod to the dinners I had many years ago with my mom’s large family, I even made cherry jello with bananas. One of my young cousins was very picky and would only eat the that along with a roll and maybe a little turkey. I will be missing homemade pumpkin pie but that’s a small price to pay for being safe.

    I am grateful that during these difficult times I have a roof over my head, enough food, family and friends who are following guidelines to stay safe & healthy, a library that is accessible, the Trail, and that I have good health.

    Happy Thanksgiving to All!

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  5. We’re getting a late start with a small turkey, but there’s no deadline because it’s just the two of us. : ) He’ll toss in the giant carrot to roast the last hour… I’ll do yukon gold mashed potatoes and a wilted chard salad, both from our garden harvest, and cranberry sauce; I made cornbread last night. Husband will do a pumpkin pie, and there is cinnamon ice cream.

    We’ll take a plate over to a nearby friend who is alone, and some pie to W, see if we can get it past the “sentries” at his asst. living place.

    We’re listening to tapes of choral music that one or both of us has sung in choruses, which is particularly uplifting today and makes me so grateful that I can still sing. Will probably watch a movie later, and maybe my (deferred) CBS Sunday Morning.

    Also grateful for any and all connections with people we love, here, there, and online! What would we do without our computers, baboons?

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  6. The only observance of the holiday I am sure to experience will be our kitchen’s attempt to prepare the Thanksgiving dinner. I expect it to be better than our usual fare, albeit a pathetic failure by the standards of previous Thanksgiving meals. My dining partner will be a sweet woman named Anne, born in Scotland but a long time citizen.

    The most loving act I can do for my daughter is to not make claims on her timed. She’s already stretched mighty thin without feeling obliged to call me, although at some point she will probably call, and I always enjoy talking to her. Her conservative husband will likely wish me well, and he is far too polite to mention politics.

    We are in an odd moment. I would like to celebrate the end of the ugliest presidency of recent years, and yet it isn’t that kind of moment, is it? Too many COVID deaths. Too many challenges ahead for the new presidency. Even people as old as I am have a good chance of surviving long enough to get the vaccine. Things could be better, but things could sure be worse. Hell, things were worse just a few weeks ago. Tonight I’ll lift a glass of wine and express thanks for my many blessings, including you folks. Be well, dear friends, and keep those masks in place.

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    1. Truth here. I too take as little time as possible from daughter, and keep my wife from doing so.
      Just received a package. Apologized to postal worker. She said it was less to deliver tomorrow which will be a crazy day. Reminds me to thankful for all those do work at risk, from modest to overwhelming, for all our benefit.

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      1. The rules keep changing, PJ. We are supposedly back to eating in the dining room, two diners at each table. That keeps us several feet apart. Given our degraded hearing, that there can be little or no conversation. My dining partner and I have both come through sessions of wobbly health, so we’ve avoided the dining room in spite of having paid for meals down there. We currently try to eat together once a day.

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  7. Scallopped potatoes are started, gooey butter pumpkin cake is in the oven. Did sweet potatoes and stuffing yesterday. Right now I’m watching old Thanksgiving day parade stuff and having a fruit smoothie in the hopes that it’ll counteract the carb fest later on.

    Pretty much the baboons who have come before me this morning have said what I wanted to say. But I will do a gratitude shout out to Dale, because without him this baboon troop that I’ve grown to rely on so much wouldn’t exist.

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  9. When I saw the title of today’s post I briefly saw it as Thanks-Curb-Giving, which is what I’m having this year, having picked up a curbside hot turkey plate from a local restaurant yesterday. Actually, I picked up two – had one for dinner last night, will have one tonight, and probably make a third dinner with the leftovers for tomorrow.

    I’ve been very grateful that I didn’t quit my job at the flower shop last year. I had been thinking about it, but another of the office ladies retired in the fall, and I thought I’d wait until someone new was thoroughly trained in to replace her. So when the stay at home order rolled around in the spring, I had a history of about 17 hours a week, on average, over the past couple of years, and that combined with my self-employment income was enough to get me into the unemployment program. Which was generous, at least for awhile.

    I went back and revisited an old blog post this morning, one from nine years ago when Clyde invited us to write a song or poem for Thanksgiving, with some pretty creative results.

    Over the River

    As always, I am thankful for this group.

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        1. Surprised that some rendition of this song didn’t show up in the mix:

          In addition to Bob Franke, who wrote it, it has also been recorded by Steve Goodman and Sally Rogers.

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  10. My daughter and her husband have a system for talking through windows, inside and outside mic and speakers, for nursing home visits. They will come over about 3, after they have their meal, and bring pie, an apple pie by mr. Tuxedo, his first pie, and made his own crust of course. They will be on our patio and we inside with patio door open. After they leave we will bake our 4 lb turkey and rest of basic thanksgiving meal.
    Thankful son’s cancer was accidentally found very early. Only a few cancer cells in early development and all removed with kidney. Thankful for slow progress of wife’s dementia.
    OT story: daughter was filming her thanksgiving message with camera set on small tripod on table. Their funny cat Bean jumped up and say staring into the camera. She laughed hard about it. She incorporated some into the message.

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  11. Good morning! Thanks all for being a part of this.

    The farming year has been so good; it started off with good weather, and the extra special fact I just had the TIME to be around to enjoy that. A good growing season, good yields, decent prices this fall… just talked with some guys at the parts place yesterday and we all kinda feel the same: “Other than “ALL THIS” (waving hands in the air) it’s been a pretty good year.” We know we have a lot to be grateful and thankful for.
    I try to focus on that. We all do some exercises for energy medicine. I take my few minutes every night to stand outside and appreciate our place in the universe.

    My mom’s senior place has been locked down more the last month or so. Mom has had some medical issues and none of us have been able to see her lately, but, my one sister was a geriatric Nurse Practitioner and she knew the head nurse in Mom’s place, and a sister-in-law was also a nurse, so between the two of them, they’ve been keeping a close eye on mom’s meds. We’re all grateful for that and we know how lucky we are to have them doing that. Mom talks to at least one of us every day and she’s doing OK. It’s always an issue just trying to get the drugs figured out and under control.
    Mom has always been pretty social. She’s a trooper and making the best she can of all this. We had been standing outside her window and talking to her, but she’s moved to another room now and the window is too tall to see through. Shucks. How suspicious would it look if I carried a small step ladder over there??

    We’re doing a ham today and I’m going to try that on the grill. Potatoes from our garden. Oreo Cookie salad was made last night. Daughter requested stuffing. Will just be the three of us and we’ll zoom with son and DiL later. Kelly will talk with her brother and family. My family has been texting all morning.
    My mom started texting us earlier this summer; just to let everyone know she was up and moving. And that turned into us 5 kids texting throughout the day about random stuff…It’s been really nice.

    Here’s hoping you all can enjoy the day in some way, shape, or form.

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    3. i am late to respond ben but the magic for you meat eaters in the grill is slow cooking at 250ish fora long time vs blasting it at 400 for 45 minutes. brisket ribs birds all with a little smoke involved

      i’ve turned into a grilling enthusiast last year or two

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      1. Right as ever tim. Indirect heat, grilling at 235. It is pre-cooked of course. Made a glaze of syrup, ketchup, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and just a little whiskey for me and the glaze. It’s warming up nicely. Potatoes are done and mashed and will be reheated. Stuffing is cooking… It’s a nice quiet day.

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  12. Thankful for Trail Baboon to start. You folks are priceless.

    Thankful for all the little things that didn’t use to mean as much as the big things–family, friends, good health, jobs, enough money, etc. But this year puts into perspective that all the little things combined allow us to be thankful for the big things. COVID puts into sharp perspective how much we all took for granted. And an unstable society makes me almost nostalgic for the unrest and turmoil of the 60s and 70s, when I was a kid and young adult and didn’t know what I didn’t know.

    But feeling melancholy today, knowing that there’s a good chance the pandemic worsens in the next few weeks due to so many people traveling and cross-contaminating each other from all over the country. Expecting more deaths and another parabolic wave before that vaccine gets distributed. That’s a huge thing to be thankful for: smart people who care about the health and wellbeing of the world. If the vaccines work and knock out this virus, I hope someone wins a Nobel prize in medicine or peace or something to recognize an amazing accomplishment–fastest vaccine ever developed (that I know of), at least according to Dr, Fauci’ heard him on NPR yesterday. Poor guy needs a longggg vacation after this is over.

    Chris in Owatonna

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    1. It’s puzzling to me that so many people are traveling for Thanksgiving even despite all the dire warnings about the shortage of hospital staff. I would like to think that the results of this experiment would show some Darwinism at work, but so many people just don’t have the option to stay home and keep themselves safe, and will get caught up in the same peril as the people who deliberately chose to ignore the risk.

      My older niece recently tested positive. She’s pregnant, which puts her at an elevated risk for severe illness, and could put her at risk for preterm birth.

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      1. My brother-in-law who is a cardiac nurse in Ames, Iowa, said his hospital is really stressed. They can only admit 1 cardiac patient per day, and sometimes not even that. Normally they have 4 per day. He got exposed to COVID about 10 days ago from a patient with COVID who refused to mask up.

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      1. I think there have been a couple of drownings this year in the BWCAW. Haven’t seen the latest story (we only get the Sunday paper). But successfully tripping in canoe country is like dealing with COVID. Those who don’t take nature seriously and don’t respect are at high risk of disaster.

        I’ll always remember the margarine commercial from back in the 60s (maybe 70s). “It’s not NICE to fool with Mother Nature,” followed by her unleashing a thunderbolt across the sky or something like that.

        I do love it in the BW in good part because traveling alone (or even with others) brings me to life like no other activity. All senses are on full alert. I realize how powerless I am against all the forces of the wild–animals, storms, wind, cold, even climbing over a downed tree or unloading the canoe at a portage can bring disaster, or at least some bumps and bruises and maybe a good scare.

        Chris (planning on at least TWO trips next year since I didn’t get up there in 2020 . . . which might have been for the best. 🙂 )

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  15. I took a photo of our feast and sent it to the children, prompting them to notice that I used both the gravy boats each gave me. No playing favorites.

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    1. I took a picture of the turkey, which was so golden brown it looked like one from a magazine cover. I did not think to photograph the entire feast.

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  16. So much for Rise and Shine,

    I am late to our party today. I cooked yesterday and today, then my son and his wife came to get their food, and we ate separately. The cherry pie made from our own cherries was so good. Then at 4pm the whole family had a zoom meeting to catch up from Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. We are usually such a loud bunch, and with mute buttons on and the need for everyone to take a turn in such an orderly manner, it did not seem like us. My youngest niece recently came out to the family, and we all got to meet her partner today, which was wonderful.

    PJ, that turdunkin thingie was so strange. But I am thankful to our group here for all the fun, support and stimulating ideas and discussions. I never would have ever encountered a turdunkin thingie without you all.

    May I also endorse the grilling method with indirect heat, then some high heat. That creates tender, delicious grilled meat. I especially like our Weber Grill for that method.

    A happy and thankful day to you all. Chris is correct when he says we all took so much for granted, then as COVID stayed and stayed, I think we all realized this. I for one am humbled by our nation’s near-miss with authoritarian government. I did not think this could happen here, and now I know it could have very easily.

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    1. Homemade cranberry sauce with an apple cut up into it. The apple mellows the cranberries.. Roasted Brussels sprouts are good. My favorite side dish I have written about here before—my grandma’s tapioca fruit salad made with the large tapioca pearls. I did not make it because you can only make a giant batch of it, and as much as I love it, no one needs that much of that side dish. Next year, when we are all back together again, we will make it.

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    2. Mama Stamberg’s Cranberry Relish is my favorite side for the Thanksgiving feast. I also like Brussel sprouts. We didn’t have either this year, there was more than plenty of food from Holman’s Table.

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      1. Sweet potatoes here as well. We make the one that stops your arteries when you just think about it with the cream and butter and sugar brown sugar and pecans

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