t2: how to have a feast

My mother-in-law is visiting this weekend for Thanksgiving, except that she didn't come until Friday, which means we had to have a second celebration. Necessarily. It was fun to play hostess and roast my first turkey. Okay, so she took care of the turkey, but I watched. I mean, I don't really eat meat usually, so I had no clue. I've never spent a whole day preparing for a meal like this before, so it was definitely a learning experience. I'm so glad we had some great friends to share it all with!

you will have to start with a full refrigerator

and wash multiple sinks-full of dishes

on a chilly day like today, you can always chill some things outside since the fridge is as stuffed as your belly is going to be

you might have to sneak away for a book break every now and then

the cats will be ready long before the turkey is served

but finally the spread will be out, friends will arrive, and you'll be having such a nice time you'll completely forget that you wanted to take more photographs of the evening.

thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful holiday. It's so much simpler than Christmas. Sure, there's a big dinner to prepare, but I think sharing good food with friends and family is one of the nicest things you can do. Now that we live in Chicago, we have spent Thanksgiving with some more distant relatives for the past 3 years. It's comforting to be with family, and to know that they are nearby should we ever need them, even if we are separated by a few branches on the family tree. I always bring a different side dish, and this year I was proudly named the vegetable queen. Fresh green beans the first year that definitely outshined your standard mushy casserole, kale salad last year that gave some people their first taste of that amazing vegetable, and Brussels sprouts this year.

It's good to have a simple holiday, allowing plenty of time to just sit and relax with family, and to reflect on all that we have to be grateful for. It feels a bit cliché to write about this, but we really don't take enough time for this in our normal hectic lives. I'm sure we would all be much happier and healthier if we did so. Just having 4 days away from the hospital is a major blessing! Already I've listened to good music with friends, gone to a yoga class, taken a few walks, cleaned the apartment, lounged around after the big meal, watched the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, slept for 11 hours last night (!), and it's only Friday.

While I was preparing the Brussels sprouts and Ian was washing dishes, we listened to the radio a bit and were intrigued by a question the reporter posed (rhetorically?) to the audience: What books are you thankful for? As we thought about it we realized that this is very different than asking what your favorite books are. Right now, I'm thankful for the Brothers Karamazov because I'm really enjoying it right now. Interestingly, one of the first books I thought of is called Anticancer, which talks about how diet, exercise, and stress affect our health in a very significant way. I think reading this book played a big role in sparking my interest in integrative & preventative medicine, which has influenced my life in a major way. I'm not sure what else, but I really like this question and plan to think on it a bit more.

How about you, what books are you thankful for?

2 more salads

Way back when, or maybe just a few months ago, I had the grand idea of sharing a series of salad recipes. Of course life gets in the way, so I should be more careful about making statements like that. It's like every time I have a week off from school or work - I begin making a list of things I'd like to do about a month in advance, and inevitably fill it with much more than anyone could fit into that time span. Oh well.

In the meantime, summer has faded and blustery winds are blowing in. But I do have a couple salad suggestions, photos and all, that have been set aside ready to go, just waiting for a bit of time to type them up. And when I say suggestions, I mean I don't really think it's worth taking the time to make up exact measurements because I generally just wing it, and I imagine that will work nicely for you as well. Cooking is the most fun when it's variations on a theme.

1. Sauteed Corn Salad
This is delicious with corn freshly cut from the cob. You could try it with frozen or canned, but I'm doubtful.

Ingredients:
Corn on the cob, at least 1 per person
red onion, diced
fresh thyme
fresh rosemary, chopped
feta cheese
almond slivers or pumpkin seeds, toasted (or any other nut or seed)

Heat some olive oil in a large pan. Add a handful of diced onion and let it cook for about 5 minutes before cutting the corn straight into the pan. Mix to coat everything evenly with the olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and a few springs of fresh thyme and rosemary.

Let this cook until everything begins to caramelize. The key is keeping the heat up enough to let the corn and onions brown around the edges and stick to the bottom of the pan a bit - when you scrape that off, it adds an amazing sweetness to the dish.

Top with crumbled feta and toasted almond slivers and pumpkin seeds.

2. Tuna Salad
I am not a fan of the traditional tuna salad, or any mayonnaise-based salad for that matter. But I do like tuna. I consider this a fresher take on the traditional dish, and it still gets some creaminess from the oil and feta.

Ingredients:
1 can of tuna fish
olive oil
feta cheese
capers
lemon juice
fresh parsley, finely chopped
red onion, diced

Combine all ingredients well, balancing out the olive oil, feta, caper liquid and lemon juice to get the blend of richness and acidity that best suits you.

Enjoy on a bed of greens, a slice of bread, or however you usually eat tuna salad.