This is one of my Zebra Grasses – harvested from a friend’s yard a couple of years ago
I’m off to a Friendsgiving this year. My friend recently lost her mom and today of all days, is her mom’s birthday, so going to her house and helping her cook for a crowd seemed like a no-brainer. I’m bringing the Cranberry Upside Down Cake and helping hands to peel and chop and a strong shoulder to lean on if needed.
I’m not a big fan of winter, but one of the nice things is when the foilage is all gone, I get a nice mountain view with spectacular winter sunsets.
Be kind to yourself today and if you find yourself at a table with obnoxious relatives…try not to stab anyone with the carving knife.
Open thread
schrodingers_cat
Not a big fan of winter either. Here is the sunset from my neck of the woods.
The mountains in the distance are not as tall as in your photo.
cope
Word is that only one attendee at our clan gathering today doesn’t share the values, attitudes , interests and beliefs of all the others. I suspect she will feel overwhelmed by all us heathen liberals and not cause any ruckus.
Since it is Thanksgiving day, several laws require the mention of food so…our contributions will include sweet potato pie, raspberry/cranberry fruit mold with white sauce and the turkey I will be cooking using Alton Brown’s turkey cooking method.
Eat well and prosper all.
Cheryl from Maryland
Happy Thanksgiving. Charlie Pierce over at Esquire posted a very moving gratitude prayer from the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations, Iroquois Confederation).
The prayer ends —
dmsilev
Minor crisis in meal prep: for the salad course, mom meant to buy baby spinach, but accidentally got a package of kale instead. Not a good substitute; massaging a bunch of leaves into edibility is not really on today’s to-do list.. Not surprisingly, stores aren’t open, so we ended up digging through the fridge to find some reasonably suitable soft green lettuce to use instead.
Turkey just came out of the oven.
TaMara
@Cheryl from Maryland: That’s behind a paywall, but here’s the pdf of the prayer for those interested.
WaterGirl
TaMara, both photos are stunning!
For me, the only redeeming thing about winter is snow.
H.E.Wolf
I’m thankful for all in this community, from occasional lurker to daily participant. Wishing everyone good health, good food, and good fortune… today, and on all days to come.
WaterGirl
@dmsilev:
Not a good substitute is an understatement!
However, I feel compelled to ask why anyone would care about salad when your chocolate cake awaits them at the end of the meal?
SiubhanDuinne
@TaMara:
Thank you. What a beautiful prayer. My kind of theology.
Your photos are lovely.
Alison Rose
It’s basically just another day for me, but it also happens to be Bruce Hornsby’s birthday, so enjoy this killer version of West LA Fadeaway with him on lead vocals at one of the Dead’s Fare Thee Well 50th anniversary shows. (Most of the comments are whiny bullshit about it being too slow, because they think if they complain enough, Jerry will be resurrected or something. FOH it sounds great.)
TaMara
Before I abscond, I keep meaning to mention B. Dylan Hollis. If you aren’t following him on TikTok or YouTube, you’re missing out on his comedic recipes. And now he has a book. He just brightens my day.
New Deal democrat
One little fact I did not know until this year is that, with the exceptions of bead stuffing and pie shells, all of the foods that we traditionally put on the table for Thanksgiving dinner all are native to the New World:, including:
Turkey
Cranberries
Squash
Cornbread
Potatoes
Green beans
Sweet potatoes
Pecans
Pumpkins
So, part of Thanksgiving is enjoying the cornucopia of plenty that the New World provides to us.
TaMara
@TaMara: And another one from Dylan, because much like potato chips, once I start, I cannot stop.
Cheryl from Maryland
@TaMara: thank you.
Villago Delenda Est
I hope for a peaceful Thanksgiving, but the kittens have other ideas.
kalakal
It’s not a holiday I grew up with but I hope all of you in your own way have a good day today and for many days to come
West of the Rockies
I was thinking of my personal weird Thanksgivings past… dinner in a hospital cafeteria by myself while my father had open-heart surgery, for instance.
But the one right after my ex and I separated was weirder. I was invited to the dinner my wife’s cousin’s ex-wife put on for the orphans and outcasts. She wanted to set me up with her friend, a sad drunk woman 10 years my senior. This woman of course got drunk, dropped and broke her wine glass, and tried to pick up the pieces on her bare knees and feet, sobbing.
My kid was 13. My ex had brought in her new boyfriend, a drunkard man-boy seven years her junior. It was to be the proud unveiling of the guy she booted me for. He got drunk, ran everybody off, and was quite ridiculous. My daughter loathed him.
I’m grateful that I remarried a wonderful woman (not the drunk, crying woman). My kid is 22 and doing well. My ex has yet to find anyone. I hope she can someday, if only for our kid’s sake. I want them to have a stepfather they don’t detest.
narya
Here is a link to native lands if you want to include land acknowledgments in your conversations today . . .
CaseyL
Just got a call that two people who were expected at my friends’ Thanksgiving Friday will not be able to come as they’re both sick.
We are gonna have more food, and more leftovers, than the mortal mind can encompass.
Perhaps everyone will go home with care packages.
Alison Rose
@TaMara: LOL forever when he called the wrappers on peanut butter cups “diapers”.
pieceofpeace
Enjoyed the photos, TaMara,
Your friend will feel sadness about her mom, and will, at the same time, be grateful for your attentive and caring presence! Nice to read of this today.
May you all shine your brightest self, in any chosen moment, and might we have many, many thanks in a year from now.
TriassicSands
Thanksgiving in the hospital. Day 19. Last night, the kitchen, which treats patients on a liquid diet as something less than an afterthought, kindly sent a bright, festive and colorful announcement to my room explaining that today, everyone would be getting roast turkey, cranberry sauce, etc. Except, of course, the people who received those notices but are on liquid or clear liquid diets. Very thoughtful of them. Maybe they would be willing to puree the announcement and let me drink that.
Liquid diets are extremely limited and ideally no one should be on one for more than a couple of weeks. I’ve been on one for four months. I’m in the hospital for two reasons — a complete intestinal blockage due to Crohn’s disease and severe malnutrition due to the inadequacy of a long term liquid diet and the unavailability of IV nutrition because of its outrageous out-of-pocket cost. (About $43,000.00 a year or more than $820 a week.) I’m getting TPN in the hospital and although it is far more expensive than getting it at home, insurance should make it affordable. I get a two liter bag of “nutrition” a day. Plus, a separate IV bag of “fats.” The nurse said that they are $2,000.00 each. So, instead of $820+ a week, it seems to be $14,000.00 a week. Yeah, that sounds reasonable. (Note: I don’t know if that number is accurate, but whatever the cost, it is more than at home since it is given in a hospital room.)
So, folks, eat your hearts out in envy. While your struggling through you holiday meal, I’ll be sipping a pureed soup. However, of the three soups on the menu, only one will be available — tomato soup. The three different soups are. 1) Pureed potato and leek soup, which has been out of stock and unavailable more days than it has been available. And out of stock completely for more than a week now and there are no plans for it to be back in stock before some time next week. 2) Pureed chicken and rice soup. That, too, has been out of stock more often than not, and when it is in stock they often run out of it by supper time. Last night it was still available, so I ordered two bowls (they are very small) and asked the nurse to put them in the refrigerator so they could be reheated today. Overnight someone took them and so my planning ahead was to no avail. 3) The third soup is tomato soup. I really like tomato soup, which is why I ate it virtually every day for four months — to the point of becomig somewhat tired of it — before being admitted to the hospital That is why having tomato soup here every day, because the other two options are out of stock, doesn’t sound all that great.
My local hospital, which has a dangerously inept ED, but is otherwise OK, has an unbelievable food service. The menu is remarkable. Here in the big city at the University of Washington Medical Center, the menu is mediocre and the performance of the kitchen subpar. The norm is to get a very simple order — three liquid items — wrong. They send things I didn’t order, don’t send things I did, and routinely get the quantity wrong. If I order two, I’m more likely to get one or none. My medical care here has been excellent, but the food service is mediocre to poor. Good thing my main nutrition comes in a bag — a very expensive bag.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone
ETA: Today, I’m thankful for all the wonderful nurses and CNAs who have cared for me with kindness, compassion, and humor. I’m thankful for the care I’ve received from doctors and all the work that someone has done and is doing to try to arrange affordable home TPN for me.
And, finally, I am thankful the food service hasn’t poisoned me or given me food poisoning.
schrodingers_cat
@TriassicSands: I hope you feel better soon. Paws crossed.
TriassicSands
@schrodingers_cat:
Thank you. The next several months are going to be a blast. The plan is to get me healthy enough for surgery, so they can remove a significant part of my small intestine. So, out of the hospital to prepare to go back in the hospital.
That said, I’m in much better condition now than when I was admitted.
NotMax
TriassicSands
There’s always Jones for the solids challenged.
;)
TriassicSands
My last cat, Rachel, died in July at the age of 20 years, 1 month and 1 week. She was a true force of nature. The undisputed Empress of the Universe. Though only about 8-1/2 pounds she would have crushed Steve with her iron will. (She didn’t like other cats and no matter how big they were, she would put them in their place. She made me think of a mama grizzly bear going after a much larger male bear in order to protect here offspring)
It would be really nice to have another feline companion, but with my health, I wouldn’t bring a cat home knowing that I could, at any time, no longer be able to care for it.
TriassicSands
@NotMax:
I asked them to puree a turkey breast. No response.
I think I’ll pass on the Jones, but thanks for the recommendation. I guess.It sounds kinda iffy, to say the least.
TriassicSands
It’s been confirmed: There is NO pureed chicken and rice soup today. No pureed potato and leek soup, either. Hey, they haven’t run out of tomato soup…YET!
Jackie
TaMara: Thank you for the upside down cranberry cake recipe! It will be making its debut later today to a family who loves all things cranberry!
And Happy Thanksgiving to you and all BJ jackals!
NotMax
@Jackie
Back before cranberry juice and the like became commonplace cranberries were one of a very limited list of foods for which the otherwise banned Red Dye #2 was permitted, Dunno if that still holds true.
The argument then was that no one could realistically consume enough cranberries over a given period of time for it to become dangerous.
Marc
@TriassicSands: Best of luck! I was lucky enough to get laparoscopic surgery when I needed to have part of my small intestine removed. Not much pain, home a few days later, and I was pretty much back to eating normally within a couple of weeks.
LiminalOwl
@TriassicSands: ugh, what a way to spend Thanksgiving! Or any time. Wishing you hope and healing.
(Your departed cat sounds like our Zenna, who is only 13 but of similar size and will. This week she chased Toby out of the bedroom and has somehow maintained sovereignty over her space by glaring at him any time he tries to return. I miss him sleeping next to me, but Z is adamant.)
Alison Rose
@TriassicSands: 💜💜💜💜💜
Jackie
@NotMax: The trivia we learn on BJ!😁
Glidwrith
A holiday observance for those that don’t want to invoke a deity:
We are grateful for the work of our hands, hearts and minds, that we may continue to celebrate our joy in our family, friends and lives.
Happy holidays, Juicers!
CarolPW
@TriassicSands:
I know something about Crohn’s because I am missing most of my illium, and recommendations for post-surgery Crohn’s patients were the most helpful i found in first figuring why I was shitting my brains out all the time and then what could be done about it with diet and/or medication. Shitting ones brains out is much better than a total intestinal blockage but still life-altering.
I’ve figured out a lot about diet since then. With a joint bachelors in chem and bio, a Ph.D. in agricultural and environmental chemistry, a traneeship in environmental health sciences, and an experimental outlook, I used my self as an experimental subject. I’m also a good cook and a foodie. I have gotten to the point where I know what I can and cannot eat, and I can maintain my health and weight now without taking anything except B vitamins.
I still get blockages because I have had more abdominal surgeries, and so lots of adhesions, than anyone should be expected to tolerate. None have been as bad as the first and I have not lost any more of my intestines.
Rachel Bakes
@TaMara: My sil and niece introduced us to his videos on Easter and now he’s a family favorite. Made his Ritz Rolo sandwiches as a dessert appetizer and they are a winner! Time to start keeping ritz and rolls in the house for when I want something sweet and kind of decadent without the fuss or wait.
TriassicSands
@Marc:
Thank you. My problem is that because of the damage to my intestines, I can’t absorb nutrients, and I have very serious malnutrition. As a result, I am not healthy enough to have surgery — they feel that I would probably never recover. So, now the goal is to find a way to improve my condition. Our glorious profit-driven health care system is not cooperating.
TriassicSands
@CarolPW:
You’re hired! Seriously, as I explained to Marc, the damage to my intestines has resulted in severe malnutrition. After four months on a liquid diet, i was finally failing badly. Then, the second blockage took place. They can’t do surgery because of the malnutrition resulting from the damage to my small intestine and my inability to absorb nutrients. At the same time, I’ve needed frequent blood transfusions for the past 12 years, but it is a constant battle trying to get enough PRBCs to keep me functional. The system and many of its doctors believe that every person is exactly like every other person and thus one protocol fits all. Only, I become severely symptomatic when my hemoglobin falls to a point where most people aren’t symptomatic at all. As a result, many doctors (most) refuse to give me a transfusion until my hemoglobin is almost a point lower than it was when I was first hospitalized and they told me I had lost betwee a quarter and a third of my blood. Back then, they gave me four units of blood. Today, I get one, leaving severely debilitated. The kicker is they could maintain me in a relatively healthy state (though still anemic) for exactly the same amount of blood as maintaining me barely able to stand up. They consciously chose to keep me debilitated, while saving zero blood, which is an issue because of the pandemic-caused blood shortage. I have, with tremendous effort, found hematologists who will treat me as an individual, but they don’t determine whether I get any blood or enough. It is an insane system. I’ve gotten three transfusions here in the past 19 days, but they can’t give me enough to relieve the symptoms, because of “policy.” One unit is all I can get regardless of how low my Hgb is. Last week I got a one unit transfusion on Thursday and then lost all that blood and more in one day and got a second transfusion on Friday. Sound policy would have given me two units on Thursday, but the doctor told me i was lucky to get one. They don’t save blood, they just make me weaker.
TriassicSands
@Alison Rose:
Thank you, Alison Rose. (Note; I’m hungry enough to eat at least eight hearts.)
CarolPW
@TriassicSands:
On the other side of this, if the surgery just puts you where I was after losing my ilium you will be pleased to know that turkey dinner, gravy, stuffing and sweet potatoes sit well. No regular potatoes though, and no coffee (not even decaf).
Mike S. (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)
@TriassicSands: I can’t imaagine how you are getting through this at all. I was inthe hospital for just 9 days at the end of August for a complete blockage of my small intestine and surgery to repair. It was an internal hernia due to my intestine getting into a band of superflouos tissue that I’ve had my whole life. No food at all for 4 days then finnally IV nutrition for a few days then a liquid diet.
Just the thought of going through that for longer scares me silly.
All the best, I’ll be keeping you in my thoughts.
TriassicSands
@CarolPW:
My doctors have said that after surgery eating will be “recreational.” What that means is that I will be able to eat solid foods, but only very small portions.
So, a 15 pound turkey instead of my usual 65 pound turkey. (Not really.)
TriassicSands
I have to go now. I want to thank everyone who offered kind thoughts for my recovery.