We had fall for about a week and a half. As of November 1, it had started to get cooler--the nights were even fairly cold! It was great! But today and most of this week is in the 80's.
I have decided that September and October in Houston (and part of November, evidently) are pretty much a non-season. Because according to the calendar, it's fall, but the truth is that it is still summer. Reading Facebook statuses in October was cracking me up, because all of these dear Houstonians were saying things like, "Welcome, fall! I'm so glad you're here!" And the main difference was that it was in the 80's rather than the 90's. I'd just chuckle and say to myself, "Bless their hearts, they don't know it's still summer." (I don't mean to sound condescending to Houstonians, by the way, because I said exactly the same thing before I moved away.)
Anyway, one of the reasons this period feels like a non-season to me is that the food doesn't reflect what is going on outside. I mean, I love some good tomatoes and watermelon in the summer, but those understandably go away in the fall. So even though it still feels like summer outside, the grocery stores ship in fall foods and declare a change of seasons with their fall decor and pumpkins. But to me, making butternut squash soup when it's 89 degrees outside just doesn't feel right. So something about the food not matching the weather is draining my inspiration for cooking. I guess I am much more inspired by seasonal produce than I had previously realized. So I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving and am hoping that it will be nice and cool so that squash and mashed potatoes and turkey and sage and pumpkin pie will feel just right.
Speaking of Thanksgiving, has anyone noticed that none of the stores have any Thanksgiving things out? It's all Christmas stuff! Y'all, I love Christmas, and it's my favorite holiday, but seriously, I have been to three stores in the last 24 hours trying to find a few Thanksgiving decorative and food items to send to someone, and nobody has anything except for a few paper napkins! No turkeys on anything; there's not even any fall themed stuff! And evidently people in Texas don't brine their turkeys, because no one knows what I'm talking about when I ask where the brining bags are. I think I am just going to have to make a trip to Williams Sonoma to get the stuff I want.
When did Thanksgiving become the non-holiday? Why is a bigger deal made of Halloween than of Thanksgiving? It's a little disheartening to me that the retail world has decided to skip it, because it's one of my favorite holidays.
So here's my suggestion: In an effort to get into the Thanksgiving spirit, let's all leave a comment having something to do with Thanksgiving. It could be a reason you love this holiday, a favorite memory, or, heck, your mom's pumpkin pie recipe. And here's a bonus question, just for fun: Do you prefer jellied or homemade cranberry sauce? I'm looking forward to reading your comments!
10 comments:
Oh, Lauren, I am SO with you on this. I hate that Thanksgiving seems to get tossed aside more and more each year. Try Hobby Lobby for some Thanksgiving themed stuff.I bought Fall, not Halloween, M&M's at Target several weeks ago so I would have them for M&M cookies at Thanksgiving. Can't find them now-it's all red and green M&M's.
I am a fan of the canned jellied cranberry sauce.
And the warm weather is just not conducive to us drinking the wonderful Williams-Sonoma Five Apple Cider simmered with their mulling spices!
As for favorites...I love how the Thanksgiving meal always tastes the same, and that the particular combination of flavors really only happens once a year. I love the colors in the dishes and table linens. I love that our family writes down what we are thankful for each year, both the silly and the serious things, and that my girls and my sister's boys still enjoy being together with us older folks for the day.
Blessings to your sweet family!
Here's your problem: you got married and immediately went off to the Northern parts and developed all your cooking chops there. No one down here brines a turkey. We fry 'em and smoke 'em in these here parts.
Yes, try Williams Sonoma & ask the folks at Central Market. There's also a place on West Gray near Shepherd called Sur La Table, that is a gourmet kitchen shop. Surely you can find brining bags somewhere in this city!
I tried to get all Southern Living-y and make homemade cranberry sauce one year and the verdict: the stuff is just plain nasty, no matter what you do.
And one year a chef friend of mine from NYC brined and I had no idea what she was talking about. And I'm kinda smart. ;)
How you doing? When you gonna come visit our church?
You're making me nervous! I have this horrible suspicion that I'm going to feel just as outraged about Texas's lack of diverse weather when we eventually move back. Let me see if I can cheer you up: In the past 2 weeks, I've only had about 3 hot showers. My shoes seem to be in a perpetual state of damp. My lips are constantly chapped. And the sun only "shines" about 8 hours a day. Yes, I get to make soup, but you have to remember the bad with the good. :D And any cranberry sauce that means less work for me is my favorite.
It *should* get cool (not cold, though) by Thanksgiving, if the past 5 years are any indication. Just keep reminding yourself how mild winter/spring weather will be. :)
W-S and Central Market both have brining bags, I believe. What kind of turkey do you buy? I've made a wild turkey and it was super delicious -- the problem is, it doesn't taste like Thanksgiving to me, since we grew up eating plain old Butterballs.
Also, one LOUD vote for homemade cranberry sauce. Re Thanksgiving, I love that it's not about gifts, just about FOOD and family and spending time in the kitchen, while the house gets warm and fragrant from all the food. Can't wait!
I have been developing a theory about why Thanksgiving seems to be treated like a pariah:
Halloween and Christmas, in the secular world, have become all about getting. Getting candy, getting gifts. Getting, getting, getting.
Whereas Thanksgiving is a holiday about stopping and counting your blessings and being content with what you have.
There is no profit to be made from Thanksgiving, and it does not encourage the "it's all about me" attitude our society has come to adopt. Therefore, Thanksgiving is out.
Now, reasons I love Thanksgiving:
1. I get to wear my Turkey Hat
2. I get to spend all day with my family.
3. There is guaranteed to be great food, great fun, great games and a few Helen Keller jokes whenever my family gets together at Thanksgiving.
4. My mom always makes sure we stop and reflect on what we have to be thankful for even after we made fun of her that one year that she had us do scripture readings.
5. I love the Macy's Parade and the dog show that always follows!
I also agree that heat in November is too much. I want to fire up the gas longs, don my slanket and footie pajamas and drink some spiced tea already!
I love the whole Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year season! It is true that Thanksgiving doesn't have the marketing like Christmas because of the business world but I think if you surveyed a random group of people the most common memories of Thanksgiving would be special family time and food and maybe stopping to give thanks. Giving thanks is something many of us do on a daily basis, but for those who don't, a day to remind us to stop and be thankful is important. One of my special Thanksgiving memories is of my Momo's fruitcake. She had soaked it every other day for weeks with some kind of alcohol and one slice had everyone silly and belly laughing. At the time I didn't know why that fruitcake was so delicious :) I don't usually like fruitcake but went for 2 slices that night!
I look forward to special memories this year! Hummm.....where IS that fruitcake recipe......
xoxoxoxox
mom
Oh, just turn the air conditioner on and light the fire in the fireplace and some apple cinnamon candles. That's what we do :)
Another reason to love the Nord, they don't decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving.
Got my special shopping night invite in the mail. Will be emailing you and CourtneyS.
by the way, i completely agree with Katie. thanksgiving is my favorite b/c there's no pressure and not the added financial strain of gifts, etc. just a trip to the grocery store, and you're good to go as far as errands. i love everything about my family's meal - we have both jellied and homemade cranberry sauce. i started making sandwiches with a good multi-grain bread, leftover turkey, a little dressing, and using the cranberry sauce as a substitute for mustard or mayo. yum! i love sitting around with my family with nothing else to do but throw a football in the street and catch up.
I've never had the canned/jellied cranberry sauce because mom always made her own. Have you ever had hers? Because its delicious. If you are looking to make your own, and you don't have a recipe you love, as my mom for hers. Its not Thanksgiving without it!
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