Thanksgiving and cooking

TWHRider

TWHRider

Member
Location
Tennessee
Do you still "do" Thanksgiving? Is it still cook at home or go out?

Neither of our immediate families live close by so Thanksgiving is kept to a minimum unless someone calls in September and says "clean out the spare bedroom, we're coming."

Mr. TWHRider mentioned going out to eat. That elicited a response he wasn't planning on, and it was ugly - lol lol My family decided on that route, one time, many years ago and it was not fun. We didn't have anything to piece on for the rest of the day, food quality wasn't the same and it cost a lot of money. Vulgar and disgusting on all counts:hororr:

Ham is out of the question after his heart attack. I was going to fix a Capon but when I asked the lady if WalMart even sold them, she got really quiet (I realized, she didn' know what a Capon was) and sure enough, she whispered "what is that?" lollollol WalMart has "Pink Lady" apples but no Capons, so I bought a "Cajun Style" frozen turkey breast. I can't wait to see what "Cajun Style" tastes like - I will have to hide the label from Mr. TWHRider or he won't eat it - lol lol lol

No desserts this year but my big splurge will be an over-abundance of my grandmother's Sage stuffing (giblets are NOT included - yukky). When my brother, et.al. come down for Thanksgiving, I always have to make a pan just for my nephew. He's now 16 and stresses every year that I won't make the sage stuffing - lol lol I buy five giant loaves of bread to make stuffing - it's roaster is bigger than the turkey's:fat:

It's a scaled-down Thanksgiving meal at home so we can have leftovers. Mr. TWHRider will watch some year of NASCAR and football if there's a game on. I will either watch the 40's movies on Turner Classic or the new Christmas movies on Hallmark, and watch the horses peacefully graze from my Feng Shui corner that faces west, over-looking the pastures so I can nearly always see the horses:love_heart:
 

My husband and I don't live near family either. Both our sons are serving in the military - the oldest is overseas (we haven't seen him in almost 2 years ) and the younger is stationed in another state. Neither one will be able to make it home for the holidays this year. Our daughter lives nearby and so, we will spend Thanksgiving with her. And somehow, to me, that makes Thanksgiving more meaningful when I have loved ones away, who are serving.

I am from Canada and my family celebrates Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October. One of my sisters mailed me a Thanksgiving card at the beginning of October and told me to keep this Thanksgiving card to celebrate Thanksgiving in both countries. It is still on my mantle. Thanksgiving is a holiday that is a challenge to transcend beyond the border in my family because it is celebrated at different times even though in both countries, it is Thanksgiving.
 
We have no family close by either, I do buy a couple of turkeys and freeze them to make at a later date. I picked up a Honeysuckle White for 49 cents a pound. Hubby will be watching football :rugby: all day, but he's in the mood to barbeque. We have some natural pork ribs that he'll be making, he's marinating them today in the barbeque sauce. We'll be having succotash with them, baby lima beans, corn, and we throw in an onion and peppers.

The more I've seen shows like Kitchen Nightmares, the less I want to go out to eat at restaurants. Between the old, rotting, modly food, mice, roaches and rats, poorly cooked to the wrong temp, microwaved, dropped or sneezed on, etc...I have less of a desire than when I was young. Also, those that have to work on Thanksgiving are usually ticked off, and don't want to be there...don't want my salad dressing to have any strange texture, if you know what I mean. :upset:
 

SeaBreeze said:
The more I've seen shows like Kitchen Nightmares, the less I want to go out to eat at restaurants. Between the old, rotting, modly food, mice, roaches and rats, poorly cooked to the wrong temp, microwaved, dropped or sneezed on, etc...I have less of a desire than when I was young. Also, those that have to work on Thanksgiving are usually ticked off, and don't want to be there...don't want my salad dressing to have any strange texture, if you know what I mean. :upset:
Click to expand...

That is the sad Gospel Truth:dispirited: It also stinks that Black Friday has been moved up to early Thanksgiving evening. Moneymoneymoneymoneymoney is the name of the game.

We don't do anything for Christmas and I did enough shopping Tuesday to last me at least until the initial rush of people is over. Hopefully I've timed my next spending spree to be in the lull before the last really mad (and full of ugly temper) dash to the stores occurs:eek:nthego:
 
It IS all about the money. :greedy_dollars: You start hearing Christmas ads and seeing decorations in the store before Halloween is over. :rolleyes: They have Hallmark cards for every and any 'imaginary' holiday, of course at least 2 bucks apiece. I'm sitting safe in my home, waiting to watch the intensely aggressive and angry holiday shoppers on the local news...hope nobody gets trampled or maced while doing their Christmas shopping. :eek: Crazy, really.
 
As I only have my son, his wife and my little granddaughter, they tend to spend Thanksgiving with his wife's family. My husband works holidays as well, (and sleeps during the day since he works at night), so this year we decided that we weren't going to do Thanksgiving this year at all. However, we did buy turkey cold cuts and made sandwiches, but nothing else to go with it, lol! I guess this year, we just didn't feel like 'going all out' when it came to Turkey Day. :-D
 
I know what you mean Jeanne, it's just good to do what's natural for us and our families, and not feel obligated to fall into the holiday 'expectations'. We had leftover ribs today, and all was good, LOL! :)
 
Well, didn't realize that after smoking two turkeys, it would be sooo much work carving and cutting them up into small portions for freezing. I think we will have macaroni and cheese for our Christmas dinner. :) Or something a lot simpler than a large turkey or two. I do try to keep the holidays SIMPLE and the older I get, the simpler I want my holidays to be.
 
's a scaled-down Thanksgiving meal at home so we can have leftovers. Mr. TWHRider will watch some year of NASCAR and football if there's a game on. I will either watch the 40's movies on Turner Classic or the new Christmas movies on Hallmark, and watch the horses peacefully graze from my Feng Shui corner that faces west, over-looking the pastures so I can nearly always see the horses:love_heart:[/QUOTE]
Hi TWH !:eek:

Since our children have left home and have their own "in laws" etc....we have spent a few holidays alone, too......I actually don't mind the wonderful "break" that it provides...after all of those years of "making it all happen" for everyone......I usually found the holidays totally exhausting..... so now, I get to be the "kid'...I try to go see the Nut Cracker ballet and do some of the fun stuff that I never had time to enjoy until now.

I also want to comment on your little "Feng Shui" corner........I actually took a Feng Shui class once and I do enjoy creating "ambience".....so I, too. have my little "alcove" that is all "Feng Shuied" up!:eek: I don't have your pasture with horses but I can overlook a wooded green belt area with a lot of beautiful ferns and evergeen trees! :love_heart: I have a comfy chair that I can sink into that sorta gives you a big hug, when you sit in....I always have things around me, there, that sort of give me a lift... sweet cards from dear friends, ambient candles and I LOVE a fresh flower in my little vase......to me... "less is more"....so I try to keep everything very basic and simple..... ?
 
Ginger said:
I can overlook a wooded green belt area with a lot of beautiful ferns and evergeen trees! :love_heart: I have a comfy chair that I can sink into that sorta gives you a big hug, when you sit in....I always have things around me, there, that sort of give me a lift... sweet cards from dear friends, ambient candles and I LOVE a fresh flower in my little vase......to me... "less is more"....so I try to keep everything very basic and simple..... ?
Click to expand...

Everyone needs a peaceful corner and yours sounds wonderful:)


"Less is More" in a lot of ways for me. I have a lot less things to dust than I used to - lol lol lol When the big TV finally quit, I also got rid of the gigundus cabinet it was in - one less thing to dust and try to clean out from under. The living room TV now hangs from the wall -lollol
 
Has anyone ever tried a deep fried turkey? Lots of people say it's sooo good, and I guess there's a lot of fires and burns from those who just buy a deep fryer and don't have much experience...fire-extinguisher is a definite "must have". :eek:
 
Ginger said:
I also want to comment on your little "Feng Shui" corner........I actually took a Feng Shui class once and I do enjoy creating "ambience".....so I, too. have my little "alcove" that is all "Feng Shuied" up!:eek: I don't have your pasture with horses but I can overlook a wooded green belt area with a lot of beautiful ferns and evergeen trees! :love_heart: I have a comfy chair that I can sink into that sorta gives you a big hug, when you sit in....I always have things around me, there, that sort of give me a lift... sweet cards from dear friends, ambient candles and I LOVE a fresh flower in my little vase......to me... "less is more"....so I try to keep everything very basic and simple..... ?
Click to expand...

So nice that you took a Feng Shui class Ginger, cool! I always found it interesting, but never took the time to make a feng shui spot, both you and TWHRiders's special spots sound lovely. :) Guess I have to start by cleaning and clearing my house, just the two of us, but clutter piles up. :eek: Here's a complicated version of feng shui...for me anyway...

Celebrating Chinese New Year: The Contribution of Feng Shui

Feng Shui: Wind and Water

"Allow things in your life which make your heart sing, feed your soul
or nourish you on a daily basis."

Feng Shui (pronounced Fung Shway) is the ancient Chinese art of
placement to enhance the flow of "vital life energy" known as Qi.
Practitioners believe that rooms, buildings and all environments can
be arranged and decorated in a way that maximizes the flow of Qi and,
resulting in improvements to health and happiness of those who live
in that environment. Although the translation of Feng Shui basically
means "Wind and Water", its scope and breathe are much deeper than
this.

Feng Shui is an expression of the oneness and interconnectedness of
all things on all levels and all dimensions. This is a "key concept"
in understanding how our essence relates to everything else around
us, including our environment. As we begin to sense this oneness we
then find that it is possible to gain insight from looking at our
environment on a broader scale. It is often said that "Feng Shui
teaches us what we already know".


Schools of Thought

"A place for everything and everything in its place"

The Art of Feng Shui is just that; an Art. You may have heard that
there are several schools of thought in Feng Shui- the Form School,
the Compass School and the Intuitve School. Yet another Feng Shui
derivative, Blackhat sect is said to have originated in Tibet, is
newer, and was introduced to the West by Professor Lin Yun.

Form School is a more traditional Chinese, older form of Feng Shui.
This school of feng shui began in southern China. It is based on
looking at and evaluating land forms, waterways and geography.

Black Sect Tantric Tibetan School, which has gained popularity in the
United States, disregards compass directions. Instead, you stand at
and use the entrance of the room, house or office as your main
reference point. Then you place objects and other enhancements
according to what you aspire to and wish to accomplish.

Both the Form school and the Black Sect are used extensively in the
West, and both are good introductions to Feng Shui. The difference is
that in Blackhat sect, the career area is centered on the wall that
contains the main entrance, while Form school has the career area
always in the North.

Compass School is the most predominate practice. The absence of
geographical and geological features and the relative flat topography
of northern China necessitated the development of the Compass School,
which dominates throughout most of the world. This is the
traditional, classical feng shui practice which uses either a Chinese
(luo pan) or Western-style compass to determine the eight compass
directions in a room, office or home. This compass is used to
determine the direction in which a building faces, and where the
portents will fall based on that direction. Because those directions
govern various aspects of your life, you place the corresponding
colors, animal symbols, numbers and elements in the areas that you
wish to activate.

The ancient text, the I Ching, describes the one universal flow of
nature's energy. Feng Shui derives from the ancient Taoist tradition.
The I Ching is the definitive text in which all Chinese Metaphysics
is based. It includes a full range of techniques that include Chinese
Astrology, compass methods, form methods and divining techniques.
Feng Shui utilizes two Chinese astrological systems. These are called
the Batzu - or "eight word" (also called "the four pillars"). And the
Jyo Hsing - or "nine stars" (also called the "north star method"
or "study of Qi").


The Bagua

In Feng Shui, a map called a Bagua is used to maximize the Qi or
energy of a given environment. The map divides a room into 9 squares
of equal size, with each grid corresponding to a specific "gift" in
life, such as health, love, and knowledge. The various schools of
thought in Feng Shui all use the bagua in one form or another. The
bagua, generally an octagon or square divided into nine areas, which
are sometimes referred to as "guas", is superimposed over a floor
plan of the building, room or property. Blackhat sect and Form school
Feng Shui use essentially the same bagua.

The nine areas of the bagua are (clockwise, from the northern area)
career, knowledge, family, wealth, fame, marriage, children, and
helpful people. The ninth area is the center. Each area is associated
with direction, elements, and I Ching trigram (the ancient system of
Divination). In arranging a room, 9 areas are noted to be of special
significance. The following table, which cooresponds to the Baqua,
illustrates the relationship of areas in a room (or home) in relation
to the room's Main Entrance. Imagine dividing your room (home,
office) into the following 9 areas. We have highlighted the ideal
items to enhance the movement of Qi within each location.

Career
Direction -- north
Elements -- the color black, and water
I Ching trigram -- K'an (This is the water trigram.)


Knowledge
Direction -- northeast
Elements -- the color blue (black and green may be substituted or
used in addition to blue), and earth
Trigram -- Ken (This is the mountain trigram.)


Family
Direction -- east
Elements -- the color green, and wood
Trigram -- Chen (thunder trigram)


Wealth
Direction -- southeast
Elements -- the color purple (blue and red may be substituted or used
in addition to purple), and wood
Trigram -- Sun (wind trigram)


Fame
Direction -- south
Elements -- red and fire
Trigram -- Li (fire trigram)


Marriage
Direction -- southwest
Elements -- pink (red and white may be substituted or used in
addition to pink) and earth
Trigram -- K'un (earth trigram)


Children
Direction -- west
Elements -- white and metal
Trigram -- Tui (lake trigram)


Helpful People
Direction -- northwest
Elements -- gray (white and black may be substituted or used in
addition to gray)
Trigram -- Ch'ien (heaven trigram)


Health
Direction -- the center
Elements -- yellow and earth
Trigram -- none, but it is represented by the Tai Chi symbol which
symbolizes balance, the ultimate goal of Feng Shui.


Once the bagua is superimposed over the floor plan, one can see what
parts of the building, room or property lie in each area of the
bagua. Feng Shui may be begun, using the colors and elements to
correct deficiencies or an overabundance of an element.


Deficiencies are corrected by adding the needed element or by using
its associated color. An overabundance of an element can be corrected
by adding its controlling element, by lessening the element itself,
or by using the associated colors. For example, if fire were
overabundant, then a water element could be added, thereby bringing
fire back into balance.

Everything is relative to each other. When using the bagua to
determine the Feng Shui layout, start with a floor plan of the
building and superimpose the bagua over it, as a whole; then apply
the bagua to each individual room.


Discover Feng Shui cures for your particular situation here:

http://www.peacefulmind.com/feng_shui.htm __________________
Click to expand...
 
WOW! (Sea Breeze)

Now we have all had the course!!:eek: Great! TWH.......I am totally in agreement with you on getting rid of the "bricker bracker", too!! My mother loved that kinda "stuff"....and as you can imagine, after more than 80 yrs. , she has QUITE A BIT!! Hence, I find value in being "utilitarian" i.e. " if you don't use it you don't need it!....though I do have boxes of all of the kids school work and everything having to do with them....I have saved. The t.v.hanging from the wall sounds like sensible "dust evasion"........I am listening? I don't do much dusting either, if there is a way it can be avoided!!
 
R. E. Feng Shui

My gosh, I was reading over Sea Breeze's "down load" about Feng Shui... and decided I might need to make a disclaimer.........I never studied ANYTHING like all that "stuff"?
Actually, what I did was ....took a little class on "interior decorating" (basically) using Feng Shui principals....mostly in regard to how to use color or maybe by eliminating "sharp angles" (for example) one could create a more "peaceful" atmosphere in a room etc.? I think most people who are using the term "Feng Shui" mean it only as a light hearted way of saying things are all "asthetically comfy and cozy" or "pleasing to the senses". I hear people using the term all of the time this way?.....So spare me the "DETAILS", Puleeeeze!!!! :playful: LOL!
 
Your interior decorating basics are much more "user friendly", I agree! :D The details ARE mind-boggling, but if I work toward de-cluttering it's a good start, think that my home is comfy and cozy...kinda pleasing to the sense for the most part...but still want Feng Shui experience. :p
 
Hi SeaBreeze !

Over here, in my area, we used to have the coolest thing called "DISCOVER U." The "U" stands for University! What it was, really, was just a bunch of people in the community who knew a certain craft or skill that they were willing to share or teach to others......so they would sign up with Discover U. as an instructor there....and you would not BELIEVE the variety of "courses" or "classes" being offered !! There was everything from Line Dancing to Oriental Cooking, Golf, Computer Classes, all kinds of ART classes, Yoga , Martial Arts....Personal Growth and Development, Sushi Rolling, Fly Fishing, Gardening, Massage.....YOU NAME IT ! It didn't cost much to take classes, so I used to take a lot of fun stuff ....... This little community made "University" was such a great idea....but for some reason, after going for about 15 years...it has kind of folded? There were always issues with getting buildings and parking etc.? Anyway, that is where I took the Feng Shui class! :eek: I wanted to share about the Discover U. concept, though, because any community could do something similar? Maybe they could utilize school buildings ( or such) as a venue?
 
Ginger said:
R. E. Feng Shui

My gosh, I was reading over Sea Breeze's "down load" about Feng Shui... and decided I might need to make a disclaimer.........one could create a more "peaceful" atmosphere in a room etc.? I think most people who are using the term "Feng Shui" mean it only as a light hearted way of saying things are all "asthetically comfy and cozy" or "pleasing to the senses".
Click to expand...

Holy Crow, I also need to make a disclaimer regarding Feng Shui - lol

I have never taken a course, just read up a bit and listened to what folks say. I fall in the category of "peaceful atmosphere"; "asthetically comfy and cozy"; "pleasing to the senses" :beguiled:

I did learn a lot reading your download, Seabreeze:D
 
It depends on if I receive an invitation. A widowed aunt (by marriage to one of my mom's brothers), usually invites me every other year. She alternates years between her side of the family and my uncle's side. Although this is an "uncle" year, she hasn't been feeling well for a while, so I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't an invitation this year.
I always have back-up plan though. I make an all-in-one Thanksgiving casserole that has turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy in one dish. I posted it before here, although I have made some shortcuts like using deli turkey instead of having to cook a turkey and also using instant mashed potatoes in place of Bob Evans which are très expensive:
All-In-One Thanksgiving Casserole
 
It’s just me and I cook but try very hard not to load up the house with too many holiday treats.

I’ll probably do a casserole or stuffed pork chop, baked sweet potato or maple glazed carrots, and cabbage salad.

Dessert will most likely be a dish of ice cream with walnuts and a drizzle of maple flavored sugar free pancake syrup.

This casserole from the folks at Pepperidge Farms is a good guide for an easy main dish.

One-Dish Chicken & Stuffing Bake - Pepperidge Farm
 
debodun said:
It depends on if I receive an invitation. A widowed aunt (by marriage to one of my mom's brothers), usually invites me every other year. She alternates years between her side of the family and my uncle's side. Although this is an "uncle" year, she hasn't been feeling well for a while, so I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't an invitation this year.
Click to expand...
My aunt attended Bible study yesterday. She's been sick for weeks. I mentioned a charity Christmas bazaar we've been going to together for the last 3 years that will be on November 16th this year. She said she won't be going this year, so my hopes aren't high she will be hosting on Thanksgiving although she didn't mention that. I wouldn't feel badly, though, if she's just not up to it.
 
debodun said:
My aunt attended Bible study yesterday. She's been sick for weeks. I mentioned a charity Christmas bazaar we've been going to together for the last 3 years that will be on November 16th this year. She said she won't be going this year, so my hopes aren't high she will be hosting on Thanksgiving although she didn't mention that. I wouldn't feel badly, though, if she's just not up to it.
Click to expand...
Why not invite your aunt to your house and cook for her.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top