Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving will be a small one for all of us. No large gatherings. No congregations in the kitchen, cooking and laughing with family and friends. Like everyone, I pouted for awhile, but then decided to make the best of it by digging up my mom's Thanksgiving recipes and give it a go! I have attempted one or two dishes before, but not simultaneously, and it was usually only one dish at a time. I'm starting to panic. What have I gotten myself into? Just shopping for the ingredients was a chore-- WTF are these items and on which isle will I find them? I must have covered ten miles in Vons Pavilion, searching and circling in my cart, flagging down help whenever it was available. I stopped looking for employees and starting asking customers nearby, "What is unflavored gelatin and where do you suppose I can find it?" People were surprisingly helpful. I tried to pick mom-types, that have been around a kitchen a time or two. Poor child, they must have thought, she has never heard of poultry seasoning. I am a vegetarian I declared, so I did not want to use poultry seasoning and was there an alternative? The woman explained that the seasoning itself IS vegetarian, it is just designed to flavor a bird. Who knew? I made it out alive, sweating through my mask, exhausted. Now I have to cook all this stuff. My favorite part about the recipes is seeing my mom's handwriting- she would write a few special tips in the sidelines. So, today is cooking day! Here we go....

I am learning that recipes require math. This is not my forte. Cut recipe in half my mom's writing instructs-- which is fine, but cut it in thirds? That's a slightly more difficult calculation. I get my calculator... it doesn't have an entry for cups. Or teaspoons. Christ. Maybe I can just visualize a third. I decide to get in the zone and turn on some holiday tunes. And open a bottle of wine. I find an apron so I feel like a real chef. Now we're talking. I am starting Wednesday, a day early, just in case there are any emergencies. My dad, after all, is counting on me to deliver the meal, and I can't let him down. My dad is the sole caretaker for his wife, who is battling Alzheimer's and he is a real superhero. I know he misses mom's cooking just as much as I do, and since this is an especially tough year with COVID, it's the least I can do! Lisa and I both have dads in their 80s so even though we miss them terribly, we try to keep our distance to be safe. I'll just sanitize the meals and drop 'em on his porch! If only I can do this math... time to get back to work.

 

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