Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude.
~~~E.P. Powell
Hey all,
For a lot of my readers, Thursday is a very special day. Tomorrow, many of you will go over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house. Or, for the majority of people, down the freeway and into the city!
We weren't sure what we were going to do for the celebration. I mean. First of all, it's just us two, and Jonathon has to work that day. We've got a few American friends here, namely, my lil bro Wade, but he works late on Thursday. (he's head rigger for the show) And since I'm being very careful with my diet right now...I don't want tons of food lying around the house.
But we have to do something, right?
Yet...while there are copious amounts of dead ducks, chickens and don't forget...baby pigeons, literally hanging around for consumption, we'd yet to see any turkeys. And what about pumpkin pie? Not like there is a pumpkin patch in downtown Taipa.
So, we thunk and we thunk and we finally had decided to just have ham (which is sooo wrong--my family ALWAYS did turkey) and apple pie along with the usual stuff. We tried to get together with our friends and that didn't work, so we'll go it just the two of us.
And then I went to the grocery store and there... sitting in a pile in the meat department was (cue music and beautiful light shining down from heaven) a stack of Butterball turkeys. I almost went to my knees and wept in joy. And then I looked at the price.
Holy Bloody Hell!
Each of them weighed about eight pounds which is a little smaller than we usually get for our family. But when I looked at the price tag, they cost in the neighborhood of 360 MOP which in American dollars is about $45.00. After I pounded my heart back into starting, I did some figuring in my head. Now, we haven't bought a turkey in years. Universal employees always got one as a thank you for their hard work. But even at .49 a pound, which is a normal Walmart sale price, a ten pound turkey is less than 5 dollars, right? So does having a turkey on Thanksgiving worth an extra 40 dollars?
I don't think so. Tom Turkey is safe from us this year. LOL
Then, I discovered fresh cranberries. At least we'll have those. But what about dessert? If they have turkeys, might they have pumpkin pie mix? Sadly, no, but since I make an awesome pumpkin pie, I wondered if I could substitute something else.
Then, I was excited to see some fresh Chinese pumpkins in the produce section. But they were long and skinny and very colorful, instead of the round orange pumpkins I was used to. I was assured by the produce gal they tasted almost like American pumpkins. (ummm...right) It was the almost that made me hesitate, but then I thought, what the hell! Why not give it a shot?
Then, I was excited to see some fresh Chinese pumpkins in the produce section. But they were long and skinny and very colorful, instead of the round orange pumpkins I was used to. I was assured by the produce gal they tasted almost like American pumpkins. (ummm...right) It was the almost that made me hesitate, but then I thought, what the hell! Why not give it a shot?
So, our menu will be as follows.
Ham
Mashed Thailand Potatoes
Stuffing (made from some British recipe)
Green Bean Cassarole (made from scratch since they don't have dried onions over here. And the beans are a Chinese variety that are over 18 inches long)
Cranberry Sauce ( made from scratch...a first for me who usually just opens a can)
Chinese Pumpkin Pie (which should taste ALMOST like American...she promised)
Apple Tarts (in case the produce lady LIED about the pumpkins *snicker*)
It will be an interesting celebration and we are thinking afterwards, we might spend the weekend in Hong Kong to see what's over there. But one way or another, I'll let you know how it went. And since I'm thankful for my health, my work, all my great readers and my darling sweet baboo, it doesn't really matter where or how you spend the holiday. Right?
But I'm going to miss watching my football game. *sigh*
Anyway, how are you celebrating the holiday if you're an American? And for everyone, American or not, what is it YOU'RE thankful for? Let me know in the comments below!
I'll see you back here on Friday with my guest blogger, the awesome Mina Kelly. And have a wonderful long holiday weekend!
CJ England
Follow Your Dreams
http://cjengland.com/luckbealady/luckbealady.htm
6 comments:
From a Brit who worked alongside a number of US citizens in Europe a few years ago.... !
Sympathy for not "getting the bird" but at the price quoted I'd have wanted a minimum of one a month for at least a YEAR! Was that the same price for everyone, or was it an "opportunist" trying to see how much he could con out of "Johnny Foreigner"?
In your position I would have been greatly tempted to "give him the bird" (I believe the correct US slang is "Flip" him the bird ....)
As a Brit who lived in Europe for almost 20 years, the one thing I could never, EVER find was traditional British-style FISH AND CHIPS (I pigged out 3 times a week for the first year after returning to the UK!! LOL)
The first time I met my Swedish in-laws, Ma-law was VERY apologetic.
"I'm sorry, we can't afford to buy pork for Christmas" says she "It's FAR too expensive. I hope you won't mind, we'll have to "make do" with VENISON ..."
Shot last week in the forest behind the house, butchered same day in Pa-law's garage, and hung for seven-eight days to get the flavour ... Who wants Pork??
Hey Paul,
Thanks for visiting. The turkey was from one of the local supermarkets that caters to us expats. Their prices have usually been decent but like you said, it wasn't worth the extra. LOL No way, no how!
And let's see...pork vs venison? I think you got the best of the two there! I love fresh venison.
When we lived in Florida, at Disney World they had this place that touted REAL English fish and chips. *snort* I've been to England twice now and let me tell you, the soggy tasteless fish I had at DW was NOT real. In any way shape or form! I think I'll have to go visit Brighton Beach again if I want to really enjoy that meal.
We are staying home for the first time in years. Having turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie but it is all easy peasey! Instant, well except for the turkey. That was from hubby's work. We were over at my Mom's all last week and last weekend so we are having family time for us. Have a good one CJ!
I'll be spending the holiday at home with just a few people over.
my mom and dad, my 2 sons and their families. A nephew and his family. So not a big crowd this
year. In years past in was nothing to have 30-50 people over for dinner. 5 kids, 12 grandchildren,
20 some great grandchildren, so it was always interesting at my house.
My parents moved from my house to a senior citizens apartment, so there is no need for everyone to come to my house now. Which is kind of nice. I'm not getting any younger here and don't like to do alot of cooking amymore. LOL
but in the end i'm always thankful that I have such a large family and everyone has made it through another year without any major health issues or something else.
I'm just having turkey, ham, potato salad, sweet potato, chocolate cream and pumpkin pie, green bean salad, mashed potatoes, dressing, red velvet cake. I'm not making all this, other people bringing alot of this food. (thankgoodness) LOL
Have a happy thanksgiving everyone.
Phylis,
Sometimes just staying at home is the best way to celebrate the holidays. Have a wonderful day.
kansassweet43,
What a wonderful bunch of memories to have. I loved Thanksgivings as a kid since the family was all close by.
And I'll be thinking about you and all your yummy food as I'm cooking my own later today!
Have a great holiday!
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