Turkey (Gobble Gobble)

[Nam]

I'm making turkey for Thanksgiving tomorrow for the first time, and also the first time making turkey, and it's the second best turkey I have ever had (Disney's being the first). I taste tested it (as I do with all food I cook), and it was so damn good.

Now, it isn't a whole turkey just legs, wings, and necks (3 per pack, got a whole bunch). And, I cooked them all (cooking the last batch right now) with the same ingredients: salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, sugar-free honey, and lime juice. Came up with it on the spot. I do that.

After I ate a wing I wanted another but of course resisted. Also going to have ham (probably use same ingredients slightly altered), pumpkin pie and though I can't stand cranberry sauce I'll have that (homemade, no taste testing) for others who requested it. Only thing I didn't make was the pie. Premade pie. Not that I don't know how it's just store bought is just as good. And also macaroni and cheese, gourmet style.

So, how about y'all? Cooking? Not? Who cares?

-Nam

[wright]

My brother in law is making the pumpkin and apple pies. Sis will cook the turkey; we're eating at her place. Mom will make a big green salad and a bunch of roasted veggies. I'll do my usual mashed turnips with blue cheese. There'll be one or two other guests with side dishes.

Happy Turkey Day, all  .

[jynnan tonnix]

I've got the turkey brining...which is something I haven't tried thus far, so wish me luck. Also made two pumpkin pies today, and have an apple pie in the oven. Everything else will have to wait until tomorrow.

[magicmiles]

Just curious, are there many protests in USA over possession of native land?

My brother runs an activist website and i saw this photo on there:

[Traveler]

Just curious, are there many protests in USA over possession of native land?

My brother runs an activist website and i saw this photo on there:

My niece has a lot of objections to the holiday, and this is one of them. She is also vegan, and finds that she normally can't eat anything that anyone offers. So, as she happens to be at our house at the moment, we've asked if she'll make us a vegan feast. We are not calling it thanksgiving. We are neither religious, nor interested in celebrating the massacre of our native peoples. We are simply calling it a lovely, vegan meal with my niece. I'm really looking forward to it.

On the other side of the argument, I struggle with the history of a holiday, vs the current feelings about a holiday. If one looks at thanksgiving as the whole pilgrim thing ... blech. Puritans suck. If one looks at it as taking food and knowledge from the natives before killing them all off and stealing their land ... bleh. Murder sucks. Ditto with religious prayers of thanks. Ditto with the factory farming industry that so badly treats our meat animals.

However, in the last few years I've simply looked at it as a ritualized day for reminding ourselves to notice the good in our lives.

So, do I like thanksgiving? My memories are of wonderful food and family. Right now my niece is notching up my awareness of inconsistencies in my life, so this year we'll approach things differently than usual. Who knows what the year after will bring?

[Nam]

I know a Native American. He doesn't care. Perhaps they're not all like him. He told me once, "It wasn't my tribe.". Also he told me, "How many wars you know of that lasted over 400 years?".

-Nam

[wright]

Just curious, are there many protests in USA over possession of native land?

There are some, and there are ongoing legal disputes over the abuse of Native Americans and their property (meaning land, usually), some more recent than others. Native peoples in North America have been systematically disenfranchised over the generations; it's a long, sad, ugly history.

As to the origins of the holiday, the Puritans were mostly not nice people. They'd been persecuted in Europe and were definitely intolerant in turn when they settled in what would become the US. That's a big part of why we have a deliberately secular government here, btw. The religious sects in the various North American colonies had a fine time discriminating and sometimes killing each other over doctrinal issues. Kinda like the religious wars of Europe in miniature.

My experience with Thanksgiving is pretty much like Traveler: it's a time for celebrating a more literal meaning than a largely self-serving national history. Family and friends, how we've supported ourselves and each other over the last year, dealt with the good and the bad.

[Nam]

Just curious, are there many protests in USA over possession of native land?

There are some, and there are ongoing legal disputes over the abuse of Native Americans and their property (meaning land, usually), some more recent than others. Native peoples in North America have been systematically disenfranchised over the generations; it's a long, sad, ugly history.

As to the origins of the holiday, the Puritans were mostly not nice people. They'd been persecuted in Europe and were definitely intolerant in turn when they settled in what would become the US. That's a big part of why we have a deliberately secular government here, btw. The religious sects in the various North American colonies had a fine time discriminating and sometimes killing each other over doctrinal issues. Kinda like the religious wars of Europe in miniature.

My experience with Thanksgiving is pretty much like Traveler: it's a time for celebrating a more literal meaning than a largely self-serving national history. Family and friends, how we've supported ourselves and each other over the last year, dealt with the good and the bad.

It should be noted that the sort of "religious persecution" happened in the US to quite an extent to the early to mid 20th century. In some states, many in the north east, had laws where the particular protestant religion in that state and/or area states that those not of that religion had to convert or they couldn't hold any political office whatsoever, and other similar things (like law/fire enforcement) or even go to school; especially toward Catholics. Catholics were heavily persecuted toward.

People say how non-whites had it hard, and that is true, but so did many types of whites, especially if they were Catholic or even Irish.

The founders really only protected white protestant/deistic[1] men. Everyone else were second, or lower, class citizens.

-Nam

1.	since many of them were deists

[Jag]

We hosted 24 people - a bit much for the space but a little creative furniture rearrangement helped a great deal.

My BF, my second born, her BF, and I made turkey, leg of lamb, and pulled pork for sandwiches. We made roasted root veggies, squash, stuffing/dressing, and sweet potatoes. Guests provided a total of 5 different desserts and 3 kinds of breads, a fruit salad, and a fabulous roasted asparagus dish with cheese and garlic (it finished under the broiler, and ohmyDarwin it was de-lish!).

I'm still almost too full to move. And I want a kitchen with two ovens and an automatic dishwasher.

Some family members are not big fans of this holiday, however everyone sucks it up and gets together for the sake of some quality family time before the holidays get too crazy. It will be considerably harder to spend much meaningful time with anyone now until mid-January.