Friday Cephalopod: Ever have one of those days where you have a tough time telling where your food ends and you begin? » « At least I’m not praying

A fabulous feast

Like many of you, we just finished a fine vegan meal assembled by my daughter, Skatje. Except most of you didn’t have the vegan part. And really, no one else had my daughter cooking for them. So we just have the meal part in common, but that’s enough, right?

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I tried to start up that other fine Thanksgiving tradition, the fight over politics or religion at the dinner table, but was completely stymied by the fact that my entire family agrees on everything. No grace, and ugh Trump ick talk about anything else OK we hate him but this pumpkin pie is delicious.

I thought we’d avoid that other Thanksgiving tradition of the football game in the background, but for some reason, Skatje has gotten into handegg and has told me we must watch Green Bay vs. Chicago tonight. So that’s ahead of us.

Friday Cephalopod: Ever have one of those days where you have a tough time telling where your food ends and you begin? » « At least I’m not praying

Comments

  1. Crip Dyke, Right Reverend Feminist FuckToy of Death & Her Handmaiden says

    A happy day to you & your fam. Hope you tolerate the handegg well enough.

  2. Audley Z Darkheart says

    Happy Thanksgiving, PZ!

    We had a very lovely veggie meal, but eggs and dairy were consumed. But meatless was delicious!

  3. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    Glad you enjoyed your day so far. Have you turned the devil cat vegan too?

  5. jrkrideau says

    @ 4 Skatje Myers

    Thank you. I was afraid we would have to prod PZ for the names at least. BTW the turkey link was not working.

  9. hiddenheart says

    We had a vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner too, and it was so yummy and good. With good company, too. :)

  11. Kevin Anthoney says

    Isn’t there a mad second cousin from Iowa or somewhere you could invite for the politics thing?

  14. quotetheunquote says

    @Skatje #4.

    Thanks for the links (Grand Marnier-infused sweet potato, yum!). I’m have to try one of these next time I’ve got a family pot-luck to go to.

    (I too would like to know what you used in place of gravy).

  16. wcorvi says

    A little too much GREEN on that plate, for my taste. I could become vegetarian, but my god only likes me if I eat MEAT on Friday. And give up giving things up for lent.

  17. kayden says

    Thank you Skatje for posting the recipes. Hubby is vegan so I’m definitely going to try them out. Looks delish!

  19. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    What is a “handegg,” besides a place in Switzerland?

    American football, as opposed to the the rest of the World’s forms of football (soccer, rugby, Australian Rules, etc)

  20. brucegee1962 says

    We had tofurky, as we’ve had every year since they came out. They’re quite yummy, honestly.

  21. blf says

    What is a “handegg”…

    Allegedly, it is another “football” sport, and less boring than soccer.

  22. Skatje Myers says

    I always eyeball gravy. Sautee some garlic and onions in margarine (or sometimes I leave out the garlic and onions), add flour to make a roux, then add “chicken” broth (I like the Better Than Boullion stuff, but couldn’t find it out here in the middle of nowhere, so had to go with a different kind of vegan chicken broth). Sage and thyme and pepper to taste. MSG if you have it.

    It’s green mostly because of wonky color-correction, I’m guessing. The tablecloth isn’t actually green either. I swear it didn’t look as terrifying in person.

  24. What a Maroon, oblivious says

    I don’t understand this obsession with adding sugar to sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are already what? Right, sweet. They don’t need sugar, they need something to balance the sweetness. This has been my go-to recipe for sweet potatoes the last few years. With a couple of modifications–I leave out the pepper because no one else in my family would eat it, and I don’t peel the potatoes. The combination of thyme and garlic plays beautifully off the sweetness.

  25. blf says

    green eyeball gravy

    (Why am I reminded of the Fish Heads soup song…
    and, for that matter,     Green Eggs and Ham…)

  26. edmond says

    Cool, my family had those exact same plates when I was growing up. My dad still has them, in fact. He comes from Wisconsin, maybe they’re regional?

  27. Audley Z Darkheart says

    edmond:
    Ha! My parents had the same dishes in the 80s (possibly earlier) in upstate NY.

  28. hexidecima says

    I am curious, what is thing on the side that looks like a breadstick from Olive Garden? didn’t know that Bettr than Boulion did veg bases Their meat versions are great.

  29. chigau (違う) says

    The plate is Corelle™ Butterfly Gold.
    My mother in Alberta, Canada still uses hers.
    vintage early 1980s

  30. says

    “Handegg” In the UK us followers of the Beautiful Game (you say soccer, we say football) describe those who support rugby (same shaped ball but with far less padding and no helmets) as Egg Chasers. Please feel free to adopt the insult. :-)

  32. says

    My parents also had Corelle Butterfly Gold plates, in New Brunswick, Canada, and I think they may still have some of them. Pretty sure my grandparents had them as well. Used to see them a lot. I kind of love them, the tea cups and mugs bring back a lot of memories.

  33. woozy says

    If they were in Berkeley, Ca in the 60s, they are not regional. I imagine if pretty much everyone (at least everyone I’ve ever met in my lifetime with absolutely zero exception) has had them they aren’t that unusual.

  34. Rob Grigjanis says

    Jonathan Hartley @30:

    followers of the Beautiful Game

    Since it can often be ugly, I prefer Game of Two Halves (or Two Alves if Brazil is playing Portugal), or Game of Inches. Or Game of Throes, given the current fashion for simulation.

    I really don’t get “handegg” for US or Canadian football, since the “ball” has pointy ends. Should be “handvesicapiscis“.

  35. magistramarla says

    We had an “interesting” Thanksgiving. Daughter has to have gluten-free, lactose-free, soy-free, oxylate-free food.
    It wasn’t much of a problem with the turkey or vegetables, but the pie crust drove me crazy. I had to make it with olive oil for her and it was pretty awful.
    Today, oldest daughter mentioned cooking with lard, and I had a brain-fart! Called the other daughter and told her that I’m going to experiment with making pie crust with gluten-free flour and lard to see if I can achieve a flaky and tasty pie crust.
    I love to cook, and I enjoy a challenge, so I hope to have a good tasting pie by the next holiday get-together next month.
    Of course, my husband rather enjoys being the taste-tester for my experiments.

  36. tbtabby says

    I saw a bit of the gridiron, but it was disappointing: the Chicago-Green Bay game is the only one that wasn’t a total blowout. I was much happier enjoying my own Turkey Day tradition of watching MST3K episodes on Youtube.

  37. blf says

    I really don’t get “handegg” for US or Canadian football, since the “ball” has pointy ends.

    Doesn’t have anything to do with the shape of the ball. I think the motivation behind the term is that, broadly speaking, when the ball touches the ground the play is over (and/or the team who has possession of the ball changes). Hence, the players try to keep the ball in-hand or in-air, but “never” let it fall to the ground, where it will break or something… Just like an egg. This is perhaps a bit more obvious in Rugby Union, where plays can go on for a considerable amount of time, far longer than in gridiron.

  38. anat says

    I looked at the pie recipes and noticed that the crust recipes are margarine-based. Is there a way to make vegan pie crust that is trans-fat free?

  39. What a Maroon, living up to the 'nym says

    anat,

    Try palm oil shortening. Looks and acts a lot like Crisco, but no hydrogenation. (Of course it’s high in saturated fat, but I assume you’re not eating pie for your health.)