About pie...and culture shock
I just cannot get used to the idea of Thanksgiving in October. It is the only Canadian tradition I simply can't embrace. I do enjoy the three day weekend aspect, but then I have to mourn the loss of the four day weekend in November. October is just too early for turkey and creamed onions and stuffing and too much pie! (Okay, no such thing as too much pie, sorry, bettie!)
We don't do the Canadian Thanksgiving in my house. That is because my stepsons were minor league hockey players. There was always a hockey tournament that weekend, so no big dinner plans. We occasionally joined my sister in law's family, but not this year. The last few years I have celebrated Thanksgiving along with the Americans. Tom always asked for "the American Thanksgiving" and although it has to be held on Saturday or Sunday instead of the traditional Thursday, it felt necessary.
Still, I feel some resentment against Canada as my revised holiday approaches. A weekend for Thanksgiving just doesn't cut it. I want that panicked feeling of cooking like mad on Thursday morning, followed by 3 days of lazing around, eating leftovers. And pie for breakfast. In my house, the one requirement I had was that there be at least one pie for each person invited to dinner. That nearly always meant leftover pie for at least one day. And a plethora of pie: the obligatory pumpkin, apple, cherry (my personal favourite), mince, peach,perhaps a meringue of sorts. One day is simply not enough time to deal with all that pie!
Grumble.
Nobody has asked me about Thanksgiving this year. The boys are twenty and eighteen and family tradition, especially a family tradition that only started 5 years ago, when I came into the picture, isn't exactly a priority. But....Thanksgiving!!! Not the turkey. I couldn't care less about the damn bird! It's the stuffing, the gravy, the smashed potatoes, the sweet potatoes made with Gran Marnier, the creamed onions, the broccoli and hollandaise sauce!
I guess I am cooking on Saturday. I just hope somebody cares other than me.
We don't do the Canadian Thanksgiving in my house. That is because my stepsons were minor league hockey players. There was always a hockey tournament that weekend, so no big dinner plans. We occasionally joined my sister in law's family, but not this year. The last few years I have celebrated Thanksgiving along with the Americans. Tom always asked for "the American Thanksgiving" and although it has to be held on Saturday or Sunday instead of the traditional Thursday, it felt necessary.
Still, I feel some resentment against Canada as my revised holiday approaches. A weekend for Thanksgiving just doesn't cut it. I want that panicked feeling of cooking like mad on Thursday morning, followed by 3 days of lazing around, eating leftovers. And pie for breakfast. In my house, the one requirement I had was that there be at least one pie for each person invited to dinner. That nearly always meant leftover pie for at least one day. And a plethora of pie: the obligatory pumpkin, apple, cherry (my personal favourite), mince, peach,perhaps a meringue of sorts. One day is simply not enough time to deal with all that pie!
Grumble.
Nobody has asked me about Thanksgiving this year. The boys are twenty and eighteen and family tradition, especially a family tradition that only started 5 years ago, when I came into the picture, isn't exactly a priority. But....Thanksgiving!!! Not the turkey. I couldn't care less about the damn bird! It's the stuffing, the gravy, the smashed potatoes, the sweet potatoes made with Gran Marnier, the creamed onions, the broccoli and hollandaise sauce!
I guess I am cooking on Saturday. I just hope somebody cares other than me.
posted by allison | 6:37 PM
3 Comments:
Yeah, a four day Thanksgiving in November is definitely something I think the US got right. That blissful overstuffed, turkey-drug-sleepy feeling on Thursday, with three days to try to repeat the experience with leftovers. mmmMMMmmm
And I love your tradition of a pie per person. That would have me giving thanks I was having Thanksgiving at your house.
I hope you get to enjoy some bit of Thanksgiving this coming weekend. At the very least, you should have pie.
Jim
I care! Maybe your Thanksgiving excitement will rub off on everyone else; I mean, what self-respecting Canuck could resist a holiday with so much pie?!
I myself will be importing pie into Canada this weekend; too bad we'll be three hours apart, or you'd be more then welcome to share some!
I would celebrate both. Mmmmm, pumpkin pie. And I'm not even from this continent!
In other news, I made (South Beach) pumpkin cheesecake pie, and if it turns out I'll send you the recipe before Saturday. How's that?
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