Dressing Warmly, Holiday Foods



Dressing Warmly!

I've been up since 5:00 this a.m.  The outside thermometer read 4 above 0 and the inside thermometer read 61 degrees, quite chilly in the cottage.  After working on ways to increase our heat, (lights, ceiling fan, space heater, keeping the window shades closed), for the past 2 hours, we're getting more comfortable.  We seem to be cruising into 70, which is good enough!  I think I can relate to what the cave dwellers felt like!  A woodstove would be best for this kind of weather, which most of the area homes have and use daily.  There is plenty of wood to burn up here.  I don't think that the stoves are allowed in the small units in our park.  And our cottage is not set up for one with our whole livingroom having mostly glass windows and doors on all the walls.  Our best defense is simply to dress warmly, bake things in the oven and eat chili!  Hot drinks are nice, too.

Yesterday, our weekly "Tuesdays At The Lodge" event was very good, as usual.  Because Thanksgiving is near, it was decided to eat pizza, salad, chicken fingers and broasted potatoes.  Dessert was fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies and I baked what is called, "Almond Cream Cheese Bundt Cake".  It's made using frozen dinner rolls by Rhodes, and was a big hit with the winter gang.  The rolls had cream cheese in their centers and most, but not all, melted into the bread as they baked.  Placing the slices into the micro for 10 seconds made them even better.  I got that recipe off of the http://rhodesbread.com/ web site.  It's a terrific site with wonderful recipes to explore.  I plan to keep an available supply of the rolls and breads in the freezer with so many things that can be made with them.  I'm sorry that I'm still not in the habit of taking photos for my blog because the cake was very good-looking with its delicious glazes and sliced almonds flowing over it.  It was decided by all that it would be very fabulous in the morning with a hot, steamy cup of coffee, tea or cocoa.
Tomorrow is the great Thanksgiving holiday when we all need to remember just what it's about.
Here in America, most of us have much to be thankful for and with that knowledge, we also reflect on many of our memories of Thanksgiving Days, past.  The older we grow, each year adds to our "memory banks".  For myself, those I recall most often are the more unusual situations we found ourselves in that didn't really fit into what is considered the "traditional" ways most folks celebrate the fall holiday.  Two immediately come to my mind; each of them took place on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.  Living as a navy family for 25 years required creativity and imagination quite often when stationed in a more unusual environment than what we consider more "normal".  The Pacific islands presented quite a few challenges while living and working there.  Our very first Thanksgiving was spent in a Waikiki 2-room suite with a kitchenette.  My mother was determined to spend the holiday with us, even planning to bring the foods with her.  We agreed to provide the turkey and dessert for the meal.  Nearby was a large Woolworths, where we arranged to pick up one of their roasted turkeys and pumpkin pies on Thanksgiving morning.  In the meantime, Mom arrived on schedule with a large, hard-sided suitcase packed full of all the side dishes and trimmings, STILL WARM!!  She had actually risen very early on flight day and cooked the foods before her departure!  The meal was so good, as we sat there in our rooms, the sliding doors to the balcony wide open to the warm, tropical air, not missing any of our traditional dinner even though we were far from home. 
The second most remembered holiday was quite different, even though we again found ourselves in Hawaii.  Several years and a couple of transfers had come to pass since our first stay in the islands.  John received orders back to Pearl Harbor during the time when he was attached to a ship stationed in Seattle.  It was required that he arrive and check into Pearl just a couple of days before Thanksgiving.  Again, we found ourselves in temporary quarters at a Waikiki hotel.  Mom wasn't going to fly in that time so we made some other plans.  I searched the little free tourist papers to see which area restaurants were offering Thanksgiving meal deals.  I chose one, which was called "floating" because it was surrounded with all glass walls looking out on the gorgeous koi ponds and waterfalls built around it.  The buffet had everything traditional to the mainland plus many of the dishes of local fare.  It was a fun and memorable time for us all, but the feeling of being away from home and family remained an undercurrent through the day.  We had 3 children with us and they certainly got a kick out of the whole thing. 
Today is the day before Thanksgiving and we are new to another area, again!  We have no family near by but have already made some friends and will be spending tomorrow with them at our big lodge.  Each of us will be contributing food to what I've heard, is a large meal for all.  Ray, across the street, is normally the person chosen to cook the turkey for the feast.  Many of the rest of us have their assignments to insure that we have a good variety with no duplicates.  I'm planning to make an old- fashioned jelled fruit salad that my mother made when I was young.  It's called "Cherry Coke Salad".  The version mother made didn't use the soda in it, but this is very close to hers.  It has canned Bing cherries, crushed pineapple, cherry jello, cream cheese, Cokes and chopped nuts.  Some of you may be familiar with this one.  It's been a long time since I've seen it anywhere.  My other contribution is a Hominy and Cheese Casserole containing onion, garlic, chopped chilies, cream cheese, shredded cheddar and hominy, of course.  I'll bake that tomorrow.
On either Friday or Saturday I plan to smoke or roast our own turkey and all the trimmings which we'll be eating for several days next week.  Eating at the lodge will be delightful but the leftover meals will not be available like they usually are.  So, I'll do some cooking this weekend and then perhaps I'll get to some pastel painting.  Wishing a happy, good-food holiday to ALL from our house to yours!