turkey a go go

thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. it probably has a lot to do with the food, but there is something else that just makes it the best day in my book. we went to martha's vineyard for a few years. something about the cold ocean smells and the grey days just made everything absolutely wonderful and cozy. there was the year in chicago, where josh and i cooked a turkey we named stella for mostly a vegetarian crowd. it was my first attempt at fried cauliflower also. the vegetarians loved the cauliflower. my mother still makes it better than i do though. she is the master and i only the apprentice. i remember spending a thanksgiving in florida with my aunt and uncle, and that was slightly disastrous and the stuffing was frankly gross. fourth form thanksgiving was spent at the ole miss mississippi state football game- we ate beforehand and bounced on a trampoline- full of green beans and cornbread stuffing. my last two thanksgivings were spent in santa cruz, where time stands still a bit, and the smell of the ocean just reaches you in the morning. where friends really do become family and where having at least 10 pies is not extravagant but necessary. i am missing my santa cruz family, my california family today. because being in california meant not only time with molly and her family, but with my brother and sister and nick's aunt and uncle.

today would have been the day to arrive, to drink some wine and cuddle up by the outdoor fire. nick and i are sad to miss the friends and the feasts. but we have our own 15 pound turkey that is brining as i type and new friends to share our modest feast with this year. it is sort of my first offical grown up thanksgiving. but next year, i believe it will be back to the commune we go. its just too hard to stay away.