Monday was for Boxes

My dear storyteller friend is living with us temporarily as she finds her way in this vast world capital of millions. One of the areas of density common in London, among many many things, is storage space. We don't have any. So, in adding a third person's food and likes and nibbles to an already creatively packed cupboard and counter top, we needed some assistance. Hence, I nicked balsa wood 'frutas y verduras' crated from the neat, clean recycle pile outside of the health food shop on my way home. It rode the Tube with me for an hour and I carried it home in the mist. It now holds pasta, can foods, and root veg on the floor in the kitchen. I also wrote about it.

Wooden boxes holding cola bottles

Wooden boxes for jalapenos

Wooden boxes for the sea shells

and tea cakes; fancy cigars and rows of jewlery

Wooden boxes to keep out of mind,

and keep the whiskey, too.

Scrambled Eggs

The whole thing this time. Written over dinner. Go figure.

I stare at my plate

of scrambled eggs and toast,

wondering if my would-be kids

will one day think my scrambled eggs

are the best.

I certainly thought my g'ma's

'eggy-poo sandwiches' were:

two scrambled eggs, squished

between toasted wheat bread

and lathered in mayo.

I think of a best friend

on the westside of LA

for whom I make the best

scrambled eggs whenever

she is sick or under the weather;

I miss her tonight in my flat,

alone with my eggs and toast.

For Sunday--Wowzer!

I just had the most amazing Sunday Roast of beef, roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots, onions and gravy that I have ever had in my entire life. I seriously thought I had died and gone to beef-parsnip heaven. Oh, and the gravy. Did I mention the gravy? I could have licked the gravy off the plate, but the customers were watching me...

Comparisons

Something I loved before I moved to England: Frozen Yogurt with mixed chips.

Something I love after I moved to England: Cheese and Pickle sandwiches. By which I mean 'pickle' as in a fruit chutney that has been 'pickled,' English style. (I haven't figured out how to describe it yet.)

3 Meat Lasagna

My great-grandma was well-known for her 3 cheese lasagna. With Alex and her family, it is 3 meat lasagna. Loving it.

For Boxing Day - A Day Around

I am a Christmas Pie convert.

Where I've Been

Wow. That is the first word that comes to mind in reflecting upon the last four days: wow. As you may have noticed, I've been gone from one a day for more than a day with Thanksgiving festivities. At home in California, there are three days of traditions. For my first year in England for Thanksgiving, there ended up being three days of festivities.

The actual day of Thanksgiving my mum-in-love brought out all the surprises after she joined us in London for the holiday so I could be with family. First, it was a bowl of Jelly Bellies and a plate of vegetarian sushi. Then, I was banished to the bedroom while her and Alex decked out the living room/dining room with fabrics, candles, potpourri, flowers and food. After that, while all the yummy food a la Marks & Spencers was being heated and the cava flowing, our front buzzer rang with surprise guests of J&E (Alex's sister & her wife) with their dog, Foxy, to top off all the surprises!! Warm, loved: such a relaxing evening with my second family on this side of the ocean.

Friday brought the baking: family recipes of sugar cookies and pumpkin pies. Attempted home-made hummus and planning for our first turkey roast the next day. I even got to talk to the family and all the cousins in California via the delightful possibilities of the internet (thank you, Skype!)

Thanksgivin' a la Tooting! happened on the Saturday with 16 of us (16!) filling out the 3 tables + chairs spread Last Supper style down the center of our living space: decorating cookies'; enjoying devilled eggs, wine and champagne; feasting on the intense amount of food provided; conducting the most stellar clean-up job I've ever seen from a collective group of people at a party; and playing games and chatting until the clock struck twelve.

Endless moments to be thankful for, countless people to feel loved by near and far, epic proportions of food to be relished over.

Mmm, the food. A one a day list to be drooled over:

• Delia's style turkey with butter, bacon, salt, Tony's Creole seasoning (not Delia style) and lemon
• Mashed potatoes with spring onions, butter, sour cream and milk
• Sweet potato souffle with pecans
• Southern Green Bean Casserole with home-made fried onions
• Cornbread
• Devilled Eggs
• Home-made hummus with carrots & celery
• Champagne, wine and sweet tea
• Nut-Vegetable Loaf
• Brie & Goats Cheese
• Cranberry sauce a la Britian
• Cranberry sauce a la Washington
• Hawaiian style stuffing
• Paxo stuffing
• Home-made sugar cookies
• Home-made pumpkin pies
• Ice cream, Double Cream, Cornish Cream
• New York Cheesecake
• Mini Mince Pies
• Chocolate Tart
• Bakewell Tart
• Tarte aux Pommes (Apple Tart)
• Citron Tart!
  

Hereditary Laughter

My g'ma has narcalepsy and it gets triggered by laughter: when something strikes her as really funny, she passes out. Some would consider this an unfortunate turn of events, given that her four children have an uncanny ability to tell a funny story and put her to sleep.

My memories of the family gathered as a young child (the oldest girl granddaughter I was usually alone and hanging out with the adults) was of someone telling a story that was obviously so funny they could barely contain their own laughter and then someone saying 'Oh, catch Mom!' or 'Catch, Grandma, quick!' as she tried to fight off the sleep and, ultimately, slumped in her chair. That said, she does wake up pretty quick and the laughter doesn't miss a beat.

Remembering just makes me miss her more. Thanksgiving is this week and ever year she hosts the epic feast in her living room turned restuarant come Turkey Day. When I missed Thanksgiving one year because I was living abroad before, she said she'd kill me if I ever missed it again. Thankfully, she's understanding this year, and as an honor to her, my living room too will become a banquet hall and, who knows, maybe it'll be a night where we all fall over in laughter.

List of Food I'm Not Proud Of

This is what I ate on Thursday:

• 1 bowl of Chocolate Wheatibix Minis
• 1 cup of tea with 1 and 1/2 spoons of sugar and milk
• 2/3 a medium KFC popcorn chicken
• 2/3 a medium KFC chips
• 1 regular size Pepsi
• 1 caramel chocolate
• 1 can of ginger beer
• 1 Snickers bar
• 1 Grande Gingerbread Latte from Starbucks
  
• 1/2 a dodgy hot-dog from Clapham Common
• 1/2 can of Scrumpy Jack
• 1 bowl of home-made, oh-s-good spaghetti bolognese a la Alex

No wonder I woke up feeling sick on Friday.