To turkey or not to turkey

It’s Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend, and my mind is on food. I cooked a 20-pound turkey yesterday with stuffing, gravy, veg, the whole bit. There was my little family of five to eat it since all Thanksgiving plans got cancelled due to COVID, and we will be eating leftover turkey for days. Truth. I hate cooking a turkey.

I don’t have any nostalgic connection to Thanksgiving turkey dinners. My mother never cooked a turkey for Thanksgiving. Maybe its because it cost an absolute fortune to buy one in Tokyo, or perhaps she didn’t like to cook them. Regardless, a Thanksgiving turkey dinner is not and will never be my thing,

I love to have a giant feast for my local family and friends. I typically cook lamb shanks, champagne ham, beef stews – anything to avoid the dreaded 4 hours of greasy turkey basting. I’ve done turkey thanksgivings but my lamb shank dinners are the ones consistently requested. I wanted to cook a turkey this year because it felt like something that should be nostalgic, homey and comforting – something we could all use a little more of these days.

My son and I went for a walk in the forest while the turkey cooked. My daughter planned some decorations for the table. Our family sat together, and all three kids ate the food! Even the dog was thrilled, licking grease off the floor. At the end of the night, I curled up on the couch with a mini pumpkin pie baked in a ginger cookie crust.

Today, I plan to cook a Caribbean turkey soup and later I’ll drop off a leftover turkey dinner at my parent’s doorstep because no matter what I cook, it’s about sharing with the ones you love. Happy Thanksgiving to all – turkey lovers and haters alike.

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