This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving. It is also the start of Oktoberfest which is the biggest outside Munich, Germany. They kick off on Friday with tapping the keg and beer will flow for a full week with lots of riotous celebrations and gemutilicheit. Lederhosen and Dirndles will appear all over the place in Kitchener and Waterloo and you won't be able to get a hotel room for love or money. We have never been to Oktoberfest despite the fact that we have been assured that it is loads of fun. I do know that a schnitzel or a beer is cheaper today than it will be next week. I believe the instances of drunk driving have been considerably reduced, but one of the biggest drawbacks is Matt cannot stand oom pah music. However, it is a great crowd pleaser and people really flock in to the community which is, of course, excellent for business in this area. I think, personally, that having an election the day after Thanksgiving and in the middle of Oktoberfest (although it is confined to this area) isn't very clever, but that's how it has been arranged.
Thanksgiving itself, of course, means turkeys and hams, pumpkin pies and
so on. I have frequently cooked a turkey breast which I have bought in the States. Unfortunately I don't have one any more and turkey breasts aren't reasonably priced here, I don't know why, I can get a 7 lb breast in NC for about $10. For two of us we really don't need the whole bird. However, as I have a "fancy" for turkey cooked at home, I might have to break down and get one. Sliced turkey from the deli just isn't the same thing at all. It occurs to me that if I did cook a turkey this weekend, I would then have some left over for sandwiches when we do our stint at the polling booths on Tuesday.
Several times I have mentioned Skype which is an internet telephone system through which you can call people, for free, wherever they are in the world, so long as they too have Skype. I had to re-load the programme recently and have just discovered all kinds of friends who have Skype. Yesterday I talked to Glenda Larke in Malaysia and my cousin in Portugal, today I talked to another friend in South Africa. I think modern technology is wonderful.
I don't like canned tuna. Having said that, Matt invented the following recipe which is the only way I will eat it.
Tuna Matt's Façon
1 6 oz can Tuna (its
best made with Tuna in olive oil)
3 Tbs capers
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1/2 bell pepper finely chopped
1/4 lge onion, finely chopped
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs mayonnaise (Hellman's or home made)
salt and pepper
shredded lettuce
1 Pita Bread
2 Mix well. Cut two Pita breads in half, open each half to make a pocket, line with shredded lettuce and fill with mixture.
3 Serve with tossed salad greens
Servings: 2
Have a great day.
This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving. It is also the start of Oktoberfest which is the biggest outside Munich, Germany. They kick off on Friday with tapping the keg and beer will flow for a full week with lots of riotous celebrations and gemutilicheit. Lederhosen and Dirndles will appear all over the place in Kitchener and Waterloo and you won't be able to get a hotel room for love or money. We have never been to Oktoberfest despite the fact that we have been assured that it is loads of fun. I do know that a schnitzel or a beer is cheaper today than it will be next week. I believe the instances of drunk driving have been considerably reduced, but one of the biggest drawbacks is Matt cannot stand oom pah music. However, it is a great crowd pleaser and people really flock in to the community which is, of course, excellent for business in this area. I think, personally, that having an election the day after Thanksgiving and in the middle of Oktoberfest (although it is confined to this area) isn't very clever, but that's how it has been arranged.
Thanksgiving itself, of course, means turkeys and hams, pumpkin pies and 
so on. I have frequently cooked a turkey breast which I have bought in the States. Unfortunately I don't have one any more and turkey breasts aren't reasonably priced here, I don't know why, I can get a 7 lb breast in NC for about $10. For two of us we really don't need the whole bird. However, as I have a "fancy" for turkey cooked at home, I might have to break down and get one. Sliced turkey from the deli just isn't the same thing at all. It occurs to me that if I did cook a turkey this weekend, I would then have some left over for sandwiches when we do our stint at the polling booths on Tuesday.
Several times I have mentioned Skype which is an internet telephone system through which you can call people, for free, wherever they are in the world, so long as they too have Skype. I had to re-load the programme recently and have just discovered all kinds of friends who have Skype. Yesterday I talked to Glenda Larke in Malaysia and my cousin in Portugal, today I talked to another friend in South Africa. I think modern technology is wonderful.
I don't like canned tuna. Having said that, Matt invented the following recipe which is the only way I will eat it.
Tuna Matt's Façon
1 6 oz can Tuna (its best made with Tuna in olive oil)
3 Tbs capers
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1/2 bell pepper finely chopped
1/4 lge onion, finely chopped
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs mayonnaise (Hellman's or home made)
salt and pepper
shredded lettuce
1 Pita Bread
2 Mix well. Cut two Pita breads in half, open each half to make a pocket, line with shredded lettuce and fill with mixture.
3 Serve with tossed salad greens
Servings: 2
Have a great day.
Elections also bring out the turkeys, hams and pumpkins, heh.
ReplyDeleteRoast a whole turkey, it's far more economical than buying just the breast. You can carve the rest of the meat when the bird is cold, layer it in containers (each container having enough for a meal for two people) and keep it in the freezer. Well, if you have a freezer that is. Then when you want a turkey another meal, defrost a container and nuke (microwave) the meat for a couple of minutes in a sealed container with some of the jelly from roasting the bird, or a little stock if you don't have an of the jelly by then. It still tastes pretty good.
If you don't have a freezer, I guess you could make loads of sandwiches and share them around at the polls. Or make a turkey and bacon fricassee another time. :P
It's hard to coordinate Skype with the odd timezones between eastern Canada and Western Australia, Jo, but do keep an eye open for my being on line!
ReplyDeleteJo --
ReplyDeleteMay I ask: for what is Canada saying thank you?
October Fest. I've been to Munich's. Not a beer drinker, I am still wondering why I went there.
Marilyn
Actually a breast is more economical for us if I buy them in the States. Not here though. And, yes, I do have a freezer. I couldn't live without one.
ReplyDeleteI have spoken to Annalou on the phone in the past, mind you it was pretty early in the morning for me - or late at night.
Canada has lots to be thankful for Marilyn, it is a wonderful country, very bounteous, very beautiful, very spacious, and full of undeveloped natural resources.
Thanksgiving is a celebration of the harvest. The United States also celebrates this event, but at a later date. Do you have a comparable celebration Marilyn?
ReplyDeleteI hope the Canadian government keepd its head on straight and doesn't do as the Aussies have been doing in recent years - selling all our natural resources overseas and allowing our own seconday industries to disappear. So we sell e.g. our iron to China, china makes it into things to sell back to us. Is that daft or what?
ReplyDeleteDunno about France but I know British churches have Harvest Festival. But the question was "For what is Canada saying thank you?" which covers a lot more than the harvest I think.
ReplyDeleteI think, by don't quote me, we already sell our oil to the States and pay through the nose for it ourselves.