Thankful for the Harvest and Friends

    OK, the trick here is for a greenhorn to boast of botanical bonuses (and pretend to have a green thumb) while not sounding like one of her grandmother's garden reports. If I skip the rainfall stats (there wasn't much to speak of anyway), average temps (everyplace has temps), barometric readings (ummmmmmm), dew drop indexes (duhhhhhhh) and whatever else, I'll have....

Gardenia in the Herbarium

    THANKSGIVING!   The joy of serving up smidgens of one's own puny garden as part of the grand feast and calling oneself Pilgrim.  It took me entirely too long to figure out that if the winter's rains were not going to happen, I would have to water by hand. A neighbor's tomato plants are as tall as a man, my tomato plants are knee high.  But, the long dormant gardenia plant came to life. A gorgeous, fragrant bloom heralded the harvest to come.  The herbs growing in the  same location were ready to take their place on my table.  The beets went through waves of new greenery which, happily proved par for course for that vegetable. In fact, although not a traditional Thanksgiving dish, Yale Beets was served up as part of my harvest.

   I suppose someone could complain about a lot of effort for so little result [the clay pot behind the gardenia yielded just these four beets] but I am completely stoked over the result. The greens provided a second meal's vegetable and I quickly enhanced the soil and replanted more beet seeds with the hope I'll have vegetables before summer ends. There is no 'harvest season' here like in North America. Fruit and vegetables grow year round on their own harvest schedules.  Tomatoes don't see much of summer and soon I will be picking some farmer's crop for my canning pleasure.  

Keith,  Kev,  Paul and turkey

    But back to the present,  It's getting too warm to do serious indoor cooking and, while I would cook a Thanksgiving supper on the Fourth of July, this time we have an out-of-town guest.  A friend of Kevin was here from Melbourne and the sun went into hiding for two days. So I snipped some thyme, pulled some semi-developed onions and eased the beets out of soil.  The turkey stuffed and in the oven (the smell so great a torture to the neighbors not invited) then I cut corners on preparing the  beans and sweet potatoes. Hey, it wasn't that cool outside or in to do all sorts of casseroling.  The cranberry sauce was right out of a jar. It's the best part about cooking a T-giving dinner for neophytes, they don't know what it is supposed to look like and won't know where the skimping has been done. Our neighbor Keith, who loves roasted turkey, joined us.  
    So, modest as it was on all accounts, this Thanksgiving we were thankful for the harvest and friends to share it with.

The Fourth of July 2010

   Yep, looks like it is a tradition in our house. Roasted turkey with stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin soup and  cranberry sauce all in quantities guaranteed to put the average human being into a food coma.  Thanksgiving, you ask?  Nope. The American day of Independence- the 4th of July.  It's cold out here folks. Turning on the oven helps warm up at least part of the house. Besides, the weather is too warm at the end of November to have a 23 pound turkey roasting all day.  If you are going to switch the seasons on me, I am going to switch the menus. Thank you very much.

   And one tradition begets another.  Our friend and neighbor Keith really likes turkey.  He doesn't cook much for himself, so we invite him over fairly regularly for supper.  Naturally, the 4th of July is the perfect occasion for all of us.  I play American patriotic music, Keith enjoys  his favorite poultry and Kev has his lunches planned for the week. Keith always brings over champagne to our little dinner parties (both he and I really enjoy a glass or two of "champers") Last year, as a surprise, Keith also brought a mudcake (a cross between pound cake and cheesecake) wonderfully decorated with an American flag. On top were a few star shaped sparklers. Oh, what fun!
   This year he kind of came to the same conclusion that we did. Once is an event, twice is a tradition. So with the bottles of champagne came a large box.  No peeking!  On goes the patriotic music CD, the guys talk sports while I put the finishing touches to supper.  Kev and I alternate cooking duties but he never attempts The Turkey Dinner.  After we ate our fill, the order comes, "Hilary, close your eyes!"   And I wait.  I hear the box opening. I hear matches being struck. I smell the odor of sulphur filling the room. And......voila!

Here comes the Fourth of July surprise!

An airy sponge cake decorated with chocolate writing and a few of the really cool star shaped sparklers. Along with a handful of American flags. Absolutely perfect.               

I haven't properly introduced you to our Keith. He is  a native son of Western Australia, indeed of the very neighborhood we live in. His elementary school is a few blocks north. He has "officially" retired a couple of times but cannot stand the boredom of being still. Keith and Kev both belong to the same lawn bowls club (that's how they met.) He has never been out of the country or even flown in an airplane. (A rarity for an Australian) But he does like to hear other people's stories.   He has never seen snow (not so rare for an Australian) and enjoys a bit of gardening. He helps care for the landscaping at the bowls club and even our mini patch of dirt while we are away.  He is a very good neighbor that way.  When we are out of town, he collects our mail and keeps an eye out on the place.

And we enjoy our Keith's company every time he comes for supper.