Turkey Day AAR
That was for Mindy Toye, who would often refer to our meetings in military terms – “After Action Review.” After an event had concluded, we would hold an AAR to discuss how it went.
The morning of Thanksgiving actually unfolded exactly according to plan. Julie was up at 6am for Turkey Detail and I slept in until 9:30. I actually slept in a lot this week, mostly because I can “sleep through a warzone.” (Julie Donahue, Interview, 11-27-2005) Julie proved this by turning the lights on in the bedroom, then opening up the door to the living room and turning on the television.
So I got up and began work on the Yorkshire Pudding, and I also had to peel and cut the carrot and turnip. I figured we would just get the frozen stuff, but I really had to work to get that sidedish in. Dave refused to eat the carrot and turnip for family reasons, but everyone did have some Yorkshire and they really liked it. Including me.
Andy brought over Rat Race, which I had never seen, and it was watched and enjoyed by all. We let the meal sit awhile and about halfway into the movie broke out the desserts! I would tell you what they were but I can’t remember what Dave’s was called, so out of fairness I won’t name the others.
There may have been a pumpkin pie. And an apple pie.
The movie was resumed but soon Andy had to leave for work, followed by his performance with the Salvation Army Brass Band at the Plaza. We wanted to go, but.. turkey. Yup. He also left his Corn Pudding and movie with us, which he has yet to reclaim.
(Saturday?) The three of us – Julie and I with her sister Amy, who spent most of the week with us – went to the movies to see Rent. So we watched Derailed, and left partway into it. It was just a little too intense for us, although now we would really like to see the end :o)
Amy left last night to go back to Chicago, and despite the tornado that hit just northeast of us, we understand that she left on time. She is supposed to upload pics on here, so hopefully that will happen soon.
And now.. I need to reboot my computer. It’s been on for 63 days and needs a breather.
As I recall, Dave’s dessert was MATRIMONIAL cake. This is a very yummy cake consisting of dates and some oatmeally goodness. Joe reported that he did not want to try the dessert because he’s not a big fan of nuts. I said, “there are no nuts in it” to which Joe responded, “Didn’t you say there were dates in it?” I believe Joe needs a lesson on the origin and nature of dates. So let me give a little lesson on the ancient fruit.
Dates are in fact NOT nuts but are a fruit that is oval-cylindrical, 3-7 cm long, and 2-3 cm diameter, and when unripe, range from bright red to bright yellow in colour, depending on variety. Dates contain a single seed about 2-2.5 cm long and 6-8 mm thick. Three main types of date exist; soft (Barhee, Halawy, Khadrawy, Medjool), semi-dry (Dayri, Deglet Noor, Zahidi), and dry (Thoory). The type of fruit depends on the glucose, fructose and sucrose content.”
Food Uses of Dates:
Dry or soft dates are eaten out-of-hand, or may be seeded and stuffed with fillings such as almonds, candied orange and lemon peel, and marzipan. Dates can also be chopped and used in a range of sweet and savoury dishes: from tajines (tagines) in Morocco to puddings, bread, cakes and other dessert items. Dates are also processed into cubes, paste, spread, date syrup or “honey”, powder (date sugar), vinegar or alcohol. Recent innovations include products such as sparkling date juice, used in some Islamic countries as a non-alcoholic version of champagne, for special occasions and religious times such as Ramadan.
Dates can also be dehydrated, ground and mixed with grain to form a nutritious stockfeed. Dried dates are fed to camels, horses and dogs in the Sahara desert. In northern Nigeria, dates and peppers added to the native beer are believed to make it less intoxicating.
Young date leaves are cooked and eaten as a vegetable, as is the terminal bud or heart, though its removal kills the palm. In India, date seeds are roasted, ground, and used to adulterate coffee. The finely ground seeds are mixed with flour to make bread in times of scarcity.
In North Africa, Ghana and the Ivory Coast, date palms are tapped for the sweet sap which is converted into palm sugar, molasses or alcoholic beverages.
For more info, you can look up Dates on Wikipedia.com
Bing!10
So . . . you’re saying that dates are nuts?
I have no experience with dates.