Day 34, Year 11: Family Thanksgiving
Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Weather: Partly Sunny, High in the 80’s F
Location: At Home with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco, Aguada, Puerto Rico
It has been years since we have been together with both of our children for Thanksgiving and we have never had a Thanksgiving with all of the grandchildren. So this was a very special day.
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| 151125 Day 34a Puerto Rico–All Together Now |
And it was also a very busy day. Ziggy and I walked up the street early this morning to visit with the Goldstones and I didn’t get back to Justin and Jo’s until they checked out of the rental home at 12 noon. I chopped celery and onions to make stuffing and helped Heather pack up all the food supplies to take to Justin and Jo’s. We also did laundry and before we knew it, check-out time had arrived. Early on, Jed took Ollie to the beach while the ‘gang’—Sam, Jonah, and Ziggy—walked back to Justin and Jo’s to play. Eventually Sam came back and went to the beach to join Jed and Ollie, but they all returned sooner than expected as Jed was concerned about the water quality. Evidently it rained up in the mountains last night and the run-off from a nearby river flowing into the ocean caused the water to turn brown. The brown comes from the color of the soil but it is also indication water quality issues. Unfortunately, the water quality issues are not usually reported for a day or two. So to be on the safe side, Jed cut the beach stay a little short. Once we had everything moved it was time for lunch. Ollie had the idea of having pumpkin pie with whipped cream for lunch, and many of us made that choice. After all, it was our Thanksgiving Day and we had a huge pumpkin pie we had bought at Costco. So there was enough to have it for lunch and for after dinner. After lunch, it was time to start the cooking for our Thanksgiving feast. Heather, Jed, and boys headed out to a beach further down the coast where the water quality was not supposed to be an issue. But again, they returned early. This time it was not because of water quality. Jed stepped on a sea urchin and needed to get home to take care of that. As Heather said, that was a beach trip they just should not have taken. But as long as they were back, Heather pitched in with the kitchen crew preparing the feast. And a feast it was—chicken, turkey, local fish, stuffing, gravy, cranberry salad, kale and carrot salad, breadfruit mashed like potatoes, baked squash, broccoli, and more pumpkin pie with the added addition of pecan pie, both topped with whipped cream. Jo, Ziggy, and Coco all need gluten and dairy-free foods so I brought Olivia’s gluten-free stuffing from Whole Foods back home. Jo made the most amazing gluten and dairy-free pecan pie. I think it might be the best pecan pie I have ever had. And we also had a gluten-free pumpkin pie and gluten-free cornbread that was part of J&J’s weekly box of locally grown veggies and other food goodies. Jo also made fantastic gluten-free gravy using Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Flour. It was nice to have the local addition of breadfruit and squash grown here in J & J’s garden. And we prepared all of this food without an oven. We roasted the chickens and squash on the grill and used a big toaster oven to bake the stuffing and the turkey breast. Needless to say, we all feel like stuffed turkeys tonight!
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| 151125 Day 34b Puerto Rico–Family Thanksgiving |
Heather, Jed, and boys are staying here at Justin and Jo’s with us tonight and they will be leaving early in the morning. I think we will have a relaxed day at home tomorrow until mid-afternoon when Justin, Jo, and kids go to a Thanksgiving pot luck dinner with friends. We probably have enough left-overs to feed all of their friends.
