The Big Fat Aftermath

(Remember, this is not just a theology blog; this is a food and theology blog.)

I freely admit I am somewhat obsessed with food. My wife calls me a foodie; I prefer the more accurate and blunt term of food snob. I have few habits or hobbies and lead a relatively simple lifestyle, but food is a Big Deal for me. (BTW, IANA fattie, NTTAWWT.) I like the finer gastronomical delights, and when I am able, gladly indulge myself.

Calling and mission, however, involve sacrifice, and as it turns out, my present location is one of the worst possible for a food snob. Not India; I love good Indian food, but in my town, even good Indian food is difficult to find, let alone other cuisines. There's an extremely small number of restaurants; there's not even a Punjabi dhaba (normally ubiquitous even in very small towns)! The food section of our largest and best "super" market has fewer items than a single aisle of your average American grocery store. Except for a few quirky exceptions (praise God for olive oil and Italian pasta), it's difficult to get ingredients for anything beyond the lamentable local cuisine, one of the worst in India. (Don't even get me started on the vegetable selection.) Seriously. It seems like most people eat only about seven different dishes and will refuse to try a dish from even a different part of the same state.

So, it's a tough place for a food snob. Putting together an American-style Thanksgiving is a challenge. One has to use ingenuity and work with what is available (and shop strategically when one visits the capital.) Here's what we did:

1. Rotisserie chicken in our fancy new micro-grill (quite good, but the appliance can only hold a three pound bird at most)
2. Bread stuffing (sage is awesome)
3. Mashed potatoes & gravy (meh)
4. Sweet corn (one of the few nice canned items available)
5. Peas & beans
6. Deviled eggs
   
7. Carrot & raisin salad (unfortunately California raisins are no longer available, but the local variety tastes fine if a little crunchy)
8. Meat loaf (was quite good but sort of got lost in the shuffle)
9. Apple pie (my wife is an awesome baker)
   
10. Banana bread

I think that was all. Overall, it was quite enjoyable, though a lot of work as everything has to be made from scratch. Thankfully, except for a few minutes at the end, there were no power cuts to interrupt all the baking. We have plenty of leftovers, so no need to cook today.

Yay! The holiday eating season has officially begun!