Last night I was in our local grocery market (avoiding the WalMart SatanCenter - as my wife calls it) picking up some last minute items to complete the gluten-free dishes I'm whipping up for my gluten-free mother who is visiting from LA for the holiday.
Potato flour, check.
Corn meal, check.
Natural chicken stock with no MSG or modified food starch...uh, 2 cans, way in the back.
Gluten free bread....uh, don't even think it (the nearest Trader Joe's is 8 hours away in Albuquerque or St. Louis, sigh.)
Mi Madre will just have to make do with cornmeal based stuffing.
While trying to decide if gizzards and giblets were one in the same thing (gizzards are giblets), I cart-bumped into a young mother who is active in the PTO and innocently asked her whether or not she was cooking for her brood and country this weekend.
Shaking her head with all the vigor of a 12-year old playing speed Tennis on their Wii, she told me that she hadn't yet earned that right.
Seems in her clan, the preparation of the extended brood Turkey Day meal is relegated to the most senior of the female family delegates. One has to "earn" the privilege(?) and right to take on such a daunting task, the current culinary throne being shared by a Grandmother and a pair of Great Aunts.
With a Mother and Mother-in-Law, a half-dozen Aunts, several older Cousins and eager spouses of assorted other relatives waiting in the nutritive wings of the family feast stage, young PTO mom is far and away from being eligible to step into the gourmet spotlight.
But she didn't seem all the bummed about it.
Happy Gluten-Free Thanksgiving to all! Who's up for seconds on our crust-less pumpkin pie?
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3 comments:
I wonder if your marital status is ever used as a qualifying standard to become the "priviledged" person who gets to cook the Thanksgiving Day feast. Being the only single one in my family, it doesn't even cross anyone's mind that I should get that role. Heck, I'm even encouraged to come empty-handed. Not that I'm complaining. I like taking advantage of one of the perks of being single :)
How'd your gluten-free meal turn out? Very nice of you to go to that extra effort for tu madre.
Single and forty...did I ever mention that I had a brother who is single and forty and...
He brought my Mom out from LA for the big feast and turned out to be a good chauffeur, luggage sherpa.
Seeing my small town through his fresh eyes (his first visit here ever) has been a treat.
No, I don't recall you mentioning your brother being single and forty, but then again, I've only been an infrequent visitor over the past several months (and not under this name - reverted to a former one for privacy reasons). Being a good chauffeur & luggage sherpa are definitely great selling points. Does he cook too? :P~~~~
It is good to see your hometown through fresh eyes, because it makes you stop taking its finer points for granted.
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