too much is the right amount.

neighbors,

i'm going to ask you to take a look at the fattest plate of fatness

that i've eaten since exactly one year ago.

ha.

check the too-much-is-the-right-amount-type teleport:

holy sh!t!!!

i overdid it. as usual.

i went all-out. as per normal operating procedures.

i took it too far, which is the correct distance to travel on thanksgiving.

guys,

i crushed nine+ hours of creative activation,

and focused participation,

and culinary domination,

and came up with pounds and pounds of indulgent dopeness

for the fat faces of  the people gathered in the name of grateful family togetherness.

and that's not including the wednesday pre-prep i powered through, 

in the morning and the night,

in order to make absolutely certainly positive that every damned thing 

went all the way to eleven. 

what was on the menu?

EVERYthing!!

but, like, what specifically was cookin?

ah.

well,

i slow-simmered up a potful of homemade maple-syrup-sweetened cider-stewed 

vanilla-kissed woodsly goodsly cranberry sauce.

yup.

that's expert.

plus,

no thanksgiving is complete without gravy,

and if there's gravy, what's better than that?

how about also having mushroom gravy?!

yuuuuuuuuuuuup.

two kinds of gravy is clearly and measurably better than just one weak boatful.

that's expert.

you know i have been slowly improving my largely-underappreciated

from-scratch vegan sausage roast.

well, i made the best one yet,

and it was fried up with leeks and carrots and celery,

spices, parsley, and maple-sweetened Folk Life cornbread,

for a big ol' broth-moistened batch of dressing!

which was also the best version of itself so far.

mmhmm.

SO expert.

there was cornbread, of course,

and garlic'd collard greens, for all that iron-rich awesome nutrient power.

we needed it, and we had it.

yum.

four grain fancy rice dressing/stuffing has got a lot of spicy veggie brownification

and just a tiny hint of crunch,

but more importantly, 

it has acres of garlic and spices, and red, black, short and long grains of ricey niceness,

for underneath, and also inside of the HOUSE-RECIPE VEGAN ROAST!

poultry-esque seasonings, pink beans, tofu, wheat gluten, 

and a few other proprietary blended bits of beigeness,

wrapped around a big lovin' spoonful of that rice,

and baked up into a crisp-bottomed, 

juicy leek-and carrot-basted ball of vegetarian barbarianism!

word up.

slices carved off of that jammer made everybody happy all at once.

roasted rainbow veggies?

teleport:

we doo-doo that pretty-colored pan of everything good:

blue and red potatoes, parsnips, baby carrots, pearl onions, 

butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and brussels sprouts.

that's true expert root magic from the earth!

speaking of true magic-

mashed baked sweet potatoes,

with brown sugar and olive oil, black pepper, caramelized shallots,

and from-scratch tempeh bacon bits?

kaBOOMFIRE, b!tches.

if you're not about it, 

i think you need to get outta here.

and while we're getting into orange-hued hottness,

maybe just quickly check the teleport:

butternut squash, cinnamon, olive oil, nutmeg, toasted pecans, and dried cranberrries!!!

c'mon.

that's new england white people sh!t taken to the utmost, am i right?

hahaha.

what did the kids like the best?

the skin-on homeboy style garlic mashed potatoes.

yep.

kids like regular stuff, even when it's not all that regular.

have you been keeping count?

collards, cornbread, roast, double gravy, double dressing, double orange bits,

potatoes, roasted veggies, and cranberry sauce?

that's twelve separate dishes, 

from scratch, 

with very nearly no recipes at all, y';all.

expert recognize expert,

...........and i didn't even mention the hors d'oeuvres or desserts!

woooooooo!!!!

i'm on that proactively practicing what i preach jauns,

and it all happened flawlessly,

and flavorfully,

and with absolute savagery in F*ing full effect.

mmhmmmm.

believe it.

***********

i did an awful lot of all it.

but, i mean, i sort of always do.

my little ampy-d peeled squash, and chopped a lot of stuff.

maple peeled apples and helped some, as well.

the other two?

well,

they were here.

and that's likely a type of moral support, isn't it?

probably.

-

there's hard styles and soft foods, 

family togetherness,

and holiday spirit and memory.

it's all a part of a bigger picture,

and it's all really happening;

never quiet, never soft.....

this is my 400th post this year.

that's tied for the most i've ever written, from back during far worse times.

it's nice to know that i've got more and better true stories to tell these days.

thanks are given, and truths are told.