Making and breaking plans -Tarte Tartin

I am feeling a little lighter today with Thanksgiving under my belt a belt that has been loosened at this point. I am trying to go with the flow and not take myself so seriously.

I cooked for Thanksgiving I hadn't intended on cooking but that is just the way it worked out.

A friend from the program has had Thanksgiving for the past twenty plus years at her house. It was kind of an open invitation and some years I attended and some years I cooked for my ex's family. But it was always a given that some of us or all of us would make it over for at least dessert. This year she decided not to cook.

That isn't exactly true she told me on the phone last night she took no less than six dishes to the woman's house where she was invited. She let a few people know in a passive aggressive way that she didn't feel like doing it this year. Don't we hate disappointing people or in this case just admitting that she didn't really feel like having it at her house. She has got a lot going on right now and everyone would have understood.

We think our traditions are so important that the world will end if we don't follow through with them that sometimes we end up doing things out of obligation instead of out of joy.

I gave up all traditions around the holidays after the "Pilgrims and Indians Episode" I wrote about in my previous post. We don't have to wait until the holidays to eat good food and celebrate with the people we love. It is too much pressure and too much work cramming every thing into one meal. Especially if your the cook.

In the program I learned to have a back up plan. Not to put all my eggs in one basket especially if that basket is too close to the edge of the table. I had a pork tenderloin in the freezer so we had a sesame seed crusted pork tenderloin, baked macaroni and cheese, broccoli casserole, apple pie and Tarte Tatin a french apple dessert brought over by our French friend.

We had a second celebration with another friend with the leftovers yesterday. We sliced the pork over a big salad and roasted potatoes and cauliflower and had more apples for dessert. It was a light meal after a long walk and we got to catch up. It was an easy relaxed Thanksgiving and a happy one for me.