Bountiful

The persimmons and pomegranates came from my Italian neighbor Daniella's garden at the end of the road. The lemons came from the tree in front of our house. I thought they looked beautiful together in our Egyptian bowl and made a perfect pre-Thanksgiving shot. They will all go into the salad tomorrow. We will reflect as we eat it how fortunate we are to live in a place where fresh fruit from the garden is available at the end of November.

I thought I would make my traditional broccoli salad today, since it can easily marinate overnight in the fridge. I had to work around David who was painting the trim around the new front door and repairing a crack in the ceiling which seemed to be traveling at an alarming rate across the room toward the opposite wall. To me it indicated imminent collapse of the ceiling. OilMan insisted that it wasn't a problem because he "never looks up".  David assured me that it was just normal settling. Whatever...I'm glad it's fixed.

I also had to work around OilMan, who who was making last minute adjustments to his barbecue, hunting everywhere for the roasting rack which never turned up, and deciding that the turkey had to be in the middle of the kitchen counter to defrost properly. I don't think it was ever frozen but a memorable case of food poisoning contracted one year from improperly thawed turkey led him to be extra vigilant and me to move it to the sink.  But then David spilled paint all over himself and the floor and needed the sink....

A welcome pause to speak on the pone to an old Berkeley friend gave David time to put everything to rights but delayed the broccoli proceedings still further. We have a fair contingent of diners made up of those who are vegetarians and those who won't touch vegetables. The broccoli salad is my attempt at disguising an often unloved vegetable, because I like it. I don't know if it works, but we continue to have it every year. Heaven knows what they will think about the Brussels sprouts, even though I intend to drench them in maple syrup and sprinkle them with walnuts....

I love this holiday. It seems to be about all the right things...family, friends, gratitude, food and togetherness. We have a lot to be thankful for this year and also some sadness  because Amy's mother has just been diagnosed with cancer, and Amy and Matt and the girls will be staying in LA with her this year. They will be missed.