The Bland and the Beautiful.

I was a guest of the Chrisman family for last week's Thanksgiving Feast.

 We were Donna Chrisman, her sister Barbara, Donna's daughter Ashley,  and Jack Chrisman's second cousin Mary Evelyn.  Jack was unable to join us.

 We ate at the Peridia Country Club in Bradenton, FL,


which was very nice except that when you eat out on Thanksgiving there are no leftovers -  the best part of the feast.

 With that in mind I bought a small ready cooked Thanksgiving meal from the so-named "upscale"  F...h M....t at the the Sarasota/Bradenton University Town Abomination  (U.T.C.).

 All set to share with my neighbours, and for leftovers for me:  thinking in particular about a turkey breast and cranberry relish sandwich.

 But what a disappointment.  I encountered bland. The turkey breast was tough and dry -  made palatable only with a lashing of cranberry/orange relish (from Trader Joe's).  Even more awful was  the dressing ( I called it flavoured bread cubes); and the mashed potatoes which I swear came  from flaked or powdered origins, since the gravy could do no more than sit on top of them, and could not be absorbed.  "Wallpaper paste with gravy".

 Yes indeed it was food, for which I should be grateful, but please permit me a whine given my expectations of F...h M ....t products.
Still life with mush.

----------------------------------------------------------

But then there is beautiful. 

The gracious and caring St. Boniface Sarasota parishioner D'Arlene Llewellyn read my blog about Dundee Cake.  That inspired her to mail order this for me


Oh how good to look at, and even better to eat.  It's a delicious Fruit Cake, laden with pecans and cherries from the Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana TX.

I'll take rich Fruit Cake over bland Turkey any day!    Thank you D'Arlene.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shoe insults

Last year I consulted with a local podiatrist: Dr. Robert F Herbold Jr. D.P.M. 4717 Swift Rd., Sarasota , FL – 34231  because I was being bothered with a couple of bunions  (yes I am at that age). I was very impressed with this Doctor.  He agreed that I had bunions, but he ventured that it was much too soon for surgery. (Now there’s a first). Instead he recommended some “arch supports” to relieve the tension for my feet, a tension which was exacerbating the bunions. What’s more -  he told me that he sells these arch supports at the miserly sum of $2.50 each (about 1/5 of the price in the local pharmacies). He is an honest man, and I recommend him to anyone with foot problems. So, a couple of weeks ago, having purchased some new walking shoes, I knew that I needed to buy a couple of new arch supports I took myself to his office. Once there, my mind went blank. I wanted to ask his front desk Clerk if I could buy some “shoe inserts” , as I could not rem...
Read more

It began in Bristol U.K. "A man dies" and "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Image
I well remember the swirling controversy in Bristol, U.K. when a (Presbyterian) Minister the Revd, Earnest Marviin created a ":Rock Opera", called "A Man Dies"  in and for his congregation in the Lockleaze area of Bristol, U.K. Earnest Mrvin I was a sixteen years old member of the Plymouth Brethren Church back in those days, so I most likely disapproved of "A Man Dies" .  We, (the Plymouth Brethren),  disapproved of everything! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had forgotten all about "A Man Dies" until earlier today when saw these pictures on the "Bristol, Then and Now"  Facebook page.   St. James Presbyterian Church, Lockleaze, Bristol  The Bristol Then and Now page includes the following commentary: Lockleaze, Bristol  -  'Jesus Christ Superstar' began at St.James (Presbyterian) Chur...
Read more

The background, the couple, my friends, the wedding ceremony, the Shaykh, the Priest,

Image
The background   I have known the Keller/Bonsey family since 2000 when I became the Rector at St. James's, Cambridge, MA. They (Elisabeth Keller and the Revd. Steven Bonsey with their four children Noah, Sam, Josiah and Annie) had come back to Cambridge from Hawaii where Steve had been the Rector of an Episcopal parish. Steve had just been appointed as a Chaplain at Tufts University (no Sunday morning duties) so the entire family was able to enrich our common life at St. James's - which they did with great love and joy. I count them as friends and have stayed in touch with them since my retirement.  Noah, the oldest son is eloquent in Arabic (he spent a year in Damascus when Syria was a safe place).  He has developed a super career as an analyst of social media in the near East.    Noah worked in Tampa for a while a few years ago, so he and I were a...
Read more