[Show as slideshow]

 

Soundtrack of Mi Vida: Rich Girls Poor Girls- Everybody Else

I ain’t big on the turkey so roasted up cornish hens with cinnamon, cumin, and quince. Quince is a fragrant and super tart apple-pear like fruit that is shaped like a tennis ball. Roasted it gives off umeboshi like flavoring. My first time using the fruit and found that it paired well with the spices and just needed a little sugar for balance. Wok cooked up a cream of sweet yam soup that had a good cinnamon kick to add the extra warmth needed for dining al fresco on a brisk fall night. It tasted even better the next day. Friends brought the wonderful carbs and greens which included potato balls (Khanh), candied yams with strawberries(Nina), seafood linguine(Ernie), chinese chick salad (Stee & Kim), waldorf salad(Jordan), turkey and cran stuffing(David), mash tators(Stee and Julie), and veggie apps (G and Minh). The booze of the night was Beaujolais noveau from Dupond and Duboeuf–both light and tasty to quaff as you gorge.

I am glad that I have times like these to combat the Grinch in me. Consumerism during the holidays it takes on a whole new nadir and has been straight bumming me out lately. The downside of economic knowledge and maybe knowledge of institutions in general, is the more you learn the more you see that the world is a machine trying to exploit you—damn all that Yunnus and NPR killing all the Xmas magic. So this holiday season do what Reverend Billy says, “Buy less, and give more.”

Soundtrack of Mi Vida: Terrapin(Mr.Scruff Remix)-Bonobo