By Micki Bare
Nearly four decades is a pretty good run, I suppose. However, if there ever comes a time when I can savor the tastes and textures of land meats again, I won’t complain.
Ever since I developed a hiatal hernia, my now-fickle digestive system has been unable to tolerate meat.
Most of the year, it is no big deal. I can eat all the fish I want with nary a burp. So when folks cook out, I’m happy to throw a tuna steak or salmon burger on the grill. Unfortunately, when the weather becomes chilly and the turkey and ham goes on sale, I once again achingly long for the traditional fare of the holidays.
There is simply no substitute for a fat, juicy turkey stuffed with herbs and dripping with golden turkey fat.
Add to that some homemade gravy delicately created with the drippings and some flour over low heat while the cooked bird sits on the counter awaiting the family carver, and you have a culinary masterpiece for the mind, body and soul.
Sure, I could slice open a salmon, stuff it with herbs and simmer up a nice white sauce to dribble upon the pink portions. And while it might look, smell and taste heavenly on any other day of the year, it contradicts every holiday memory stored in my aging brain.
Salmon, as delectable as it can be made, will always lack that traditional Thanksgiving feel.
On top of which, I happen to make an amazing, homemade sweet potato soufflé. The pecan-crumble topping is superb. And while it perfectly complements a golden turkey and warm cranberry sauce, it doesn’t pair all that well with a salmon dish.
So what’s a traditional meat-loving girl with digestive issues to do during this meaty time of year?
Suffering the digestive consequences is not an option, as it would be extremely painful and would require copious amounts of pink liquid medicine to take the edge off. Cutting off the rest of the family from the traditional menu is also not an option.
I could never deprive my children, Hubby, Mom or extended family and friends of the delicacies of a traditional Thanksgiving meal.
What would Thanksgiving be without my youngest scheming on how to score both drumsticks? What would Hubby take for lunch between Thanksgiving and Christmas break if our refrigerator was devoid of turkey salad and cold spiral-ham slices?
A fish has no drumsticks, and my child would never try to outsmart his brothers for a fin. Salmon salad aromas leaking from a paper sack by mid-morning would not please Hubby or his coworkers as they counted down the days until the Christmas break.
Therefore, rather than alter the menu, I will add to it. There are plenty of side dishes we can make and I can enjoy without ending up in the bathroom writhing in pain instead of asleep in front of the football games.
Of course, not filling up on turkey and ham will probably mean I’ll be awake during after-dinner football — hmmm, things are looking up.
In addition to the traditional sides, like cranberry sauce, biscuits, a variation of corn and some sort of green bean concoction, we can slip in a few other items. Of course, we’ll have to be deliberate about the dishes not contrasting with our usual menu selections.
A salad, complete with dark greens like spinach and lots of garden vegetables can be tweaked to fit the holiday. By mixing in dried fruits and nuts, we can add a fall-harvest feel to an otherwise summery side dish.
Soup would be a great addition to the menu as well. I don’t get to enjoy warm fall and winter soups when we eat out because even the veggie soups and clam chowders found in most restaurants are created with a chicken stock base.
However, a steaming pot of homemade squash soup is something everyone, including my drumstick-loving youngest, could really savor prior to engorging on the Thursday meat-feast.
The scent of such a soup would go well with the turkey, sage and thyme aromas wafting from the oven during a morning filled with high-definition coverage of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
So, in addition to the cranberry sauce, sweet potato soufflé, corn, green beans and biscuits, I have a fall-harvest salad and squash soup to look forward to while ensuring everyone else also enjoys a fat bird and spiral-sliced pig.
I’m starting to believe that omitting the meat from my plate on Thursday afternoon won’t be so bad after all.
And we haven’t even discussed all the meat-free cheesecake, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, cookies and gallons of coffee that I will have plenty of room for in my meatless stomach come Thursday evening.
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Micki Bare is a columnist for the Arkansas News Bureau and the Courier-Tribune in Asheboro, N.C., and author of the book, “Relative Expressions.” She lives in Asheboro with her husband and three children. Her e-mail address is mickibare@inspiredscribe.com.
