Comfort food

Thanksgiving just passed. We're in the throes of a major kitchen remodel so it's a hard thing not to have a kitchen on the holiday most associated with home cooking than any other. However, it has been years since I've cooked a Thanksgiving meal.

Last year, we went to Portland and had an Hawaii style feast with NO turkey. The two years prior to that and again this year, we ate at our friend's restaurant where he preps a beautiful spread complete with turkey.

Next year though, I'm going to make my own Thanksgiving meal in my new kitchen. One would think the remodel will be well over and done by then, right? So why wouldn't I have my kitchen to prepare a fantastic Thanksgiving meal?

That's the thing about Thanksgiving -- for my husband, it is full of comfort food, specifically, mashed potatoes and gravy. I mean, I'll make those things. But for me, Thanksgiving is incomplete without my mom's pancit and lumpia. Oh, and there must be pipikaula or poke to have with the beer and football; Uncle Johnny usually brought that. Would be nice if we could have some of Uncle Peter's noodles and maybe a pot of dinagaraan (aka dinuguan) with which to trick the haoles. That trick was a favorite of Uncle Morris -- usually played on boyfriends of the teenaged cousins of my childhood. There was always a pot of rice that didn't fall apart when scooped, but wasn't gluey or soupy. And the best part of the turkey was the jook that came the day after.

For me, comfort food is hot rice and crispy fried spam. Or maybe Portugese sausage and eggs. Even a hot bowl of S&S saimin with kamaboko fish cake is the food of my youth. And yes, of my soul.

I like go home.