So I'm almost done with storing up for Winter.

However, the other night, my craving for homemade, oven-roasted turkey-- aside from a recent, obsessive craving for salty foods-- resurfaced while talking to a good friend on the telephone.  For the past two years, I hadn't slaved over a Thanksgiving-ish meal since my aunt's been inviting me over to her wine-and-food extravaganzas.  And I kinda missed the joy and accomplishment of taking eight hours to cook something really yummy and heart-filled like a turkey.

I apologize to my vegetarian friends for this entry.  But I only eat oven-roasted turkey once, maybe twice, a year.  And so I'm not on the top-ten hit list of avian murderers.

In any case, my good friend told me about a recent experience at her house.  She said that sometime after Christmas, she cooked-up a turkey for her family with a couple of simple sides like sweet potatoes and salad.  Simple (i.e., no Martha Stewart touches or presentations).  

Well, it turned out that her family enjoyed the meal far more than the Thanksgiving and Christmas ones!  And let me just say that my good friend's version of a holiday meal is always exceptional.  So this recount of a general family meal was just a tremendous kick to my crotch.

"I don't know why they liked this turkey meal better than the last one", she said.  "But I REALLY enjoyed making it.  I didn't have to make plans.  I just baked the turkey, made the sides I felt like making...  AND I got to take as much time as I wanted to make everything!"

It was a nice surprise to hear my Capricornian friend talk about the enjoyment of holiday food sans an obligation to a holiday tradition.  There was a huge difference between HAVING to do something and WANTING to do something, after all.  And I had no doubt in my mind that her family certainly appreciated such a wonderful, laborious culinary surprise.

I'd become inspired, vowing to make my turkey and spectacular sides... whenever I damn well felt like it, this season.