Outstanding In Their Field
It is that time of the year. Time to test the fire extinguisher in the house and not out in the field.
I still remember an article about fire safety that I read years ago. It stated that the #1 and #2 cause of fires in the home were electrical and careless use of smoking materials, respectively. I do wonder if smoking is still #2 given how successful anti-smoking campaigns have been.
However, the article did state that was until the winter holidays. That is when mishaps while cooking become the #1 cause of fires in the home. I hope in two weeks to be able to sit at my desk in a house that has survived Thanksgiving and write this article again. At the age of 59, I will attempt to cook my first ever Thanksgiving meal for a table seating 16.
Images of the overcooked turkey from the Griswold dinner table in the classic Christmas movie come to mind. I better have plenty of water available just in case.
My wife will help some, but I hope to carry the brunt of the load since she will be working the day before and the 3 days following “turkey day.” I hope she has enough time to make cornbread biscuits again.
I presume everyone remembers earlier this year when the poultry farms in the U.S. once again experienced outbreaks of bird flu in their flocks. This did cause quick and lasting price spikes for eggs and chicken products. Turkey farms were not spared the infections. There were even some media reports that turkey might be unavailable for the late November holiday.
I have heard these media alarms before. In previous years it was butter, cranberries, pumpkins, peanut butter, and bacon, and probably something else I am missing. Honestly, I would not mind replacing the turkey with ham, and I am not even a pork producer.
I found the claims of shortages and extreme prices to be over-hyped. If I was a producer or retailer, I could even perpetuate them for my own financial gain. I hear the price of butter is high, but my waistline and gall bladder will be better off if the butter ration is reduced. Once again, we were able to buy all the turkey we needed during a sale. This year, we bought 2 smaller birds for only $.29/pound.
I had contemplated purchasing a federal goose stamp and shooting some of the hundreds of geese that fly over my farm every day, but I chose to hunt the sales at the store instead of the wildlife. I am not sure how long it would take me to clean and cook a goose, and there is always that awkward moment when one of the diners accidentally finds some shotgun BBs in their meat.
Being thankful for another successful year of farming is a bonus to family and health. I hope everyone finds much to be thankful for this year, especially not having a kitchen fire!
And remember my advice about fire prevention: Never use an open flame to melt beeswax or fry oil in a structure you are not willing to burn to the ground. I suspect the firemen would rather not have to work on the holiday, too.
I actually put the birds in the fridge two days ago. Every year there is still ice in the belly of the beast with only 4-5 days of thawing.
John