I've eaten turkey on every American Thanksgiving for the past 20 years, excluding '04, when I was a strict vegetarian. Each time, I gorge myself full of turkey, stuffing, brussels sprouts, string beans, and mashed potatoes and then sleep off my food coma on the couch with football - or, in one of the weird Levine family traditions,
The Color Purple - blasting in the background.
This year, confronted with the workload of six classes and looming graduate school application deadlines, I have opted to remain north of the border. I know a lot of Americans at McGill like to gather together on Thanksgiving, roast a turkey, and commemorate the Pilgrims, but I honestly don't have time this year. So I came up with a brilliant solution. This weekend while doing homework and cramming for exams, I set a pot of turkey and white bean minestrone on the stove to simmer. I made enough to feed a very hungry person for about five days. This week, in between research papers, exams, and grad school applications, I'll get my annual dose of tryptophan while simultaneously facing the demons of my final year.
The soup was fairly painless to make. In a large stock pot I sautéed chopped onion, carrots, and bell peppers with olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, rosemary, and dried basil. When the vegetables were tender I added five turkey sausages (casings removed). It's important to break up the turkey meat while it cooks at this stage: you don't want large chunks of turkey sausage in the final dish. With the sausage cooked, I added two cans of white beans, a can of chopped tomatoes, and four cups of chicken broth (always look for low sodium broth and then adjust the seasoning yourself). I let this simmer, covered, for about an hour, and added one cup of elbow pasta. Be really careful to prevent the pasta from overcooking - doing so will make a disappointing soup. As my pasta was finishing cooking, I stirred in a few cups of baby spinach and let it cook quickly.
I am all too aware that this is by no means a roast turkey dinner. I am bitter, disappointed, and nostalgic for my motherland. While I will forego the roast turkey, there is one annual staple that I will not abandon: Martha Stewart's cranberry compote. Combining fresh cranberries, the zest and juice of one orange, and half of a cup of white sugar, simmering it until the cranberries burst, and then adding chunks of green pear and some chopped walnuts, this compote is tart, refreshing, and tastes more like home than anything I know.
Even in my stressed and fragile state, I remain enthralled by the social and cultural power of food. The absence of turkey from my diet this week might very well have driven me crazy. I don't even really love turkey, but it's definitely keeping me sane, fed, and relatively cozy and content right now.
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