Thanksgiving: I Look Foul and Feel Fair

We are so grateful to the members of the St. Augustine Cruisers Net who graciously hosted an amazing Thanksgiving feast for us and the other transient boaters in St. Augustine.  The hosting boaters brought turkeys (at least 3 and maybe 4!), hams, and a ton of other scrumptious dishes.  With 70+ people at the potluck, there was an abundance of amazing food and good cheer.  I was so full from the main meal that I never made it to the dessert table -- shocking, I know! 

My favorite dish was the vegetarian pumpkin walnut lasagna.  Yum!  Jamey made haupia, a Hawaiian coconut pudding, and I baked some gingerbread for our potluck contributions. Jamey's haupia was quite tasty though it did not fully set the way it was supposed to.  The part that did set was the portion that had cooked the most, so we realized that it is probably better to overcook the mixture prior to chilling rather than err on undercooking like we did (out of fear of burning the mixture).   The part of the haupia that did not set was pudding-like and was still delicious. 

The recipe that we used for haupia is as follows, obtained from Food Network.  We opted for what Jamey called the "touristy" version for haupia -- a more authentic haupia would not use coconut extract and is much less sweet than this version:

HAUPIA:

Ingredients:

4 (12 oz) cans of coconut milk
1-1/4 cups sugar
1-1/4 cups cornstarch
3 cups water
2 teaspoons coconut extract (vanilla or coconut rum can be used)
toasted coconut, for topping (optional)

Directions:

1. Pour coconut milk into saucepan.
2. Combine sugar and cornstarch; stir in water and blend well.
3. Stir sugar mixture into coconut milk; cook and stir over low heat until thickened add coconut extract.
4. Pour into pan and chill until firm.
5. Cut into 2-inch squares. Garnish with toasted coconut as desired.

You know it's cold when Sage wears this much clothing.  She almost always dresses like she's still in Hawaii, and when we say, "Aren't you cold?!", she replies, "No, I'm Hawaiian, remember?!" She hasn't figured out that being from Hawaii means she should feel the cold more, not less.  It's so convenient to be 4 years old!

Thank you, St. Augustine Cruisers Net!!!

Food!

We continue to be ever thankful for family, friends, our health and especially for the wonderful gift we've been given of this year to spend with each other.  May your Thanksgiving surround you with love and loved ones!





NEW FRIENDS:  We had a ton of fun chatting with the cruisers at the potluck, some of whom we already knew from other ports.  It was great to meet everyone, find out where they were from, and hear each person's story. 

We especially enjoyed meeting Bryan from Canada of Northern Phoenix.  Bryan's family (dad, mom, and two kids, aged 13 years and 11 years) seems to have a ton in common with us.  His wife is taking a sabbatical year from her work as a kinesiology professor, he is a high school science teacher, and the family loves the beach and baking.  They have a blog that you can access here.  As we read their post from today (St. Augustine Day 3), written by Sahara, Bryan's 13-year-old daughter, we liked how she said she saw "a guy there who-facial features anyway- looked like Aragorn from Lord of the Rings." As we continued reading her post, we bust out laughing when we got to the part where she wrote, "When we went back to the boat, Dad stayed and talked with Aragorn dude and his wife, who are also heading down to the Bahamas with their 4 kids."  It is hilarious that Jamey is Aragorn dude!!  Jamey is quite pleased as Aragorn is his favorite character in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the trilogy are his favorite books.  He is now walking around quoting Aragorn, "I look foul and feel fair."  We are looking forward to meeting up with Northern Phoenix soon!

River's Edge Marina also hosted a potluck feast.  We had RSVP'd for the other gathering already, so we did not go to the Marina dinner.  The marina did have a toasty fire going all day at their pavilion, and Jamey had a ton of fun hanging out by the fire chatting with the friends that he's made here this week.   The fire was close to the laundry room, so I did not feel too guilty making him do another load of laundry. 

The fire was fed all day long -- Floridians know how to deal with the cold after all!