the gastroenterologist visit was fairly routine. basically told me to lose weight by a combination of eating better and exercise. the doctor told me the two courses of drugs if my conditions don't improve are the GLP-1 weight loss drugs so popular these days and a drug called resmetirom used for severe fatty liver disease.
the doctor asked me to schedule a follow-up appointment in another year that'd include a liver scan. the secretary asked to me out basically ignored me for several minutes while she was doing her own thing, so i was left standing there like an idiot. when she finally did help me schedule the appointments, i noticed all the fridge magnets in her cubicle and asked her about them. she opened up immediately, told me she collects them, and i told her you can buy exotic fridge magnets online.
i left by 9am, pedalling all the way to the cafe. i arrived at 9:30am. my mother thought i went to haymarket until she remembered i had a doctor's appointment.
my father decided to roast the 13 lbs. turkey that'd been brining the refrigerator since late yesterday. i set the breville oven to 325 degrees for 2 hours and 50 minutes. we set the turkey on a rack inside of a roasting pan that came with the oven. later we put tinfoil on the wings as they looked like they were getting scorched. the turkey itself fit inside the oven perfectly. there was room for an even larger turkey - 14-15 lbs. wouldn't be a problem.
outside today they were installing 3 speed bumps on the road. the smell of fresh hot asphalt was thick in the air. fortunately they worked quickly, and the inconvenience was soon over.
without feeling like it, today was actually the second busiest day this week. yes it got busy around lunchtime, but the busiest was right around the 2-4pm period. when evening came we didn't see much customers after that, which is typical for a friday night. after today, we just have 3 more work days left this month before we take a few days off for the thanksgiving holiday.
the meat thermometer in the turkey popped 5 minutes before the turkey was set to finish roasting. i'd basted the turkey in its own juices twice, giving the skin a nice crispy brown texture. cooking a turkey in our countertop oven was a success. for a family of 4, a "small" turkey like this 13 lbs. bird is more than enough.
my father started carving up the turkey. i had a few rollups - chun bing (春餅), hoisin sauce, scallions, turkey - probably the simplest turkey rollups i've ever made since i normally overstack them.
i left by 2pm, borrowed the car and went to market basket to get some thanksgiving supplies. i thought it wouldn't be crowded but i was wrong. the only time to go to market basket if you want to avoid the crowds is very early in the morning. any other time it's pretty daunting if you're not used to the packed condition. i got some milk, totally forgot it was one of the main flan ingredients. i also got a bunch of seltzers. most importantly, i was there to get a thanksgiving turkey. since we still had time, i opted to go with a frozen turkey. this market basket only seemed to be two sizes: either below 11 lbs. or above 26 lbs. i was searching for a bird that was maybe 20-22 lbs. but the closest i found was a 19 lbs. turkey and i thought that was too small. i ended up getting one that was 26 lbs., probably the largest turkey i've ever bought. rummaging through the turkey selection was like hauling frozen boulders. you could seriously injure somehow with anyone of those frozen birds. i was careful with my fingers, didn't want to get pinched.
waiting in one of the check lanes, an employee came up and suddenly told me it was closed after i'd already been waiting for a while. i think it was because the person ahead of me dropped something on the floor and made a mess that needed to be cleaned up. this is the second time in recent weeks that a lane has just suddenly closed on me while i was in already in line. i didn't let it annoy me too much, you have be pretty patient have be in a state of zen in order to survive a market basket experience.
i got back to the cafe by 3pm. my aunt was there eating turkey. my mother was horrified that i got such a large turkey, since my sister's godmother was going to give us two turkeys already. i told her it only meant we could afford to give out more turkey leftovers for the guests. the price difference was negligible, just $2 (59¢/lb). let it never be said that guests came to our thanksgiving and didn't have enough turkey to eat. i put the frozen turkey in a basement cooler to defrost (which will take a few days). we may end up marinating/brining in said cooler because we don't have any other container that can hold a 26 lbs. turkey.
the little turkey we roasted, one problem we had was the bottom wasn't roasted enough. the rack on the roasting tray wasn't high enough, so the bottom didn't get enough circulation to cook as thoroughly. one solution is to not use the roasting pan but use a baking sheet instead. something to think about for next time.
my mother took some turkey bones and unwanted turkey bits and turned them into a turkey broth with daikon radishes. the soup was good, but tasted even better when i added some homemade sauerkraut, a very savory and sour dish (also gave me an excuse to use up the sauerkraut i made back in march, hasn't gone bad but very sour).
we watched the press conference between mayor-elect mamdani and president trump. it was shocking to see trump being so effusive with mamdani, whom he was just cursing a few weeks ago, said he'd ruin new york city if elected, said he'd halt all funds and send in the national guards. seems like no one is immune to mamdani's charm. of course trump changes his mind at the drop of a hat. but in "normalizing" mamdani, he's taken away a key weapon of the republican party in trying to paint democrats as communists looking to destroy business interests.
i went home with enough leftover turkey to made 6 rollups. after decompressing for a few hours, i finally started making the rollups around 8pm. it kind of felt like cheating, because normally i don't get to turkey until actual thanksgiving, but somehow i'm eating it a week ahead of schedule. i don't want to eat too much, make me lose my appetite for turkey come next week. i ate while watching the latest episode (4) of pluribus.