A Very Merry Thanksbirthday to Me
Plus a post-gluttony recipe for Miso Soup with Soba Noodles + a palate awakening Greek white wine
We did not eat turkey on Thanksgiving - and I’m not sorry. I’ve shared enough birthdays with Thanksgiving. Six birthdays to be precise (thank you AI for the lightning speed calculation!). I would like to think that my feelings about Thanksgiving food have to do with the food itself, but those five previous birthdays I have been forced into a meal not of my choosing, may also have something to do with it. When good friends, fellow turkey apostates, invited us over for a duck and Wagyu beef Thanksgiving, I knew this ‘Thanksbirthday’ would be different.
I am actually not big on birthdays. I love celebrating other people’s but having never been keen on my own. Another year gone by with failure to achieve whatever was on my goal list has, on more than one occasion, lent itself to a spiral of self-flagellation. Then there is my end of November birthday always rubbing up against or landing on a holiday whose entire point is the overconsumption of foods of which I am generally not a fan (pies excepted).
What I am big on is good food, cooking and eating, surrounded by people I love. I know for many Americans, that is exactly what the traditional Thanksgiving meal represents. For me, this year it was standing around a kitchen island, drinking champagne while nibbling on a cheese board and comparing varieties of prosciutto. It was letting a slice of perfectly seared Wagyu ribeye melt into our mouths to appreciative moans of pleasure. It was rolling out a gluten-free pie crust with my son only to have it crumble (dang those lack of proteins to bind!) and quickly pivot to press in the pan (me: “It’s just like playdough!). It was searing duck breasts next to a friend while she scooped out the fat to add to her red wine reduction. It was my husband teaching our son to expertly bash a potato with a mallet (“Little harder. Too hard! Just right.”) for his famous Roasted Punched Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic. It was the kids putting on a play involving stuffed animals being chased by a fox while us grownups enjoyed a 23-year-old Shiraz from one of Australia’s top wine producers. It was blowing out candles on the flourless chocolate cake that had been seducing us with decadent aromas all afternoon.
An AI query revealed that November 28th babies will experience the convergence of celebrations every 5 or 6 years, with the occasional 11-year jump. It will be 2030 before the stars align again. From that point, a blissful, 11 year interregnum before the next Thanksbirthday.
As for this past Thanksbirthday, there was too much food, more than a bit of wine, lots of laughter and warm feelings. In other words, just like Thanksgiving, and exactly what I wanted for my birthday.
After all that decadence and proceeding the next rounds of gluttony that comes with December celebrations, I’m looking for lighter fare, while not sacrificing flavor. To that end, I’ve eaten some version of miso soup with soba noodles three times since Thanksgiving. It is a great way to use up leftovers in the veggie bin plus odd bits of turkey, tofu, or whatever protein you have on hand (I threw in the last few tablespoons of duck larb one day). For me the key is the toppings; torn up seaweed sheets, a drizzle of sesame oil, fried garlic chips, furikake and chili crisp are all fair game. And if you can, get your hands on some packs of bonito flakes from a Japanese grocery store. A snowy pile on top of a bowl of steaming soba instant elevates the bowl to another level, far and away from lingering memories of sweet potato casserole.
Loaded Miso Soup with Soba Noodles
Serves: 2 - 3
4 ½ cups water
1 large carrot
2 oz. mushrooms shitake (caps only), button, or other
2 green onions
1 head of baby bok choy
½ block of firm tofu, drained and cut in small cubes, or ½ cup of shredded chicken or turkey
1 tsp. sea salt
½ lb. soba noodles
3 T. white miso paste
3 tsp. sesame oil
Garlic chips, chili crisp, bonito flakes, furikake, torn seaweed sheets
Bring the 4 ½ cups of water to a simmer in a small saucepan. While water is coming to a boil, peel carrot and slice into ¼ inch rounds. Rinse mushrooms and slice ¼ inch thick. Trim and discard ends from the green onions then thinly slice. Reserve green part for later. When water is simmering, add carrots, mushrooms and the whites of the onion. Keep at a low simmer for 10 minutes while you prepare the rest of the soup.
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. While water is coming to a boil, clean bok choy and slice crosswise in 1-inch pieces. Dice tofu and shred chicken or turkey. When water is boiling, add salt, then add soba noodles and bok choy. Keep at a low boil for 4-5 minutes until soba is tender and cooked through. Transfer noodles and cooked bok choy to a colander and rinse under cold water to stop cooking.
Place miso paste in a small bowl. Ladle a cup of vegetable broth from the pot with the carrots into the bowl with the miso. Whisk until dissolved. Add tofu, chicken or turkey into the pot with the vegetables and let heat through for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add the miso mixture back in, stirring gently to combine.
To serve, divide noodles and greens up among bowls. Ladle vegetables and miso broth over each bowl of noodles. Top each bowl with a drizzle of sesame oil then garnish with reserved green onion tops, garlic chips, chili crips, bonito flakes, seaweed, and furikake to taste.
To Drink…
As much as I would like to recommend the 23 year old Dead Arm we drank on Thanksgiving, I’m afraid that is one bottle that’s going to be out of reach to most people (found a few online in case you are interested). So this week I’m going the opposite direction entirely. My wine pick is a $15 bottle of Greek white guaranteed to wake up your palate from the holiday heaviness.
Troupis Winery, Fteri Moschofilero, Arcadia, Greece 2022
The Fteri Moschofilero from Troupis Winery hails from a high-altitude vineyard in the heart of the Peloponnese mountains. With an intense aroma of white flowers, tasting this wine is akin to sticking your head into a bush of night blooming jasmine. A crisp mineral palate provides structure and balance. This would be lovely at the start of a meal served with goat cheese or a bitter greens salad, also with any main course of grilled shrimp or squid. Or open a bottle just to take a pause and enjoy something light and fresh, your own private interregnum before diving back into the holiday festivities.
$15 from Cardiff Seaside Market or Wine.com
‘Expertly bash a potato with a mallet’ 🤣