The Town Crier: The Eating Season

Published 8:00 am Sunday, November 5, 2023

When is baseball season? Well, they don’t call the players “The Boys of Summer” for nothing. There’s spring training which includes some preseason games and then by the time the weather is warming up the teams are off and running for the pennant.

And when school lets back in and fall is on its way you know it’s football season. If you’re a college or pro champion the playoffs are after Christmas with ice hockey and basketball in full swing and fighting for the fans.

And of course, skiing is a winter sport that can’t go beyond the fringes of the coldest months.

But everything isn’t about sports. Thousands take tours in the fall to New England to look at the fall leaves falling. and there are the snowbirds that head south to Florida when the days get short (and cold) up north. If you’ve got a green thumb, there’s planting in the spring and harvesting in the summer and early fall. A year has a time and a pace for so many of the things we do in our lives. and now is starting one of my favorite seasons of the year, as one of my kids calls it: The Eating Season.

In the fall up to the beginning of winter it’s a season of holidays which come with their own decorations, traditions and, of course, eats! It kicks off officially with Halloween with Halloween night being the first official day (actually night) of the season. Right down the line is Thanksgiving, Diwali for Hindus usually occurring in October or November, then comes Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, leading up to New Year’s on Jan. 1.

There’s a final Super Bowl-like event that occurs, well, on Super Bowl Sunday, and then it’s just a few holiday meals spread out over the rest of the year, kind of like exhibition games. There’s a nice dinner out with the significant other on Valentine’s Day, perhaps an Easter brunch, Mother’s Day lunch, the Fourth of July cookout and probably a cookout on Memorial Day at the beginning of summer and one at the end during Labor Day weekend. So let’s see what lies in wait for us as we have the Halloween kickoff just behind us and we move into the big league competition coming up.

A sugar rush

Halloween is considered the kickoff of the season and it gets off with a sugar rush. As the kids bring home sacks of candy don’t think for a second that the grownups in the room aren’t sticking their hands in to take a share of the booty.

And don’t forget the candy that was bought and never handed out. A lot of parents (the smarter ones?) stick it high up in the cabinet where the kids can’t reach it … but the parents can!

I would think the first weeks after Halloween would be one of the busiest times of the school year for school counselors, or at least assistant principals in charge of discipline, with all the sugar highs and crashes.

But like any season, there are a few preseason games to consider. Before Halloween proper there are some buildups to the big night. Unless Halloween falls on a Saturday, there are usually parties on the weekend just before the big night. There are trips to pumpkin patches with hot chocolate or, like any place that serves hot drinks, some kind of pumpkin spice coffee that gets you in the mood.

And don’t forget the Halloween candy that gets bought for the trick ’n treat crowd but somehow mysteriously gets opened days before the doorbell rings. Throw in the monster cereals like Count Chocula, Frankenberry and Booberry that can be part of a nutritious breakfast (that’s if everything else on the table is nutritious) that starts in the first part of October.

Halloween night usually consists of two things: wolfing down as much candy as you can before someone yells “Enough!” and sometimes that’s the grownups hollering at the kids and sometimes it’s the kids hollering at the grownups.

And then there’s the wheeling/dealing in the living room floor among the trick ’n treaters. It can get wilder than the floor of the stock market on Wall Street. “Two sweet and sour candies for a Snickers,” “Crabby Patty for a gummy worm” and “What’ll you give me for a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup?” It’s a buyers market, and a sellers! I always mean to call a nutritionist and ask them what to eat before gobbling candy, but all they say is “Don’t gobble the candy.” Who do they think I am?

The big meal

Next comes the run-up to Thanksgiving. A couple of weeks out the calls start going around the family and friends to see who is going to bring what and to make sure the ones who have a specialty that can’t be missed are indeed going to come through. It’s Aunt Lulu’s sweet potato casserole or perhaps Grandpa’s special grilled ham slices and Cousin Mabel’s banana pudding.

The head chef of the family will do the turkey and dressing while the younger one will pick up a gallon of sweet tea at the store to make sure there’s enough for everyone. There’s the one “traditional” dish that that one person is so proud of and that no one really likes. But everyone gets a spoonful to make sure that casserole dish goes home empty and everyone goes home happy. We’re all thankful we only have to eat it once a year.

Traditionally I got up and watched the Thanksgiving parades in my pajamas. It seems like there used to be more than the Macy’s Parade on that morning and the parades seemed less commercial than now. I’m not sure that’s actually true since the giant balloons were sponsored by somebody.

There was some breakfast cereal for a start (probably leftover monster cereal) but nothing after because of the big meal coming. Our unofficial tradition, meaning this is just how it works out, is that we gather for the blessing and thanksgiving, then we eat, then seconds. Then dessert and claims all around of “I can’t eat for another week!” Then after an hour or so of visiting with everyone, some of the family has to move on to another meal at the other spouse’s family. But before they go they get a to-go plate, hug necks and head out. Those left behind start going back to the leftovers every little bit. Finally, everyone packs up and heads out. That leaves plenty of leftovers for a repeat meal the next day. When the side dishes start disappearing, then it’s time to start making sandwiches with the turkey and whatever is in the fridge. I’m thankful my belt has a selection of holes in it to adjust its circumference.

In the middle of a marathon

Before you know it, it’s right in the middle of the season and we’re approaching Christmas and Hanukkah. Rather than building up to a single day, December can have a series of parties, services, get-togethers, office parties and a host of other events that are going to have food included. It’s like you’re in the middle of a marathon at this point and hopefully hitting your stride with an exact balance of enjoying what’s on the table but not overeating … too much.

With Hanukkah you get eight days of celebrating and hopefully eight nights of good eats and great family times. Looking on the internet, the search for “Hanukkah meals” brings up lists like “7 traditional foods for Hanukkah” and also 11, 17 and on up to 32! There are fried and crispy potato latkes, beef brisket, roast chicken (garlic? lemon? garlic lemon?), Matzo Ball Soup, Noodle Kugel that can be sweet or savory, challah bread, green salad or carrots or parsnips, and for dessert, rugelach and/or doughnuts. There’s plenty for eight nights.

Christmas comes along and different families have different traditions. Some do Christmas Eve, some do Christmas morning, some Christmas evening. Some do them all. We usually do Christmas Eve with the extended family and then Christmas breakfast at the house with the nuclear family (no, we don’t glow in the dark!). Many folks have a Christmas special. For us it’s a breakfast casserole with eggs, sausage, cheese and bread all baked together. I also get a sweet danish called a “Kringle” from a company up north. An older family friend used to treat us to one each Christmas and since they’ve passed I still get one to keep them in our memories.

A week later it’s New Year’s, and again there is going to be a meal, sometimes romantic, sometimes fun, sometimes at midnight and sometimes at a restaurant on New Years’ Eve. The next day (technically the next year) there may be a family get-together where you at least eat some greens and black-eyed peas to ensure (as much as vegetables can) fortune in the upcoming year. I bet the most naps of the year occur on New Year’s Day afternoon.

And finally, the finish of The Eating Season, Super Bowl Sunday. One of the top advertisers is Doritos and that seems fitting. The season starts with loads of candy and finishes with a flourish, a favorite snacky junk food: chili nachos, Pigs in a Blanket, chips, dips, pizza and any other immigrant food that’s a national staple now.

Might as well finish big, you’ll have about three months to get into “swimsuit” shape!

Mark Hannah, a Dalton native, works in video and film production.