Figless pudding

No figgy pudding at my sister's home this year, nor turkey, nor ham, nor anything usually associated with a holiday dinner.  Instead we had a taco buffet, which was perfectly acceptable considering the circumstances.  A week after Thanksgiving my brother-in-law had triple bypass coronary surgery, something that came out of the blue.  He woke in the middle of the night with breathing problems and after much yelling and cursing my sister was able to drive him to the hospital; calling 911 and waiting for a response would have cost precious minutes and she can run a red light with the best of them.  The patient has been home for more than a week now, recovering nicely but is a little weak, has lost a lot of weight, but otherwise looks good and the prognosis is excellent.  Since the simple dinner took a lot of pressure off my sister I hope it becomes a tradition; it's a great alternative and a relief from the usual stressful holiday hooplah.  And without little kids running around with their contagious joy at the arrival of Santa Claus, Christmas ends up being just another day with the family and kind of dull, except for the part this year that was as serious as a heart attack.

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Since I don't know all the words to most holiday carols the food known as figgy pudding was new to me, and I'm glad Uncle Ken brought it up.  What a marvelous concoction, and you don't even need figs.  Anything described as a combination of fruitcake and haggis deserves further study, and the recipes I've found are all over the place with their ingredients.  Sweet, savory, or in between and you can bake it, boil it, steam it, or fry it.  Liquor is a common ingredient and you can light it on fire.  Properly done, it should age for a month before consumption and it will keep for a year.  What's not to like?  I see endless potential with this one.

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A curious side note regarding food was brought up by my nephew living near Los Angeles, in Redondo Beach.  He's a good cook, somewhat of a "foodie" and says the Mexican food in Chicago is better than the stuff in L.A.  I would have thought otherwise but it makes sense since a lot of the West Coast Mexicans can be second, third, or even fourth generation but in Chicago a lot of the restaurants are run by more recent arrivals, first generation types.  Muy autentico.

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I agree with Chomsky, cognitive processes precede spoken language.  But listening to what many people are saying these days you would never know it, it's like they are not thinking at all.