Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Don’t Worry, Be Thankful!



Dear Gudrun -

Should I have Thanksgiving in Real Life or Second Life this year? 

Last year I had a fight with my mother over what is the best temperature/time combination to cook the perfect turkey.  I wound up getting up at 5:30 am to start it.  She likes to cook a turkey for six hours at 325 degrees, and she says the slower the better, so I put mine in for 8 hours at 250 degrees, and mine was better than anything that ever came out of her oven, thank you!  She’s still mad.

 Plus, I have a vegan to deal with…  Not only do I have to be careful with his food, but people tease him ‘til it hurts.  Plus his dad wants him, now that he’s 18, to carve the turkey.  Fortunately for the poor boy, many of us are comforting types.

And there’s an aunt I have to invite, whom I hate!  Last year I said something that sent her storming out of the dining room to sit in her car.  That was fine with me.  But I can’t remember what it was I said.  L

But, getting back to my original question…  Should I have Thanksgiving in RL or SL this year? 

                                                Thanking you in advance,
                                                Abundance Pleasance



Dear Abby -

Ummm...  whether to have it in RL or SL depends upon whether or not you actually want to eat...  also on whom you want to see at your table, or, as the case may be "table" (in the virtual sense).

Much of my time in RL is spent thinking about food: what's in the fridge, when to go to the store, what's for dinner, or is there a cool restaurant I really want to go to.  (Oddly, much of my time in SL is also spent thinking about food.  Like what delicious hors d’oeuvre I can consume with the cocktail I’m drinking :-/ )

My Thanksgivings are as complicated as anyone's...  Though most of my family are carnivores, we have two vegetarians (thankfully not vegans).  So we start out with a shrimp platter plus some cheese and veggie appetizers, then have turkey, Polish sausage (smoked and fresh), a Tofurkey, candied yams, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and green bean casserole, followed by pumpkin, mince, and apple pies, assorted candies and nuts, etc.

Eating, of course, is one of the joys of life. It’s an activity that engages all of the senses at once. In SL, however, food is not so engaging. No sound, no smell, no feel, and no taste. Why even have it then? Because like all the other things in SL that aren’t quite like they are in real life, it can be fun.
 
In RL, many questions need answers:

- Who carves the turkey?
- How do I seat people who aren't speaking?
- What would be the most appealing centerpiece for my table?

Oddly, the same issues arise in SL.  Your answers to these questions may, in fact may determine what life you have Thanksgiving in, or whether you have it at all.

"Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often."
- Johnny Carson


Anyway, how do you prepare for an SL Thanksgiving? 

I have to admit a passion for virtual food.  For many years, since I was a newb, one of my favorite places in SL has been the Cas food court at Voti (209, 21, 43), where you can purchase almost any virtual victual you could possibly desire. These foods are beautifully prepared and offer some cyber-enjoyment as well. They make great gifts and are handy to have on hand.  For entertaining I keep tea and crumpets, antipasto, tapas, oysters, artisan cheeses, champagne, whiskey drinks, wine flights, lemonade, and iced tea. I also have an absinthe fountain, for the truly adventurous imbiber (and you know who you are).  Cas also offers Gorean and vampire selections, and, of course, table settings.


Another fave is HomeLife at PondLife (77, 129, 21). Here you can purchase dining sets with fully animated food service (as opposed to just pictures of food), and a bunch of other kewl stuff, indoor and out, as well. Dining sets are the handiwork of Eladon Galsworthy, whose products I have always owned and greatly admire. To me, Eladon is certainly the pioneer of SL eating… For years ALL the better SL restaurants used his dining sets more or less exclusively.  (There are some lovely picnic blankets made by others at the store, but their attraction is not the food they have pictured, but the cuddles they include. :))

Not quite as overwhelming as Cas is Kitchen Korner (128, 128, 60), which does food, liquor, furniture, and dining anims with a somewhat different approach.  There are gender specific approaches to eating and drinking both fingerfoods and dining table items.  You may or may not prefer them.  The table dining offers variety and choice in how you eat.  You can also get groceries, pots and pans, etc. in addition to prepared dishes.  Also featured are a variety of buffet style food and drink dispensers. 



Utensils in SL are interesting. They're there if you want to use them, and of course, they contribute to a genteel dining experience. All of those I've seen operate in a European fashion: no one switches their fork to the right hand after cutting. This makes very good sense given the complexity of a hand switch in an animation.

And some of you may prefer one stop shopping - getting an entire Thanksgiving spread at a very reasonable price…  You can do so by visiting Angel Damask in SL Marketplace, or at her store in Winddragon (82, 74, 22 – Go here and find the shops on the Teleport map; explore Winddragon while you’re at it).  Angel can make you ready for ANY holiday!




But there are many who feel that all the fun of Thanksgiving lies in the cooking, often a convivial communal effort starting early in the morning, involving siblings, parents, aunts and other available help,  and consummating in the great feast, followed by a jolly clean-up party.  For those wishing to accomplish this is SL, there is some amazing stuff out there.  For example, the La Antigua kitchen, made by heart homes for the Aphrodite Shop.





This kitchen contains over 25 menus you can make; 55 single animations, 18 scenes, and 9 couple animations; over 105 items that dispense wearable props; working lamps, water, appliances, and cabinets; and all the necessary items - dishes, shelves, plants, cookbooks, pots, pans, jars, fruits, meats, vegetables, etc.  To get the the full impact of this remarkable creation, you MUST watch this video:


You can get it on Marketplace.


ANYWAY, whether you have Thanksgiving in RL or SL, you should probably make some Fig Toasties (adapted from Leah Eskin's "Home on the Range" in the Chicago Tribune).

4 slices crusty (artisan) bread
2 oz triple cream soft-ripened cheese
4 fresh ripe figs (these would be purple on the outside, pink inside)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 pinch crushed red pepper

Toast the bread golden brown
Spread cheese on the slices of bread and cut each into 3 pieces
Cut off the bottom of each fig, and slice each into 3 circles
Heat your butter in a skillet and sauté the fig slices ‘til the pink turns tan (about 1 min per side), drizzle on the vinegar, sprinkle on the pepper, and saute until deeply colored (1 min more per side)
Place figs on cheese toast, and eat.

*These instructions will, of course, vary depending upon the size of the bread and the size of the figs.


These yummedies can be served as appetizers at an RL feast, or you can have them with your favorite cocktail at your SL event.

So, beware of gluttony, defined as:  "prae-propere, laute, nimis, ardenter, studiose."

AND, above all, don’t talk to your food!

“Some of my best conversations were with a lettuce. I couldn't go on though, because people were starting to look at me funny. So I turned over a new leaf and ate it.”


TC ~ Gudrun

No comments: