Goose Dinner

What happened? Geese were once more popular. They are not popular at all today. We see them in troops grazing on lawns, taking turns at guard duty, heads high, necks straining. They take turns at guard duty while the rest nibble along.

Geese get in the way, but in other places they serve as guard animals. They have good sight and you can’t sneak up on them.

Baked goose was a popular dish I noticed in Charles Dickens’ novella from the 1840’s, “A Christmas Carol.” Other than stringing along a good holiday tale, Dickens gave us a peek into Christmas customs of his day.

Goose was a popular dish and not just for Christmas nor exclusively in England. The goose was Europe’s turkey, since they didn’t have turkeys.

Turkeys are purely an American bird. If they are running wild over there, someone turned them loose.

Goose is likely more popular than squab, and squab used to be a popular delicacy.

Squab is immature pigeon, and I’m not talking about urban pigeons. There are a few people who raise pigeons for some reason, but they are largely viewed as feathered squirrels.

But some people view squirrels as “tree rats.”

There is a hunting season for squirrels as a game animal.

The men of the First Baptist Church in Alma, GA, held an annual squirrel hunt followed by a squirrel supper, a feast of fried squirrel with biscuits and squirrel gravy.

“The Annual Brotherhood Squirrel Supper” was a big deal for the men of that church.

While your nose is tightened up at the thought of eating squirrel, there are other things we used to eat but not any more because we have become picky.

During WW2, the government bought tons of a canned meat product from the Hormel company called “SPecial Army Meat” which we know as “SPAM.”

While the GI’s left for home, the popularity of Spam remained in Europe and Asia.

Spam is more popular in Hawaii and Asia than the mainland and is made in Minnesota.

In Hawaii the two most popular fast food restaurants serve Spam.

Most Hawaiian convenience stores sell a slice of Spam on a bed of rice wrapped in cling film and sea weed, called “Spam Musubi.”

There are many styles and flavors of Span: Classic, Bacon, Teriyaki, Low Sodium, Gochujang, Tocino, Jalapeno, Maple, Korean BBQ, Hickory Smoke, Roasted Turkey, Hot and Spicy.

We prefer the Classic Spam because it is versatile. I just counted eight cans of it in the pantry.

Variations of similar meat products are sold under store labels, but they are basically the same thing. Spam what am.

joenphillips@yahoo.com