Celebrating Labor Day

[dr_phil_physics]

An Odd Holiday

For most people in the U.S., Labor Day is the last major holiday before we get to The Holidays of Thanksgiving-Christmas-Hanukah-New-Year's. The last of the Triumvirate of Summer Picnic Holidays of Memorial-Day-Fourth-Of-July-Labor-Day. In Michigan, public schools don't open now until after Labor Day, in order to help out with the state's large tourism & travel industry.

Oh, and some people take the day to recognize the American worker -- with or without organization -- while some just take the day to relax. Some people, though, grumble on that it wastes time and money, especially from business owners, or is a Godless Communist holiday.

There's even some small colleges which hold class on Labor Day because having a three-day weekend so early in the Fall semester is hell on Freshmen retention. Students go home, say that college is too hard and just never come back.

Whatever

In my opinion, it's a good time to take a break. Summer is waning and our school systems are mostly predicated on academic calendars which start in the fall. Funny that part of my day is being spent working on materials for my class tomorrow -- a part-time worker who has no representation. (grin)

An Exceptional Meal

After such a great restaurant meal yesterday, we also plotted out a proper Labor Day meal. One traditional would have a cookout with grilled hot dogs in buns, corn on the cob, baked beans, potato salad, maybe a fruit pie.

Except we had bratwurst instead of hot dogs.
Except they were Allendale Meat Market, not Johnsonville.
Except we skipped the buns -- and the baked beans.
Except we boiled the fresh brats before browning them on the oven.
Except it was fresh baked blueberry crisp.
Except it was missing the lemon juice.

It was wonderful. The brats were flavorful and had a light, thin casing. We haven't had much (any?) corn on the cob this year -- local corn was late in coming -- and this was lovely and sweet. Some of the best sweet corn we've had in years. Yeah, it was a little container of commercial potato salad. I haven't made my mother's recipe this year at all. We just don't need that much potato salad. (sad-grin) And the blueberry crisp? Oh, perfect, perfect, perfect.

And yeah, it'll hold me until Thanksgiving turkey. (gobble-gobble-grin)

Dr. Phil

Comments

[parishwhittaker.livejournal.com]

Mmmm...Midwest bratwurst. Grew up next to a heavily Swedish immigrant town in north Illinois, every year they had Swedish days with brats and beer. Back then, too young for the beer, but I still remember those brats.

[dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com]

Mustards, horseradish, even chutneys. Mmm...

Dr. Phil

[charyvna.livejournal.com]

Care to share your blueberry crisp recipe?

[dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com]

I'll have to check -- it might be Betty Crocker.

Dr. Phil

Mmm... bratwurst

[jerimrl.livejournal.com]

I love bratwurst. Preferably simmered in beer before grilling. I've finally found a good organic, MSG & nitrate free brand that tastes right - Niman Ranch - and we have them about once a month.

Our nontraditional labor day meal? Spaghetti. Cooked by the son and his GF. :)

Re: Mmm... bratwurst

[dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com]

We often have spaghetti around Labor Day -- but I made it last weekend. (grin)

Great thing about simmering brats in beer is that it gives you a whole different meal than without. We only cooked half the brats I bought at the meat market, so we have another four to do another time. I think earlier in the summer Mrs. Dr. Phil used a Leinenkugel's Summer Wheat beer to cook some Johnsonville brats. (double-grin)

Dr. Phil

[nerwengreen.livejournal.com]

And then there's 3-Day Novel (http://www.3daynovel.com/). Every Labor Day Weekend these past few years, I write stuff - whether it's toward a single novel from beginning to end or not. It's usually a fun event for a writing community I'm in.

Also, at least down here in the south, Superbowl might as well be a de facto holiday from a business owner perspective. Business completely vanishes just before the game starts. ;)

[dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com]

Yeah, things like 3-Day Novel or NANOMO are not at convenient times for my schedule, given that I teach college physics. (grin)

When I was in high school in North Carolina, the first day of deer hunting season, while not a full blown holiday, anyone could be excused from classes to go hunt. Deer huntin' an' football... sacred duties.

Dr. Phil

[wendyb-09.livejournal.com]

How amusing, seems great minds think alike & turns out we both had similar meals...

Johnsonville BeerBrats (pan steamed & browned w/vidalia onions)
ultra-thin egg noodles w/shredded swiss cheese
Corn on the Cob

will probably do a repeat with the leftovers tonight.

Dessert was a pack of Reeces PB cups I discovered hiding in a bag of stuff I brought home from the office when I cleaned out my desk last week.

[dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com]

Oooh, missing Reeces Peanut Butter Cups for the win!

Dr. Phil

[steve-buchheit.livejournal.com]

MMm, brats on the grill. Not much is better than that.

[dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com]

Best grilled brats ever were on a brilliant bright blue sky day at Michigan Tech's Winter Carnival -- the brats were for sale next to the handmade ice bocce court at -20°F. Burned my mouth on the hot grease but it didn't matter, they were great in the sub-zero weather. I think brats were a buck, hot chocolate fifty cents. Satisfied burned mouth, priceless.

Dr. Phil