Happy thanksgiving! This year we celebrated our 2nd thanksgiving together in Vancouver with a bounty of food, a bottle of wine and sharing eachother's lovely company.
My day began quite early; at 7 am, to the cellphone rendition of 'Santa Baby', I peeled myself out of bed and ventured to Oakridge mall to run a prenatal yoga class at Lululemon. For thanksgiving Sunday morning, there was a nice turn out! It was really nice to center and prepare (physically AND mentally) for the long and full day ahead. After a few grapes at Kim's mart, I hit the road home. There, Kathy waited, and by noon, we were already eagerly prepping the many dishes we would devour that evening.
Our dishes included recreations of classic sides that would be enjoyed back home, 'veg-a-fide' of course, as well as some new, modern creations.
The feast consisted of: Sweet and sour 'neat-balls', kabocha squash stuffed with curried lentils, whipped turnips and carrots, cheese-roasted mashed potatoes, balsamic brussel sprouts and beets, mushroom gravy, butter buns, roasted chestnuts and vegan pumpkin pie, complete with kathy's soy and amarula whip cream!
To keep with 'tradition', we served a roasted tofurkey, stuffed with a delicious medley of wild rice, as our main course. Wade - after a long day at the shop, of course - came home just in time to carve the first slices. Kathy had the creative idea of using this distorted carrot as the wish bone! We froze it, and a few days later, while watching an Oprah episode regarding factory farming, made our wishes. She won. My wish was that the 'little piggies would be set free'. I was sad that I had let down the wee piglets. Next time I'll 'try harder'!
Finally, it was time to sit down to enjoy the fruits of our labour. For our Vancouver-family, it is a rare gem to sit down for dinner at the table. So between bites of tofurkey and sips of white wine, we talked about what we were grateful for - everything from mom and dad's donation to the dinner, to the cats getting along while we ate, to all the water and energy needed to create the dinner, to not having hairy bums! (haha.... long story - re: kenny vs. spenny)
We ate to our hearts' contents, but not surprisingly, there was much left over. Today, four days later, we are still working on the leftovers... It's fantastic. All in all, it was a really beautiful Thanksgiving. When we have the opportunity to create a meal together, to have meaningful conversation with those with whom, in the midst of the busy city life, we barely have time to make small talk, and to enjoy the feeling of a full belly and empty mind, we realize that life is simply SO beautiful.
May we find moments to appreciate this well into the winter season and new year!
To keep with 'tradition', we served a roasted tofurkey, stuffed with a delicious medley of wild rice, as our main course. Wade - after a long day at the shop, of course - came home just in time to carve the first slices. Kathy had the creative idea of using this distorted carrot as the wish bone! We froze it, and a few days later, while watching an Oprah episode regarding factory farming, made our wishes. She won. My wish was that the 'little piggies would be set free'. I was sad that I had let down the wee piglets. Next time I'll 'try harder'!
The Wishbone:
Finally, it was time to sit down to enjoy the fruits of our labour. For our Vancouver-family, it is a rare gem to sit down for dinner at the table. So between bites of tofurkey and sips of white wine, we talked about what we were grateful for - everything from mom and dad's donation to the dinner, to the cats getting along while we ate, to all the water and energy needed to create the dinner, to not having hairy bums! (haha.... long story - re: kenny vs. spenny)
We ate to our hearts' contents, but not surprisingly, there was much left over. Today, four days later, we are still working on the leftovers... It's fantastic. All in all, it was a really beautiful Thanksgiving. When we have the opportunity to create a meal together, to have meaningful conversation with those with whom, in the midst of the busy city life, we barely have time to make small talk, and to enjoy the feeling of a full belly and empty mind, we realize that life is simply SO beautiful.
May we find moments to appreciate this well into the winter season and new year!
Cheers and Namaste <3>
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