For someone who loves to eat, Thanksgiving is a food holiday. I give thanks for good food every day. I am very fortunate that, in my life, I have never faced true hunger or had to wonder where my next good meal would come from. I can make a decision to not go shopping for a week or two without a moment of concern that anyone in my household will suffer from hunger or malnutrition. We are fortunate that eating good food is more than a mantra or a goal. It is a way of life.
But here's my dirty little (not so) secret. I don't want to eat turkey. In my opinion, it's a whole lot of work for too little satisfaction. But my mom loves turkey and will use any holiday as an excuse to roast a bird so I grew up eating very traditional Turkey dinner's at Thanksgiving. When my sister and I were in high school, the three of us would spend the afternoon of Thanksgiving day volunteering at the local VFW serving meals and would have our own celebration dinner at an upscale restaurant in town. Even then, my mom would roast a turkey....for the leftovers.
But, I simply do not care for it. And one of the nice things about being an adult is that if I don't like a food, I don't have to eat it! And I'm fortunate that my husband is in the same camp regarding the big bird. For the last couple of years before we left Seattle, our family ate dinner out at a nice restaurant and enjoyed a variety of foods from the buffet. Now that we are living in Canada, our family discussed our options and came up with a meal that would please us all but felt a little more "special" than regular Thursday night fare. And, even though the day was business as usual- despite 24 hours of continuous snow- we made sure to observe some non-food Thanksgiving traditions. For example, we suspended our "no-weekday-TV" rule and have spent the day watching football and the Macy's parade. It was a low-key day. We were together The food made us all happy. And for all of these things, I am thankful.
And if you're wondering what non-turkey day looks like.... Our menu consisted of spiral ham, brussels sprouts with bacon, maple and balsamic, homemade macaroni and cheese, peas, dinner rolls, sparkling apple cider and....the crown jewel.... Dahlia bakery Triple Coconut Cream Pie. And, yes, there are plenty of leftovers.
But here's my dirty little (not so) secret. I don't want to eat turkey. In my opinion, it's a whole lot of work for too little satisfaction. But my mom loves turkey and will use any holiday as an excuse to roast a bird so I grew up eating very traditional Turkey dinner's at Thanksgiving. When my sister and I were in high school, the three of us would spend the afternoon of Thanksgiving day volunteering at the local VFW serving meals and would have our own celebration dinner at an upscale restaurant in town. Even then, my mom would roast a turkey....for the leftovers.
But, I simply do not care for it. And one of the nice things about being an adult is that if I don't like a food, I don't have to eat it! And I'm fortunate that my husband is in the same camp regarding the big bird. For the last couple of years before we left Seattle, our family ate dinner out at a nice restaurant and enjoyed a variety of foods from the buffet. Now that we are living in Canada, our family discussed our options and came up with a meal that would please us all but felt a little more "special" than regular Thursday night fare. And, even though the day was business as usual- despite 24 hours of continuous snow- we made sure to observe some non-food Thanksgiving traditions. For example, we suspended our "no-weekday-TV" rule and have spent the day watching football and the Macy's parade. It was a low-key day. We were together The food made us all happy. And for all of these things, I am thankful.
And if you're wondering what non-turkey day looks like.... Our menu consisted of spiral ham, brussels sprouts with bacon, maple and balsamic, homemade macaroni and cheese, peas, dinner rolls, sparkling apple cider and....the crown jewel.... Dahlia bakery Triple Coconut Cream Pie. And, yes, there are plenty of leftovers.