Today I’m reflecting on yesterday and last year’s Thanksgiving holiday. Last year everyone in our immediate family [me, hubby Peter, my mother, father, two sisters, niece and nephew, brother-in-law] was here at my mother’s house celebrating. I remember one of the raw vegan dishes I made to feast on and share was eight marinated and dehydrated portabella mushrooms that everyone loved and devoured.
This year Thanksgiving, for me, was low-key and simple eating. I know this probably isn’t what my die-hard foodie friends want to hear, and believe me this wasn’t at all how I intended the day to turn out food wise, but sometimes things don’t unfold as we might anticipate.
About a week and a half ago, I was excited about creating a menu of raw vegan food dishes for a Thanksgiving meal. I dreamed up some recipe ideas but most of these ideas are written down on paper and typed on pixilated pages stored in one of my computer files. Only a couple of these recipes were actually created; the rest are still ideas that didn’t quite make it to the plate. [Not yet anyway].
As Thanksgiving approached, we received the usual round of phone calls from family and friends. Invitations were extended and people wanting to know which house or houses would host the feasting. At this point it was clear to me that I just wasn’t up for going all out and spending the day in the kitchen as I had planned [this is almost shocking]. I also wasn’t up for house hoping. Relaxing, maybe reading a little, and staying away from the computer was all I wanted to do for the day. Apparently my mother and husband Peter felt the same.
Yesterday my family was dispersed here and there. Peter’s brother Zoltan invited us to spend the day at his house. I had intended to stay home, defrag, and let Peter go on to his brother’s house and enjoy the day, but Peter managed to talk me into making the trip to Orange County with him. During our drive to OC, I texted Happy Thanksgiving messages to friends and made a few calls. Well, I couldn’t completely disconnect. I did leave my laptop at home but my iPhone is like a body part, it goes everywhere with me, can’t leave home without it. ;-)
We arrived at Zoltan’s. He did the cooking. My brother-in-laws loves to cook and so does Peter, meat dishes are a big part of their diet, especially for Zoltan’s diet. They are both Hungarian and they grew up enjoying the traditional cuisine of Hungary which is primarily based on cooked meats and vegetables dishes, breads and cheeses. That said, Zoltan always welcomes me into his home with fresh fruits and vegetables of my choice. He asks me what I would like and buys it. He’ll make the food him and Peter will eat [Peter also helping], and I make my raw food dishes. I think this is so sweet and I’m lucky to have such a considerate brother-in-law. We coexist peacefully in the kitchen and at the table with respect for each other’s dietary preferences and choices.
We always offer up our dishes for each other to try, even though I know Zoltan won’t touch fresh leafy greens, and he knows I won’t go for his cooked chicken, duck, or whatever meat dish he has prepared. He is curious and does ask questions about raw food. I doubt that I’ll ever be able convinced him to change his diet [that’s an inside job anyway] but I have influenced him to use sea salt instead of Morton’s, and also olive and grapeseed oil. Anything is possible though, take my husband for example, he eats far less meat than he use to and lots more fresh vegetables and raw vegan food.
So, what did I eat for Thanksgiving? A huge mixed green salad: arugula, raddicio, endives, tomatoes, avocados dressed with olive oil, course sea salt, black pepper, lemon juice and basil with a glass of red wine. For dessert we had fresh strawberries [we all love fresh fruits] while watching Ratatouille. Have you seen this movie? I love it.
I know feasting on a huge salad is far from a traditional Thanksgiving meal but I’m not one to bound myself to tradition. I like to go with the flow and follow my heart, and my heart said relax, so I did and I spent to day exactly as I desired.
This Thanksgiving my immediate family wasn’t physically present in one place, we are always very much connected. It doesn’t matter the distance, it’s what’s in your heart and isn’t that what Thanksgiving is all about - being thankful, grateful and giving, sharing your time together when you can and connecting through preparing and eating good food and enjoying conversation.
I truly appreciated how I spent Thanksgiving but that’s so yesterday. More holiday gatherings, eating, and overall celebrating is coming up, and for next month’s foodie festivities I look forward to going nuts in the kitchen.
I hope you had a happy, safe, and delicious Thanksgiving celebration. How did you spend the day, and what did you eat?
Back to Top ⇑
Related posts:
- Banana Cream Pie with Sweet Walnut Crust
- Carrot Squash Puree with Shiitake Mushrooms and Creamy Porcini Gravy
Follow us on Twitter
Be a Fan on Facebook
Today I’m reflecting on yesterday and last year’s Thanksgiving holiday. Last year everyone in our immediate family [me, hubby Peter, my mother, father, two sisters, niece and nephew, brother-in-law] was here at my mother’s house celebrating. I remember one of the raw vegan dishes I made to feast on and share was eight marinated and dehydrated portabella mushrooms that everyone loved and devoured.
This year Thanksgiving, for me, was low-key and simple eating. I know this probably isn’t what my die-hard foodie friends want to hear, and believe me this wasn’t at all how I intended the day to turn out food wise, but sometimes things don’t unfold as we might anticipate.
About a week and a half ago, I was excited about creating a menu of raw vegan food dishes for a Thanksgiving meal. I dreamed up some recipe ideas but most of these ideas are written down on paper and typed on pixilated pages stored in one of my computer files. Only a couple of these recipes were actually created; the rest are still ideas that didn’t quite make it to the plate. [Not yet anyway].
As Thanksgiving approached, we received the usual round of phone calls from family and friends. Invitations were extended and people wanting to know which house or houses would host the feasting. At this point it was clear to me that I just wasn’t up for going all out and spending the day in the kitchen as I had planned [this is almost shocking]. I also wasn’t up for house hoping. Relaxing, maybe reading a little, and staying away from the computer was all I wanted to do for the day. Apparently my mother and husband Peter felt the same.
Yesterday my family was dispersed here and there. Peter’s brother Zoltan invited us to spend the day at his house. I had intended to stay home, defrag, and let Peter go on to his brother’s house and enjoy the day, but Peter managed to talk me into making the trip to Orange County with him. During our drive to OC, I texted Happy Thanksgiving messages to friends and made a few calls. Well, I couldn’t completely disconnect. I did leave my laptop at home but my iPhone is like a body part, it goes everywhere with me, can’t leave home without it. ;-)
We arrived at Zoltan’s. He did the cooking. My brother-in-laws loves to cook and so does Peter, meat dishes are a big part of their diet, especially for Zoltan’s diet. They are both Hungarian and they grew up enjoying the traditional cuisine of Hungary which is primarily based on cooked meats and vegetables dishes, breads and cheeses. That said, Zoltan always welcomes me into his home with fresh fruits and vegetables of my choice. He asks me what I would like and buys it. He’ll make the food him and Peter will eat [Peter also helping], and I make my raw food dishes. I think this is so sweet and I’m lucky to have such a considerate brother-in-law. We coexist peacefully in the kitchen and at the table with respect for each other’s dietary preferences and choices.
We always offer up our dishes for each other to try, even though I know Zoltan won’t touch fresh leafy greens, and he knows I won’t go for his cooked chicken, duck, or whatever meat dish he has prepared. He is curious and does ask questions about raw food. I doubt that I’ll ever be able convinced him to change his diet [that’s an inside job anyway] but I have influenced him to use sea salt instead of Morton’s, and also olive and grapeseed oil. Anything is possible though, take my husband for example, he eats far less meat than he use to and lots more fresh vegetables and raw vegan food.
So, what did I eat for Thanksgiving? A huge mixed green salad: arugula, raddicio, endives, tomatoes, avocados dressed with olive oil, course sea salt, black pepper, lemon juice and basil with a glass of red wine. For dessert we had fresh strawberries [we all love fresh fruits] while watching Ratatouille. Have you seen this movie? I love it.
I know feasting on a huge salad is far from a traditional Thanksgiving meal but I’m not one to bound myself to tradition. I like to go with the flow and follow my heart, and my heart said relax, so I did and I spent to day exactly as I desired.
This Thanksgiving my immediate family wasn’t physically present in one place, we are always very much connected. It doesn’t matter the distance, it’s what’s in your heart and isn’t that what Thanksgiving is all about - being thankful, grateful and giving, sharing your time together when you can and connecting through preparing and eating good food and enjoying conversation.
I truly appreciated how I spent Thanksgiving but that’s so yesterday. More holiday gatherings, eating, and overall celebrating is coming up, and for next month’s foodie festivities I look forward to going nuts in the kitchen.
I hope you had a happy, safe, and delicious Thanksgiving celebration. How did you spend the day, and what did you eat?
Back to Top ⇑
Related posts: