Mmm, Thanksgiving. I'm away from my home and family in BC this year, and celebrating alone in an empty apartment in Quebec. That's not stopping me from having a great time, though! I made a small chicken dinner for myself with mashed potatoes and stuffing and peas and LOTS of wine, and because I couldn't find pumpkin pie in any of the grocery stores here (and lack the culinary ability to make it myself), I'll be finishing up the evening with a traditional Quebecois sugar pie.
Mmmm, sugar pie. I can't believe the scarcity of pumpkin pie here (how do people live this way?), but sugar pie does make an excellent substitute.
@Adah: I'm pretty sure the tradition of Canadian Thanksgiving is more of a harvest celebration than an historical event. It's like the last big harvest before winter, when families who grew their own food would have one last hurrah before they started rationing their food supply for the cold season.
I don't know if that's actually true, but that's always been my impression of the history behind Thanksgiving up here.
And I'll second the love for "a boat." I say it that way, too!
Canadian thanksgiving is my favourite food holiday. I'm away from my family, but my awesome boyfriend made us a whole chicken, stuffing, corn on the cob and mashed potatoes with minimal assistance from me (I'd love to get in the kitchen with him but I'm trying to finish this grad project). I dearly wish we had something made with pumpkin but pumpkin puree is difficult to find in the Netherlands. To those of you tucking into pumpkin anything; pie, tatin, square, cheesecake, please savour it as it deserves. I'm jealous!
@takeitasred: but they have pumpkins, right? It's easy to make the puree yourself. [I lived in Belgium for a while and they had pumpkins and imported cranberries at the grocery store around American Thanksgiving]
@A-girl: I recall seeing some pumpkins in the grocery stores closer to American thanksgiving last year, but none were around this weekend, and if I'd had the time I could've probably got some puree in the expat store in Amsterdam. I'll keep my eyes peeled for pumpkins, because my hankering for the taste of pumpkin doesn't disappear after Canadian thanksgiving. Frankly, I like to ride that horse well into the Christmas season.
I have a Canadian mum and an American dad, so I grew up with two Thanksgivings. I think October is a better time to celebrate than November, because it's not too cold yet and it's not too close to Christmas.
Also, what's everybody's favourite part of Thanksgiving? I'm a stuffing fiend. Mmmmm, stuffing. I can't control my excitement for later. I can actually smell some wafting up off the street, or maybe I'm just imaging it.
@MalinaMango: On God, stuffing. I fucking love stuffing. And rolls! I like to make sandwiches with rolls and stuffing...which is basically bread, but I love it. Because I don't eat meat Thanksgiving is one gigantic carbohydrate for me (and I love it).
I like to imagine that on Canadian holidays, everyone dresses up like a mountie. Even grandmas and babies. And Canadian families gather around their dinner tables made out of a big slice of a giant tree and sing songs about moose and universal health care and permafrost and how people from Quebec are funny.
Can't wait for tonight, y'all. Going to a potluck with lots and lots of cornbread and tabouli. I need to make a vegetarian side, and decided, what the hell, lets do something Lebanese.
@HidingInCanada: Mmmm, I hosted a Thanksgiving potluck last night for my friends (many of whom could not make it home for Thanksgiving) and we had such a delicious variety of non-Thanksgiving food - samosas, spanakopita, curry chowder, shepherd's pie, perogies - along with the tradish turkey, stuffing etc. And desserts. So many desserts. Most of it is now sitting in my fridge - can't wait to eat ALL WEEK.
I'm in school for baking, and this weekend is the first time I've brought my product home- pumpkin pie and a cake. They will be our dessert tonight. Wish me luck!
Thanks for the well wishes, Hortense!
What are my fellow veggie Jezzies eating this year?
My mum and I are having:
Stuffed peppers, roasted mushrooms in red wine sauce, green beans, roasted potatoes, butternut squash soup and apple crisp (pie for others but I hate pie crust).
@elliebean: This is neither cake nor π, technically, but I make a killer onion tart for my veggie friends. It's quite simple, really: Get some regular pie dough going. Then saute 1.5 pounds of sweet Maui onions in olive oil and a quarter cup of cooking wine. Keep the suckers going on the stove, stirring often, until they're deliciously caramelized. About 30 minutes. Then place the pie dough in a pie dish, top with the onions, and also with some good sliced preserved olives. If you feel particularly bold, also decorate the tart with slivers of smoked preserved bell peppers. You can find them canned in most Euro marts. Lastly: brush the tart with egg whites if you want to achieve an xtra-attractive, brown crust. Stick the whole thing in the oven for 30 minutes.
This recipe has been such a hit with my veggie and carnivore friends alike.
@elliebean: I predict my mother-in-law will make me a gigantic bowl of something potato based. Also, I'll eat a lot of pumpkin pie.
Happy Thanksgiving fellow Canucks!
@elliebean: carrot and brie soup, mashed potatoes with sage butter and truffle oil, dilled carrots, hazlenut roasted brussel sprouts, and buckwheat crepes stuffed with caramelized onions, roasted mushrooms and gorgonzola with a vodka tarragon cream sauce on top. My aim is to make every meat eating thanksgiving seem like a pale imitation of a mega-veggie meal.
@elliebean: YAY Happy Thanksgiving! I am celebrating tomorrow with our famous vegan and gluten-free thanksgiving dinner that my husband and me do every year for friends and family. This year we are making vegan shepard's pie with organic red potatoes and gluten-free soy crumbles plus lots of organic veggies and my husband's famous nutritional yeast gravy. Dessert is blueberry muffins with vanilla frosting. Yum :P
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Mmmm, sugar pie. I can't believe the scarcity of pumpkin pie here (how do people live this way?), but sugar pie does make an excellent substitute.
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[www.youtube.com]
But, seriously, what does Canadian Thanksgiving celebrate?
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I don't know if that's actually true, but that's always been my impression of the history behind Thanksgiving up here.
And I'll second the love for "a boat." I say it that way, too!
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Also, what's everybody's favourite part of Thanksgiving? I'm a stuffing fiend. Mmmmm, stuffing. I can't control my excitement for later. I can actually smell some wafting up off the street, or maybe I'm just imaging it.
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I'm in school for baking, and this weekend is the first time I've brought my product home- pumpkin pie and a cake. They will be our dessert tonight. Wish me luck!
10/11/09
10/11/09
What are my fellow veggie Jezzies eating this year?
My mum and I are having:
Stuffed peppers, roasted mushrooms in red wine sauce, green beans, roasted potatoes, butternut squash soup and apple crisp (pie for others but I hate pie crust).
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This recipe has been such a hit with my veggie and carnivore friends alike.
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Happy Thanksgiving fellow Canucks!
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Any Canadian Jezzies in Indiana somewhere who need help consuming all that turkey, mashed potatoes, and pie? I'm awesome with dishes!