GlossyVeneer

Well, today was Thanksgiving and the stress of the day is nearly over. I think hosting the entire meal was a little over my capabilities. In the past we’ve invited people to our home and they brought some side dishes and then left later in the day. This year we provided all of the dishes because when people are flying in, they can’t really bring a green salad or a bowl of cranberries.

Don’t get me wrong, I am so completely thrilled that my brother and sister-in-law have flown here from Denver. I haven’t seen them for about 9 months, so it’s great that they are here. And I love seeing my parents. Just the stress of putting together all the items was overwhelming me.

The menu consisted of:

Appetizers
Shrimp Cocktail
Vegetable Tray

Dinner
Roast Turkey
Orange Sweet Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes
Arugula Salad with Pomegranate
Cranberry Sauce
Whole Wheat Rolls
Dressing/Stuffing

Dessert
Cherry Pie
Pumpkin Pie

My husband was mortified when I baked a vegan pumpkin pie made with tofu and sweetened with a fruit-juice reduction. He actually humored me by trying it, but he didn’t like it much. I liked it better than other pumpkin pies I’ve had in the past and my mom enjoyed the pie. Basically everything in our meal was pretty damn healthy because I’m much too uptight to totally go overboard with the food. That kind of upsets the spouse and it makes for some interesting culinary adventures, but for the most part we pulled it off.

My parents brought their dog to my house for the weekend (which is another source of stress, but that’s another post). We locked the dog in the backyard during dinner so he wouldn’t beg, but he whined at the door anyway. So my dad loaded up a paper plate full of turkey, potatoes, stuffing and took it out to the dog. I said, “You’re taking all this food that I slaved over all day and giving it to the dog?!”

Kevin looked at me and said, “Yep, you’ve made a meal fit for a dog.”

My life’s cooking goals have been accomplished.

Weather Check: 63�

We passed a gas station on the way to the horrible DMV the other day. (Well, we passed a lot of gas stations, but I’m talking about a specific one, okay?) You know how lots of gas stations have words around the building that proclaim items they sell, like “Beer – Soda – Candy” or whatever? We passed one the other day that said it sold the following:

Beer – Cigarettes – Pizza – Exotic Lingerie

I pointed it out to my husband and his response was, “Sweet! I know where I’m going Christmas shopping this year.”

Um… I wouldn’t even want Wal-Mart lingerie. Why would anyone want gas station lingerie? Ew…

Weather Check: 64°
Song Playing Now: The Rat by the Walkmen