Thanksgiving Preparations

Wow! I just got back from the local supermarket and I'd say that people are certainly in the store. As to whether they are spending money, the carts weren't exactly bulging with food. With Thanksgiving only a few days away, I got out my menu, reviewed the recipes, checked the pantry, made my list, and got out there shopping.

Going gluten-free a few years ago has complicated our preparations. Gone the heat'n serve rolls. Gone the packaged stuffing. Gone the bakery pies. Gone the days of quick and easy preparation.

Tomorrow I'm going to make the zucchini muffins that replace bread in my stuffing. I've got to roast pecans and squash for "pumpkin" pie. Since all the sweet sugar pumpkins were sold out at the local pumpkin patch, I'm going to try to make the squash taste a bit like pumpkin. After all, adding just a bit of honey to sweeten it up may just be all it needs....

The nearby produce stand didn't have any brussels sprouts and when we asked about them, the woman at the register said that they wouldn't be ready until December at the earliest. Then and there we changed the tradition that had us eating those delectable cabbages at Thanksgiving and relegated them to Christmas. Perhaps the little plants that Don transplanted last week will be ready to harvest then. We bought lovely beets to replace the brussels so will have added more color to our feast as well as a different veggie. Just another change. I found myself wondering as I passed the displays of canned green beans for green bean casserole, what must it be like to have exactly the same meal year after year. Since it is usually just Don and I, our holiday meals are pretty much whatever we want with just a nod to tradition.