Gobble Gobble! 🍂 🦃 🍁

 Well my friends  and family, tis Thanksgiving weekend in Canada.  A weekend where the crisp fall air is redolent with the smell of roasting turkey, with gravy, mashed potatoes and stuffing…and never forget cranberries.  

Its a time to be grateful.  To appreciate what you have, what you've had, and the year so far.  Now I’ll admit, there has been a major upset in my year.  One I will never forget, but I am also filled with gratefulness for the previous 23 years with my favorite person,  my darling husband Mac.  And that brings me back to Thanksgiving.  

Traditionally, this is kick off to the Endless Season of Turkey.  yes Mac was a bonafide turkey-a-holic.  Starting out with the selection of the Thanksgiving bird, which he claimed had to be a 25 pounder at minimum, and which was always a fall feast to remember!  He loved to prepare, in a variety of ways,  his “guest of honour” to kick off the turkey months to come.

Along with the Thanksgiving Turkey, there was then the November pre-Christmas “practise turkey”, followed by the December Christmas bird, and culminating in his January “birthday turkey.”   yes, he did take his bird seriously. 

Sometimes roasted to perfection, stuffed with a delicious traditional dressing, one year with Oyster stuffing, one woth Sausage stuffing and one with “historically accurate” stuffing.  This last one involved cranberries, hazelnuts, onion, and should have been delicious.  Let me explain.

Mac wanted to do the dressing as the First Canadians dressed their birds.  So native nuts and berries were used.  When we tested the bird, with the traditional Mennonite stick a fork in the thigh, to our shock the juices ran red!  Back into the oven it went, 45 more minutes.  Another test, another flow of red juice! Finally we clued in if a person puts whole raw cranberries into the dressing, it runs red…with cranberry juice!  

Another year, while living in Vancouver, we shopped at Stongs, a renowned grocery store, and as I rolled the cart to the produce section, I saw Mac in the check out line.  I hurried over to see him cradling the biggest turkey Ever in his arms, a huge happy grin .. “look at this one”!  He honestly looked like a wee lad carrying a fluffy puppy…  it was a fresh, never frozen, “ethically killed, organic “ bird, that weighed 32lbs!!!  The teller was giggling at my reaction to this behemoth of a bird, I wasn’t sure it would fit in our oven!   Well it did, it was perfection and to date the best turkey I’ve ever had!   Thankfully we had some guests with big appetites to share in the feast.  

Then came life in the NWT where he bbqed a bird on the rotisserie, which apparently our neighbors had never seen, so we again had a family of neighbors share in the bounty.  Add the wonderful spatchcocked turkeys whether on the bbq, in the smoker or in the oven, he always amazed me with his cooking prowess.  

I am going to miss those turkey-paloozas, the resultant gallons of soup, curries, gravy…. I actually found 2 turkeys in the freezer when I shifted contents to one, to sell the second freezer this past month.  One went to the church where it has gone to a family in need.  The other will go to the neighbor for a big meal.  

As for me, a turkey addict by association, I purchased a stuffed breast, which ill have Monday.  A gal has to have some leftovers for turkey buns ya know!  I’m thawing the last of frozen homemade gravy and have buns and mayo on standby.

And tonight, while I’m so grateful for the past 23 years, I am also thankful for my friends who care for me and check in on me.  Tonight I’m dining with awesome friends, and their huge family, so grateful they are in my life.

To you, my dear friends, family and readers, I remind you - be grateful and thankful for the many wonderful blessings you receive.  😍💕