Thankful for Food

I spent most of the day yesterday cooking, baking, and doing laundry.

My husband watched football and took a nap. But I am not bitter...not at all.

I had some help, though. I hope Grace doesn't outgrow the desire to help her mommy cook. She is so much fun.

I decided to make myself some sort of seitan "turkey" like thing. I found this recipe and decided to give it a go. Grace helped mix up the dough and knead it. It was incredibly easy to make.






I had some cheese cloth, but I ran into problems there. I had trouble rolling it up and having the seitan fit inside. I also could not find a string to save my life. Eventually I decided to just skip the cheesecloth and let the roll of dough simmer in the water free-form. No problem. After simmering for an hour, I baked it in the oven for 30 minutes. It was kind of crispy on the outside.


Grace and I ate some. It was a little bit blah, so I sprinkled a bit of sea salt on it. We just kept eating it. We couldn't stop! Every time I came into the kitchen, I tore off another piece and popped it in my mouth. Yummy and chewy and delish.

I wanted to make a gravy to go with it, so I tried the vegan gravy recipe from Oh, She Glows Thanksgiving Menu. It was easily the most flavorful yummy gravy I have ever tasted. While making everything else, I kept picking off pieces of the "turkey" and dipping it into the gravy.




By the time we had to leave for the relatives house, I had eaten so much of the seitan, I decided to leave it at home. I made my usual green bean casserole that I just love. I also made the usual pumpkin cheesecake that is to die for.


Garrett had some fun with the whipped cream on his pie.




And Grace was excited about the pumpkin cheesecake that she helped make.



It was a successful meal. I ate my green bean casserole (nobody else touched it). I also had some cranberry relish, pickles, and a bun. The potatoes and corn were swimming in butter, so I skipped them. But I was not deprived. We went to the new Harry Potter movie afterward, and I could barely eat any popcorn, I was so full. We had a good time, though, and there are plenty of leftovers for today. We are staying inside where it's nice and warm, relaxing, and eating. Sometimes, life is good.