It’s Thanksgiving Weekend in Canada and many households are getting set to host family & friends for cheer and time spent around the table sharing stories, passing platters and helping the little ones experience turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes for the first time.  Many are getting ready to stuff the turkey with a family recipe passed down for generations. Many new couples may be hosting this holiday for the first time sorting through the ins and outs of basting a turkey with a  buttery sage thyme concoction & sorting out the pound per hour timing for cooking.  Perhaps you forgot the cranberry sauce and are making a drive into a neighbouring small town to visit that open independent grocery store.  Let’s not forget that sweet potato or if you choose to call them yams, recipe that has the toasted marshmallows on top … how do you do that again? Likely a quick call to a parent or loved one to reacquaint with the recipe that everyone loves, as you want to get it just right. 

There are so many food ‘isms’ with Canadian Thanksgiving with what to serve, cooking time, real whipped cream or canned, what to pair the turkey with for beverages and yes, the after-dinner turkey coma.  That’s the time when everyone has a wee little nap and then begin the feast of leftovers all over again.  We all understand how this goes, yet the message each year is the same and so different than any other holiday we celebrate.

Thanksgiving is a time to take stock in what we have, where you are at and offer gratitude. No gifts to shop and give, only the gift of being together. Making a conscious decision to put the phones away and share time together, catching up and reacquainting with conversations that are more than 25 characters.  Time to toss the football, go for a walk, pack food and send it for others to enjoy, and remember how thankful we are to be together. Real-time connections we seem to have lost in the techno shuffle, as life has gotten so multi-focused. The savoury thanksgiving meal is the mechanism for getting together and the vehicle to time well spent around the table.  We prepare the meal for hours, and often days of prep yet it’s over in a flash.  So delicious, so savoury, and so many great stories of ‘remember when ….’

This Thanksgiving try not to rush from the table to tidy everything up in a hurry, yet sit together and just be.  The dishes will get done, the food will get put away, and then naps will happen.  Take a moment to remind yourself to enjoy the time together without needing to get the kitchen spotless again in a big hurry.  Be present.  Be thankful. Be authentically in person with the ones you love.   Happy Thanksgiving from my busy kitchen to yours.  Cheers! 

Spicy Jan enjoys cruising the roads of Brant, Brantford, Six Nations & Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nations on two wheels, exploring delicious hidden gems.   Have a great location for our foodie editor to visit?  Send an email to info@tastyroadtrips.com and dish out the ‘intel’ on where you think she should dine on a budget, in Brant next!