Faking it...

This year, I decided I would bypass the somewhat stressful affair which is cooking a turkey from scratch. I actually made the decision the day we ran the Jingle Bell Run, when I discovered a Whole Foods holiday menu in my post-race goody bag. Did you know you can buy your entire Thanksgiving meal from the grocery store? I guess I knew this, but I had never thought to stoop this low. However, considering our current miniature kitchen, the fact that half our stuff is in storage, and that we had no guests on the horizon, I made the decision to investigate the possibilities.

I found that the possibilities are endless... And best of all: You can order it all online!

So, I secured heirloom turkey breast (for more detail than you would ever want on heirloom turkeys and their mating rituals, see Animal, Vegetable, Miracle), cranberry relish, green beans, and pumpkin pie. Rebecka insisted it would not be Thanksgiving without our traditional sweet potato casserole, so I buckled and promised to make it - just for her. We received the recipe yesterday via email (thanks Rene!), since we had apparently misplaced it during the move. I took some liberties with it to attempt to achieve a slightly healthier version (light Karo syrup, Splenda, and whole wheat flour)... It was still extremely sweet, but oh so good.

Btw, the Whole Foods Market in Milwaukee is fantastic. I was in heaven when I went to pick up the goodies yesterday afternoon. I made a couple of impulse buys including an organic reindeer dog toy for Sophie (shhh... don't tell). I have never seen that many organic goods in one place.

Todd also did his share of shopping for the feast. When I returned home from work on Tuesday, there was Swedish "Julmust" and "Glögg" waiting for me. Yay for Todd!! We had to do a bit of searching to find some pecan pie here in the Midwest. We finally found one at Baker's Square. I figured they would be a good option, since they do specialize in pies. The fact that they displayed a pecan pie on their website was a good clue as well...

So, needless to say, I did fake it a bit (I mean, I didn't have to stick my hand into a cold turkey body), but there was also a good amount of web surfing, driving, teamwork, and kitchen time put into the creation of a wonderful Thanksgiving meal for three.

Happy Thanksgiving!