To be grateful in season

Thanksgiving is certainly the time of year to reflect on the past growing season and ponder about the place you occupy in the world.  I love our place and I hope and wish that everyone feels the same way about the place where they live.  We moved up North five years ago and this year seems magical.  The summer ceremony, the arrival of the kids, the amazing harvest of all sorts of crops and the continuity of friendships and connection with distant family makes me feel eternally thankful.

The unconditional love encompass our lives. The world seems like a nutshell that we are given to fill with whatever we seek in life.  I keep thinking about my world and all I can think of is sweet home. The feeling of belonging grows stronger and stronger as I learn to take the steps into a more sustainable future with the land. The techniques we follow and the people we have met are far too precious to discard in this process. The hands and laughter are what makes this place our home and regardless of inevitable imperfections, I keep in mind the sacrifices made by previous generations that helped us get here.

Our friends arrived at our home with intentions of saying hello to their goat godchildren plus they helped us cook Thanksgiving dinner. The vegetable pot pie was a revelation. Who needs a vegetarian roast when you can make this dish with whole ingredients. The gravy started off as a veggie stock made of onions, celeriac, carrots and parsnips mixed with water, ume plume vinegar and soy sauce. Later flour and water were mixed until a ball formed and then the veggie stock was added with some dried herbs.



 The crust was made with grate care. Flour, salt, cold water and earth balance all carefully mixed and set aside in colder room. Meanwhile, the potatoes and carrots were roasting in the oven, while the tofu and the chicken of the woods mushrooms were sautéing in a pan with selected seasonings. Late the pie was assembled and cooked in the oven for 40 minutes between 350 and 400 F.
The top of the pie was brushed with egg from our chickens.

The left over crust was for the dessert pie.  This was the most exciting part of the meal. The pumpkin was grown in our garden, the eggs from our chickens and the milk from our goats. We cooked the pumpkin in the oven with olive oil, then scrapped the inside onto a bowl.  We added spices and 1 and 1/4 cup of goat milk, 4 eggs molasses and sugar. The color and the taste of the mix was splendid.  Everything came together perfectly like it was meant to be.

We also enjoyed local apple cider from Champlain orchards, bread rolls from my famous pizza recipe, vegan stuffing with chicken of the woods mushrooms and corn and cranberry sauce from local cranberries.  After spending of this time in the kitchen, our friends had to leave to meet up with their family.  We are excessively thankful for their company and willingness to make us a delicious Thanksgiving dinner that we will never forget.  

Here they are holding their goat godchildren.