This page out of my daughter Laurel's cookbook just about reflects the atmosphere in my home during Thanksgiving. One disaster after another.

It all started when I saw the coupon for a free turkey at Fred Meyers. Just buy $100.00 worth of food and the turkey is yours. I made my list, and on Monday I drove over. But much to my disappointment my list didn't tally up to that amount. I had to supplement my purchases with non-essentials, like a Coleman raincoat for $19.99 and a 2-man tent for $30. I balanced it on top of the cart, sideways, then went to get a 10 lb. turkey. (Yes, I'm sure people wondered why I'd be camping when it is 32 degrees outside with a 30 percent chance of rain.)

When I checked the freezer in the meat department, all the small turkeys had been taken, so I had to lug home a 21 lb. bird to feed a small family of four - Ruhiyyih, who flew in from Washington D.C., Rahmat, and George and I. I asked the clerk if they had anything smaller, and she said all of them had been taken over the weekend. So, here I was, stuck with 21 lbs. of meat, and all four of us are primarily vegetarian. I looked at that turkey and thought how in the world will I ever use up all that meat!

This was a perfect moment to get creative and plan ahead. I thought I could slice up most of the white meat and freeze it for turkey sandwiches for when we hike. The dark meat could be finely chopped for casseroles and soup. I could render the bones and fat into broth and save it for soups. So, I decided to cook the turkey a day ahead, on Wednesday. I spent the day boning it and processing all the pieces. That done, only half a turkey breast remained for Thanksgiving and a few portions remained for a turkey pot pie or a Moroccan pilaf the next day. Big mistake. BIG mistake.

The day after Thanksgiving, everyone wanted open-faced turkey sandwiches. When the whole tribe of Dannells arrived home from bowling on Friday night, they blasted into the kitchen, hoping for left-overs. I dampened their enthusiasm considerably when I pulled out this instead: Moroccan pilaf.

Ruhiyyih looked at me as if I'd just socked her in the jaw! She was not impressed with a bunch of prunes, dried apricots and cranberries sitting in a pot of rice. She wanted an open faced sandwich, with mashed potatoes and gravy! She'd traveled over 3,000 miles to taste Thanksgiving, with the impression of pilgrims and Indians, not some meat marinated in cardamon, hot sauce, and honey!

Breakfast was another disappointment. Since Ruhiyyih is vegetarian, I served a stir-fry slaw - cauliflower, broccoli and carrots, onion, parsley and bok choy. I serve this on top of chunk red salmon, and throw a bunch of peanuts, sunflower seeds, almonds and cranberries on top. Add a bowl of fresh grapes, and you have the vegetarian equivalent of ham and eggs with hash-browns! Ruhiyyih started chewing, and a half hour later, still chewing, said "This meal kinda slows one down... by the way, why isn't Dad cooking anymore?" She missed his ham and eggs, and French toast slathered with syrup. She was missing 'the old home she has always known', the old comfort foods she grew up on. I mentioned that since George came down with diabetes we've had to make considerable changes, with a more careful diet. This took some time to process...

I did make a low-sugar pumpkin pie, and a few small huckleberry-blueberry pies. I enjoyed coffee in the morning with Ruhiyyih.
This was a banana bread I made in a round loaf pan, then decorated with starburst drizzle. I served it at our Ruhi class on Wednesday night.

Ruhiyyih had a packed schedule while she was here, and she'll feature it in her blog when she goes back home. A highlight for her was watching me teach Laurel how to make pecan cinnamon rolls on Monday, something I've made for over 40 years. She video-taped us, and it was a delight to show Laurel the antics of yeast.

We had a vigorous hike on the south fork of the Skokomish River on Saturday. This rugged area has a wonderful variety of walking terrain - an old growth forest of huge 100 year old trees, with little creeks and bridges and tons of ferns and frozen mushrooms. Taraz tree-climbing. This was quite a stretch!
Taraz inside an old rotted tree.

Megan had a meal waiting for all of us at their home - wild rice pilaf, macaroni and cheese, and split pea soup. Wonderful aromas, wholesome and filling food! We were so hungry, George just groaned with delight. Isn't that the way it goes... some foods just fill the soul. Afterwards, George read books from their library, Taraz and Megan puttered on their laptops, and Rahmat and I threw little beanbags back and forth across the room. Then, Rahmat layed down on the floor with a book. Life sure felt good.