Giving Thanks

Turkey

The holidays have officially kicked off and I’m considering breaking out the maternity pants like Joey on friends.  We’re gathered with family, the buzz of stories and laughter with the recordings of “Alice’s Restaurant” playing in the background. Dinner is cooking, and the house smells amazing. I can’t wait to eat everything. This year, I am grateful for my health, a good job, wonderful friends and family. Things are so good, and days like this where we talk about all that we’re grateful for remind me of how far I’ve come and how fortunate I am.

This year, we went a little crazy on the menu for Thanksgiving, and I can’t wait to eat it all and snack on the leftovers!  So what’s on tap for today?

Breakfast
Goat cheese, bacon, and leek tart with chanterelle mushrooms
Mango-orange mimosas


Dinner

Appetizers:
Deviled eggs-regular and habenero
Caprese Skewers
Cranberry Wine

First Course:
Mixed green salad with candied walnuts, pomegranates, and a raspberry walnut vinaigrette.
Beets with goat cheese crumbles and pistachios

Main Course:
Deboned, honey brined turkey
Rotisserie roasted pork shoulder


Sides:
Mashed potatoes
Pear, cranberry, and port conserva
“Green Slime”-pistachio pudding, cool whip and marshmallows
Pineapple coconut salad
Applesauce
Roasted squash medley with port poached cherries, and almonds
Chorizo spinach stuffing (gluten free)
Turkey stock gravy
Wheat bread with orange cranberry pecan butter
Rolls

Drinks:
Prosecco, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, more cranberry wine

Dessert:

Gluten free vegan cashew and date cheesecake
Cranberry walnut tart
Vanilla bean ice cream
Sandeman’s Port
Prosecco

 

There you have it!  I’m so excited to dig in and eat.  While it’s a lot of food for 8 people, we’ll all leave with a ton of leftovers. Full bellies and happy hearts, and isn’t that a great way to spend the day?

How are you spending the holiday and how do you give thanks?

Yours in food and happiness,

Raina

And then there were more!

If you’ve followed this blog long enough, you know one of my dreams is to have a big plot of land with a farm. That is still a work in progress, and will likely be for some time, so we have been making due with  city critters. We have chickens, which are amazing, but they are totally a gateway animal! After years of trying to find the right space and justify getting rabbits, my dream came true!  Enter: Hazel and Fresa (Strawberry). We adopted them from a local family whose daughter was too allergic to them to keep them. Rabbits woman and bunnies hungry bunny bunnies eating cute bunny chicken and bunny nature bunny bunny and bunny baby

We were told that they were both boys and were just shy of a year old. We played with them daily, snuggling them and feeding them treats. Izzy would squeal with joy to see Hazel greet her each morning and afternoon in anticipation of treats. We were feeling amazing about our decision to have two bunnies. Forward to 10 days after we brought them home-I came out to find this:

baby bunny

and then this:

more bunny babies

8 babies in all, in three spots. I was floored. While I was ready for two bunnies, I hadn’t planned on what to do with 10 total. I quickly posted to Facebook, looking for advice from friends who had been raising rabbits for years. In addition to laughter, I received good advice to let momma do her thing and to keep an eye on everyone. They would be fine and if not, I could either let nature run its’ course, or intervene and bring to a vet or find a donor momma (yes, that’s apparently a thing!).

I checked on them constantly the first few days, convinced that something would go wrong. After a week, I found that one had died, and we would eventually lose two more. The rest grew quickly, one more than the other, and one runt continued to thrive (we have hand fed him to help him keep up with the siblings). They quickly left their nest, venturing to the rest of their hutch, nibbling on the greens we give, or chewing on the timothy hay we lay daily, or jumping over to mom for a quick nurse. As you’ll see, one of these guys clearly had nursing down and was a big boy!

growing bunnies baby meet momma hand feeding bunny

Izzy bunny

We are smitten with them in all their furry cuteness. At some point, we’ll raise rabbits for meat, but this group won’t be for that. We’ll adopt out the babies, and then see how things go in the future. For now, Izzy and I are enjoying watching them grow and play.

People have asked what is next. For now, these guys and our chickens are all we have time, space and energy for; plus all these guys love to eat my crops, so I think I am full up on critters for now.

What would you love to have on your farm, or yard?

Yours in fuzzy cuteness,
Raina