A Vegetarian's 1st Thanksgiving

So this will be Katie and my first Thanksgiving as vegetarians. I have, at least over the past hand full of years, not been eating that much meat (especially red meat), so having given it up was not that difficult. The only hiccup I foresaw, in the beginning, was Thanksgiving. The meal would always consist of turkey, but even more so were the memories and traditions that came with the turkey: memories of Gan-Gan (my grandfather) carving the turkey in an apron (the only time you ever saw him in one); of all our family huddled around one table, and then two tables, and then a small kids table; of the first time I brought my wife (then girlfriend), and so on. But as Jonathan Safron Foer asks:

What is added by having a turkey on the Thanksgiving table? Maybe it tastes good, but taste isn't the reason its' there—most people don't eat very much turkey throughout the year…[more likely] the turkey is there because it is fundamental to the ritual—it is how we celebrate Thanksgiving.

But the further question is: Why? There are, I think, way too many answers to this question, so let me assume, following Safron Foer, that we don't need to eat turkey if the belief is that in doing so we will preserve our traditions; or in the belief that in not eating turkey we will somehow besmirch the memories of our loved ones.

This year, more so than many others, I an hungrily (pun) looking forward to going home to see my family for two immediate and very palpable reasons: (1) Katie desperately needs a break and two-day weekends will not cut it. She's been working non-stop since August, and getting away for even a paltry four days will be enhanced by seeing family and eating comfort food.

(2) Time.

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

Time, and life existing within it, is fickle and seems to change speeds—fast, slow, a creeping, a blinking—in such succession that it is hard to keep track of one's own life. I've seen the look in Katie's eyes, and I've heard her lament the lack of time spent with her family these last few months. Only a few months, but they have been a great Sisyphean burden, endlessly dragged to and from her school.

So, I am looking forward to a vegetarian Thanksgiving, and that will include to delicious discoveries Katie and I have made these last few months. A staple of any kitchen is good stock, but all of the vegetable stocks we have tried have been either too expensive or unpalatable. So we were very happy to stumble upon this little jem

1 tsp = 1 cube = 8oz. can. Really simply, and really tasty. Just whisk into some warm or hot water and you are on your way to a delicious stock. The other great thing we found was a vegetarian gravy mix

Now, I can understand your skepticism, but once you try it (especially with some Morning Star faux-sausage crumbles) you will become a believer. A lot of people a overly-critical of vegetarian and vegan fare (sometimes justifaibly) but if you give it a try, adjusting the herbs and spices, you'll have an equally delicious meal.

So, as the days tick off and time flows back and forth, I hope that I can appreciate what I have and try to consciously focus on those things in my life that deserve and are worthy of thanks and gratitude.

PS: here's a link to a great site vegetarian Thanksgiving site.