The Big Turkey

Thanksgiving made a huge comeback in our home today. Last year we didn't even buy a turkey. We are strongly against animal cruelty. No, we are not vegetarians. We are meat lovers to the extreme. I even had a shirt once that read, "Meat is murder, sweet, delicious murder." The problem for us is that just because animals are raised for the purpose of feeding people doesn't mean they should be treated poorly. In fact, animals raised humanely and in ways that more closely resemble the natural lives they were intended to live produce a better, higher quality, and healthier meat. Anyway, we looked for humanely raised, antibiotic-free turkeys last year, but only found ones that were in the $50-$60 range. This year we looked a little farther away and found a great turkey that met our strict guidelines for $35, and it cooked up beautifully.

The most devastating discovery since last Thanksgiving was Leah Marie's intolerance to corn and gluten. What is so devastating about that, you ask, aside from the fact that corn and wheat derivatives are in almost every food product on the shelf? Well, Leah Marie's family has a killer, passed-down, powerhouse stuffing recipe that consists of white bread and corn bread. Recently, Leah Marie has mastered the art of gluten free bread that is soft and delicious. She also discovered a killer millet bread recipe that turns out and tastes almost exactly like corn bread! It is absolutely AH-MAZING! The stuffing turned out exceptionally well. It was like the Thanksgivings I have enjoyed of yore. Shout out to Camille for guiding Leah Marie to those bread recipes.

The day also started the way we used to start Thanksgivings when we lived in Tallahassee. There, the city put on an annual 5k (that is now also a 10k and 15k) called the Turkey Trot. We did it every year, except the year Leah Marie was pregnant with Thing 1. It had become a grand tradition, but we were unable to find one close by last year. Fortunately, Lexington (the city across the interstate) decided to start the tradition and had their inaugural Gobble Wobble 5k this morning. There was a huge turn out, and we had a lot of fun, as did the boys, who ran in their first ever race, a Fun Run prior to the 5k. They did not place well, but they had a ton of fun. Sadly, Thing 2, only two-years-old, suffered his first running injury. He fell onto some gravel and scraped up his left hand. Poor guy. All in all, a fun-filled, food-erific day! And we haven't even had pie yet. Well, I better go eat some.  Happy Thanksgiving to all, and to all a good night.