I lied on Facebook today: We did NOT have a Tofurky for Thanksgiving.
No, we didn’t have actual turkey (Well, Chad did for lunch. Thank goodness Cub was open until 2:00 so we could pick up a deli Jennie-O turkey for him and veggie essentials for me, in case the weather is crappy this weekend).
We DID have a faux turkey but it was a Gardein brand Holiday Roast. But saying “Tofurky” is easier than saying “plant/soy-based turkey alternative.” Tofurky is to turkey as Kleenex is to facial tissue.
While I will always be happy to eat a Tofurky, I do like the Gardein product better, and it doesn’t have the frustrating-to- remove metal clips that a Tofurky sports.
Luckily I had this Gardein holiday roast (GHR) on hand, because we were not planning on eating at home this Thanksgiving. But, see the aforementioned weather forecast for this weekend.
I’m grateful that the GHR was not freezer burned, and pleased that it occurred to me to vacuum out the oven so it would be clear of fire-starting chip particles. YES I VACUUMED THE OVEN. I’m proud of that one on many levels. As many of you probably know, I do NOT bake (nor does Chad) and we primarily use the oven for chip and cracker storage.
Our GHR was damn tasty, and I’m already obsessing about when I can buy and make another one.
The accompanying roasted veggies I made- w/o olive oil–were also damn tasty. (And I don’t mean to hate on olive oil, but if I can get flavor without using as many calories, I’m all for that).
My roasted veggie marinade ingredients? Why, I’m happy to share! (I don’t aspire to being a cook but I am a hell of an assembler):
- Alessi pear-infused white basalmic vinegar
- Soy sauce
- Miso broth
- Sirachha
- Red wine
- Various spices: Italian seasoning, pepper, Trader Joe’s Umani
I think I am even inspired to keep our oven open/cracker free so I can continue to use it to roast veggies–at least for the next couple of weeks (Chad reminded me I say this every year).
We did NOT find a small pumpkin pie or pecan pie or pumpkin pie flavored Halo at Cub, but we did find a piece of carrot cake which seems relatively seasonable (more so than the strawberry rhubarb pie that also sounded yummy).
I have so many things to be thankful for, big and small. Right now, at this moment, I feel the most immediacy in being thankful for getting to live my quirky little life: vaccuming my oven, getting to run at the gym w/o having to dodge old people walking in the running lane, practicing the keyboard part for the Counting Crow’s “Long December,” whipping up a tasty veggie marinade, blogging on my phone, and watching superhero shows with a snuggly StanLee B.
There’s no “E” in Tofurky or bourbon, but there is an “E” in wine and love and awesome and StanLee. I’m so lucky my life can encompass the small joys of all these gifts that span the spelling spectrum.
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