MINIzinne: Harvest Feast

Thanksgiving is always a very weird time for me. Being a School Teacher for years I have gotten increasingly more despondent over the American teaching of Columbus, the Native Americans and what Thanksgiving is all about. Some schools have been worse than others throughout the years. Some schools completely omit the story, which I feel sometimes is more truthful than what we did growing up.

I remember growing up making "Indian" and "Pilgrim" costumes out of paper bags and wearing them to school for a big Thanksgiving feast. Later, when I was enlightened by the more honest story of our Nation's beginnings, I was so distraught that my Teachers participated and had us participate in such nonsense. In fact, I was downright hurt that these Teachers who I trusted so much would just flat out LIE to us.

That being said, Thanksgiving is a hard time for me and I have gone back and forth as to whether I would celebrate it at all in fact...but it is hard not to take some time to eat good food and spend time with family, friends and loved ones.

I like to see Thanksgiving as more of a celebration of the Harvest. So my sister, her husband and our friends Marek and Kristyna did just that! We used local, in season vegetables, and cheated with a Tofurky and made a yummy feast to enjoy with one another.

My sister and her husband found out that their gas was out at their complex, and so we had to get a little bit inventive with the preparation of the feast!

Honza roasting beets and celery root

highly sophisticated methods of checking food

Malomar happy to be off leash and running around.

Marek wearing his "traditional Czech winter hat" and me in the woods.

We went on a walk before we finished making dinner and spend some time wandering through an Old Cemetery. As depressing as this is, in Rye there was a separate African Cemetery away from the dead white folk, in a way off unkept area. It was sort of humbling to see this and reminded me of how much a Nation can change. (Not to say that we don't still have a lot of work to do in regards to equality).

We also took a nice walk in the woods as the sun set.

check out those dates!

It is so nice to make an entire meal from scratch (okay okay, except for that processed Tofurky that we have all grown to love). Here are some photos of our Vegan Harvest Feast! (PS...not to brag, but of course I will...my Brother-in-Law even brewed his own Pumpkin Ale for the occasion! He rules)