THANKSGIVING

I had done most of the prep work/cooking on Wednesday. With temps pushing into the low-50's and most of the snow gone except in deep shade, I decided to work outside. The sun was out for awhile until the clouds came later in the afternoon. Two things needed to be done: another pass at the blanket of my neighbor's oak leaves and run the gas out of the mower.      Got 'er dun.

The feast: my take on a Wellington. Inside C's was a mixture of roasted mushrooms, garlic, onion, shallots, vegan apple/sage sausage, panko crumbs, thyme, sage. The original called for one egg as a binder, my egg replacement Just, didn't work so well. Inside my Welly was the same mushroom/roasted veggie base with turkey from a frozen turkey leg found at Horrocks (small quantities of turkey cannot be found). I tried using a liquid egg (that comes in a milk carton-like container) as a binder and that didn't work either. Accompanying the main course was homemade seeded rye bread/mushroom dressing and fresh steamed whole green beans. The homemade mushroom gravy is in the upper right covered with a napkin. Dessert for both of us was a delicious cupcake from Sweet Encounters located in the Knapps Building in downtown Lansing. Their vegan frosting is the best we have found-not too sweet with plenty of flavor. C added a side of Ben & Jerry's  Fudge Brownie non-dairy ice cream. All was yummers! And we prepared a special meal for Madame as well served earlier in the day. Based on her cleaned plate, it was up to her exacting standards.

We had a nice fire going and C suggested we watch Planes, Trains and Automobiles which she had not seen. I made her a take on a Cosmopolitan cocktail, using a Seedlip distilled non-alcoholic spirit, cranberry juice and lime juice without the simple syrup. With the sun gone, Molls joined us and received some premium scritches and belly rubs that Mom is well-known for.