Being the newest employee at her company, DD has learned that while she gets Thanksgiving Day off, she will be working on Wednesday and Friday. After a brief moment of despair at being apart for the first time at a major holiday, we all agreed that she is incredibly blessed to have a good job in this economy. She is also blessed because ESS’s hometown is a couple of hours from where she works, so they can have Thanksgiving dinner with his family.

For that reason DD and ESS came to spend this weekend with us. SS came home too. I got all of the Thanksgiving decorations out, so the house looked festive. We agreed we would not have traditional Thanksgiving dinner. However we did have a big celebration meal, and I have two recipes to share.

First Joan was absolutely right. The spinach dish labeled Swag Mushroom at the India Buffet was really Saag Mushroom. Because SS loves India food, I made it. You can Google the traditional Saag Mushroom. This is my BTD version. Everyone liked it except DD - who in spite of being Type A, doesn’t care for the taste or texture of mushrooms.

10 oz frozen spinach
8 oz Portobello mushroom
2 tsp ginger juice
4 garlic cloves, minced
1tsp chili powder
Dash of cayenne pepper
½ cup almond milk
2 Tbsp ghee

Heat ghee in large skillet over medium heat; add mushrooms and garlic. Sauté until tender. Add ginger juice and chili powder. Stir for 1 minute. Add spinach. Add a pinch of salt if you like. Reduce heat low, and cover skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach is soft (10-15 minutes).Stir in cayenne and almond milk. Add a little more almond milk if it is too dry. Cover and simmer 5-10 minutes.

Recipe #2 is for Millet - Thanksgiving style
I was going to roast a turkey breast. As you know I am adding more grain back into my diet, and I had recently bought millet. I put one cup of millet in the baking dish with the turkey breast. I took one can of MSG free chicken broth and added enough water to make 2 cups. I chopped up an onion and sprinkled it all with poultry seasoning and sage. Then I put it in the oven and followed the instructions for cooking the turkey.

It was delicious. The house smelled like the holidays. DD said it was better than dressing. Everyone liked it and it was so easy to make.

DD has something else to be thankful for. If you have been a long time reader of this blog, you know that her last year of high school she dabbled in an exercise/eating disorder. She lost too much weight and got her hormones out of balance. Her recovery has been a very long spiritual and physical journey. The BTD gave me the courage to not force her into a rapid weight gain based on junk food. For some time she has the healthiest spiritually and emotionally that she has ever been. Now her physical health is returning as well. We may not be at the same table on Thanksgiving Day, but we will all be thankful.