Thanksgiving with a Twist

As friends and regular readers know, I've suffered with food allergies and chronic inflammation for the last 20 years. The C19 stick made me much more ill, and I've spent the last few months eating clean and living as peacefully stress-free as possible.

I made the mistake of not meal planning ahead of my son's wedding last weekend, and I was left with few food options. I let myself have pork, dairy, sugar and flour... mostly because there were not a lot of other options. I spent the following three days taking Benadryl and running a fever.

So, I'm back home and back to clean eating. My daughter and I were going to go out for Korean food this Thanksgiving, since we couldn't make another trip back to see my son and the rest of our family. However, all the restaurants were closed. Then, my oldest brother, Chuck, a music producer and professional musicuan, who loves food as much as I do, called and said he was going to come visit. So, we decided to cook. Cooking free of gluten, dairy, sugar and flour is not hard. It just takes a few Pinterest recipes and pantry staples. You can read about those staples in my earlier blogs from my blog category, "Virus & Stick Recovery/Prevention."

I began my meal by mapping out what I needed to do in order. I forgot to write down "potatoes," so, of course, I forgot to cook them.

I had ordered food from Wal Mart's delivery service on Tuesday evening, and about five minutes before the delivery was set to arrive ... after my shopper had completed the order ... the delivery was cancelled. I was unable to get in touch with anyone at Wal Mart to explain to me why this happened.

Alas, with my brother coming into town, and a growing teenager in the house, I thought it best to be brave and face the crowds at Fresh Market and Publix on the night before Thanksgiving so I might serve up a proper meal.

One woman on the cart-to-cart Publix freezer aisle was on the phone asking her family, "Do you need anything else before leave hell?" I laughed out loud, causing her to laugh, as well. "Well, it's true isn't it?" she quipped back. Tell that to the Israelites, Syrians, Ukranians, Palestinians... I thought, but didn't say.

Finally back home, I slept in Thursday morning, and woke up to slowly-but-surely prep for dinner. Still wiped out from my son's wedding the weekend before, and three days of work, I struggled to get going. I was extremely fatigued, but determined. My Ryze mushroom coffee and Ka'Chava vanilla smoothie helped give me a boost of energy.

I prepped my organic ground chicken meatballs with eggs, gluten free bread crumbs, ginger, garlic, seasonings... placing them in the fridge to set. Then, chopped zuccinni and onion to add to my bag of stir fry veggies and chopped peppers. I also pickled some carrots and cucumbers in rice vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and onion powder before chopping shallots.

I cooked the meatballs in a Korean sauce mixture, topping them off with sesame seeds. They were very dry. In hindsight, it would've been better to pan fry the ground chicken with some olive oil or a bit of plant butter before adding the sauce.

I finished off my stir fry veggies with some ginger, garlic, spices, and a dried cilantro/parsley mixture. My organic white rice was cooked to perfection. I was thrilled about this as I tend to have a bad track record with cooking gummy rice.

As the meatballs, stir fry and rice finished cooking, I quickly prepped an appetizer board. It included cracker cups with Greek yogurt and everything bagel spiced cashews. I added phyllo cups filled with pimento cheese, fig chili jelly and a candied pecan (baked at 325 for 10 minutes, or until bubbly).

I added Naan bread to eat with the spinach dip, homemade vegan chocolate bark, gluten free seed crackers, cranberry cinnamon goat cheese and some peppermint truffles. We had a Publix pecan pie because I knew Chuck and Caryn loved pecan pie, but I regrettted not making my own as it was not nearly as good as my homemade recipe. I swiped a fail proof recipe from a hole-in-the-wall cafe in Nashville, Tennessee twenty-four years ago. I've yet to have one any better.

Overall, I'd have to say aside from the meatballs being dry and the sauce needing more spice. Had I had more time to prep, I would've taken the time to make or find vegan cheese for the phyllo cups and a gluten free alternative to the naan bread. I will say the choice to add fresh chopped shallots, pickled carrots/cucumbers, fresh creama, and serve a side of Asian Bean Salad was a smart move. the bowl needed a bit of a fresh, acidic kick. I enjoyed this meal overall, and would do it again.

TheBlack Friday shopping that ensued the next day ... definetely will NOT being doing that again! Didn't find much I needed, and the crowd was insane.

I have to give Kohl's credit though, I found some incredible deals to keep in mind for future sales. The holidays have me in the mood to shop thrifty. I finshed off my holiday with out cat, Nero (Nar-row in Korean), giving me a leg up on the Christmas decorating.

Merry Christmas, everyone! Send me your favorite Pescatarian, gluten free recipes to casey.goldenblog@gmail.com to possibly be featured in next year's blog line up.