The Day After Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving Weekend in Canada, and today is a holiday. Yesterday, my family gathered together for a feast of roast turkey, vegetables galore, and pumpkin pie. Today, they'll be enjoying leftovers: cranberry-turkey salad, a cold slice of pie, mmmm... I'm sorry not to be there, sharing in the family time (and the food), but I am very thankful:

I'm thankful I am in Madrid and able to stay here, even though I won't be able to work until some time in the New Year.

I'm thankful for our sun-filled, spacious flat, and for the bright, sunny autumn.

I'm thankful for old friends and in-laws, who are making sure I never feel lonely, and for the company of our dog, who seems to know just when I need a cuddle.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to participate in working society through volunteering, and for the extraordinary new people I'm getting to know through shared cups of coffee.

Most of all, I'm thankful for my wonderful husband of six weeks: his quiet kindness and unending generosity never fail to move me.

Last year, I cooked a turkey dinner in London. This year, I don't quite have my act together - we're having cranberry-apple salad and turkey burgers for lunch - but I did have a can of pumpkin in the pantry. As an homage to my second-favourite holiday, I made a pumpkin-spice latte. Of course, since it's Vita-mixing month, I made it in the Vita-mix - just throw everything in and blend on 10-high until hot. It even makes a milk-froth topping on its own, so I didn't make the topping part of the recipe. I also cut back on the spices, and in my giant Starbucks mug, this made one and a half servings (perfect, because I like seconds and Tall Guy doesn't like coffee. Not even pumpkin-spice lattes).

Here's to finding my roasting pan by Christmas.

Flavour: Gourmet cafe flavour at a fraction of the price, in the comfort of my own home, and healthy to boot.
Ease: Easier than pumpkin pie. Less time than going to Starbucks. 
Make again:Yes, probably tomorrow. The rest of the can of pumpkin was going to be pumpkin loaf, but now it looks like it will be frozen for use in future lattes. Sorry, Tall Guy - no loaf for you!

PS: The Divan was not divine! We ended up giving the chicken to the dog (who thought that was divine), and I turned the broccoli and sauce bits into a nice, creamy soup. At least two good things came out of it: I learned why people have dogs (no feeling bad for throwing out meat - just give it to the dog!), and we have some soup in the freezer for a rainy day.