Thanksgiving is one of those traditions that I'd love to adopt as my own. Not only because it involves great food that I so want to make every year, like that amazing turkey or the pumpkin pie, but because of what it means.
Food is a big issue in my household. I own more cookbooks than books, and the fact that I can have yet another date to celebrate, brings out my inner Chef.
However, as I said before, Thanksgiving is not about how tasty the food can be, but about gathering with your loved ones and talking about what achievements or what has made you proud over the last few months.
It's about reminiscing over the last year and sharing with others what made this year awesome for us.
Why on earth don't we all do this?
It's an official holiday in Canada and the United States (and a few other countries in Europe, but it's not as huge as in those two countries). I mean, we have incorporated Halloween, Valentine's Day and Santa Claus...but not Thanksgiving. As much as I love all the rest of the holidays, there's nothing as comforting and warming as this special day.
We don't say thank you enough. Not even to ourselves.
Most of the time, people think about what could be better, what goals they missed, what things they can improve, but do we stop to think about what we've accomplished every day?
Maybe it's not a big thing.
Maybe I lost ten pounds over the last few months and I'm more worried about the fact that I want to lose ten more before Christmas, without stopping to pat myself on the back and to feel grateful that I lost something to begin with.
Maybe I've achieved more in my writing this last year than in the last two. It could be that I'm taking this writer thing more seriously and I'm working much harder than ever before. Have I taken a moment in this busy schedule of mine to congratulate myself?
I don't know about you, but I'm more focused on what I've missed or what I need to do than what I've achieved, and that sucks. It sucks big time.
Sometimes I feel like I'm working so hard and that I'm not getting anywhere, but I don't realize what I've done to get where I am.
We need to stop our hectic life for a moment and appreciate our life.
It might not be perfect, but we have a life. It's a simple as that.
Do you do that? Do you wake up every day and be thankful for what you've got? I try to, but if I'm honest, I don't do it every day. I should. I'd wake up with a brighter spirit every morning, instead of dragging my feet around the house, telling my kids to hurry up because they will miss school.
If I did that every single morning, I bet I'd be smiling more, I'd be more calmed and I would appreciate each day more.
What have you accomplished this year?
Tell me about it, I really want to know.
It can be a small thing like trying a new food or listening to a new band, or it can be as big as finishing your first novel, or talking to that person you've been crushing on.
And since I'm all hyped up with the Thanksgiving theme, I baked a pumpkin pie especially for this article. I made it from scratch (you'll be able to tell because my pictures are not that awesome), but don't be fooled by the poor presentation, the pie was amazing. I shall say that it was the best pumpkin pie I've ever tasted so far.
I also made chocolate chip cookies at the same time...which was not the brightest idea, as you'll see. Yet, I was so happy to get a cooking blooper because guess what? Through our Twitter chats (I can't remember it if was through #wattpad4, #wattpadres or #WpSparks) I met two wonderful writers that are as passionate about cooking (if not even more!) as me, and we came up with the idea to make a cooking profile on Wattpad and share our best, and tested, recipes with you all!
The profile is CookingGALs and we're launching next January with a bunch of recipes for you all!
We also have a bloopers book (Guess what's going in the first page?).
Ultimate Pumpkin pie (seriously!)
**Disclaimer: I've used Libby's Nestlé recipe but changed a few minor details!**
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Baking Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 12
Preheat oven at: 425°F
Bake at: 350°F
What you need:
¾ C sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground all-spice
2 large eggs
2 C cooked Pumpkin (I carved my pumpkin and cooked it without salt or sugar, just a bit of water, until it was tender).
1 C sour cream
1 unbaked 9-inch deep- dish pie shell (I made the pie shell from scratch, and it tasted good but it looked hideous, so I'm not posting that recipe until I can perfect it!)
Blend everything together and pour into the pie shell. It's that easy!
Bake for 50 minutes at 350°F. Don't insert a toothpick to see if it's done, it will be wobbly, but it will be firmer as soon as it has cooled down.
Enjoy!
Happy Thanksgiving you all!