Happy Thanksliving!

I was so excited today to experience my very first ThanksLiving at Green in Scottsdale. Honestly, it was totally weird to celebrate Thanksgiving and not cook. I truly missed spending the day in the kitchen. However, I certainly did not miss out on amazing food.

Today I was blessed by the company of friends for a gorgeous morning hike. Then I was doubly blessed to be able to have ThanksLiving dinner with my beautiful sister and some long lost friends. It was so fun to talk with young college students who are compassionate, kind, bright and as an added bonus passionate about vegan food! What a blast!

The folks at Green put on a fantastic event. There was music, crafts and a very informative presentation by Bruce Friedrich, from Farm Sanctuary. He did a great job at talking about the advantages of veganism by not only pointing out the animal rights issues (as would be expected from a Farm Sanctuary representative) but also providing information on how veganism is also a great way to help the environment and the world's poor. He is an excellent speaker.

The turnout was impressive. I heard one of the employees say 500 tickets were sold. When we arrived there was a huge line outside the restaurant.

There were tents set up outside with lots of people enjoying the entertainment, the food, the great weather and the compassionate company. People were encouraged to bring towels and blankets for the Humane Society.

My indoor pictures are a little blurry, but I am posting them anyway because I have to give props to the amazingly friendly and fun staff at Green! Here they are serving up dinner for the hungry thankful crowd.

Lets talk food. There was not a thing on my plate that I didn't like. As a matter of fact there wasn't a dish on my plate I didn't think was incredible. The crust on the seitan was beautifully crisp. The mashed potatoes had a beautiful mushroom gravy. The stuffing was dotted with fresh cranberries and had the perfect amount of earthy sage. Both my sister and I have never been big fans of brussel sprouts, but they were so delicious, I found myself wanting more...same with the asparagus. Cranberry sauce is often overly sweet in my opinion. I have to say theirs was perfect. 

There were three desserts to choose from: Pumpkin Pie, GF Pecan Pie and GF Cobbler. I only had the opportunity to taste the pecan pie. This was the only course I thought was just OK. It was a bit too soft and overly sweet for my taste. But the cobbler and pumpkin pie looked amazing. 

There are so many things that I am thankful for: great friends, wonderful family, a beautiful home, a gorgeous dog, the ability to give to those less fortunate...but I have to say, I am especially thankful to be blessed with the best sister in the world. I love you so much sistah!