Turkey Day

Oh yeah, Turkey Day is just around the corner. Like most people, we're planning our dinner, unlike a lot of people, there won't be a bird on our table.
Vegetarian you know?
Don't fret. We actually will have more to eat than lettuce leaves and beans, but that's a story for another time. I'm not really sure what the menu is for this year, except for the desert. Ready to be gobbled will be an apple pie, a pumpkin pie, and a cheesecake. Negotiations are still underway for the Pecan pie. I think we can wear Mary Ellen down. She's very easy.
Thanksgiving, a holiday celebrated mainly in the U.S.,traditionally is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. It is a day usually built around one thing, the meal.
In my mind, the meal is just the excuse to gather with family or friends, or both. It doesn't really matter what the menu is.
While visiting my daughter in Italy recently, we had a spur of the moment meal, that was just as satisfying, physically as well as personally.
While driving through Italy's beautiful countryside, it was time to eat. We popped into a little side shop and found all the fixings we needed for an impromptu picnic. One benefit of living in a vegetarian household is, we are notoriously great grazers. We can walk into a hardware store and come out with a meal fit for a king.
We found a picturesque little spot, and my wife,my daughter and I had one of the best meals ever.
While picking out our picnic supplies of fresh bread, cheese, pesto and olives, my wife picked up a bottle of wine and looked at me questioningly.
I said, absolutely, "when in Rome......."
You know the saying "the best things sometimes come in small packages," well, I found that to be true.