a most perfect Thanksgiving

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving to all!

Tuesday I flew out to DC to spend my Thanksgiving break with Rahul. After several hours stuck in traffic, he finally got to the airport and whisked me away and since then, I’ve been deeply involved in cooking preparations, folding his laundry, and planning our (failed) Black Friday plan of attack.

We had a Living Social deal for Whole Foods and spent way too much money on a Thanksgiving feast for 2 people, but it was so much fun to cook Thanksgiving for him! If you read me regularly, you’ll know that Rahul is from India, so I made several un-PC jokes about pilgrims and Indians.

My Thanksgiving feast last year was for 8 people and very busy so making a simple turkey breast (with this recipe — I definitely recommend it!!) and traditional sides was really enjoyable. And the DC weather was so great that we went for a run pre-cooking and ended up taking our stuff outside for a picnic.

I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving as well! I am currently spending my last couple days in DC soaking up the vacation bliss — semester finals are coming up and I’m trying to not think of them. I’ll be back next week with some kind of food. If I ever find room in my stomach again.

another year

Today marks the 3 year anniversary of my father’s suicide. I cannot believe it has been 3 years. Some days it feels like yesterday, some days it feels like a lifetime ago. November 21, 2008 changed my life forever.

For the past 3 years, I have cried nearly every day. Sometimes, there were happy tears upon remembering a stupid joke my dad told. Sometimes, there were big, heaving sobs of pure grief and sadness. But in the past 3 years there’s been one feeling that has stayed with me: guilt.

I have felt incredibly and inexplicably guilty for my father’s death. The day I found out that he had willingly ended his own life, I started to believe it was my fault. I started regretting all the things I could have done, all the signs I had ignored. I was miserable knowing that he had been so miserable and I had done nothing to help.

In the past year, I’ve come a long way with accepting his death and releasing myself from guilt. Sure, I still have days where I cry about what has happened and fail to understand why it did. But most of the time, I am happy knowing my dad is at peace at last and is smiling down on me, cheering me on with everything I do. I bet he really likes Rahul, even though he’ll never get to meet him. I bet he thinks I’m crazy for running a half marathon. I bet he’s so proud of me for going to graduate school.

3 years ago today, when I was told that my dad was dead, I was on the way to DC, a weekend trip to visit the National Zoo and some museums. Tomorrow, I leave on a plane to go to DC and visit the man who I am desperately in love with. He lives 3 blocks from the National Zoo. Life is funny, isn’t it?

Tomorrow I touch down in DC and complete what I was incapable of doing 3 years ago. Today I forgive my father and myself. Today I take another step further in a life I now have to live without my father. Today I try to be happy and remember what an amazing man he was. 

Rest in peace Daddy. I will always love you.

<3 Christopher Arthur Gleason 2/10/63 — 11/21/08

recipe shout out

I left my camera at my mom’s house in Virginia this weekend! Oh no! I’ll get it back over Christmas, rather than have her waste money sending it to me. But until then, I’m very glad I had a few posts written ahead of time with real pictures! When I run out, I’ll have to dig my point-and-shoot out of the depths of my closet… Until then, enjoy this recipe shout out!

I’d like to give a recipe shout out to Back to Her Root’s recent recipe for No Bake Butterfinger and Pretzel Cheesecake.

My friend Mary came over and I swung by the grocery store for the ingredients (including Texas shaped pretzels!) and gave it a try.

It was delicious, but apparently I’m illiterate as I misread a critical step and my filling was way more liquidy than it should have been. Also, my crust may have baked too long so it was pretty hard. It was delicious, but since it doesn’t stay together when not frozen, I’ve been slowly picking at the leftovers straight from the freezer and they’re divine. Make it (correctly) and love it!

happy Veteran’s Day!

Happy Veteran’s Day to all those who have served and are currently serving our country! 

Today is particularly bittersweet to me as my own brother, Hunter, is a soldier! He’s deploying to Afghanistan in a matter of weeks so I am taking a quick trip home to Virginia this weekend to send him off right! We’re doing this the Southern way: too much food, beer, and crazy relatives.

Fun fact: this picture was taken in May 2010…. which was also the last time I saw him! I cannot believe I’ve gone a year and a half without seeing him! 

Have a great weekend!

old school tacos

When I was growing up, about once a week we had Taco Night, and it was one of my favorite nights of the week.

My mom would buy a packet of taco seasoning from the grocery store that she mixed with ground beef. My brother and I were in charge of preparing the condiments, so we would pull out all the bowls in the cabinet and fill them with shredded cheddar cheese, iceberg lettuce, tomato, and sour cream. We always had soft taco shells (for my brother, Hunter) and hard taco shells for me!

Now, as an adult, I tend to go to the grocery store and buy random things without meals in mind. As I stared at the ground turkey I had in the refrigerator, visions of Taco Night swam in my head and I knew I had to find a way to make my own taco meat!

Now, in essence, this isn’t a difficult dish and hardly a “recipe”, but simply because it took me straight back to childhood I had to share it with y’all. It was delicious with whole wheat tortillas in tacos and even better the next day as a healthy taco salad!

Taco Night Turkey (serves 4)
1 lb lean (93/7) ground turkey
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 T chili powder
1/2 T cumin
1 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp cayenne (add more or less for spice)
salt & pepper
In a skillet, combine raw turkey and onions over medium heat. Stir occasionally, browning the meat and cooking the onions. When the turkey is almost fully browned, after about 5-7 minutes, stir in the spices, adding salt & pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly and reduce the heat to medium-low, mincing the meat into small crumbles as you stir. When the meat is fully browned, about 10 minutes total after starting, and the spices are uniformly mixed. Serve hot in tacos or cold in a taco salad!

no fun november

Apparently people are participating in No-Shave November by growing beards and lovely lady leg hair.

I will not be participating in that. However, I will be participating in No Fun November in an effort to push myself to do something not fun, but which will help me.

With the input of some friends and a few ideas of my own, here are my No Fun November goals:

1. Do 15 push ups every day with correct form <— I usually wimp out and do the girl push ups;

2. No fried foods (as in, deep fried);

3. Find a way to get back into yoga, no matter what;

4. Drink 8 glasses of water every day!

Are you going to make any No Fun November personal goals?