an allergen-friendly thanksgiving

Most of you probably know that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It's always been a day full of tradition for our family, from the parade to the decorations to the food. Since moving so far away, we have developed some of our own traditions while trying to keep up with the old. Having to go gluten (and corn) free has spurred even more change, especially when it comes to the cooking and who we spend our day with.

Last year, we decided to bypass a traditional Thanksgiving, and we spent the day at Tokyo Disney (where we were lucky enough to find turkey legs at the park). This year, we were ready to tackle Thanksgiving cooking again, knowing that because of the corn issues, I would have to spend more time revamping almost every dish to fit those needs. Even the dishes from our first gluten free Thanksgiving had to be analyzed and changed again. I think we ended up with some great eats though, and this blog is just as much to save the recipes as it is to share with anyone else who is interested!

The turkey: I had to get a special turkey this year, since the turkey we got from the commissary a while back made me sick. I found a great vendor who imports specialty meats from different countries, and I was able to score a French turkey that looked to be organic and free range. It was only a four pound bird, so it only needed to be cooked for a short amount of time.

The stuffing: I used a variation of my mom's old recipe, with ingredients that were safe for me. I cubed and dried a loaf and a half of homemade bread that had been made a few days earlier. Three slices of that bread were separated while drying to make the breadcrumbs for the green bean casserole. The recipe also calls for Italian sausage, but I have not been able to find one that is safe for me to consume. I did, however, test Jones Dairy Farm breakfast sausage ahead of time, and since I didn't react, I cooked a few packages of that to add in place of the Italian variety.

Ingredients:
- one bag of carrots, peeled and chopped
- one bag of celery, rinsed and diced
- 5 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
- one yellow onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon of oil (I used avocado)
- 1-1.5 loaves of bread, cubed and dried
- 1 pound sausage, cooked and chopped
- 1 handful of walnut, chopped (optional)
- Spices to taste: salt, pepper, marjoram, rosemary, thyme
- 1 box of chicken broth (though you may not use all of it)

Steps:
Preheat the oven to 350°. Chop, dice, mince (etc) the carrots, celery, garlic, and onion. Heat the oil and saute the chopped mixture over medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Add spices and half the box of chicken stock and cook for 3-5 more minutes. Spread the bread pieces in a 9x13 casserole dish and pour the saute mixture over it. Turn over gently (and add more chicken broth) until the bread is moist. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.

Green Bean Casserole: I searched and searched for recipes, and couldn't find one that I liked, so I kind of made this up as I went.

Ingredients:

- 1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed with the ends sliced off

- 1 yellow onion, diced

- 1 cup bread crumbs

- 2 tablespoons of butter (I use ghee butter)

- 11 oz cream of mushroom soup (recipe for homemade cream of mushroom can be found here!)

- 2 cups cheddar cheese 

Steps: Preheat the oven to 350°.

Green Beans: Rinse and slice the ends. Place in a pot of boiling, salted water and boil for approximately 10 minutes. Rinse with cold water to halt the cooking.

Topping: Melt butter in a skillet and add the onion. Cook for 3-5 minutes and then add the breadcrumbs.

The finishing touch: Mix the green beans and the cream of mushroom soup in a glass 8x8 casserole dish. Add the topping mixture, cover with cheddar, and bake for 30 minutes.

The mashed potatoes: I found a few websites touting recipes for crock pot potatoes, so I decided to try it out. I wasn't sure I liked what I found online, so again, I kind of made it up as I went along.

Ingredients:

- 1 bag of potatoes (between 8-10 potatoes)

- 3 cups chicken broth

- butter (I use ghee butter)

- spices to taste: garlic powder, onion powder, rosemary, marjoram, salt, pepper, dill or chives

- milk (I use coconut milk)

Steps:

Rinse, peel, and cube potatoes. Place in the crock pot with 3-4 cups of chicken broth. Add spices, and if using non-dairy milk, add 1 cup now (if using real milk, add this later). Set the crock pot for six hours on low (or 4 hours on high). An hour before dinner is ready, use a vegetable masher to smash the potatoes down a bit and check the liquids. A few minutes before dinner is served, use the vegetable masher to smash them fully and ensure there are no lumps. At this point, you can add optional ingredients, like greek yogurt, sour cream, additional butter, dill, chives, or whatever else you like on mashed potatoes, and then scoop the potatoes out and serve!

Cranberry Sauce: I was never a fan of real cranberry sauce when I was younger, I only liked the canned stuff. It took years to find a way of making cranberry sauce that I actually enjoyed eating. Bonus, it's fun to make, because the exploding cranberries are entertaining to watch!

Ingredients:

- 16-20 oz fresh cranberries

- zest and juice of one orange

- 1-2 cups additional orange juice (I make my own)

- 1 cinnamon stick

- 1/2 cup maple syrup (or other sweetener of your choice)

Steps:

Add all ingredients to a covered sauce pan over medium and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the cranberries have burst and the sauce thickens. Remove from heat, dispose of the cinnamon stick, and use a vegetable masher to crush any un-popped cranberries. Cool on the counter for at least 15 minutes before serving.

**Optional steps: Put in the fridge for an hour and serve cooled. Also, if you prefer a smooth texture, you can blend the sauce for a few minutes once it's cooled.

Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Pudding Parfaits: These are a great substitute for pumpkin pies, and don't require any baking! This recipe can make 4 smaller parfaits or 2 large ones. We made 4 and they were the perfect size.

Ingredients:

- 2/3 cup pumpkin puree (I use the Farmer's Market brand) - make sure this is NOT pumpkin pie filling!

- 1 cup coconut milk, divided in half

- 2 tablespoons maple syrup, divided in half

- cinnamon powder

- pumpkin pie spice (recipe here)

- 1 ripe banana

- 1/3 cup raw cacao powder (I use Navitas Naturals...or you can use cocoa powder if you prefer it)

- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life)

- 1 teaspoon coconut oil 

- graham crackers (optional)

Steps:

Pumpkin layer: Place the pumpkin puree, 1/2 cup coconut milk, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice in a bowl. Mix together with a whisk or fork until smooth and then distribute equally into your glasses. **Optional: Crush graham crackers to place in the bottom as a "pie crust" for your pudding.

Chocolate layer: Add chocolate chips and coconut oil to a microwavable bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds, stir, and microwave for another 45 seconds until smooth. Set aside. Place the banana in a mixing bowl and mash with fork or spoon. Add 1/2 cup coconut milk, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, cacao powder, and one teaspoon cinnamon powder. Mix it until smooth, add the chocolate chip/coconut oil blend, and continue to mix until smooth. Equally distribute to the glasses on top of the pumpkin layer. Top with a dash of cinnamon and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. The longer you refrigerate, the better these will taste!

I hope that if you are planning a Thanksgiving meal, that one or more of these recipes might come in handy for you!

gonpachi and allons-y!

It's been dreary and wintry over the last few weeks, so I've been looking back at vacation pictures, wistfully dreaming of warmer (and snow-less) days. I realized today that I never blogged about our Tokyo Thanksgiving trip...so here we go!


Ben and I have some friends who also teach in Japan - we met them while living in California and we always see each other when we all go home to visit family and friends. Last summer, we agreed that the next time we saw each other needed to be in Japan. We decided to meet in near the middle, in Tokyo, for Thanksgiving.

As per the usual, we took the overnight bus and arrived in Tokyo around 6 am. Now that we are seasoned Tokyo veterans (three times brings us to expert status, right?) we had no problem traveling through Shinjuku Station with our luggage and making our way through the various metro lines to get to Nogizaka, the closest station to our hotel. It felt like decades ago that we had made our first trip to Tokyo, marveling at the sheer size of Shinjuku and the tens of thousands of people making their ways through the busiest train station in the world. This time, it was just the first station of many to go through on our first day.

Out of the 50 busiest train stations in the world, 44 of them
are in Japan, with Shinjuku being the busiest.

Once we made our way across the city and settled into our hotel, we visited Roppongi to see all the Christmas decorations. We had heard Roppongi was home to some amazing decorations and the famed Illuminations.

You might remember the spider from previous photos...

After taking in the sights, we headed to Arisugawa Park to meet our friends. We enjoyed a nice stroll through the park, photographing the autumn leaves and catching up. Then we made our way to Gonpachi, my favorite Izakaya restaurant. The food was amazing, as always, and we were happy to see that our friend Teresa still worked there.

The more times we visit this park, the more I think it's
become my favorite spot in Tokyo...

I'm always captivated by the architecture of this
building. It was especially beautiful with the sunlight
streaming in through the windows!

After our meal, we proceeded to Harajuku to visit Meiji-jingu, a Shinto shrine named after Emperor Meiji. It was quite lovely, though the wall of sake barrels was my favorite part of the experience. Well, that and the Allons-y shop we spotted on our way back to the train station! (Finding a Doctor Who reference in Japan is no easy task...but more on that later.)

Torii Gate entrance to the shrine complex

Kazaridaru, or decorational sake barrels, outside Meiji Shrine

Gateway to the courtyard

Meiji Shrine with the Docomo Building in the background

"There's an old Earth saying, Captain. A phrase of great power and wisdom and
consolation to the soul in times of need. Allons-y!" 

Exhausted, we all headed back to our hotels to try and get some shut-eye before our early morning trek to Disneyland!

a gluten-free thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a hit!

I will admit, I was worried.

Thanksgiving is my favorite day of the year and I was already feeling a bit blue about the whole thing, knowing that we'd (again) be spending it away from family. So messing up my first gluten-free Thanksgiving meal was not (do you hear me? NOT) an option!

Luckily, my fretting was in vain, because it was the best Thanksgiving dinner we've had since moving away and having to learn how to cook it all myself.

On the menu:

Turkey, of course! We roasted a lovely free-range turkey, stuffed with various fruits and vegetables. It was the most moist turkey we've had in a while.


Stuffing! My mom's favorite stuffing has all the best stuff. It's got celery and carrots. It's got onions and spices. It's got pancetta (which we found for the first time since we have lived here! Someone's looking out for us!!) and Italian sausage.

The tricky part was going to be the bread. I have been trying to bake a perfect loaf of bread since I was diagnosed as a Celiac in June...and it hadn't happened yet. I've made runny bread. I've made grainy bread. I've made perfectly cooked bread that tasted like cardboard (in fact, I would have preferred the cardboard).

Luckily, I discovered Jules gluten free flour, just in time. My first loaf of her bread was so good that I thought about NOT making stuffing so I could use the bread to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Yes, I'll admit that's a bit crazy, but I haven't had a piece of GOOD bread since June! I held out, though, and the stuffing turned out to be A-MAZ-ING.


Green Bean Casserole... Some of you already know the torment that cream of mushroom soup has brought upon me this month. Luckily, I had worked out how to make it already and was able to whip up my homemade-from-scratch cream of mushroom soup for the casserole. Then, I used a recipe from another gluten free friend for the casserole itself. It was the best green bean casserole I have ever tasted! It didn't have that fake-tasting onion topping. Instead, it had real grilled onions with gluten free coating. (The recipe is at the bottom of this post if you want it! You can do whether you're sticking to an allergen-friendly diet or not...it was that good.)


Mashed Potatoes. Thanksgiving isn't complete without mashed potatoes. There was really nothin' special about them; just plain ol' mashed potato-y goodness.


Cranberry Sauce! This year I made orange cinnamon cranberry sauce. It was surprisingly easy to make and it was fabulous. I usually don't like cranberry sauce, but I enjoyed this one. (The recipe is at the bottom.)


Pumpkin Pie and Gingersnap Ice Cream... Last week, I made homemade graham crackers for a Saturday-night-bonfire. They were great for s'mores and I used the leftovers for my pie crust. Delicious! I also saved a bit of my graham cracker/gingersnap dough to use for some ice cream to go with the pie! I used my typical vanilla ice cream recipe (recipe below) and added pumpkin pie spice to give it a nice flavor. Then, as it was churning, I added ribbons of the gingersnap dough. Oh goodness, the pie and ice cream together were a bit of Thanksgiving heaven!


So, we made it through our first gluten-free Thanksgiving, and will reap the benefits of not having to cook for the next several days!

RECIPES:

Green Bean Casserole, courtesy of Angela Glunt, my Thanksgiving hero!

**I substituted some Oikos greek yogurt in place of the sour cream since I have issues with lactose. I also used lactose free Kraft Mozzarella and vegan buttery spread instead of real butter.**


Casserole Ingredients: 

1 large bag of frozen green beans. (NEVER used canned!)

1 C. of Sour Cream

10 oz. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (divided)

Morton Brand: Nature's Seasons to taste

1 Med. yellow onion, chopped and sauté in butter

3-4 fresh Garlic cloves or 1 Tab canned, minced and sauté with onions

4 oz jar of pimientos with liquid

Topping Ingredients: 

3-4 cups Corn or Rice Chex cereal. (I used corn and it was really good, not too overpowering.)

3 or 4 stalks Green Onions chopped

Garlic Salt with Parsley-to taste

Onion Powder- to taste

*Blend cereal and seasonings in food processor until well chopped then add onions last and pulse until blended. 

Directions:

*Mix all ingredients in large bowl until everything is well coated. Put mixture into large greased casserole dish and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 365 for 30 minutes, then add Topping and continue to bake for additional 10-15 minutes.

Cranberry Orange Sauce, Courtesy of the Food Network

Ingredients

• 2 (8-ounce) packages cranberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 orange, zest cut into strips and juiced
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick

Directions

Put all the ingredients into a saucepan over medium heat and simmer until the cranberries burst and the sauce thickens, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve at room temperature or cool and refrigerate. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving.

Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream (Note: I use an ice cream maker for this recipe!)

Ingredients

• 14 oz. coconut milk (I use Goya - it's certified gluten free)
• 1 cup almond milk or soy milk
• 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 2/3 cup agave nectar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
• Seeds of one vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

Directions

1. Chill coconut milk and almond milk for at least a half hour prior to making. (Also, make sure you have your ice cream maker prepped.)
2. Mix all of your ingredients in a blender and pour it into your ice cream maker.
3. It takes about 20-25 minutes of churning, depending on your ice cream maker. 

**If you want to add toppings, wait until ice cream is about 2/3 of the way through the churning process. Then slowly add toppings to ice cream maker.

bittersweet thanksgiving

Time's a rollin' and it's already that magical time of year where the leaves are changing, the snow starts to fall, and everything just seems a bit more whimsical. For anyone who doesn't know me well, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

I love that this day has evolved to mean more than it once did. I know it seems odd that we as a nation celebrate a holiday to commemorate our forefathers invading an already-inhabited land, eating their food, and then spreading diseases to the natives who were kind enough to help them.

We are more than our mere history, though, and this holiday now inspires much more. It's about family. It's about friends. It's about coming together and being truly grateful for all the blessings we have in our lives. 

In my family, it's about being together and spending the day full of parade-watching, cooking, decorating, and celebrating the holiday. There is laughter, warmth, and often the arguments that make our family what it is. 

I think it's one of the few things I truly miss about living in the states. Obviously, we miss our friends and families, we miss the ability to shop in stores we are used to and eat at our favorite restaurants. Missing out on some of those things is worth it when we look at the wonderful adventure we are having here in Japan. We have met amazing friends, learned about unique cultures, and have seen so many sights we only dreamed of seeing.

But...

Thanksgiving will be kind of bittersweet for us this year, knowing that we can take part in all of our favorite traditions, but won't get to do it in the company of our families. 

what i'm loving wednesday

I've got so much to say and so very little time to get it onto the blog! With report cards and parent teacher conferences, buying a car, making and changing vacation plans, and way too many family emergencies, it seems like there just hasn't been time to step away and breathe!

So here's a quick "What I'm Loving Wednesday" post to sum up the past few weeks:

I'm loving the beginning of the holiday season and all the traditions that go with it! Halloween parties, eggies in a basket and V for Guy Fawkes Day, plans for Thanksgiving...

I'm loving Jules Gluten Free flour, which has now changed my outlook (most days) on having to live gluten free. I actually MADE PIZZA! Those of you know have followed this journey know that my mission in life for the past few months has been to make a pizza. Not just something edible, but something that I'd feed to my non-celiac friends. And, my friends, it IS possible! 

I'm loving my new (well, new-to-me) car! Just about everything in this car is efficient, and it just suits my personality to a tee.

I'm loving iMessage. The fact that so many of our family members now have iMessage is SO wonderful. Knowing I can text family and friends, despite being in a different country, is such a blessing.

And last for today, I'm loving fall. *Sigh.* The leaves and trees are so dreamy and surreal. I can't get enough of them!

one thousand gifts

Did you ever read a book that changed your life? Those are the best kind. They can be fiction or non-fiction. It could be a self-help type book or something that draws you closer in relationship to others. I've known people who have read comic books or cookbooks or even wordless books and spoken about the wonder it did them.

I'm reading a book I'd put in that category now.

I was going to wait and write a blog about the book once I finished, but I'm finding that I just don't think I can wait that long! This book isn't a "sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat-and-finish-in-one-sitting" type of book. It's one of those books you have to put down frequently and ponder what the author is telling you and how it applies to your life.

The book is One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. The tagline on the book reads: "A dare to live fully right where you are."

Honestly, I was hooked before even opening the book (or in my case, downloading it. Have I mentioned how much I love the Kindle app?!?!)

I downloaded and read the first few pages, but then life grabbed hold and I forgot about it pretty quickly. With school wrapping up and doctor's appointments galore, I didn't have time to breathe, much less read.

*Disclaimer: this is where this blog gets a bit sappy + talks about religion. If you aren't one for sappiness or religion, read it anyway. It'll still apply to you!*

Then, two weeks ago, we were sitting in church. Our new chaplain, in one of his first messages to his new congregation, spoke on thanksgiving. Not the holiday, but a lifestyle of giving thanks. He talked about the ten lepers who were healed by Jesus as he walked toward Jerusalem. Only one stopped to thank him for this healing. I got to thinking that I have been living in a state of discontent. I don't actively think about all the little things I'm grateful for on a daily basis, and that's exactly what the author of this book is calling herself (and her readers) to do.

The moment we got home, I pulled out the ol' iPad and began reading, knowing this book had been waiting for me.

My favorite quote from the book so far reads, I have lived pain, and my life can tell: I only deepen the wound of the world when I neglect to give thanks for early light dappled through leaves and the heavy perfume of wild roses in early July and the song of crickets on humid nights and the rivers that run and the stars that rise and the rain that falls and all the good things that a good God gives. Why would the world need more anger, more outrage? How does it save the world to reject unabashed joy when it is joy that saves us? Rejecting joy to stand in solidarity with the suffering doesn't rescue the suffering. The converse does.


The brave who focus on all things good and all things beautiful and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring the fullest Light to all the world.

It was in that moment I knew I was hooked. I want to wake up in the morning, refreshed and thankful for all the little (and big) things that make up this life I am living. So I've decided to start my own list of things I'm grateful for, my own 1,000 gifts. I want to share this list with my small corner of the world, and so instead of using a journal to write it out, I'll be capturing one item after another with my camera.

Feel free to follow along or join in (and be sure to let me know if you do)! I'll be posting them on instagram and will try to keep up with posting them each week on this blog as well. My instagram user name is kari_f and I'll be using hashtag #1000gifts. I'd love to hear about what you are thankful for as well, so feel free to post them here (or share them with me on instagram!)

thanksgiving adventures

Thanksgiving was an eventful day, and was different than any Thanksgiving we had ever had. Normally, we have all the family traditions that we have tried to upkeep even though we lived so far away. Parade in the morning, decorating the tree, watching “White Christmas,” and the whole turkey smorgasbord. This year, though, it seemed like none of those things were going to be in the mix, at least in the way they normally are. Our household goods aren’t due until January, so there were no decorations (and we were in the lodge, so we couldn’t get a tree even if we had the decorations to put on it.) The parade would be shown live…at 1 am our time. And who wants to cook a Thanksgiving dinner in a tiny kitchenette for two people?

So we basically made other plans.

The plans made our first Thanksgiving in Japan an amazing day, filled with new traditions and old ones.

We have some friends who have been in Japan for a long time. When I say long, I mean nearly 20 years. Needless to say, they know the ins and outs and are a wealth of information and great ideas for things to do around the area. We went with them, and some new friends as well, to the beach. While this may sound like a nice place to spend a Thanksgiving day, let me remind you that we live in the northernmost area of the main island in Japan. This means cold weather and snow for a good part of the year. That part of the year had started, so our beach trip was quite literally freezing. We arrived and hurried to bundle up in the massive amount of layers we brought with us. It was 0° C and snowing, though our awesome Swackett app said that it felt like -4° because of the wind chill. It was beautiful and brisk, and we were excited for a fun adventure.

We walked the beach with different purposes. Most of our friends had the purpose of looking for sea glass. The fishermen up here use the glass fishing balls, and they often wash ashore. Apparently the area we were in was a prime spot for finding these treasures. My purpose, though, was to find some great photo opps. (Does this come as a surprise to anyone??) We were all rewarded one way or another! Most of our friends ended up with sea glass, I ended up with some awesome pictures, and we all ended up having a great time.

Here are some of the pictures from Shipwreck Beach. By the way, these are real shipwrecks.




After Shipwreck Beach, we all felt that we needed a warm place to warm our body temperatures (and go to the bathroom!) so we met up at a local shop that sells tofu donuts. The donuts were amazing, the bakery was adorable, and we had our first experience with a traditional Japanese bathroom.





After our trip to the beach was over, we returned to Misawa to join our work associates at my principal's house for Thanksgiving. We had an excellent turkey dinner and more pie than one could even imagine. It was a warm, inviting event and we felt right at home with our new friends. One of our friends even brought her Yorkie, so we got to play with him and find a new friend for Seamus once he gets here.



Later that night, I watched the parade, skyped with our families, and began my online Black Friday shopping! All in all, it was a great first Japanese Thanksgiving.

the holidays are here

So this has been an interesting transition. It's the first holiday season I've ever spent apart from my family. We have all these traditions for Thanksgiving and Black Friday and the following holidays, and it's been a bittersweet time doing all of those things thousands of miles away.

The turkey turned out beautifully, as well as the rest of the Thanksgiving dinner, so that was an accomplishment on its own! We're finishing the house decorating and gift-wrapping and are ready for Christmas! All we need now is a good layer of snow, some holiday movies, and some hot chocolate!

all that jazz

Thanksgiving was a beautiful event. Hung out with the family and all that good stuff. We watched White Christmas..which, if you haven't seen it, is the BEST Christmas movie EVER! And it's a musical, for all of you freaks like me who just can't get enough of them.

Then we decorated the Christmas tree and made the turkey and all that jazz.