I want my own Thanksgiving.

Not that the two family dinners I'll attend with Noah, on the same day no less, are sub-par. They are exquisite. One is on a farm in Grubville, Missouri; the other in one of the Cohen homes in Saint Louis. All delicious, traditional foods.

But lately I'm feeling like my friends here are my family, too. Not in a replacement way. More in an add-on way. I'm from a big extended family, so I'm always expecting huge parties with everyone I care about.

I think I need one of those here in Urbana. And I think I need it to be vegetarian.

I'm just not feeling the meat lately. Not enough of an anti-meat feeling to make it official, but still, enough to choose what I want to eat. And to recognize that the list does not include meat.

Ideas for a veg Thanksgiving shebang:

--stuffed squash. Either another pumpkin, or stuffed butternut, or acorn squash.
(The non-veg idea prevailing is cornish hens. Because Lord knows I am not making a turkey.)
--three sisters stew: Native American mythology names squash, corn and beans the "three sisters." Sounds tasty!
--roasted celery or fennel
--mashed potatoes with chives, garlic, and goat cheese
--apple cranberry tart or crisp
--pecan pie, if I can get that far

I do love that pecan pie.

When to do all this? Next Wednesday? I don't know. Still working on that part.