Happy Thanksgiving – Ramsay Style.

So, it’s Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada.  I have to admit I did have to do a sneaky little read up on the font of all knowledge – Wikipedia – to find out a little of what it’s all about. It seems it may have been something to do with a chap called Martin Frobisher about 435 years ago but mainly it’s an elaborate Harvest Festival but with more emphasis on roast turkey, pumpkin pie and feasting with family and friends than school kids with out of date tins of pineapple from the back of the kitchen cupboard.  With Neil unfortunately ‘down South’ at a conference in San Francisco the boys and I are celebrating Thanksgiving on our own and with no real idea what we ought to be doing, we’re just doing it ‘Ramsay style’ and starting up some traditions of our own.

We got off to a creative and optimistic start by making little paper boats for all the family and friends we are thankful for back at home.  I’m pretty confident none of our Canadian neighbours were doing the same thing but we enjoyed it.

Then it was down to the beach to launch the boats off on their journey to our loved ones (glossing over the slight geographic stumbling block that dropping them into the Pacific ocean on the west coast may not be the easiest route back to the UK for a tiny paper boat).  Unfortunately, due to a slight engineering fault (that they were made of paper) the maiden voyage of most of them ended the same way of that of another ship from somewhere close to our hearts…the Titanic.  Summoning all my ‘Mum skills’ I almost managed to convince Casper that despite the fact they looked ‘soggy and flat’ it was the thought that counts and the spirit of the boats will still make it home.

Maybe this one might just make it…

The boys are also thankful for finding some pretty awesome looking crabs.

Then it was back to the house for a cosy afternoon with fellow British pals Miles and Philippa and a traditional Ramsay Thanksgiving Spaghetti Bolognese.  Casper had rather freaked out at the thought that these barbaric Canadians actually put poor turkeys IN THE OVEN and then EAT THEM (he hasn’t quite made the connection between cows/horses and the nondescript ‘mince’ in bolognese – probably for the best, I haven’t quite managed to admit to myself what’s actually in it either), plus the thought of cooking a huge dry old bird just for me and two pre-schoolers wasn’t exactly appealing.

Now it’s time for my favourite of all our new Thanksgiving traditions – a glass of wine and re-watching Ricky Gervais’ amazing ‘Derek’ on Netflix.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

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