Happy (English) Thanksgiving!

It's Thanksgiving today? I can't believe that this feasting holiday is here already. It's also really strange to be away from home and my family. I just got off skype with them; they're about to start their feasting. I can't wait to see everyone again at Christmas. 

We did have a great time with Thanksgiving in England. We decided to have it Thanksgiving with our church small group and we would do it potluck style. Unfortunately, our dorm ovens were too small for a turkey. So I decided to make sage and sausage stuffing, yams and homemade pumpkin pie.

After our two classes (can you believe we had class today?), I got to work on prepping the dishes. Another issue was that we don't have a huge pot where I could boil the yams. So I tried to cook them in a bowl of hot water...that didn't work. Then I resorted to roasting them in the oven. Success.

 I peeled these guys and got them prepped for butter and brown sugar.

The stuffing was made with Lincolnshire sausages...one of our newfound favorite meats. Along with the sausages, there was celery, onions, shallots, sage, country bread, and chicken broth.

They don't sell canned pumpkin in the English stores. I had Chelsea bring some all the way from America. Her bag was checked; I guess that pumpkin cans don't show up well in the FAA scanners. 

It was also one of our friend's birthdays. Happy Birthday Lavinia! This feast was a joint Thanksgiving and Birthday celebration. A Multi-tasking holiday. We all went to her huge kitchen on campus. Our friends brought stuffed mushrooms, yorkshire pudding, gravy, and quiche. So good. 

This was the first Thanksgiving for a lot of our English friends. Many of them were hesitant to try pumpkin bite. It was like it was going to bite back at them or something.

For dessert, we had the pumpkin pie, apple crumble with custard, maltensian slices (crushed crackers, melted chocolate and candies like whoppers. amazing.) and lemon cheesecake. Needless to say we were stuff and ready for a nap after this feast. We thought it was about 10pm....it was only 6:30. 

This day is a day of thanks. I am so thankful to God for having this opportunity to experience another culture and gain amazing new friends. I am thankful for a loving family and caring friends who I miss a lot and can't wait to see at Christmas. Most of all, I am thankful for a God who is so rich in grace and love that he sacrificed His son so that we could have a relationship with Him. Thanks God!