I'm Thankful For...

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Funny videos like this! (Thanks to my BFF Richard for sending this to me this morning!)



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The only good part about Thanksgiving is the reminder about being thankful...
So here is what I am thankful for today::::

• my donkey JuJu, and all my chickens, ducks and cat Toots
• my lil' Luck Cabin, and all I have accomplished here
• my parents
• my axe & a good wood stove
• my improving health (or so i like to pretend!)
• organic & wild grown foods that keep me fed (especially amazake rice milk)
• my blog The Oko Box and all it's readers, makes each day better
• that i grew up in the wonderful & fun culture of New Orleans, LA
• my friends who come out to the Luck Cabin to visit me
• nature in general, and all around me
• that I am able to dance
• the deer hides I am about to get from the guy who is hunting on my land right now

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Xoxoxox
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Pee Wee's Thanksgiving (probably more true then the american version)

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Truth be known, I don't celebrate Thanksgiving. Maybe it was a twist of fate, celiac sprue... or my native american DNA - either way I don't celebrate it, especially in the all American pilgrim luv way they try to force pre-schoolers to believe in.
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When I was in pre-school we had a pilgrim play to perform for the adults. I arrived in my favorite faux fur fuzzy pink coat and once backstage I refused to take my fabulous pink coat off to put on the honky tonky pilgrim costume... I distinctly remember thinking the whole thing was creepy and wrong, a hippy would say "trippy" was the appropriate feeling I had.
In order to teach me a lesson, a punishment or maybe even humiliate me into accepting the American way of doing a Thanksgiving play, the teacher pushed me on the stage in my pink coat anyway. Instead of crying though, or running back to put on the brown smock I quietly began to protest... "I don't wanna be up here..."
louder...
"I don't wanna be UP HERE..."
LOUDER
"I DON'T WANNA BE UP HERE!!!!!"
repeat, repeat, and repeat...
until the embarrassed teacher signaled my embarrassed parents to get me down off the stage. My mom and dad pretended not to be related to me, my older sister sunk in her chair... aunts and uncles laughed their asses off since they had not birthed me, until one of them relented for my parents and went to claim me off the stage.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
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Here is a video i freaking LOOOOVEEE, of pee wee herman's version of the first thanksgiving with the pilgrims! It is probably more accurate then our history books.

Pee Wee Herman's story of the first Thanksgiving from Rob Ashe on Vimeo.

XOxoxoxo

Macrobiotic, Gluten Free & Vegan Thanksgiving Meal For One

Thanksgiving (and all meals) are a little tricky for me - I am on a strict gluten free medical diet plus have multiple other food allergies... I have no idea how I got this way except maybe it was all that coffee and Tabasco sauce in my baby bottle. ;) For today's holiday I decided to make a simple stuffed butternut squash & some cranberry apple sauce on the side.
After cutting the squash in half and scooping out the seeds, I pre-baked the squash till it was soft. During that time I put some veggies (carrots, broccoli and leek) & fresh herbs (rosemary, sage and dill) in my blender to get it finely chopped. I mixed that yummy stuff with some cooked brown rice.

While the rice stuffing was marinating I cooked some chickpeas to make a thick sauce with for a good topping on the stuffed squash.

Without cleaning the fresh veggie mix residue from the blender I added the chickpeas in with extra fresh dill and rosemary and blended till ultra creamy. Afterwards I added olive oil to the chickpea sauce... just cause I love olive oil on everything. :)

I then stuffed the squash as much as I could with the "dirty rice" mix baked it on 350 in the toaster oven, until the rice was brown and crispy on the outside.

Topped with the chickpea cream and MmmmmmMmMmmmm. YAY!

While eating all that up I cooked down cranberries & an apple with an ume plum for about 3 hours. I would suggest adding maple syrup or rice syrup to this mix & to place in the blender after because the skins of the cranberries are not easy to chew. (You can also peel them, but blending would be much easier.) Apples don't need to be peeled and if you cook them alone they don't require any blending.

Hope you enjoyed your holiday - mine tasted super good and was 100% organic, vegan, gluten free and macrobiotic!

Green Your Thanksgiving

One of the things that always got me all humbug about holidays is the gross amount of waste they cause... cheap processed foods, factory farm turkeys, pesticide laden dishes, throw away napkins, and the encouragement to stuff as much in your face as possible. Not to mention the traveling factor - it's enough to get an eco minded person in a spiral of rebellious guilt.

Here's a few simple tips to keep your holiday waste in check:

1. FREE RANGE! Whatever animal you are eating this Thanksgiving, make sure it had a blissful life on the farm and not a cramped diseased one in a cage. Buy a smaller turkey (cause you know there is always too much leftover) or go Vegan and eat some tofurky. :)

2. ORGANIC (and Local)! Have everyone pitch in their own dish or two and buy organic and local. With the whole family making the meal pot luck style each one will have enough extra cash to make sure the food is chem & GMO free.

3. RE-USABLE ACCESSORIES! Make sure you are not using throw away plates, napkins & forks (unless you get the kind that biodegrade). Soak your dishes in a little warm water before washing so less running water is wasted in trying to get them clean.

4. SAFE CLEAN UP! When it's all over try simple non toxic cleaning tricks like lemons, vinegar & hot water - rather then grabbing the usual harsh chemical soaps & sprays that are polluting our water and soil (and your lungs).

PS- If ya gotta decorate ya house with little turkeys and such- get eco crafty and make your own from things you have around the house rather then getting sucked into the weird walmart world of plastic decor!