The Lee Family: Happy Thanksgiving

In past Thanksgivings in Santa Fe, we've gone up to friends of Aunt and Uncle's, Mike and Chris, who live above Santa Fe and have a beautiful view and are great hosts. So, we've usually made two side dishes as well as desserts, with Mike and Chris or other friends making the rest of the meal. It's always worked well so this year we had to make all the dishes since it would just be the six of us. On Wednesday, Aunt Shirl and I made the shopping list and visited Whole Foods to buy all of our ingredients. Aunt Shirl also picked up chicken and green beans to make for dinner the night before Thanksgiving, which they planned on watching the girls while CK and I visited the spa Ten Thousand Waves!

For my birthday in September, Aunt and Uncle sent me a gift certificate to Ten Thousand Waves, a Japanese spa in the mountains above Santa Fe. They have visited a number of times and always rave about it, so we were excited to give it a try. Aunt Shirl suggested that we reserve a private hot bath followed by a massage. We were lucky to have gotten a 6:45pm reservation for the hot bath followed by a couples massage and couldn't wait to try it. We ate dinner with everyone before we headed off to Ten Thousand Waves, which we've driven past on our way up the mountain when we go hiking, so had a general idea of where it was. However, at night it was a bit harder to locate since it was so dark out! Once we arrived, we changed in the separate locker rooms and then were taken to our private hot bath, which is actually located outside with an ambient bath (50 degrees) and a sauna! It was incredible and so beautiful to be outside and enjoy the sound of the wind in the leaves and the cloudy sky as we soaked in the hot bath. The water was hot and almost difficult to get into, but once we were in the water it felt great! We had 45 minutes in the bath and only CK was brave enough to go into the ambient bath. I tried but just couldn't get past my feet! It was shockingly cold. We also went into the sauna for just a few minutes. By the time we were finished, we were both sitting outside of the bath in the 45 degree weather. The bath was just so hot so it felt better to sit next to it. We had 30 minutes to relax before we had our massage, and we went to the "relaxation/meditation room" where we enjoyed being warm and cozy after our bath. Our massages were done together in the same room and it was amazing! One of the best massages I've had and CK said his was also great! The only down side to the visit was that we had to leave. We made it back to Aunt and Uncle's casita and the girls were finishing up watching "Pocahontas" after having watching "Night at The Museum." Aunt and Uncle seemed to have survived the evening and the girls were loving watching so many movies!

The next morning we slept in a little and finally made our way over to Aunt and Uncle's around 9:30am for a great breakfast of french toast, bacon and fruit. Our plan was to have a heavy breakfast and then eat our turkey and sides around 4pm. After breakfast, Uncle Steve made dessert - a garam masala pumpkin tart that he made last year that turned out perfectly! After his dessert was done with the oven, Uncle Steve put the turkey in the oven around 11:30 and Aunt and I worked on the sides. We actually made the two cranberry sides the day before so the flavors could meld together. We made the stuffing, which has sausage, chestnuts, apricots and pecans along with the usual bread cubes, celery, onion and spices. It is my all-time favorite recipe that my Aunt and Uncle have been making forever. While we cooked, we shared stories of past Thanksgivings and what the holiday was like when we were growing up. It was fun to hear about Aunt Shirl as a little girl and how her family celebrated. Along with the roasted turkey and stuffing, we planned to have brussel sprouts with bacon, broccoli with olive oil and roasted garlic, roasted potatoes and rolls. The rest of the vegetables were easy to pull together and didn't require a lot of time, so CK, the girls and I decided to walk down to the Arroyo and walk around. Sofia still had a fever but swore she didn't feel bad, so we figured the cold air might help her. It really was a perfect day for a walk and the girls loved collecting rocks and exploring the sandy banks. Sofia found about 10 rocks that she tucked in her jacket pockets while Olivia found as many but they were all "diamonds" or white quartz. I found a big rock that I fell in love with and carried back to the casita and set by the car, thinking I'd remember it before we left. There are a lot of beautiful rocks in the arroyo and it's a fun walk.

We returned to the casita and the girls showed off their collections. Just after returning from the walk, Olivia sat in CK's lap and fell fast asleep. Aunt Shirl and I pulled the rest of the meal together and before we knew it, we were sitting down to eat. Unfortunately, we had to wake Olivia up so she was in a really crabby mood. We tried to get a group picture, but it never really happened. The Thanksgiving meal was excellent! Olivia loved the turkey and ate two big pieces as well as some broccoli. Sofia tried to sit with us, but her fever was back up and she complained of her side really hurting. She ended up not eating anything for dinner. Although she kept insisting that she felt fine, she certainly wasn't acting like she felt well.

With full bellies, we cleaned up and then enjoyed the pumpkin tart with homemade whipped cream. It was delicious! CK and the girls talked to Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Cynthia and heard about their Thanksgiving and chatted for a bit. It was a great day and really fun to cook with Aunt Shirl and talk. I was surprised at how easy it all felt, but our recipes were also pretty easy. Such a fun Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving day breakfast