The breakfast report.

This week that is all about food is nearing a close. It has been a pretty nice, low-key weekend, with my family mostly just hanging out and a few basic activities like watching a DVD and going thrifting occurring. And I am tired, so these sentences are crap.

We haven't actually been obsessiong over food. I overbought, of course, so anyone who wants copious leftovers I will describe shortly should let me know. Monday will be a feast. I have to say, for all my efforts to the contrary, the best meal I've had this weekend (as far as deliciousness is concerned) was at Habibi in Fremont. If you skip the falafel sandwich and get a big platter and some appetizers, that shit is amazing. The falafels and hummus and tabbouli and foule are incredibly flavorful and delicious, so you don't even mind that you're scooping them up with white flour pita pockets. (Probably still better quality than the ones at Falafel's Drive-In. I am really on a tear with the Falafel's hate lately!)

So, anyway, the Thanksgiving feast. It wasn't a lot of work considering the amount of food, but it was far too much food. Of course it was. Who makes too *little* food at Thanksgiving? Weirdoes, that's who. Weirdoes and poor people who have no choice because cans are small and that is sad but anyway. However, most dishes went over well with most of the attendees, although my brother only ate his penne with smoked salmon cream cheese sauce and pronounced it bland, which it was.

The menu:
-Baked sockeye salmon (yum)
-Marc's marinated tofu cutlets with a 2-to-1 ratio of orange to pomegranate juice
-Vanilla-glazed acorn squash, baked with rosemary instead of thyme (tasty)
-Mixed vegetables, tossed with garlic and basalmic vinegar--included carrots, japanese eggplant, fennel bulbs, zucchini, portabello mushroom, red bell pepper, and brussels sprouts
-Vegan smashed red potatoes with garlic and rosemary (Kevin's contribution)
-Barley, wild rice, and pomegranate pilaf--same as last year, except doubled, and I cooked it with too much water, so it was a lot mushier
-Red onion and peanut pakoras, courtesy of my coworker-friend who joined us (awesome)
-Mixed greens with sunflower sprouts, tomato, cucumber, grated beet and carrot, and a fat-free dressing made with greek yogurt, garlic, and fresh herbs
-Vegan apple-cranberry pie prepared by Kevin (delicious)
-Weird low-fat whipped topping with fresh strawberries for mom
-Storebought pecan pies for Paul

Yesterday we all took a trip to Thrift Town in Fremont, which was so much nicer than the thrift stores I've visited in Silicon Valley. I got some mugs and a sparkly mesh shrug for my Christmas party ensemble. They had good prices on stuff, not just marking it up for the hell of it, and it was actually organized by size in most places.

Today we are going to Campbell so Paul can see Good Night, and Good Luck and my mom and I can wander around and I can show her my soon-to-be new neighborhood. Then they get on a plane and go home, not to be seen again until I arrive in Portland on Dec. 23.