Last night, I had the time of my life cooking with two wonderful women.

Living across the country from my family is not always easy. It has been exciting and challenging and difficult, although I would not trade it for anything in the world. I have learned some hard lessons and things about myself: one of those things being the absolute necessity of female friendships.

I have a lot to thank the women in my family for.

They taught me how to bake, the importance of patience, and the value of knowing your own strength. They taught me to trust myself, how to be there for others, and all the best swear words (thanks Margret 😉). Not all the lessons I learned from them were spoken, most often they were from a look or a smile, and I think the majority of them were learned toiling over food. I’ve said before that I love how cooking brings people together and while that is certainly true of eating, it’s true of all the time put into the food as well.

I love the silent camaraderie of working on a project alongside someone. And I love this even more when the project involves food.

It has been a long time since I have had a traditional Thanksgiving feast! Being a few provinces away from my family leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to family holidays. My first year in Ottawa my mom (and aunt, and cousins, much to my surprise) made the journey out to see me! It was a wonderful surprise and memorable weekend with my family. I’ve been lucky enough to be embraced by my beau’s family for the past four Thanksgivings, so all in all I have nothing to complain about. However, I can’t help but miss home this time of year.

This year, my roommate and I are hosting a belated Thanksgiving for our friends, or “Friendsgiving”.

I think the event will be a blast, and I am so excited for the food! It is rare we all get a chance to take a break from our busy schedules to visit and feast. And if it is half as fun as the prep work it will be a guaranteed blast.

I think the fellowship of cooking is heightened when preparing for an event, as a task that might usually be boring can become a work of art. After all, you are no longer just making something for yourself. Regular tasks become festive, and the anticipation is palpable. I am so glad I got to work alongside two friends who have become much more like family. (Real talk though, Hannah uses Tenderflake in her pie crust, so I think my family might just adopt her).

Here I would like to extend my most sincere thank you to two wonderful friends.

I won’t lie, I was very daunted at the thought of co-hosting a Thanksgiving celebration. My Mom, and aunts, and grandma produce the most amazing of Thanksgiving feasts. I couldn’t help but wonder how it would be possible to pull off a feat like this without them. But with the help of you two, I think we did it! Also because Meaghan is my soul sister when it comes to love of all things pumpkin ( PUMPKIN GNOCCHI HERE WE COME!).

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I loved getting flour all over the kitchen, and organizing spray painted gourds on the table. I enjoyed the peeling, and chopping, and rolling, and boiling, and mixing and cleaning that we powered through last night. But most of all, I love you guys. Thank you for reminding me how powerful the quiet bond of cooking is. You reminded me the importance of having women in your life that you can dance around the kitchen and sing Fleetwood Mac with. You make my heart happy, and I am thankful.