Follow the Journey

I could see the apprehension in Benji’s eyes at the first whispers of a Thanksgiving feast, hours after finishing a four day trek. But once Katrina and I secured a kitchen, the wheels of holiday cheer were in motion and there was no stopping us. Over the next few days, all eight of us brainstormed different dishes to serve and thought up strategies on how to execute an eight-dish meal on a two-burner stove. Thursday morning, we emerged from the warmth of our sleeping bags and wished each other a happy turkey day. After two rounds of chai and a quick game of hacky-sack, we were on our way back to McLeod Ganj, our Thanksgiving excitement seemed to grow bigger and bigger as we galloped down the hills and power walked through pine forests. Therefore, it was ridiculously hilarious when we received news that it was not Thanksgiving, the holiday wasn’t for another week.
We brushed the new information off as a minor detail and decided to name November 20th “Thanks Diem: An Octo-ji Holiday.” So, promptly after scrubbing the dirt and sweat that had collected in our pores over the past week, we divided and conquered on different grocery missions all over town. Katrina and Jamie scored some veggies for budget prices and Nina and I scoured little shops’ shelves for the necessary dessert supplies. The stars seemed to align when I found nutmeg and Benji snagged the only sweet potatoes in McLeod Ganj. I thought I couldn’t be happier as I headed back to the hotel, cradling a bag of sugar in each arm. But upon entering the quaint hotel kitchen, I was proven wrong. I don’t think there’s anything I love more about the holidays than being in the kitchen with loved ones, cooking and cleaning in deliciously frenetic chaos.
I couldn’t seem to wipe the smile off my mouth, listening to Lucas chop the spuds and smelling the ultimate goodness of sauteed onions. We danced to Red Hot Chili Peppers while peeling and cleaning vegetables, the hotel-owner’s wife casting us sidelong looks as she rolled out chapati. Despite our limited cooking experience, we managed to make some amazing chow. Here’s a quick overview of the menu for all you vicarious eaters:
Nina worked diligently to wash fresh veggies for a salad, providing us with some very necessary greens.
Katrina chopped and steamed some carrots. What they lacked in quantity, she made up for in quality. Ginger, honey carrots are a new culinary favorite.
Joe-ji suprised even himself with his warm, garlicy green beans.
Jamie made a killer eggplant dish with bell peppers and tomato sauce aplenty that truly stole the show.
Lucas worked tirelessly to create creamy, buttery mashed potatoes, that had me unabashedly licking my plate clean.
Benji pulled off the ambitious task of making Tibetan momos from scratch with a little Thanksgiving flare: sweet potatoes, onions, and mushrooms.
As for dessert, Kelsi wowed us with a Key Lime Pie that was as creamy as it was tart. And yours truly made an apple crumble that rivals fried ice cream in its fat content.
Like any good Holiday feast, we had a few surprise guests. There were murmurs of a food shortage but by the end of it there were 14 full stomachs and just as many smiles. My heart was positively humming as I looked around at the room, feeling love for each and every face at the table: Vaila, our Scottish Trekking guide who whipped up a scrumptious mac n’ cheese, Gaylic, the tallest Tibetan I’ve ever met with an impressively puffy goatee, Satosh, an 18 yr old Japanese boy who looked wildly confused the entire meal but was great company nonetheless, Idit, an old friend of Benji’s who happened to be in town, a random dude from Boston whose name I do not know, and a young Israeli woman who I also have never met before, and of course, my wonderful groupmates.
It was no doubt a Thanksgiving that will go down in history, and even though we didn’t celebrate on the real holiday, it couldn’t have come at a better time. If I have learned anything from my sojourn in India, it is my deep sense of thankfulness. As I went to bed last night, both my heart and tummy at their fullest, I felt a deep sense of gratitude in the very marrow of my bones.
Sophia