The unofficial over of my first cookbook, “How the F*** do I make this Food?: Cooking with Jess.”

To celebrate family and colonialism this year, I traveled to the motherland (aka New Jersey). Wednesday night, my mom and I had dinner and then prepped a few things for the next day.

Thanksgiving morning was pretty chill. I mean, aside from being balls-cold, it was very relaxing. Since we’re all early risers, we hung out in the kitchen with some coffee and make-your-own breakfast until it was time for my mom, sister, and I to head out for a hot yoga class. I really dug that the instructor focused a lot on balance—something I didn’t give a crap about when I was younger, but which has become a big focus of my practice in the past year.

At the end of class, this was on my mat:

Kind of love that.

The meal itself was really nice. My mom and I contributed a dish of butternut squash roasted in coconut oil and tossed with wilted greens and a roasted garlic, white wine sauce. It was the perfect complement to all the other Thanksgiving foods.

Am I the only one out there whose favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal is the turkey?  I mean, it’s also accurate to say that I love pretty much any roasted veggies, and I usually take some stuffing and cranberry sauce, but I can take or leave the potatoes and green bean casserole. For dessert this year, there were a couple store-bought pies and a caramel apple tart that my mom made from a friend’s recipe. We also enjoyed some wine with the meal.

All in all, it was a really nice day. I don’t think we’re doing the Black Friday thing this year, though I definitely am taking advantage of the opportunity to buy my feelings—and some Christmas gifts—at a discount online.

How was your Thanksgiving?