【大紀元2014年10月08日訊】秋天帶來感恩節，在這個備受加拿大喜愛的傳統節日裡，全家人圍著一桌美食歡聚一堂，共同慶祝豐收的喜悅。
先說說感恩節的由來。加拿大的感恩節與美國的有所不同，美國的感恩節是早期登陸者（第一批移民）為與土著們分享野生火雞和玉米等食物的感恩。他們的感恩節是十一月的第三個星期四，這是一年中重要的家庭慶祝日，也是迎接聖誕節的序幕。
加拿大的感恩節是為慶豐收舉行的盛宴，歷史可追溯到舊時的歐洲習俗，為能有豐盛糧食收成以度冬季而感恩。據說加拿大（也是北美）的第一個感恩節是在1587年，探險家發現到現時的紐芬蘭而感謝並慶祝。19世紀時感恩節還不是一個年度性的節日，而是作為重大事件的里程碑的不定期的慶典。一直到1879年才開始在每年的十月或十一月慶祝感恩節。1931年起感恩節便固定在每年十月的第二個星期一舉行。（今年的感恩節是十月十三日。）
火雞可是感恩節的傳統主菜，通常配以收成到的南瓜、玉米等。今天用鴨子或素食火雞（由豆腐製成）代替火雞也很普遍。
從小到大，我們家的感恩節菜單就沒怎麼變過，我媽媽在曼尼托巴的農場長大，她做飯很好不過沒太多花樣，所以晚餐從來都是簡單而傳統的。主菜是一大隻烤至金黃的火雞，裡面釀滿香草麵包餡料。配餐是我們家自製的蔓越莓果醬、土豆泥或甜馬鈴薯、少量肉汁、青豆，另外還有胡蘿蔔和紅蘿蔔泥（來自我爸爸的英國傳統）。在這樣特別的日子，媽媽還會做鬆軟可口的焗小白麵包。假日聚餐時孩子們可以獲准喝一小杯酒，可惜我們都不喜歡喝，興趣也不大，總覺得酒是大人喜歡的口味。不過甜點就不一樣了，加了淡奶油的南瓜派，是孩子們的至愛！一年才能吃到一次的美味，無論吃了幾多，肚子裡總有空位吃南瓜派。
直到今天，我家的感恩節晚餐幾乎還是老樣子，主菜仍是火雞。不過我們改用「開邊弄」的方法（除去脊骨後展成平平的一片）然後燒烤，這樣一來，火雞的裡裡外外都能烤到，烤好後的火雞外脆裡嫩，而且省了很多時間。我是烤火雞的擁護者，因燒烤火雞的任務是由酷愛燒烤的男士們負責的。
家裡那張餐桌總會不斷擴張，以便招待來訪的親朋友好。用小孩子們精心挑選的火紅、橙色和金黃色的完美楓葉做裝飾，簡單而漂亮。
食物甫端上桌，宴會就開始了。通常會準備各式酒釀來滿足不同人的口味。 由香檳至濃艷的紅酒，都可以配火雞。但帶少許香辣味，用本地甜南瓜做的南瓜派，配一杯葡萄酒，便給感恩節大餐畫上了完美的句號。
配酒：Black Sage Vineyard Pipe 2008
在葡萄牙，Pipe 是量酒容器，這枝名為Pipe的卑詩製造的「砵酒」配南瓜派是個不錯的選擇。（只有在葡萄牙製造的砵酒才可以稱之為砵酒，所以名為Pipe）。由梅偌（Merlot），紅蘇維翁（Cabernet Sauvignon），卡法蘭（Cabernet Franc）混合，在橡木桶裡存3年，凝聚了咖啡、無花果、堅果和香蘭草的芳澤，味道好極了。@
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Thanksgiving in Canada
By Judith Lane
Fall means Thanksgiving, one of Canada’s most beloved long-lived family celebrations. It is centered around food and family when loved ones join together to celebrate the harvest’s bounty.
But first a little bit about Thanksgiving and how it came to be. It is different from American thanksgiving which is based on America’s early settlers (the pilgrims) and the natives who shared indigenous foods like wild turkey and corn with them. Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, a major family celebration of the year and is a lead-in to Christmas, on the third Thursday in November.
Canada’s Thanksgiving celebrates the bounty of the harvest that grew out of ancient European festivities to give thanks for plentiful food for the winter. It’s thought that the first Canadian (and North American) Thanksgiving happened in 1578 when explorers discovered the now Newfoundland and feasted in thanks. In the 1800s, Thanksgiving happened occasionally to mark various milestones but it wasn’t until 1879 that it became an annual celebration in the Fall. Since 1931, Thanksgiving has been celebrated on the second Monday in October. (It’s October 13 this year.)
Turkey is traditional centerpiece of the holiday feast along with other harvest foods like squash and corn. Today, alternatives to turkey like duck or vegetarian tofurkey (made with tofu) are common.
Growing up, my family’s Thanksgiving menu didn’t change much. My mother, who was raised on a farm in Manitoba, was a good but plain cook and our dinner was simple and traditional. The centerpiece was a glorious big turkey roasted to golden perfection and stuffed with a fragrant herbed bread stuffing. It was served with homemade cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes, a small ocean of gravy, green beans, and mashed turnips and carrots (a tradition from my father’s English family). My mother baked wonderful soft fluffy white buns for special occasions like this. Kids were given a small glass of wine at holiday meals which none of us liked very much. None of us cared for wine but we learned about it and decided it must be for adult tastes. Dessert was a very different story. Pumpkin pie! With whipped cream. No matter how much we’d eaten, there was always room for this once-a-year treat.
Today, my family’s Thanksgiving dinner is almost the same. It’s still centered around the turkey but we now spatchcock the bird (this means to remove the backbone and flatten it) and grill it on the barbecue. The turkey cooks much quicker and more evenly. The skin is crisp and the meat moist. I’m a big fan of this method since grilling falls to the man of the house who loves to barbecue.
Our always-expanding table is filled with whatever family is visiting and assortment of good friends. The table is decorated simply with beautiful red, orange and gold maple leaves that children have carefully gathered, choosing the most perfect ones they can find.
Once the food is served, the feasting begins. There is always an assortment of wines to please everyone’s palate. Champagne or sparkling wine is great to drink throughout the meal while other wines include Riesling, rosés, and bold fruity reds like certain Pinot Noirs, Merlot and Shiraz that pair well. Turkey is very wine-friendly and the best match of all is to drink a wine that you like.
Pumpkin pie–lightly spicy and made from local sugar pumpkins–and a glass of Port are a perfect finish to this celebratory meal.
Wine pairing: Black Sage Vineyard Pipe 2008
Port or a port-style wine like this BC-made fortified wine is an ideal match pumpkin pie. (Only Port made in Portugal can be called Port.) Made from a blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and cabernet franc, Pipe is aged for three years in neutral oak barrels. With hints coffee, figs, nuts and vanilla, Pipe pairs deliciously with pumpkin pie.
