Thanksgiving, apple pie, and Ford Harvest

by W. Andrew Powell
Aisha and I with our apple pie | Ford Harvest event

October is one of my favorite times of the year. I love sweater weather, I adore Halloween, and Thanksgiving weekend is one of my favorite excuses to cook a great big meal for my family and be thankful for what we have while spending time together.

This year, for a change, I made a ham with slow cooked mashed potatoes, three kinds of stuffing (because Thanksgiving isn’t Thanksgiving without stuffing), home made whisky cranberry sauce, brown sugar carrots, beans, and for dessert, apple pie that Aisha and I made.

The apple pie was actually thanks to Ford Canada, from an event we had last week with them, plus they loaned us the 2018 Ford Explorer Platinum to test drive for the week so we could see the fall leaves and get into harvest season.

It all started last Thursday when Ford invited Aisha and I down to Dish Cooking Studio on College Street to learn how to make apple pie and apple chutney, to get into the spirit of fall, and to learn about their SUVs.

School director Erin Ross taught us how to make apple pies and apple chutney (and, I was pretty proud she decided to call me her “star pupil” but then again, I do have a few years experience in kitchens), which was actually a lot easier than I expected. I make apple pies every so often, but doing it in the Dish Cooking space, and with the tools they have makes it a lot easier, especially when you know how to do it the right way.

After that, Gonzalo Contreras, Ford’s product marketing manager for SUVs, chatted with us about the current lineup of vehicles, from the new EcoSport, to the Flex, Escape, Edge, Explorer, and the Expedition. Then Contreras walked us through a few of the vehicles and the features.

I’ve driven all of Ford’s SUVs, except for the new EcoSport, and I love them all for a variety of reasons, but the Edge and the Escape have always been my favorites. The Explorer though is what I would call a seriously luxury SUV that’s just the right size for a big family, or a family that needs space for their big activities.

The Explorer has a third row of seats, that are way comfier than most third rows in your average SUV or minivan, and the vehicle has power to spare, thanks to the 3.5L EcoBoost engine, comfort in every seat, and did I mention massaging seats?

The Platinum that we’ve been driving includes all of the major extras, like the dual DVD headrests, roof rack, hitch, captains chairs for the second row, and one of my favorite features, a premium Sony audio system to fill your drive with great music.

After the event, we took a drive on Friday up to Downey’s Farm, to buy some apples and other goodies (their pumpkin doughnuts are incredible), and then on Sunday we drove up to Sibbald Point Provincial Park, stopped along the way to enjoy the weather, and then took a stroll along the lake.

I’m going to have a full story about driving the Explorer soon, but until then I have to say that I’m thankful that I get to have adventures like this with Ford Canada, because I’m a big fan of what they do, the technology in their vehicles, and the whole experience.

It means a lot to me, to have so many great people that I get to collaborate with, and so many people who follow along with the adventures and stories. Thanks to all of you, and I hope you had a great Thanksgiving weekend.

I’d love to hear what you baked or made, or what you did for Thanksgiving, so let me know in the comments, or let me know if you have any questions about the Ford Explorer.

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