Thanksgiving Sides 2013

Baked Yams

7 or 8 yams

1/2 stick unsalted butter

zest of 1 orange

cinnamon

nutmeg

allspice

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

Boil yams and let cool. When at room temperature, peel and set aside. Then, mash them. Add the spices, orange zest, and half of the brown sugar. Mix the yams and other ingredients very well. Put into a large baking dish. Top the yams with remaining brown sugar and drizzle with maple syrup. Then, cut the stick of butter into small pieces and plop onto the yams. Let bake for 45 minutes at 400 degrees. Enjoy! 

Pre-baking

Ready to eat! 

Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

10 Idaho potatoes

4 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup parmesan

1 sprig of rosemary

salt

pepper

Boil the potatoes with salt and garlic cloves. Remove the potatoes from the water and set them aside. Save the water! It will be used later. Peel the potatoes and place them into a potato ricer. I was lucky enough that I could use my grandmother's! Throw in the garlic. Once the potatoes and garlic have gone through the ricer, place the mixture into a baking dish or bowl. Add the olive oil, butter, salt, pepper, and parmesan. Don't use too much salt, though, because the parmesan cheese has additional flavor and salt content to the dish. Grab the water that was used for boiling, and add 1/2 cup into the potato mixture, a little bit at a time. Top the potato mixture with rosemary and the remaining parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. The parmesan cheese will add a nice crust. Enjoy! 

Before

After

Grilled Asparagus

2 bundles of asparagus

salt

pepper

extra virgin olive oil

Top all asparagus with salt, pepper, and olive oil and grill for 10-15 minutes, turning the asparagus over consistently to make sure it is cooked evenly on all sides. Very easy, yet super delicious. Enjoy! 

Serious nom noms! 

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

2 (cup) containers of brussel sprouts

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt

pepper

red pepper flakes

cumin

First, cut off the stems of the brussel sprouts. Coriander is a great spice to add to this mixture, but the cumin itself adds a nice, earthy flavor that goes great with fall foods. Mix all ingredients together and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. You will see that the brussel sprouts will begin to caramelize and turn a nice brownish color on top. Enjoy!

Ready to enjoy! 

Turkey Gravy

2 cups of turkey juice (the juices came from a turkey that was baked with butter, sage, thyme, and rosemary)

1 cup flour

1/2 stick butter

2 cups of water

salt

pepper

Set your turkey juice aside. In a small pot, make a rue. Add 1/2 stick of butter and 1/4 cup of flour at medium heat. Little by little, add the turkey juice, water, and more flour. Add salt and pepper to taste as you go. Make sure you are diligent about watching your gravy. The secret to a good gravy is making sure the flour doesn't clump up. The flour is a great thickener, so no corn starch is necessary. Keep your gravy at medium heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. It should be a light brown-gold color. Simply delicious! 

Yum! 

My Thanksgiving plate. Additional dishes featured: oven-roasted turkey, stuffing with sausage, apples, and chestnuts, and cranberry sauce with orange rind. Simply delicious, and all home-made. 

Apple Ginger Candy

The Ingredients

Apple and ginger pulp leftover from juicing

honey

brown sugar

water

Add all ingredients into a small pot and simmer at medium-high heat. It should look like apple sauce. This should take around 5 minutes. If the pulp leftover from juicing has chunks of fruit in it, you can always blend the ingredients prior to cooking them. Pour onto parchment paper and place onto two dehydrator trays. Set the dehydrator onto the highest heat setting, of about 200 degrees. Let the mixture dehydrate for 8 hours until completely dry. When dry, it is almost translucent and has similar texture to a hard candy or brittle. Very yummy, nutritious, and makes great use of juicing leftovers. 

The final product! 

Super close-up

Roasted Acorn Squash

The Ingredients

1 acorn squash

1/4 cup water

cinnamon

nutmeg

allspice

brown sugar

Quarter the acorn squash and place onto a baking tray. Spoon the water around the quarters to prevent them from burning in the oven. This should be enough water just to coat the bottom of the tray. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and brown sugar to each quarter to taste. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Enjoy! 

Ready to eat! 

I made this part of a nutritious dinner of tricolor organic radiatori pasta with pine nuts and sage, and kale chips baked with cumin, coriander, and hot pepper flakes. One of my favorite vegetarian meals I've made! 

Cinnamon Apple Muffins

I was inspired by a yummy recipe I found online for cinnamon apple muffins and changed things up a bit...

The Ingredients

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 

1/2 cup ground flax seeds

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 diced apples

1 cup brown sugar

1 stick unsalted butter

2 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla extract (the good stuff)

1/2 cup soy milk

cinnamon

nutmeg

allspice

pinch of salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and spices. Use some flour to lightly coat the diced apples. Set them aside. Coating the apples with flour will prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the batter and will help them adhere to the batter throughout when it is poured. In a separate bowl, cream the sugar and butter together. Add vanilla to the mixture. Then, add the eggs, one at a time. Add the flour mixture a little bit at a time to make sure it is evenly mixed in. Add the milk and mix well. The batter should be a nice, sticky consistency. Lightly butter a muffin tin and bake for 35 minutes. Enjoy! 

Side note: I used a primarily vegan recipe, but used regular butter. You can easily substitute it with coconut butter. 

Apples in the batter close-up

The batter

Poured into some muffin tins 

Post-baking

Ready to eat

I used a brown sugar and melted butter coating to add a touch of sweetness. So yummy! 

Vegan Creamed Corn Soup

The Ingredients

2 cans sweet corn

1/2 yellow onion

1 cup cashew cream

1 tbsp coconut oil

salt

pepper

corn starch (optional)

First, put coconut oil in a pot. Dice the onion and cook on medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Then, add the corn to the mixture. I added a cashew cream to this to give it a nice, thick, creamy texture. The cashew cream was just made by soaking a cup of raw cashews in water for 6-8 hours and then blending the mixture. Add salt and pepper, and corn starch to thicken the soup if you wish. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes and enjoy. 

Cooking the onion and corn down 

Ready to eat! 

A delicious close-up

Sautéed Spaghetti Squash

The Ingredients

1 spaghetti squash

1 tbsp unsalted butter

olive oil

brown sugar

nutmeg

allspice

cinnamon

cayenne

sage

salt

Cutting the squash open may be the most challenging part. Use a large knife (since machetes are harder to find). Use a spoon or corer to take out its stringy, spaghetti-like insides. In a pan, combine the butter and olive oil and keep at medium heat. Add the spaghetti squash strings and sautée for 5-7 minutes, adding nutmeg, allspice, cayenne, cinnamon, sage, and salt. I love adding some cayenne pepper for a little kick without it overpowering the sweet notes. Garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds and sage. Enjoy! 

Looking fancy in its squash serving shell. 

Avocado and Tomato Salad

The Ingredients

2 tomatoes

1 avocado

1 hot pepper or jalapeño

1/4 cup queso fresco

adobo

pepper

olive oil

Chop tomatoes and avocado into small pieces. Then, mix with olive oil, some adobo, and pepper. I use adobo without pepper so I can add my own. I top it off with some queso fresco and a hot pepper. Delicious!