First of all, now that we are post-Thanksgiving, I can officially wish you a Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!
My friend Mollie hosted a wreath-making party last weekend, and I surprised myself by actually not making one that would make Charlie Brown's Christmas tree look like the Rockefeller tree. Voila! We also had hot cocoa to kick off the holiday season, so I brought my mix. It is easy to make and tastes great in warmed coconut milk. I've used rice milk also, but the coconut milk makes it much creamier.
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| My first ever homemade holiday wreath. You know I made it because that bow is a hot mess... |
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1-2 vanilla beans, seeded and scraped out
1 cup high quality cocoa
1 tsp sea salt
Directions:
1. Blend together the sugar and vanilla beans.
2. Add cocoa and sea salt and blend together
3. Store in air tight container.
I scoop out two to three spoonfuls into a mug of heated coconut milk and stir. It's also super delicious with a little Peppermint Schnapps too :)
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| I feel like this bird would murder you in your sleep. |
Now, on to Thanksgiving. Holiday meals (and family meals in general) can be a little bit complicated when you're the Worst Dinner Guest Ever. They involve a lot of pre-planning and texts from my mom checking recipe lists and ingredient lists. I always bring at least one side that I can eat and a dessert, but we work really hard to make sure that the main dish (meat dish...come on, this is Iowa :) ) is something I can eat. Last year I made the turkey and it turned out delicious! My mom made the same recipe this year and, guess what...it was delicious again!
Thanksgiving in our family means turkey, potatoes, green bean casserole (for my BIL), homemade bread (not Kim-friendly), stuffing, and pie. Same turkey from last year, we did roasted potatoes instead of mashed to save room on the stove top, I ate salad instead of green bean casserole, we had two stuffings (one outlined below), and two pumpkin pies (one outlined below). I always know I'm not going to be able to eat everything at the table, but I don't need to eat everything at the table. As long as I can have dessert, I'm golden.
I didn't take pictures of the steps of either recipe. The stuffing was made at my parent's house on Thanksgiving morning and I barely remembered to take this before it went on the table. The pumpkin pie was made at 10pm on Wednesday night (aka...Thanksgiving Eve) because I ended up with Dinner and a Movie plans and that takes precedence over not going out and baking. :)
P.S. Mockingjay 2 was very, very good. But the baby in the end was totally Asian. So, I think Katniss has some explaining to do. #spoileralert
Quinoa Stuffing
Original Recipe at Gimme Some Oven
Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed*
1 T olive oil
salt and pepper**
1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed
3 cups chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water***
zest of one orange
2 cups roughly-chopped fresh spinach
2/3 c dried cranberries
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
2. In a large mixing bowl, toss butternut squash, olive oil, and seasonings until evenly coated. Spread out in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes or until soft and cooked adn the edges begin to brown. Remove and set side.
3. Meanwhile, stir together quinoa, water, and orange zest and cook according to package instructions. When cooked, set aside.
4. Add the cooked squash, quinoa, spinach, and cranberries to a large mixing bowl, and gently toss to combine. Serve warm.
*So, cutting into a squash is a bitch. As is peeling one. I may or may not have absolutely strained my shoulder because of this recipe. Enough that I had a heating pad on it that night and couldn't do everything at yoga the next day because it still hurt. I'm getting old.
**My mom gets spice mixes from Penzey's and she had a mix in her cupboard of herbs that was amazing, so I sprinkled that on the squash before roasting too.
***I used water because I didn't bring any broth with me.
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| Voila! Pumpkin Pie with Coconut Whipped Cream. |
Original Recipe on Minimalist Baker
Ingredients:
Crust*
6 T cold vegan butter
1 1/4 c Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour
1/4 tsp salt
4-6 T ice cold water
Filling
1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree (about 1.5 15 oz cans)
1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c brown sugar
1/3 c unsweetened coconut milk
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 T cornstarch
1 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp sea salt
*I made the crust two days ahead of time so it had plenty of time to chill in the refrigerator
Ingredients:
1. To prepare crust, add gluten free flour and salt to a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Slice or dollop the cold butter in and work gently with a fork or pastry cutter to cut it in. Don't overwork, just get it incorporated.
2. Next add ice cold water a little at a time and use a wooden spoon to stir. Only add as much water as you need to help it come together.
3. One a loose dough is formed, transfer to a piece of plastic wrap and work gently with your hands to form a 1/2 inch thick disc. Wrap firmly and refrigerate for a minimum 30 minutes, up to two days. Just let it warm back up a bit before using.
4. Once dough is chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare pie filling.
5. Add all pie ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Set aside.
6. To roll out the crust, unwrap the disc and place it between two sizable layers of wax paper (plastic wrap will work ok, but wax paper is best). Use a rolling pin to gently roll it into the shape of your pie pan. If it cracks, just reform with your hands once you transfer to the pan.
7. To transfer the crust, remove the top layer of wax paper and gently lay the pie dish down on top of the crust and use the support of the wax paper to quickly but carefully invert it.
8. Once you get the crust inverted, gently use your hands to form it into the pan, working the crust up along the sides. It can be a little tricky, but it bakes beautifully. Try not to overwork the dough in the process. Any holes or cracks can be mended with a little excess dough and the heat of your hand.
9. Pour filling into pie crust and bake at 350 for 60-65 minutes. The crust should be light golden brown and the filling will still be just a bit jiggly and have some cracks on the top. Remove from oven and let cool completely before loosely covering and transferring to the refrigerator to fully set for 4-6 hours, preferably overnight.
10. Slice and serve with coconut whipped cream and an additional sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg, and/or pumpkin pie spice (optional).
I had to use a cake pan because I don't have my kitchen stuff (one month until I move and have all my stuff again!) but it worked fine. The pie turned out great and I have been eating it for breakfast and for dessert for a few days now.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Bring on December!
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