Thanksgiving: check!

Thanksgiving Supper 2011

I loved these stand-up turkey napkins my mom bought for us to use. Not extremely absorbent but cute!

Stand up Christmas napkins, anyone?

Hopefully, no arsenic.

I worked so hard on this Cinnamon-Dusted Butternut Squash. Really, it's from Whole Foods deli.

I did, however, make Homemade Applesauce. And applesauce does not need sugar. Here is the recipe I used. I was able to use up the last of our 20 lb. box of organic apples, that were starting to get a little soft, from our Azure Standard order.

Thank you again, Whole Foods, for the Brussels Sprouts I did not have to wash, chop, and roast. I did, however add the pomegranate arils after seeing Bobby Flay or someone do that on the news that morning. I think I could add pomegranate seeds to anything and love it.

I worked hard on my homemade stuffing, but I'm not sure it was worth the effort. It was pretty good that night, but it was soggy as a leftover. (I probably messed the recipe up by subbing a couple of ingredients; my main substitution was so dumb, I'm not even going to say what it was).

I did love the idea of making homemade stuffing, and I loved the idea of chopped pears and chestnuts in it. (Although - the canned chestnuts are soft and totally grossed me out. I will use only dry nuts next time.) I also added some chopped Smoked Apple Sage Field Roast Sausages, which might have saved it. My friend's stuffing at Portions of Goodness looked much better. I'll do a better job with your recipe next time, Pam.

Roasted vegetables with our Field Roast and Tofurky Roast. Road's End Gravy (not pictured) on the side. We love the marinade we use for our veggies (potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, carrots, and onions) and roasts. It's a version of this Tofurky Baste Option 2, using orange juice, maple syrup, soy sauce, olive oil, and spices.

I had kind of hoped to make a homemade roast this year...but I didn't even go grocery shopping until late Wednesday evening. And they weren't out of Tofurky Roasts, like I'd feared. Maybe one like this for Christmas.

an assortment of rolls from Whole Foods

We LOVED this Cranberry Mandarin Orange Relish, also from the Whole Foods deli. Delicious! I paired it with some plain, cooked millet.

I also took Pam's suggestion for Spaghetti Squash & Chard Gratin from Kalyn's Kitchen. I subbed in tofu, Vegenaise, and Daiya for cottage cheese, egg, and parmesan.

I won't go so creamy and decadent next time and let the squash and chard have more of a voice, but I liked it.

After a whole day of cooking and very little sampling, I couldn't WAIT to sit down and enjoy my meal. And yet...I couldn't finish even half of my plate. What a disappointment. This was the problem of deciding to have Thanksgiving supper rather than lunch: I can't eat very much in the evening, even if I don't eat a lot early on. (I'm 8 months pregnant, for those of you just tuning in.) I covered my plate and stuck it in the fridge.

My 11 year old, on the other hand, was being exceptionally quiet, and we realized it was because he was just shoveling it in.

And although everyone else got to enjoy my pumpkin pie (recipe here)...

...and this girl came back for dessert seconds, in which she asked for "more pie and more Brussels sprouts"...

...my burgeoning belly had to wait until the next day for a piece of pie. I tried staying up late just so it would settle enough for one little piece of pie. But I finally brushed my teeth, telling Ryan I was going to be a big girl and just wait until the next day.

Those of you who like Soyatoo, have you tried the new extra creamy version? I think it's even better.

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And off to get ready for Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The only turkeys eaten in this house today:

Part of our pre-Thanksgiving Meal brunch, eaten with hummus and pumpkin soup.

Idea borrowed from here.

Thanksgiving Breakfast

Idea borrowed from the amazing Fork and Beans.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!! I am truly thankful for all of my blogging friends and those who ever stop by here. Have a wonderful weekend. I'll be by to visit (well, your blogs, anyway) soon.

Our Halloween Festivities

I don't know what happened to me after October. The weird thing is, I didn't think it was too difficult posting almost everyday last month, and now I'm 14 days into November without a post. I guess if you take away requirements and guidelines in life, I don't operate as well. Therefore, my Halloween post is late and not as relevant. However, I'm posting it, anyway, for record-keeping purposes for my children's sake. And I wanted to acknowledge the awesome blogs who gave me some of our ideas.

Our Halloween Meal:

Bat-a-Mole

from Fork and Beans

She has been posting really fun Thanksgiving foods, too, so check out her blog.

One-Eyed Willy Banana Pops

from Fork and Beans

I covered the banana pieces in peanut butter, coconut, then used a little frosting to stick on the chocolate chip eye. My kids don't know the term One-Eyed Willy, so they thought of them more as Cyclops Pops.

Everyone was also served a Jack O' Lantern Clementine. Color Wheel Meals gave me the idea for this and the carrot concoction below.

Carrot-Jack-O-Lantern

from Color Wheel Meals

I filled in the holes with hummus and used part of a leek for the stem.

We have only went trick or treating a few times over the years. We usually just go visit my parents and a few of their neighbors. (And we'll attend the parties at the area libraries, dressed up.) This year we actually went up and down a long street because we were collecting candy for our Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory we've been creating as we read the book. In exchange for willingly turning over their bags, I had these boxes waiting for them.

They included Yummy Earth suckers, Endangered Species chocolate bites, a boom Choco boom bar, a Simply Fruit Roll-Up (which I was excited to find at Target but now I don't endorse because I somehow overlooked that they contain sulfites, which we avoid), a Brown Rice Marshmallow Treat, Fork and Beans' Twix Bars...

These things are insane. As in insanely good. I had a little trouble temperature regulating the final product. If I left them out of the fridge, the center had more of a taffy consistency. They tasted better from the fridge. I don't know if this was because I used agave nectar instead of corn syrup.

Regardless, who cares? They were good, and I want to try her other candy bar recipes eventually.

They all each had a Friendly Ghost sugar cookie wrapped in their box,

and a couple of pumpkin cookies. The color of sprinkles makes little sense, I know, but it's what I had, and they're only 11, 6, and 4. My 11 year old did point out that the pumpkins weren't realistic, but what can ya do.

Last night as I was scoping the top of my pantry for something, I found the rest of the Halloween candy I'd ordered from Pangea (like Whizzers, caramel bites, and Eli's bars) and hidden away. I'd completely forgotten about it, which is how my brain works these days. We'll save it for another special occasion soon.

My Mom is always really sweet about having a special treat prepared for the kids, too.

Sugared almonds, pretzels, Back to Nature peanut butter cookies, a glo-stick, and pencils.

My sweet Jedi, Fred Flintstone, and Minnie Mouse approved of all of the above.

I, of course, couldn't waste this dress-up opportunity. No stuffing required!