thanksgiving basics: onion, celery & sage bread stuffing

This is always a strange time of year for Canadians. We've already had our Thanksgiving weeks ago, so all of this American hoopla over the holiday seems like it's a "been there, done that" kind of deal. But this year it's a little different in our household and we kinda let Thanksgiving pass us by. I was busy and we ate soup. No big deal or so I thought.

But this Saturday, we took a run for the border into Bellingham WA and picked up a pre-brined Trader Joe's turkey (HELP! Quick question: Do I wash/rinse/soak the pre-brined turkey or just rub it with butter and bake it? Answered on Twitter = rinse.) Once I was caught up in the Trader Joe's frenzy, it was like I was on auto-pilot or something. I just wanted turkey and all the things that come with Thanksgiving. And one of the big things I missed this year was stuffing. And this old fashioned and kinda basic stuffing is something you can make without a turkey or even a chicken. It's my mom's age-old recipe and I love it. But this time I added in walnuts and apples just to put my own stamp on it. Don't even want to think about turkey? No worries, just make the stuffing a part of your vegan meal. It's easy. Head over to Poppytalk for the recipe and the story and get stuffed.

pumpkin apple crumb cake

I had mentioned that this Thanksgiving I took it easy in the kitchen. There was no time to fuss about with turkeys, sides or complicated dishes. I took the simple route and made only two things: the sweet potato, corn & jalapeño bisque and this crumb cake. It worked out perfectly because both the soup and this cake tasted deeply like autumn. And they were so easy to prepare that I could enjoy time with my guests and let the evening roll out easily. Simple pleasures, indeed.

Made with lightly sauteed apples and bursting with cinnamon and spice, this cake is kept moist with the addition of pumpkin puree. The original recipe calls for 4 cups of apples and a 9 inch round pan. I made this in an 8 inch cake pan and was able to only add in half the amount of apples. Worried that my cake would spill over, I took the extra precaution of putting a baking sheet underneath, but everything worked out perfectly. No spills! The batter rose up high in the oven and fell quickly when I took out the cake to cool. It was dense and delicious and perfectly unfussy....and I'm sure if you were short on time & didn't want to saute the apples, you'd still find yourself with a cake to be thankful for.

pumpkin apple crumb cake
(adapted from Bon Appetit)
2 large apples, diced (about 2 cups worth)
2 T demera sugar
1 T salted butter
1 t cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 c brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t cardamom
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t allspice
1/2 t salt
1/2 c unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3/4 c canned pure pumpkin
1/3 c plain yogurt
2 T sugar
1 t baking soda
2 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350F and butter up an 8 or 9 inch cake pan. Set aside. In a large skillet, heat butter and stir apples, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Saute lightly for a few minutes until fragrant and the mixture starts to caramelize. Remove from heat.

2. Mix together the flour, salt, brown sugar, and spices. Cut in butter and use your hands to break up the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside 2/3 of a cup to use as crumble topping.

3. In another bowl, combine pumpkin, yogurt, sugar, baking soda and eggs. Stir in the flour mixture and beat until smooth. Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Spread diced apples over top and then sprinkle with reserved crumb topping. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until cake is golden and a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack and serve with generous dollops of floppy maple whipped cream.

thanksgiving is pretty much all about food.

I love three day weekends...especially the sunny kinds in October that are also known as Thanksgiving. It's definitely true that a three day weekend is much more meaningful when you actually work away from home. For that 3-day break, I'm so thankful! It was a wonderful weekend filled with bike rides, boardgames, and food. For once, I didn't host the Thanksgiving dinner at our little 400 sq. ft. apartment. Instead, we stuffed our panniers with sauteed brussels sprouts topped with pecans*, spicy cranberry chutney**, green salad with apple dressing***, and of course, pumpkin pie**** topped with maple whipped cream all the way to our friend's lovely home. All of this plus our host's amazing coca-cola ham, roasted roots with bocconcini, and lots and lots of delicious mulled wine. Definitely a meal to be thankful for.

* I love brussles sprouts and I see no reason to gussy them up with extras, but this recipe from Elise was simple and lovely. If you're not a fan of the humble sprout, try this recipe and become a true believer! As for my own interpretation of the recipe, I substituted lime juice for the lemon and added pecans instead of almonds. Delicious!

** Every wintery holiday, I make this chutney. It's a time-honoured favorite that I've tweaked and twiddled with until it reached perfection. This time around, I was all out of oranges so I couldn't add the juice. I could have subbed in some plain ol' water, but oh lucky me, I found a half bottle of reisling in the fridge! Saved the day and the chutney. Yum!

*** I love green salad and I love apples in salads. This was a winner. Of course I didn't have the walnut oil the recipe called for, so instead I added olive oil with a couple drops of sesame oil for added flavour. Again, I added some toasted pecans for crunch. And who eats Red Delicious apples? Not me! Granny Smith all the way. I'll definitely be making this salad again.

**** I've made this recipe for a few years now and it's never failed me. In fact, dare I say it, it's the best damn pumpkin pie I've ever eaten. Did I mention it's way too easy to make?

thanksgiving pt. 2

It seems that good food and good boardgames go hand in hand at my house. I'm sure my downstairs neighbours never want to hear "Corner on wheat!!!" at 2am ever again, but a good, roaring (and perhaps drunken) game of Pit rounded out a great Thanksgiving meal.

I love this recipe! It's the perfect compliment to any meal and I get rave reviews everytime I make this. This Thanksgiving meal was meatless, but this chutney tasted great alongside the richness of the baked macaroni & cheese and a couple of people used the chutney to top their greens instead of salad dressing. Oh yum.

cranberry chutney
1 12oz bag of fresh or frozen cranberries
1 granny smith apple, chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1/3 c cider or red wine vinegar
2/3 c packed brown sugar
juice of 1 orange
grated orange rind from 1 orange
½ t salt
½ t cinnamon
½ t nutmeg
1/8 t cloves

1. Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, spices, orange rind, celery, onion, apple, and orange juice in a medium saucepan. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.

2. Reduce heat to a simmer, and stir in the cranberries. Cook until the skin begins to pop, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Store in an airtight container, refrigerated, up to 4 weeks.

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Seeing that I was busy on one side of the kitchen making the chutney and preparing the brussel sprouts, I had Cornelius make this delicious recipe. I have no idea where I found it (it definitely was online somewhere), but I'm making this again. Too delicious for words! I also planned on taking a photograph of this beauty (Cornelius baked it in a pretty bundt pan), but it went really fast. You'll just have to use your imagination.

Pumpkin Chocolate chip cake

1 ¾ c flour
1 t baking soda
2 t pumpkin pie spice*
½ t salt
½ c margarine
1 c granulated sugar
2 large eggs
¾ c pumpkin purée
¾ c semisweet chocolate chips
¾ c walnuts, finely chopped

* If pumpkin pie spice is not available, use 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg and ¼ teaspoon each of ginger and cloves.

Grease bottom and sides of 9 x 5-inch loaf pan*. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine flour with baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Cream margarine in large mixing bowl. Gradually add sugar and cream at high speed of mixer until light and fluffy. Blend in eggs; beat well. Turn mixer to low speed and add dry ingredients, alternating with pumpkin. Begin and end with dry ingredients; blend well after each addition. Stir in chocolate morsels and chopped walnuts and pour into prepared pan. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched in center. Cool, then glaze with Spicy Glaze.

Spicy Glaze
½ c confectioners' sugar
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 to 2 tablespoons light cream

Combine confectioners' sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon. Blend in cream until the consistency desired (should be thin).

* We greased and floured a bundt pan.