Hi friends!

Ahhh Black Friday…  did you get up bright and early this morning to get some holiday shopping done?  (Or stay up all night before?)  We did not.  We’ve gone in the past, but it really seems in the last few years that there just haven’t really been any deals good enough to stand in the freezing cold for, not to mention lose sleep over.  Is it just me or do you guys think that the fun of Black Friday is being ruined by stores opening on Thanksgiving day, or at crazy hours like 2 AM?  I remember the first time I ever went Black Friday shopping – and it sure seemed like 6 AM was the first opening.  Last night Old Navy opened at 10 PM.  I feel for the employees of these stores, who end up missing out on part of their holiday.

But I digress…

How about some foodie talk?

Our Thanksgiving was quiet and relaxing.  It started on Tuesday night when I put MSP’s small chicken in the “citrus and savory” brine so it could soak for 12 hours.

Then on Wednesday night, Thanksgiving Eve, I made my dinner out of a mish-mash of veggies in the fridge.   And it was so darn delicious!!

Mushrooms, butter beans, green pepper, a tiny tomato and some shallots all sauteed up with some leftover Chipotle salsa and a little taco seasoning.  I’m finding that even with attending culinary school, my favorite dishes are the ones that are thrown together in a flash and provide tons of nutrients and flavor.

Since we were feeling festive we had to make a little toast as well (no, not an Ezekial toast… the other kind!).

The morning of Thanksgiving I woke up early to make a nice breakfast for MSP.  I was excited for this day filled with cooking.  He loves French toast, and I’d seen a recipe for a vegan version by Isa Chandra Moskowitz a while back that I’d had my eye on, for Pumpkin French Toast.  French toast and I have not been friends in the past.  And as it turns out, we still aren’t.  The change I made was using Ezekial bread, which should be fine since it’s a dense bread.  Here’s all you need to see to know I will not be making this again (nothing against the recipe):

Believe it or not, there actually was coconut oil in the bottom of my cast iron skillet.  The plus?  MSP was shocked that there was no egg in this recipe.  So for any of you out there who are vegan, give it a try.  Just don’t use Ezekial bread.  ;)

After breakfast, it was time to get a workout in.  We chose to use the Wii.  Boxing, soccer, and more.  (And we are even sore today from the boxing and the soccer squatting)!  We usually like to get a good walk in with the dogs on days we are off too, but ol’ girl Riley sustained a little injury on Tuesday at the off-leash park, so no walk for them.

She looks sad about it, doesn’t she? ;)

Zzzzzz….zzzzzz….zzzzz.

At noon, I hit the kitchen with my timeline of when to make what, and got busy.

The first thing I served was a recipe from school for BBQ Tempeh “Meatballs” that get wrapped in basil leaves.  It’s a fun little appetizer – the hubby enjoyed it, even being that it was tempeh and not beef.

I don’t post direct recipes publicly from our school workbook, since I believe that to be the property of Bauman College.  But here is a link for you with a very similar recipe to get the “meatballs” made and then you can top them with a sauce of your choice.

Next I got to work on getting the dough made for the homemade gluten-free bread (also another school recipe, with a few changes based on the flours I had on hand).  This one includes millet flour, sorghum flour, brown rice flour and buckwheat flour.  There is something about having fresh bread straight out of the oven that just ROCKS!

Getting ready to put on the egg wash:

Egg washing (action shot courtesy of MSP, LOL!):

And the finished product:

It was delicious: dense and crusty.  Loved it.  Loved it again this morning when I made my toast for breakfast.  :)

The roast chicken for MSP came out beautifully, served with a side of the carrots and onions from the roasting pan.  Here’s a roasting tip for you:

When letting the bird rest (whether chicken or turkey) after cooking and before serving, prop it up so that the breast meat is below the tail-end.  This way the juices will redistribute to the breast meat, which can typically be dryer than the rest of the meat.

On the side we had a Wild Rice Stuffing (loosely inspired by the recipe in the link). From a budgetary standpoint, I went with walnuts (cheaper than pine nuts) and used dried basil in place of the dried mint.  Whenever possible, I use what I have on hand so that I don’t have to add to the grocery list!

I had planned to make a lightened up pumpkin souffle, but changed my mind at the last minute and used up a large leftover baked sweet potato that I mashed up with some maple syrup and topped with some ground almonds and cinnamon.  (Probably tasted better than pumpkin with whipped egg whites, and in much less time!)

In an effort to incorporate some practice for midterms into my day, I made a dairy free white sauce out of soaked cashews, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and onion/garlic powders (and WHITE it definitely is – this would make a great alternative to alfredo sauce):

So I mixed it in with some green beans and topped it with some toasted crushed walnuts, kind of like a green bean casserole:

What I haven’t learned in culinary school:  how to carve a chicken after cooking.  ;)

Here’s my meat-free Thanksgiving plate.  Let’s eat!

I’ll save the dessert for the next post!

Enjoy your holiday weekend friends!

– Shari B. =)

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