Thanksgiving wrap-up

Look at that spread! To think, this was only one of three Thanksgivings I was blessed enough to enjoy this year. This one was at my mom's house, and what was so outstanding about hers was the fact that all but ONE vegetable came from her garden.

From the top left, clockwise:

Green bean casserole (fresh green beans)

Gravy, turkey, rolls, and dressing

Pecan pie (you guessed it, homemade with home-grown pecans)

Butternut squash pie (I made this with one of mom's squash)

Pickle platter (okra, cucumbers, and tomatoes from the garden; also the one non-garden veggie--olives)

Roasted butternut squash and shallots with fresh rosemary

Garden pumpkin stuffed with wild rice pilaf

Fresh corn (frozen from the summer harvest) with butter and herbs
This was the best Thanksgiving I can ever remember. We had three separate but equally wonderful occasions; one with Ryan's family, one with my dad's side of the family, and one at mom's. In the middle of it all, we celebrated two birthdays. And, unbelievably, I didn't have one bite of turkey!

I had a couple of minor vegetarian slip-ups (the amazing rice pilaf was made with chicken stock, as was the dressing, but that hardly stopped me), but overall didn't miss the turkey this Thanksgiving.

But it's easy not to miss something as trivial as turkey when you're surrounded by people you love. What a wonderful holiday. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's my favorite.

Coming up on my blog: getting deeper into the vegetarian conversion, and, should everything go smoothly tonight, a new recipe for spinach and mushroom enchiladas (with a creamy avocado sauce).

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veggie chili

As the holidays near, time is a precious commodity. I use most of mine cooking and preparing, gluing silver findings on to glass pendants, rounding corners on cardstock, and deciding exactly which recipe to use. This week we're celebrating Thanksgiving three times, and I couldn't be happier about that. I wish I'd had the time and the wherewithall to take pictures of my cooking extravaganza yesterday (homemade stuffing, two sourdough loaves, spinach and artichoke dip, birthday cupcakes with frosting, and more!) but alas—I've found that it's hard enough just to keep up with the to-do list!

In the spirit of not having much time, here's a very quick one-pot meal. This recipe was born out of necessity; I wanted something hot and spicy that wasn't soup, and needed to use up some jalapenos and cilantro in the fridge. Since I keep the pantry stocked with canned beans (let's face it, as much as I try to cook dried beans instead, it just doesn't happen as often as I'd like) and tomatoes, chili was a natural choice. I added a carrot because I like a little extra veggie kick, and it needed to be used up too. If I'd had broccoli and corn, by golly, I'd have thrown that in as well! Chili is like soup, I think: anything goes.

Ryan was skeptical at first, but changed his mind after taking a bite. So if you're short on time, here's a delicious weeknight recipe that will hit the spot for vegetarians and omnivores alike.

Quick Veggie Chili

1 15-oz can organic black beans, drained and rinsed

1 15-oz can organic pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 28-oz can organic whole peeled tomatoes (or diced tomatoes)

1 or 2 jalapenos, seeded and minced

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon cumin

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Garnish: additional cilantro, chopped avocado, and sour cream

Prep the veggies. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot on medium, heat the oil. Add the onions, garlic, jalapeno, and carrots, and saute until the onions become translucent. (If your pan gets too hot and the garlic begins to burn, just add a little of the tomato juice.)

After 3-5 minutes, add the beans, tomatoes, cilantro, and cumin, and stir. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the flavors come together. Serve with chopped avocado, extra cilantro, and a nice dollop of sour cream.

Makes about 6 servings; freezes well.

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Part 2: The Reaction

Years ago—and I'm sure that my Dad won't remember saying this, and that's ok—I asked my Dad what he'd think if I became a vegetarian.

"I'd disown you, honey." He said it with love, of course, but I detected absolutely no sarcasm in his voice.

I laughed it off, as the possibility of me becoming vegetarian was so out there that it didn't matter anyway.

But imagine my trepidation when I did in fact decide that I'd be embarking on this journey? All of a sudden, I felt like I was going to have to have The Talk with my father. That I'd have to come out to him as One Who Will Henceforward Revoke Meat.

It went over pretty smoothly, though (she said, disappointment looming in her voice). Ryan and I went to my dad's house to watch the football game, and around halftime, when everyone was getting hungry, the topic of lunch came up.

"Well, I guess we can't do Louie Mueller, since you're a vegetarian now."

WHAT!? How did he know? Who told him? I needed to have the discussion with him face-to-face and here, he already knew?

"Well, um, who, um--how, um... Huh?"

"Margaret is on your facebook and she said you mentioned something about going vegetarian. I guess you can just eat the beans, though, right?"

Well, now that was easy. Granted, I was stricken with the idea of not touching any jalapeno links from my favorite BBQ joint. Le sigh.

Other family members have made jokes that me and the other cousins who set dietary restrictions should sign "Dietary Treaties," and friends have asked if I'm going to have to take a lot of supplements to make up for not eating meat.

Some people have acknowledged the decision as a tough one and wish me luck; others flat out say I'm crazy, and don't I like bacon?

The last time I had meat was exactly two weeks ago; as a start to the meal, I had a sweet potato bisque with a maple reduction and topped with Nueske bacon. The piece of meat for saying goodbye was a perfect 8-ounce filet mignon from a very happily raised Wisconsin cow. It was one helluva way to say au revoir, that's for sure.

Image: Flickr member uberculture, licensed under Creative Commons.

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Part 1: The Conversion

Before I begin, I want you to know a few things.

Most importantly, I grew up on a farm. I don't just mean there was a farm behind our house; I mean, my grandparents ran a working farm as their means of living. We had cattle, sheep, and crops. In the fall, we loved going to the barn because of the trailer full of soft cottonseed. We loved giving the cows salt licks, and I had the distinction of being the oldest so I got to go up to the hay loft, cut open bails with wire cutters, and pitch down hay into the trough.

I have known my whole life where beef comes from, and even though my siblings and I would name the cows every year, I understood that the little white parcels with red stamps reading, "Bone-in ribeye" or "Chuck roast" were the cow's (many of them were named after Disney characters) way of saying, "Thanks for giving me such a beautiful life on the farm."

In fact, I don't have a problem with meat that is raised in the same way I was so familiar with growing up: a family of farmers pitches hay from the loft to the trough, never takes a vacation from tending the animals, and is sure to round up the chickens every night before the sun sets.

It wasn't until I learned of the atrocities of factory farming that I began to think that meat-eating wasn't such a great idea. Industrial agriculture, from the prominence of high fructose corn syrup in processed foods to the way commercial animal farming operations (better known as CAFOs or factory farms) are run, makes me squeamish and conjures up images of animal suffering, biohazards being dumped into processed foods, and swampish pools of byproducts and waste. Gross.

On a micro level, foods grown (the word grown is too organic; let's used processed) that way make us unhealthy. One look at obesity rates and Type II diabetes statistics, and that's clear: our food is making us sick. And food-borne illnesses are on the rise, too; the E. coli outbreaks in meat as well as vegetables (between spinach and tomatoes), and other things like salmonella account for 76 million illnesses in the U.S. each year.

On the macro level, though, these gigantic industrial food plants are directly causing huge amounts of pollution and making entire communities sick (studies show that children who live near factory farms have higher instances of asthma).

It's not just because I'm 200 pages in to Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals that I bring this up; over the last few months, I've been making gradual changes in my diet. After reading Omnivore's Dilemma (Michael Pollan) and seeing Food, Inc. especially, we started cutting out things like fast food and sodas. We became Readers of Ingredients Lists. We began shopping regularly at the farmers market and bringing home vegetables from my mom's garden.

This weekend, I did the unthinkable. I turned down BBQ from the one place I never thought I'd forsake: Louie Mueller BBQ, where I grew up eating award-winning brisket and jalapeno sausage. Excuse me for a moment while I drool all over my keyboard.

I watched as my family enjoyed hot links, ribs, and moist brisket, not tasting a bite—all in the name of my newest personal endeavor.

I'm going vegetarian and I'm determined to be successful.

Coming up: Part 2, The Reaction....

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spiced sweet potato pecan muffins

These are an improvement on the current theme... Moist, sweet, spicy, and packed full of nutrients. These are delicious, but I think they can be improved upon still. That said, they're still well worth baking this fall. One bite in and you'll be swept into the season. If you're not, well, you should get that checked out.

Spiced Sweet Potato Pecan Muffins

1 cup sweet potato puree*

2 eggs

1/2 cup organic milk

1/2 cup low-fat organic yogurt (plain or vanilla is fine!)

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup molasses

3/4 cup organic 5-grain cereal or oatmeal (the old-fashioned kind, not quick-cooking)

1/3 cup Grape Nuts

1 1/4 cup organic whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp allspice

3/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 400. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the puree, eggs, milk, yogurt, molasses, and brown sugar. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining (dry) ingredients. Pour the wet into the dry and mix well. Ready your muffin tin, and fill the cups to the brim.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve warm, with cream cheese icing if you so desire!

*To make sweet potato puree, you can bake whole sweet potatoes. Pierce them so they release steam, then bake in a 400-degree oven for about 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle goes in with little resistance. Cut the baked potato in half and scoop out the good stuff with a spoon (leaving the skin intact). Puree in a food processor, adding a little water or milk to thin as needed. You can make this up to two days in advance. I baked these sweet potatoes while using the oven for dinner (multitasking!) the night before making these muffins.

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sunny muffins!

I’m trying, really I am, to create a superb product here. You see, I love baked goods. That bit about "daily bread?" I take it verrrrry seriously.

And what I want is a supremely healthy, whole-grain, moist, sweet, slightly spiced and truly inspired muffin to warm up these beautiful fall mornings. (Ok, I live in Texas. They’re not that cold, but still. I want to FEEL like I need to be warmed up. Do me a favor and try to understand, alright? Thanks.)

Basically, I want all the flavors of fall to come together in a muffin. And then I want that muffin to give me enough heart-healthy sustenance to last until lunch. And I want all those whole grains and fiber and Omega-3s (found in the flaxseed, of course) to fuel my brain for an action-packed morning at the office, or my next 10K road race, or just an enjoyable morning at the dog park. And of course I want it to be slightly sweet, and very moist, and I even want to disguise squash, or sweet potatoes, or carrots, or maybe just bananas in—for good measure. Come to think of it, I should add some pecans and raisins too.

I want this muffin to be the end-all, be-all of healthy AND flavorful muffins. And I want to be able to make it every week and never tire of baking it or eating it. And when I have children someday, I want them to enjoy it, so much so that they pass it on to their children, and their children’s children, so that my recipe for this amazing muffin lives on in perpetuity.

Ahem. *Stepping down from my desk, tucking my arms politely back by my sides, recomposing myself...*

Is this too much to ask?

I tried again last night. You see, I love muffins, I really do. I can be easily swayed by them at coffeeshops, and I love putting cream cheese on top of them to make all my worries vanish into thin air. I do! It’s true!

That said, I bring to you, my dear readers, yet another chapter in my muffin saga. But this recipe isn’t sweet enough, and I would rather replace the eggs and oil with applesauce and yogurt, and it needs a little more spice and a little more, well, pinache... so I’m working on that. That said, it's not half bad.

And if you can improve upon this, PLEASE please let me know—I will be so happy to hear your suggestions!

Spiced 5-Grain Banana Muffins
1 1/2 cups organic whole wheat flour
1/2 cup organic 5-grain cereal
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ginger
2 eggs
2 tablespoons molasses
3 tablespoons corn oil or applesauce
1 cup milk
2 very ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a muffin pan or line with paper or foil liners (which should also be greased...). In a large mixing bowl (preferably one with a spout for easy muffin pouring), combine the dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, molasses, oil/applesauce, and milk. Add to the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Mash the bananas and add to the muffin batter, mixing well.

Fill muffin tins about 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Cool completely and store on the counter overnight, or in the fridge for 2-3 days.

* Please note. If you don't spray your muffin cups... This happens. It still tastes good, but you have to get creative with your teeth to enjoy every... last... crumb.

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Butternut Squash Pie With Pecan Shortbread Crust

The finished product, complete with pecan shortbread crust.

Last weekend, I brought home another 10 pounds or so of butternut squash--quickly becoming a favorite of mine. It's packed full of nutrients and is extremely versatile in the kitchen, like many squash are.

My mom mentioned that I could make pie with it, which of course got me wild about the idea. After scouring recipes and reading all manner of ways to prepare squash for pies, make nut crusts, and find just the right combination of it all to turn it into something spectacular.... It happened.

Though my recipe is based on a combination of several recipes, I took plenty of twists and turns to make this my very own. Some folks were skeptical of another squash pie, but in fact, the flavor is somewhat similar to pumpkin pie, but the texture is a little bit different. Making the puree from fresh squash adds to the delight of both baking and eating this pie.

I made this pie for my cousin's graduation party (yes, I take experimental desserts to parties and then ask everyone to try them.) One woman who tasted the pie knew right away that I'd baked the squash as opposed to steaming it, which was amazing to me because I hemmed and hawed about which to do. And this woman could tell! She said she preferred the texture of baked squash in pie. So, I'd recommend you do the same if you make this. And I highly recommend that you do make this, perhaps as a refreshing new take on Thanksgiving dessert...

The crust taking shape.

Spiced Butternut Squash Pie with Pecan Shortbread Crust

For the crust:

1 cup AP flour

1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

8 tbls butter, softened

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the dry ingredients until pecans are thoroughly chopped, about 15 seconds. Add butter and vanilla, and process until butter is incorporated. Pour the mixture into a 9" springform pan and press until the entire base of the pan is covered, making sure to go about 1/2" up the sides of the pan. Chill the crust in the fridge for 30 minutes or in the freezer for 15. Remove from fridge or freezer and bake until golden, 15-20 minutes. Remove the crust and let cool for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the filling...

For the pie filling:

2 medium butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds total)

3 eggs

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup half and half

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 400. Rinse the squash and halve them lengthwise. Clean out the seeds with a spoon (you can reserve these to eat later, like pumpkin seeds). Place skin side down on a baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes, or until squash is very tender. Remove from the oven, and carefully remove the squash from the skin using a spoon. You want about 2 cups of cooked squash.

Lower heat to 350.

Let squash cool, then puree squash in a food processor until very smooth, adding a tablespoon or two of water if needed. Add the eggs one at a time, processing for one or two seconds each. Then add in the half and half and spices, and process for another 10 seconds or so.

Carefully pour filling into the prebaked crust. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, or until pie is set.

Serve alone, or better yet... topped with fresh whipped cream.

** If you do not have a food processor, you can accomplish great things with a stand or hand-held mixer. For the crust, just chop the pecans very finely and incorporate the butter with a mixer. For the filling, you can manually press the baked squash through a ricer and then whisk in the other ingredients. Now you have no excuses not to make this pie!

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