Thanksgiving Vegetables

Vegetables are the main staple for every dinner at our house. Every night we prepare a big salad to accompany what I make for dinner, or rather, what I make as a side dish. Since we have a salad so often I wanted to make the vegetables special for dinner on Thanksgiving day.

I came up with fixing broccoli, carrots, and brussel sprouts. Wait! Don't leave because of my mentioning brussel sprouts - they are yummy! Perhaps you just haven't had them the right way. Stick around to find out a wonderful recipe for some tasty brussel sprouts.

Cinnamon Carrots

2.5 cups sliced carrots
2 TBSP butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp cinnamon
sea salt to taste

Steam carrots until desired tenderness (see below). Remove from heat and place in heat-resistant bowl with lid. Add butter, sprinkle the cinnamon, and add sprinkle of salt. Stir. Place lid on and set aside. Stir again right before serving.

Broccoli

2.5 cups broccoli, cut-up
2 TBSP butter, room temperature
sea salt and pepper to taste

Steam broccoli until desired tenderness. Place in heat-resistant bowl with a lid. Add butter, salt and pepper. Stir. Place lid on and set aside. Stir again right before serving.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

1 pound brussel sprouts

2 TBSP Olive Oil

1 tsp rubbed thyme

sea salt and pepper to taste

1 TBSP apple cider vinegar

Heat oven to 400°F.

Trim brussel sprouts, remove outer leaves, and cut in half. Place all ingredients but vinegar in a bowl and toss until brussel sprouts are well-coated. Place on a baking sheet, flat side down. Roast for 15 minutes. Turn the sprouts over. Roast another 15 - 20 minutes or until browned and crispy. Remove and place in heat resistant bowl with lid. Stir vinegar in and top with lid until ready to serve. (I made up this recipe from this one and this one.)

I steam most vegetables that we eat. It's quite easy when using this item, although I would love to get the silicone version! I like to have a little crunch in my vegetables so I steam them 5-7 minutes. Since Rooster has joined us at the table, though, I steam for 10-12 minutes to make them easier for him to eat.

Yogurt - Updated

After more experiences I have updates to my recipe. See below.

Would I ever have thought I would be making homemade yogurt? My answer definitely would have been NO up until just a few months ago. Why, you ask, would I go to the trouble when I have so many options in the grocery store?

Well, it tastes better, it is very fresh, it has no additives, it is much less expensive ($2.59/2 quarts instead of $2.69/1 quart at the store), and it is much, much easier than I ever imagined.

I found a basic recipe for the crock pot here. Since finding it I have worked on tweaking it until I found the perfect outcome of tangy-ness and firmness.

Start with 1/2 gallon of whole milk and place in a 2 quart crock-pot on low temperature setting. How my steps differ than the initial recipe:

1. lengthened the initial cooking time to 3.5 - 4 hours*3-3.5 seems best

2. cool it down ~3 hours (until it is 110 degrees Fahrenheit)

3. add minimal culture (1/4 - 1/2 cup) by stirring very slowly

4. wrap the whole pot up in 2 large bath towels

5. place in a warmed oven (110 degrees Fahrenheit)*keep warming it up for the first couple of hours for better results

6. let sit overnight in oven for at least 12 - 15 hours (even 18 hours has been fine)*15-18 hours is ideal

7. stir rapidly with a wooden spoon (discontinues bacterial growth)*not necessary

8. refrigerate for 8+ hours

9. put into 3 quart mason jars; save 1/4 -1/2 cup for next batch in one

10. add vanilla bean to non-starter jars

It is still much runnier than store bought (hey, no added nonfat milk powders or gelatin or whatever else they decide to add for thickening) but we don't mind. Roscoe drinks it like kefir for breakfast in the morning. I soak Rooster's and my oats in it overnight for breakfast. It's also so yummy with frozen berries added - almost like ice cream!

Originally posted on 10/12/2009 at 09:45 am

My Grandmother's Cranberry Relish

Both of my grandmothers are amazing cooks. This recipe is one of my favorites although it has quite a bit of sugar in it. This Thanksgiving I will be making it without the sugar. I have never made it this way and hope it turns out well.

Here is the recipe, the bold represents changes I will be making:

3/4 cup apple juice (1/4 cup 100% orange juice concentrate + 1/2 cup water)
1/2 cup sugar (omit)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon (1/2 tsp ground cinnamon)
1/4 tsp nutmeg or allspice (1/2 tsp nutmeg)
dash ground cloves (1/4 tsp ground cloves)
1 12 oz package cranberries
1/2 cup green raisins

In a medium saucepan combine juice, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves (since no sugar will be added I will cook 4-5 minutes). Add cranberries and raisins. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cook and stir for several minutes, until cranberries pop. Remove from heat. Transfer to serving bowl, cover, and chill thoroughly before serving.

I will also be making this on Wednesday so it can chill overnight. I remember it was always better the next day once the spices had a chance to do their thing.

Swiss Braid Bread

This is a wonderful recipe that I made for Rooster when he was sick a few weeks ago. I put him on the BBRATY (breast milk, bananas, rice, applesauce, toast, yogurt) diet for a couple days and did not want him to consume any sugar. Good luck finding pre-made bread (for toast) with no sugar! So, after searching the Internet, I found this wonderful list of breads. No sugar, no fake sugar - perfect!

Rooster loved the bread - we all did (I even had some - more than I should!).

I've decided to make this bread again as the base for our Thanksgiving stuffing. I followed the recipe exactly a few weeks ago but I think I will tweak it a bit for next week. The following are the ingredients and the bold will be how I most likely will make it:

3 cups white flour (1 cup white flour, 1 cup oat flour, 1 cup rice flour)
1 tsp salt
3/4 ounce fresh yeast (2 packets yeast)
2 Tbsp lukewarm water
2/3 cup sour cream
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup butter, softened

For the glaze: (nix the glaze)
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp water

I will follow the remainder of the recipe, which you can find via the above link, as to how it's written, minus the glaze. Once warm, I will slice and lay out to dry for a couple hours while preparing the other ingredients for the stuffing.

I will be making this Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving so all we need to do is warm up the stuffing right before we eat dinner on Thursday. It is slowly all coming together, yay!

Thanksgiving

This year we will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner at our home. This is the first of many things for me: hosting, cooking a turkey, and making everything from scratch. Yes, everything.

The menu:

Turkey (free-range from a local farm)
Gravy
Stuffing (I will be making a sweetener-free bread as the base although not grain-free)
Broccoli
Carrots
Brussel Sprouts
Cranberry Relish (will attempt sweetener-free but may have to add some honey)

My mother will be bringing some yams, half bare (the way we like them) and half doctored up the way she and my sister enjoy them.

I may also add a dessert, perhaps a Primal Pumpkin Souffle or a Primal Pie. Or I may just make up a recipe that is sweetener and grain-free.

I will be posting recipes for my menu and will then update this thread with links to them.

This Thanksgiving is a chance to enjoy time with family while trying to eat well. I have an internal debate during these times (like I did for Rooster's first birthday) as to what should be placed on the menu. I have quite fond memories of mashed potatoes, pumpkin pies, apple pies, stuffing, carrot casserole, rolls, etc. from holiday meals while growing up. I want Rooster to have the same but I know what that stuff does to the body. I know I will need to compromise here and there, which will occur on special occasions and I will have to accept it. Food is not meant to be pleasure free (thank goodness for fats!) and we as a family will learn new ways to incorporate primal foods into our daily lives, especially during special occasions.