Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash & Cranberries
Are you a person who cringes when your foods touch? Don't answer that. I don't want to ruin my impression of you because I happen to really like when my foods touch. I like seeing what certain things taste like together because you never know when you'll find a random winning combination. When I was 8 years old I had an epiphany when part of my dinner salad casually slid into my french fry ketchup mound. That day I discovered that ketchup on salad tasted just like 1000 island dressing without the mayo. I spent a good year putting ketchup on my salad while enduring the looks of disgust from my family. Have I lost you?
The other day I decided to eat comfort food in the form of Thanksgiving dinner (for lunch) from Whole Foods. I got home, opened the cardboard to-go box and saw that all of the contents had shifted. Delightful! The Brussels sprouts and roasted butternut squash were saturated with gravy and cranberry sauce and I thought, "We're really onto something here." I decided to give you a recipe that I like to call a happy accident, even though I did it on purpose. I just want your taste buds to thank me for something new and different. In this dish, sweet roasted cubes of butternut squash mix with savory browned Brussels sprouts, bits of apples, onions, smoked curry powder and the surprising tang of cranberries. It's like stuffing but without the bread, a roasted medley that's perfect for all the vegans, vegetarians & gluten-free diners at your Thanksgiving table. You could eat it on a random fall afternoon because you're ridiculously excited about Thanksgiving dinner. It's really up to you.
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Baked Apples with Savory Stuffing
It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without my mom shouting at my brother, "That's NOT FULLY COOKED, you're gonna get sick!" while he's hunched over the refrigerator door, grabbing a spoonful of uncooked stuffing. I can't really blame him for wanting to eat it uncooked; our mom really does make the most incredible sausage & chestnut stuffing.
These baked apples taste just like Thanksgiving except my mom isn't in the background shouting at me for getting into them. The filling of sausage, celery, herbs & onions remind me of her stuffing, but the apples add a nice sweet/tang to round out the flavor. I love how the tops of each apple overflow with crispy golden bread and browned sausage thanks to the teamwork of small dabs of butter and a hot oven. It's like I just faked a Thanksgiving dinner on an average October weeknight. You gotta love that.
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Pineapple Apple Mint Juice
While I was on my juice cleanse I was somewhat hooked on Blue Print's Pineapple Mint Juice. It's what I drank instead of grabbing a mid morning snack and it proved to be a nice little pick-me- up since it was sweet, minty (not in a toothpaste kind of way) and super refreshing. Think: mojito without the booze. During the first day post-cleanse, I found myself getting all twitchy because I needed my Pineapple Mint Juice fix. That's when I turned to my juicer, trusted my taste buds and came up with this little concoction.
This Pineapple Apple Mint juice is now in my juicing rotation because it makes me feel good. It makes my breath smell fantastic, it makes my insides feel clean and gives me a little pep. Sometimes I dilute it with water for a flavored water effect and when the clock hits 5, I add a little vodka in my juice. That's when the real fun begins. Continue reading→
Apple Fennel Melon Juice
I know what you're thinking. You want to say, "That's a whole lot of stuff in a juice and I'm not really sure how I feel about juicing fennel." I understand it sounds weird, but you totally need to get over it. I too was skeptical when I first juiced fennel, but somehow it works! In fact, IT TOTALLY WORKS. It adds depth to a juice and makes it snazzy. Plus the apple and the cantaloupe are sweet enough to mellow it out.
Listen up! I really want you to experience my new favorite juice. Just do it. It's amazing.
Kiwi Grape Apple Juice
Tangy, sweet & oh-so refreshing! This juice is a nice little pick-me-up on this dreary rainy day.
I just want the rain to go away... If you need to find me, I'll be sipping some of this under a heat lamp...wearing summer clothes...somewhere...
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New Favorite Snack ALERT!
Apple Slices + Peanut Butter + Raisins + Granola = YUM
That is all. Carry on.
Cranberry Apple Cake
Inside my head there's a tornado of Holiday TO-DO lists whacking into the side of my skull. Christmas cards, Christmas gifts, Christmas candy, CHRISTMAS ANYTHING. AHH!! MAKE IT STOP. The only thing that calms the storm is the sound of Scoop. Measure. Stir. My measuring spoons hit the bowl, my sink is littered with batter smeared bowls and the cake goes off into the oven. I'm standing in the kitchen licking the remains of batter off my wooden spoon and suddenly I smell the heavy scent of cranberries, apples & cinnamon waft in the air. The tornado disappears and I'm temporarily focused on things that don't stress me out. CAKE! Ahhhhhhh.
I'm in love with this cake! The recipe comes from Ina Garten's new book, Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That?-- a new addition to my cookbook library, thanks to my INA OBSESSED mom. She knows I love a good/easy recipe and thank goodness for that because this book is chalk full of them! The top of this cake is a splendid union of tangy cranberries & juicy apples rocking a cinnamon sugar citrus vibe. Think pineapple upside down cake meets Christmas. A very light spongy cake (that has no baking powder or soda!) is what it sits upon...and at the very bottom of that is a crispy cinnamon sugar crust. Three layers of deliciousness are all waiting for you to meet them. Go ahead, introduce yourself! I suggest you top off a slice with a scoop of vanilla bean gelato. I'm sure it will silence your holiday tornadoes. I can vouch that temporarily silenced mine!
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Kale Apple Ginger Juice
KALE! I want to eat it, roast it, saute it, shove it into my mouth any which way, and now I want to drink it. Ever since Halloween, I've been eating too many sweets---though my recent posts could have told you that. So yesterday I needed GREEN JUICE to balance out my insane sweet tooth. Here's what I made!
I added an apple to the kale to sweeten it up and threw a knob of ginger in there cuz I wanted it spicy. Result? FAB. I always feel like I could move boulders when I drink kale. It's an instant boost.
