Holiday baking dominated this month, though I found one new recipe to work into the repeats we found ourselves eating. I really love Thanksgiving, not actually because of the holiday itself or anything it specifically represents, but because I really love cooking an absolute ton of food and watching people enjoy eating it. I found my local Safeway selling frozen turkeys for 59c per pound and picked up the biggest bird I could find (24 lbs!) for a little over $14. There was plenty to go around our table of 10 people!
New Recipes
Tigua Degué – For some reason, I don’t typically find that I have a bunch of exposure to different African recipes. Whenever I find one that seems feasible, I usually jump at giving it a try, especially when it’s peanut-based – my husband is a huge peanut butter fan. Tigua degué is a peanut-based stew from Mali and was a great dish for consuming a lot of vegetables.
Cranberry Bliss Bars – I’m very, very lactose-intolerant. Starbucks’ cranberry bliss bars are some of my favorite holiday desserts, but I haven’t eaten more than a bite of one in almost twenty years. I decided to make them before Thanksgiving this month, and wow! Incredible recipe, very close to the actual thing. I’ve been slowly eating this giant sheet of bliss bars for almost two weeks. Heavenly.
Revisited Recipes
Chicken gyros – This recipe is a family favorite, frequently requested by my kids. Part of the appeal is the ability to customize the sandwich. I always offer cucumbers, tomatoes, pickled onions, kalamata olives, hummus, tahini, and Follow Your Heart vegan feta, then everyone assembles with their preferred toppings.
New Orleans gumbo – We like to have at least one recipe per week that makes a lot of leftovers, and this one always delivers. I use a chicken andouille sausage to reduce the amount of fat in the recipe, since the roux always starts with half a cup of oil, and I use a container of mirepoix from Trader Joe’s instead of “the holy trinity” of bell peppers, onions, and celery.
Korean BBQ Burgers – I have made this recipe over and over, but this time, they turned out weird! I switched from the easy squeeze bottle of ginger to actually using raw ginger and the meat texture was oddly mushy, and didn’t really bind together as well. Next time, I’ll use the squeeze ginger again, because it’s otherwise a fun fusion option on an easy burger.
Violet Sky 
Leave a comment