My goal every year is to get creative with my Thanksgiving side dishes. I love traditions and classics, but if we never introduce anything new, we’ll never create any new traditions or classics. At least that is the way I look at it.
So at least one new thing is always my goal.
I have a quick one for you this time around. I threw these easy sauteed greens together just a few weeks ago and it has been my go-to side ever since. I’ve been eating it with veggie burgers at dinner and with eggs for breakfast.
It’s a super simple combination of leafy greens with a few toppers to enhance the flavors and make them more delicious.
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You know how they tell you when you buy a fruit tree that it will take two years or so before it bears good fruit?
How about six? Yep, that’s how long it took our Kadota fig tree.
I’m happy to say that Fake Food Free has transitioned to the Substack Newsletter called Every Corner of the World.
I hope to see you there.
I bought it at Oakland Old Town farmers market. (Man, I miss that market.) Back at our rental house, it stayed in a pot. It went from leaves to no leaves to thinking it was dead to growing new leaves again over three years.
Then we bought our current house in the Central Valley and we finally got it into the ground. It took off. Branches, leaves, the whole bit.
But no fruit. Nothing. For three more years!
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Brussel sprouts season is upon us! Every time I think I’ve made roasted Brussels sprouts in every way possible, another idea strikes.
This recipe is super simple and it’s one you will love if you are a tahini fan. If you are unfamiliar with tahini, it is a paste the consistency of natural peanut butter that is made from sesame seeds. A standard ingredient in hummus, it can be worked into everything from snack bars to soups and salad dressings.
Or as it turns out, roasted Brussels sprouts.
This simple vegetarian side dish combines cauliflower and mushrooms with cilantro and lime! It’s also hearty enough to make it your meal.
Ugh. No riced cauliflower?!
That thought ran through my head at the supermarket this week. It’s pretty ridiculous if you think about it. Since riced cauliflower didn’t even exist even a few short years ago.
Between the time that it became popular and it became available in bags, I’d buy a whole head and send it through the food processor. Which is always a mess to clean up. Which is why I now buy it in bags.
But our supermarket can be hit or miss with it. So it was back to buying the whole head this time.
And I decided to chop it by hand instead of dirtying the food processor. Which is equally as messy, by the way.
I’ve been needing some new go-to vegetable side dishes, though. Something that could pass as a main course if I didn’t feel like making anything else to go with it.
These grilled baby yellow squash are topped with a savory crumble made of rich butter, smoked almonds, and fresh, local garlic!
I’m happy to say that Fake Food Free has transitioned to the Substack Newsletter called Every Corner of the World.
I hope to see you there.
I have a special produce shopping skill. I can spot baby vegetables on a table from the other side of the farmers market.
When this happens I briskly walk straight up to the table and buy every one they have. I’ve done it with eggplant. And this time, it’s baby squash.
I’ll admit I do sometimes feel guilty about not leaving any for others. The guilt snuck up on me again this shopping trip so I left about 4 on the table. In the end I didn’t succeed, though.
This spring pea salad uses farm fresh peas and combines them with green onions and crunchy walnuts. It’s dressed in a yogurt-based sauce that is seasoned with za’atar, a Middle Eastern herb and spice blend.
Pea salad. We’ve had a love-hate relationship for as long as I can remember.
It has a bit to do with the pea salad I grew up with – canned or frozen peas and a mayo-based dressing. My family loved the stuff at get-togethers, but I always skipped over it in favor of macaroni or potato salad.
But spring pea salad? This I can get behind. It sounds the same, but there is a key difference.
Fresh peas.
I feel like Thanksgiving gets much more attention when it comes to a holiday meal.
Everyone is concerned about side dishes and how they should prepare the turkey, or should this be the year they don’t prepare a turkey at all.
Christmas and New Year’s dinner rarely seem to be discussed. Is this because traditions are already set and rarely change? Pasta, Seven Fishes, ham, and tamales come to mind. Or is it that these holidays are all about the cookies and cocktails?
Well, amidst all the baking this year, I decided to throw in a side dish. And if you are more in line with desserts this time of year, despite this being a vegetable, it could very well fall into that category.
A few years ago, I posted about a really great pumpkin dish I had when we were living in southern Brazil. Pumpkin is used there year round, and not solely associated with fall and the holidays as it is in the U.S. So I’d often find it on the lunch buffets, a popular business dining option during the week.
So this dish I speak of combined roasted pumpkin and Gorgonzola cheese. It was the best combination with the sweet pumpkin and pungent cheese.
I made it the same way that I could guess it was made there, but ever since that encounter I’ve envisioned a more exciting and luxurious version. Perhaps one with a different winter squash, fit for the holiday table.
I finally got around to acting on those visions this year.
I don’t consider myself a tea person.
I drink tea. Especially the fun spiced flavors and holiday blends, but coffee holds a special place in my heart (and my central nervous system).
Despite my beverage choices, I am completely infatuated with the culture of tea. How it’s grown, traditions of consuming it, and varieties around the world. The interest is so strong that I find myself wishing I was a true tea person.
If you are a tea person, you should know there is a special aura about you. A relaxing, take it slow kind of aura. It’s the opposite of my give-me-all-the-coffee-so-I-can-do-all-the-things lifestyle. I’m envious of it.
But guess what? I’ve recently discovered that I don’t have to be a tea drinker to be a tea person. There are other ways, and I owe it to my friend Annelies for showing them to me.
I’m talking about cooking with it.
