Thanksgiving

Orange Cranberry Relish

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment

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STOP! Whatever you do, please do NOT serve that pathetic jellied stuff that comes in cans this Thanksgiving. It is so simple to make your own cranberry relish and my recipe keeps beautifully in the fridge and will be a wonderful accompaniment to any poultry or pork dish or will serve as a chutney with Indian food. We like it so much that I always make double the recipe to ensure that I have plenty of left-overs. My 92 year-old mother eats it right out of the jar like a dessert. However you decide to use it, do yourself and your friends and family a favor and make it this year. You’ll be so glad that you did. I promise that I will add beautiful photos starting next week, but I want to get these recipes out there.

Lisa’s Orange Cranberry Relish

Yield: About 6 cups

Ingredients

12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries

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1 cup tap water

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup orange juice

1 medium navel orange, 1/2-inch dice WITH the peel  img_2466

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

2 Tablespoons Grand Marnier, Cointreau, Mandarin Napoleon OR Triple Sec

Directions

  1. Dissolve sugar in the water in a 3 quart saucepan. Bring to a boil. All of the other ingredients except for the walnuts and Grand Marnier img_2470
  2. Bring back to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for approximately 10 minutes. The cranberries will be popping (and yes, they may spatter some.)
  3. Once the cranberries have mostly popped open, turn off the heat and add your walnuts and Grand Marnier.  Allow to cool down uncovered.
  4. Put in glass jar(s) and refrigerate. This will last for months if you can manage not to eat it all.

NOTE: This recipe easily doubles or triples. The relish will thicken as it chills. Serve at room temperature for full flavor. I buy fresh cranberries when they are on sale and freeze them for when I need them.

Corn Muffins – Vegan

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 2 Comments

corn muffinsAgain, in preparation for Thanksgiving (but good all year) I am posting recipes that I know work out well, but for which I do not currently have photos. This is another great vegan recipe – and who doesn’t love corn muffins? These are moist and full of that corn flavor you look for in a good corn muffin. And while they are wonderful for Thanksgiving, they also go great with my Vegetable Chili. Look for photos around Thanksgiving.

Lisa’s Eggless Corn Muffins

Yield: About 2 Dozen

Ingredients 

3 cups cornmeal, preferably stone ground

3 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour

3 tablespoons baking powder

6 tablespoons sugar

½ Tablespoon salt

¾ cup unsweetened applesauce

3 cups milk (can substitute soy milk)

9 Tablespoons Earth Balance Buttery Vegan Sticks, melted

1 can (15.2 oz.) corn kernels, drained or 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400◦F
  2. Spray standard-size non-stick muffin tins with Pam or line with paper cups
  3. Mix together all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
  4. Combine the milk, applesauce and melted butter until everything is smooth.
  5. Add wet ingredients to dry, mixing just until blended. DO NOT OVER-MIX
  6. Spoon into muffin tins, filling each cup completely.
  7. Bake for 18 minutes or until just golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  8. Immediately turn out of the pans and enjoy.

NOTE: These can be frozen and reheated in the microwave or oven.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup – Perfect for Thanksgiving

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 2 Comments

Maybe you aren’t all as compulsive as I am and you don’t plan your Thanksgiving dinner weeks in advance. Actually, I don’t think I do it out of obsessiveness so much as I just find it incredibly fun to think about what I will be making and then putting together the best recipes I can. This soup is wonderful any time, but I like to keep it for Thanksgiving. I do that with certain recipes, whether it is for the Jewish holidays or secular holidays. This soup not only tastes wonderful but it is such a pretty color. I serve it in my Staub pumpkin soup bowls and it is always a hit. Now because I won’t be making this until a couple of days BEFORE Thanksgiving I won’t have any photos to add until then. But since I hope that some of you may want to make this for the holiday, I am including it without the photos for now. You will just have to trust me that this beautiful and delicious soup is worth making.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Yield: Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 medium sized butternut squash, peeled and cut into about ½ inch pieces (about 3 cups)

1 large onion, chopped

3 medium cloves garlic, chopped

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon curry powder (I used a mix of hot curry powder and mild ratio 1:2)

2.75 cups + 1 TBS chicken or vegetable broth (vegan)

6 oz. canned coconut milk (Do not use Light Coconut Milk)

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

salt & white pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Peel squash and cut into pieces.
  2. Heat 1 Tablespoon broth in medium soup pot. Healthy Sauté onion in broth over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until translucent. Add garlic, ginger, and continue to sauté for another minute. Add turmeric, curry powder, and mix well. Add squash and broth, and mix. Bring to a boil on high heat. Once it comes to a boil reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered until squash is tender, about 10 minutes.
  3. Using an immersion blender, blend with coconut milk. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Thin with a little broth if needed. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Reheat, and add cilantro.

NOTE: I tripled the recipe for Thanksgiving and the only thing I changed was that I used two 13.5 oz. cans of coconut milk for the pot.