Hi friends!
These days, it can require quite a lot of awareness and intention to eat fresh foods that were grown near us. But not so when it comes to holidays! Somehow seasonal foods still play a giant role for almost all of us as we gather with family and friends. Corn on the cob and big watermelon slices are at the center of our Fourth of July celebrations, for example – and those foods really do grow in July in much of the United States.
Thanksgiving is the most delicious example of this, of course. Here are loads of ideas for your table this Thursday (and in the days after). Wherever you are and whomever you’re sitting with, we wish you all full bellies and warm hearts.
Arugula
Arugula Fig Salad with Blue Cheese and Warm Bacon Vinaigrette at White on Rice Couple
Arugula also plays a supporting role in many of the other recipes linked here!
Broccoli
Broccoli Apple Soup at Food52
Spicy Roasted Broccoli with Almonds at My New Roots :: Try this with other flavors too, if you don’t like spicy foods – lemon juice, lemon zest, and lots of garlic, for example.
Broccoli Crunch at 101 Cookbooks
Cabbage
Raw Kale, Cabbage, and Carrot Chopped Salad with Maple Sesame Vinaigrette at Gourmande in the Kitchen :: We made this last week and it really is delicious. It’s quite substantial but not heavy, and so would balance nicely with the typically rich dishes on the Thanksgiving table. Our only suggestion is to maybe double the vinaigrette recipe and add it to taste.
Braised Cabbage with Apples and Caraway Seeds at Orangette :: Hands down one of our favorite Thanksgiving sides. Works with red or green cabbage.
Roasted Cabbage with Bacon at The Kitchn
Carrots
Carrot Souffle at Simply Recipes
Crisp, Chewy Parmesan-Roasted Carrots by Francis Lam at Gilt Taste
Greens
Herbed Cream Collards at VegNews :: Vegan!
Beer Braised Collard Greens at Budget Bytes
Sauteed Red Russian Kale with Apples and Butter at Frog Bottom Farm :: Easy peasy and deeeelicious!
Barley and Kale Salad with Golden Beets and Feta at Bon Appétit
Leeks
Honey-Glazed Leeks at Food.com
Leeks with Cream and Tarragon at Orangette
Lettuce (and other light salad-y things)
7 Salads to Lighten Up Your Thanksgiving Feast at Food52 :: Includes salads with lettuce, kale, arugula, celery, Brussels sprouts, and fennel.
5 Favorite Fall Salads at Food Network
Sauteed Dates with Ricotta and Lettuce at Sweet Amandine :: I’ve wanted to try this for close to a year!
Potatoes
Southern Living’s Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes at My Recipes
Crash Hot Potatoes at The Pioneer Woman :: These are crazy good.
Simple Fondant Potatoes at The New York Times
Sweet Potatoes
Brown Butter-Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Arugula and Bacon at Food52
Sweet Potato Rolls at The Washington Post :: We’ve made these the last 4 or 5 Thanksgivings. Delicious.
Herbed Sweet Potato Drop Biscuits with Honey Butter at A Sweet Spoonful
Sweet Potato Pie at The Washington Post
Turnips
Mashed Turnips and Apples at Getting Stitched on the Farm
Turnip Puff at Kitchen Parade
Honey-Thyme Roasted Turnips, Carrots, and Mushrooms at Foodie Tots
Winter Squash
Remember, most winter squash – butternut, kabocha, hubbard — can be used interchangeably in these recipes.
Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette at Smitten Kitchen
Roasted Butternut Squash with Kale and Almond Pecan Parmesan at Oh She Glows :: Vegan!
Butternut Squash Soup with Pear, Cider, and Vanilla Bean at Seattlest :: I made this soup the first year I ever hosted Thanksgiving. Really fantastic.
Butternut Squash Soup with Maple Candied Bacon at Suburban Sous
Slow Cooker Winter Squash Soup with Curry and Coconut Milk at Frog Bottom Farm
From Scratch Pumpkin Pie at Grist :: Use any winter squash for this!
General
Five Thanksgiving Menus from the Food52 Community at Food52
Real Food Thanksgiving Recipes at Cheeseslave
Veganizing Thanksgiving at Food52 :: Everything looks delicious. Don’t miss the recipe for Butternut Squash, Brussels Sprout, and Bread Stuffing with Apples!
Vegan Holiday Recipes + Tips for Navigating the Holidays as a Vegan at Oh She Glows
Well’s Vegetarian Thanksgiving 2012 at The New York Times :: Thanks to CSA member Gabriella for this one! Dozens of amazing-looking recipes, and links to similar feasts in 2011 and 2010 as well. Gabriella especially recommends the squash and spinach lasagna, which she made with a Frog Bottom kabocha.
Clara’s First Thanksgiving at Food52 :: Good ideas for including new eaters in the celebration.
A month of Thanksgiving videos at Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef :: Gorgeous videos, joyful encouragement, and loads of recipes for all kinds of eaters – including dinner rolls, cornbread, stuffing, and gravy, in addition to some fantastic-looking vegetable dishes. (Also – have you seen their Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Baking iPad App? VERY cool. And word has it there’s a holiday baking app coming soon.)
Top 10 Side Dishes at Dinner: A Love Story
Leftovers
Turkey Cranberry Monte Cristo at Paula Deen
Leftover Turkey Pho at Healthy Green Kitchen :: In case you wondered what’s happening here at the farm on Friday – this is it. We’ll use leeks in the place of the green onions and our Hakurei turnips in place of the daikon.
A Radical Rethinking of Thanksgiving Leftovers by Mark Bittman at The New York Times
One Turkey, Four Meals at Simple Bites
Reveal the Appeal of Potato Peels by Sheri Castle at Gilt Taste :: We actually got to meet Sheri last week at a cooking class. She is as fun as she is wise in the kitchen, and we can’t wait to share some more of her inspired cooking ideas with you in coming weeks. In the meantime, head on over to Gilt Taste and use up those potato peels!
Thanksgiving Thrift: The Holiday as a Model for Sustainable Cooking by Tamar Adler at The New York Times :: We get it right on Thanksgiving, Adler says. What about the rest of the year? “As we try to juggle food choices, tight budgets and busy schedules — and the constant question of what to make for dinner — we could do nothing smarter than approach all our meals as we do Thanksgiving: expecting each and every thing we cook to feed us well tomorrow and the day after, envisioning an efficient unraveling of future meals from previous ones, always having something to start with.”
Happy Thanksgiving, y’all. Eat well. Be merry. Give thanks.
Thanksgiving
Tim Nolan
Thanks for the Italian chestnuts—with their
tough shells—the smooth chocolaty
skin of them—thanks for the boiling water—
itself a miracle and a mystery—
thanks for the seasoned sauce pan
and the old wooden spoon—and all
the neglected instruments in the drawer—
the garlic crusher—the bent paring knife—
the apple slicer that creates six
perfect wedges out of the crisp Haralson—
thanks for the humming radio—thanks
for the program on the radio
about the guy who was a cross-dresser—
but his wife forgave him—and he
ended up almost dying from leukemia—
(and you could tell his wife loved him
entirely—it was in her deliberate voice)—
thanks for the brined turkey—
the size of a big baby—thanks—
for the departed head of the turkey—
the present neck—the giblets
(whatever they are)—wrapped up as
small gifts inside the cavern of the ribs—
thanks—thanks—thanks—for the candles
lit on the table—the dried twigs—
the autumn leaves in the blue Chinese vase—
thanks—for the faces—our faces—in this low light.
Our Weekly Recipe Roundup is a quick weekly list of recipes featuring produce we’re growing right now. We hope it helps! We’d love to know what’s happening in your kitchens this week too.
