BeeZee

After talking to my sister and helping her think about oven logistics, I’ve decided to make sauteed greens with apples (kale or something similar). Can be eaten room temp if reheating on stovetop becomes problematic. She’s making lasagne as another side instead of stuffing 🙁 since her Sicilian husband won’t eat turkey or most of the other traditional items (except the twice baked potatoes). I was also drafted to make gravy, since I can make it ahead by roasting turkey wings.

For the first time, my sister is hosting Thanksgiving at her (tiny) home-but actually this year several family members are going elsewhere, so I think we will all have someplace to sit. She's making bone-in turkey breast, Mom is making twice baked potatoes. I think I'm being tasked with the vegetable side, and like @kayb, am contemplating brussel sprouts. We all like a simple prep where you roast halved sprouts in a mixture of oil, salt, and a lot of pepper (I think a little garlic powder, too) and shredded parm (which works since we don't have mac+cheese) until browned - but it's good without the parm, too. Or I might roast green beans and just toss with some grated lemon zest. I need something I can make ahead and not worry too much about reheating. Sis doesn't have a microwave, so oven space will be at a premium.

Agreed! I used to have a work friend who would bring me food gifts, but he works in a different location now. With everyone fearing dietary minefields, germs, etc., it has become less common. Actually, the last "unexpected" food gifts received at my house were during COVID shut down!

I really love the Chinese tradition of giving food gifts "just because", I know that would brighten my day!

use powdered egg whites for safety?

Vegan brownies, made with avocado. You’d never guess, it just makes them very moist. I had some dark chocolate so I chopped it up and sprinkled over the top before baking.

@weinoo, those Tots...I'm swooning!

Finally got the homemade chicken soup I have been wanting, broth looks a little anemic but it was serviceable, particularly since my sense of taste is dulled at the moment.

@Okanagancook, yes, I roast the squash at 400, usually I cut the slices around 1/2” thick. @ElsieD, it is kind of time consuming, but I throw the mess of seeds and stringy flesh into a bowl of water, separate and pull the seeds, throw them into a mesh strainer, and rinse them again.

@Okanagancook, after cutting the squash in half lengthwise, I scrape the seeds/fibers with a spoon and dump it all in a bowl of water. I separate the seeds from the fiber/pulp and dry them on a cloth. Then I'll toss them in a bowl with a little oil and whatever seasoning I'm feeling (I like sweet/mild curry powder), spread out on a foil-lined baking sheet, and roast at 400 deg F, stirring occasionally, until they start to toast. I've also toasted them in a dry skillet and tossed with seasoning afterwards. For the squash itself, I just cut it into half moons, toss with salt/pepper and a drizzle of maple syrup (not much, I don't want to make it too sweet or have it burn), and put on a foil lined pan to roast, turning after 15 minutes or so, to get both sides browned. Sometimes when serving I'll drizzle with some pomegranate molasses or balsamic glaze.

At Whole Foods yesterday, I spotted Delicata squash (one of my favorites), $1.99/lb for organic. Usually they have a sale on Winter squash at some point, used to be 99 cents/lb, but I suspect I'm not going to see that low of a price this year. I also like roasting up the seeds, they are small and get nicely crunchy.

It is officially Fall, first batch of chili made. Had an avocado (Haas) which was from Peru, rather than Mexico, which is not my preference…it was nicely ripe, but the flesh has a watery quality, unlike the Mexican ones.

Dave's Killer Bread, Good Seed thin-sliced. Lightly toasted (barely toasted - office toaster oven is highly inefficient) with chunky peanut butter. I love seedy bread. First time buying this, I've wrapped a couple of slices and put them into the freezer to see how well it reconstitutes.

Drove to Asheville for a wedding this past weekend, not much sun but we avoided the worst of the hurricane’s leftovers. @Kim Shook had given some good rec’s for our stop in VA, but we crashed in the hotel and didn’t go out. As we arrived in Asheville around lunchtime, we had lunch downtown at Tupelo Honey. I had the grilled pimento cheese/fried green tomato sandwich with crispy salt+pepper brussels, DH had a shrimp po boy with fried potatoes that were sprinkled with rosemary and parm (as you see, he was not waiting to get to those).

Wow, really pretty, wonder if they turn gray/brown when cooked?

Never say never…that looks like something I would make and portion for weekday lunch!

Thanks, since I didn’t want to drag out the Cuisinart, this would have been handy!

Components for Vietnamese bun with shrimp. Next time not cutting carrots by hand, I can’t julienne. And deeper bowls would have been better for eating…but scratched an itch.

If I am truly looking at something to eat that included no prior prep whatsoever, that is ready to eat in mere minutes, it's tuna. So many better quality canned fish products are readily available, I like tuna over Trader Joe's white beans in tomato sauce. Tuna mixed with diced avocado and tomato served with Wasa. Otherwise it's leftover bits 'n bobs I've saved in the fridge or freezer for the express purpose of making some kind of grain bowl. I specifically cook 4 servings for our 2-person household to allow for freezer stock. As far as popcorn, before I had multiple crowns, popcorn sprinkled with parmesan and washed down with V-8 juice was sometimes a meal.

Working my way through my batch of LGD...when yellow summer squash is thin and tender, I make a raw squash salad by using a Y-peeler to make ribbons and then dressing with some kind of vinaigrette for an hour to soften slightly. Last night I mixed my squash ribbons with a couple of spoonfuls of LGD, a bit of salt/EVOO/rice vinegar and quartered cherry tomatoes. Mixed in some crumbled goat cheese before serving. Very tasty!

Perk of my neighborhood, DeLorenzo's Tomato Pies (a Trenton legend for many years, moved to the suburbs when the neighborhood got too dicey). Pie with mushrooms and a white pie with garlic and chopped clams. Super crisp charred crust. You'll notice one of their trademarks, it is cut in irregular shapes instead of the usual slices.

I picked up a 6 pack of organic Altulfo mangoes at Shoprite on Saturday, every one of them was ripe, only one verging on over-ripe. Three were cut up for quick eating, the other three were cut up and frozen for future use. My fridge is full of various fruit at the moment, I couldn't resist buying a lot this week.

Desk lunch...little Persian cukes sliced and tossed with Little Green Dress and tuna.

There are 2 supermarkets close to my house, they are a block apart from each other, Shop Rite and Acme. As @gfweb notes, Acme is pretty terrible...except for some reason, the store near me generally has better produce than Shop Rite, and runs good sales on it. It doesn't matter as much in the winter, but with the summer fruit, I'm finding it worth my while to make a separate trip.

As I was reminded that I haven’t made LGD in a while, and I had 2 jars of olives, I made a quick grocery run for some fresh herbs and a nice, fat, organic lemon. Made a batch and used it to dress some baked cod fillets for dinner. I have some Persian cukes and I think I will made a salad with them, some feta on top sounds good.