It’s just
one week until my very favorite holiday… Thanksgiving! I love that we have an
entire holiday which is all about counting your Blessings and
sharing a meal with the ones you love. No commercialism, no marketing… just
Thankfulness and Togetherness… what’s better than that? We have been preparing for this special day by planning our menu, making shopping
lists, and preparing to do some Thanksgiving Day crafts and projects (come back
in the next few days for more on this!)
Speaking of
the Menu… as vegetarians, we get a lot of people asking us, “But what about
Thanksgiving?! What do you eat for Thanksgiving if you don't eat turkey!?" Well, I'll tell you, we eat LOTS of things! I will say one thing we've never had is Tofurkey (though I'm not knocking this quintessential Vegetarian Thanksgiving staple... I know it's a favorite of many!) When we plan our
Thanksgiving menu, we think “harvest” foods, things that reflect the warm
flavors of Autumn, with a nod toward a few “traditional” foods that may have
been served at the first Thanksgiving (though usually with a modern “twist”) Squashes and other autumn veggies, bountiful grains, warm spices... that sort of thing. In
the weeks leading up to the Big Day, everyone in the family puts in requests
for special dishes they would like to have for our Thanksgiving feast, and we
plan our menu together.
This year’s menu will be:
Appetizers
Cheese Tray: cranberry goat cheese, cheddar, grapes, assorted crackers
Polenta with sage butter
Dinner
Lentil Loaf with vegetarian gravy (a family favorite!)
Mashed potatoes
Spiced butternut squash
Green beans almondine
Maple carrots
Garlic kale
Corn
Apple-raisin stuffing
Whole grain crusty rolls
Cranberry sauce
Dessert
Pumpkin Pie with fresh whipped cream
Spice cookies
Mulled Cider
Though all of us here at The Homestead are very much looking forward to gathering around the dinner table, we're also really excited to just have some uninterrupted time to spend together... we'll have all five kids at home at the same time! The Man of the House is planning on starting up a family football game, and I'm hoping for a nice walk together after dinner. We all have so much to be Thankful for.
I'd love to hear your recipe for polenta with sage butter!
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to share! You can make it with homemade polenta, but if you use prepared polenta (Trader Joe's makes a good one!)you can have a fancy appetizer that you can throw together in 15 minutes! Just slice up the polenta into rounds, and fry them in a bit of olive oil until they are golden on both sides.Transfer to a plate. Next, melt 1/2 stick of butter in a small skillet until it gets bubbly and starts to brown. Toss in a small handful of chopped sage, and stir for a minute or two. Add a pinch of salt. To serve, spoon the browned butter and sage over the polenta slices, and top with a sprinkle of asiago or romano cheese.
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