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December 2, 2009

Belated Thanksgiving Post
















This exact time last week I was busy roasting and pureeing butternut squash, baking maple glazed pecans, and "carving" tofu turkeys to try to get ahead of the game on the dishes I was bringing to Thanksgiving dinner the next day.

This is my first Thanksgiving since I joined the food blogging community, and I found myself overwhelmed with inspiration. While I usually bring one dish to my family dinner, I brought three this year (four if you count the gravy). There was so much more that I wanted to make, it made me wish that I was hosting the meal myself.



















My favorite (and obviously cutest!) was the Cider Marinated Tofu Turkeys and Cider Gravy, created by Hannah over at BitterSweet. I was particularly excited about bringing these alternative birds for more than just the obvious reasons. This was the first Thanksgiving as vegetarians for my aunt and her husband, and what a great way to celebrate their decision to not partake in the turkey! These were so tasty, that even my turkey-loving father was impressed. (Oh, and these turkeys are not actually carved, it's a cookie cutter).





I had my eye on this butternut squash lasagna for months now, but it isn't a practical dish to make for just a couple of people.  I knew Thanksgiving would be the perfect excuse to make this. Loads of roasted butternut squash puree smeared between layers of noodles, freshly shredded mozzarella and a creamy basil sauce. So delicious!

















Lastly, I made this Brussels Sprout Slaw with Mustard Dressing and Maple Glazed Pecans. The word slaw has negative connotations to many, because it is usually associated with mayonnaise drenched cabbage. Well, there is no mayonnaise in this recipe. Who would have thought that brussels sprouts based salads would be so amazing? Well, I'm not the only one doing it, so don't just take my word for it!

Well Thanksgiving is over and hopefully you got lots of rest, because I don't need to remind you of what is right around the corner!


















I got the tree up on Sunday, and the kitties took an immediate liking to it. They arranged themselves this way beneath the tree on their own and sat there for ages while I clicked away with the camera!























I am submitting this photo of Arnold and Evie under the tree to this month's No Croutons Required event, hosted by Jacqueline. This month they are taking a break from the normal soup and salad challenge and inviting bloggers to submit festive photos instead. What? An excuse to make people look at pictures of my kitties? Sign me up!

15 comments:

  1. Wow, great job with the food!!

    I just loveeee that picture of the kitties under the tree! Neat-o! :)

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  2. Oh Wow! Your Thanksgiving meal looks so amazing! I'm very impressed with all these yummy-looking dishes you cooked especially your tofu turkeys, they look as adorable as the original one. I love the idea of using cookie cutter too. Way to go, Sarah!

    Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

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  3. Great post. I love the idea of using a turkey cookie cutter. Thanks for sharing that idea.

    But ... my favorite part of this post is the kitties and Christmas decorating. My felines have been supervising my Christmas decorating as well. I love good cat pics.

    Alicia

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  4. inspiring! You've been busy! Love the kitty pics as well.

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  5. That lasagne sounds great! And boy, do I like that photo. I haven't checked my NCR emails yet, so I didn't know you had submitted it and was just thinking, that would be a great entry! I am having a sad kitty free Christmas this year, there are no little furry creatures anymore to go mad in the wrapping paper.

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  6. A beautiful array of recipes. It would be lovely to have a fully vegetarian Tgiving. Sigh.

    Your kits are adorable. They each know how to get on Santa's good side. : D

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  7. Love the tofu turkeys, what a cute idea!

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  8. Your turkeys look fantastic! This post really put a smile on my face, I'm so happy that you and your family all enjoyed my recipe. :)

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  9. Those turkeys are the cutest!!!!!! What a great idea. I actually have a turkey cookie cutter. I should try that next year.

    My cats always climb my Xmas tree and knock it over, inevitably breaking a few ornaments every time. Sigh.

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  10. I looked once, I looked twice and I looked again, those tofu turkeys are truly innovative. How clever to use your cookie cutters. They do look extra special for a special day. I am going to follow the link for the recipe as I have a couple of tofu cakes sitting in the fridge.

    By the way that's a great entry for NCR. Christmas and cute!

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  11. The tofu turkeys are so cute, and the cider gravy sounds delicious!

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  12. Your Thanksgiving meal sounds lovely! That slaw sounds delicious! It sounds so much better than a boring old mayo based one.

    The kittie pictures are cute! We put up our tree last weekend and my cat has been having fun knocking down the ornaments.

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  13. Everything you made for Thanksgiving was so delicious. Uncle Jesse and I never missed the turkey and this was a great celebration of becoming "officially" vegetarian. Having a vegetarian table (instead of a kids table) was awesome - we should do it every year.
    Aunt Lynne

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  14. those turkeys are gorgeous and I just love your kitten pictures - wish my puss cat would pose for photos - was sorry not to see this earlier but my blog reader seems to be taking holidays from some blogs - glad you had a great thanksgiving dinner and hope you enjoy your christmas

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  15. Love the kitties under the tree and had a chuckle at the turkey cut-outs. All the food looked super yummy! Happy New Year!

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