our "thanks"-giving tree

when it comes to holidays i am all about tradition tradition tradition.
but.....
i also like to throw in something new every year.
be it a craft. a food. an act. i like to mix it up.
some catch on and become new traditions. some were nice to do once.
i think we have found a new tradition.

this year we made a thanks-giving tree.
it all started with a walk to make a centerpiece.
we had gathered tons of gorgeous leaves and my mom found an amazing branch.
the plan was to glue the leaves to the branch.
in the end...no thanks.
but it did get me to thinking.

what is the most common tradition for thanksgiving?
going around the table and giving thanks.
when it's your turn you say your thanks, the words hang there in the air for a moment before tumbling to the ground to make way for your neighbour's words.
hhmmm....not good enough for me.

i want to SEE those words.
i want to READ those words.
i want to REFLECT on those words.
i want to HOLD on to those words.
and not just mine. i want to do all that with my kids words. my husbands. my moms. my friends.
now we have the thanksgiving tree.

here is a place where you can write down your thanks on a leaf and hang it on the tree. this can be done the day of thanksgiving. this can be done for the week leading up to thanksgiving. and this can be left up for a little bit so you can cherish those thanks. love those thanks. give thanks for those words.

 

pretty special if you ask me.

what you will need:
a sturdy branch.
a hefty vase.
fall coloured contrustion paper.
a hole punch.
twine.
willing participants.

pretty simple really: find your branch. secure your branch. cut out leaf shapes large enough for words - i cut out generic leaf and my version of oak leaves...i love the shape of oak leaves. punch a hole through the top of the leaves. cut some twine that when tied together will give your leaves a good hang. attach twine to leaves. gather all your willing participants. give thanks. hang your leaves. done.

now stand back and admire.

:)

at last...dessert. {pumpkin cheesecake & pumpkin pie}

so here we are.
where is that you asked? we are at the best part of the meal. at the part, where even if your pants are feeling a little tight, you are still looking forward to that sweet treat. that hit of pumpkin and cinnamon that is synonymous with thanksgiving. the dessert that screams fall. the thing that caps off the night so well that you welcome those heavy eyelids and fall to sleep with a smile.

for us, that dessert is usually pumpkin cheesecake OR pumpkin pie. {sometimes there is both...you just never know what people are in the mood for!}. i have made many a pie & cake over the years and have come to settle on a few recipes that i think...take the cake? {too much??}

12 years ago i had my own little apartment in downtown vancouver - well kitsilano to be exact - a hop skip and jump from the beach. finally i had felt like a grown up. no more commuting from the north shore. no more feeling like i had someone to answer too {although i really didn't}. i was independent.
it was because of this that i decided to hold a proper grown up dinner party.
to host my own thanksgiving.

{i was so excited.}

i invited 10 people from different parts of my life - some knew each other, some became fast new friends.
the obstacle - my apartment was small. and it was lots of rooms - how i like it. not very conducive to hosting a dinner party but it did have a great feature - the walls between the bedroom and living room opened. so here is where i decided to rent a table and chairs + dinnerware & stemware - i wasn't messing around - i pushed my bed up against the back wall, set up the table and chairs in my bedroom and opened the wall up between my bedroom and living room and really you had no idea you were dining in my room! i brought in pumpkins and corn stalks, waxed leaves for decor, lots of candles and set the mood.
i felt like bridget jones fixing her own birthday dinner for all her friends. the catch: mine actually turned out! i roasted a salmon, made chevre mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, stuffing {of course} and brussel sprouts. but the two things i was most excited about were my desserts. i should have known then where my life path was to take me, i was just too stubborn.
it was at this meal that i was introduced to my ability to make desserts.
i made 2 pumpkin pies and a pumpkin cheesecake.

i never knew that desserts could taste like this. okay check that...i never knew that dessert I MADE could taste like that. they were wonderful and thus commencing my role as pumpkin dessert maker from that day on. and i was proud of it.

pumpkin cheesecake
crust:
2/3 cup of butter
3 tablesspoons of sugar
a pinch of kosher salt
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

filling:
3 8oz packages of cream cheese, softened
1 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of flour
4 large eggs
2 cups pumpkin puree {homemade or canned}
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
3/4 tsp of nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of all-spice
1 1/2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract

preheat oven to 325F.
crust: combined all the ingredients together. press into the bottom {and up sides - optional} of a 9 inch springform pan. bake the crust, on a rimmed sheet, for about 10 minutes. remove from oven and set aside. leave oven on.

filling:
in a large mixing bowl, beat creamcheese and sugar together until light and fluffy. beat in flour and add eggs one at a time while neating. stir in pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, all-spice and vanilla. pour over crust.

bake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, until the center is raised and set. turn off oven, open the door slightly and let cool in oven for about 2 hours. this prevents cracking on top. if you can't do this step ie: there are kids running around - remove from oven, put on a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate {still in the pan! do not remove the side portion of your pan!} for at least 6 hours or overnight. if you do end up getting a crack down the middle put a big dollop of the vanilla whip cream you are whipping up to serve with it anyways!

pumpkin pie
for the crust i use my sweet classic pie dough.

one batch of pie dough.
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree {homemade or canned}
3 large eggs {lightly beaten}
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk

1 tbsp heavy cream
one extra egg

turn on your oven to 425F.
roll out your pie dough, place it in your pie plate & decoratively pinch edges. freeze crust for 30 minutes.

meanwhile mix together the sugar, cornstarch, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, pumpkin, eggs and milk.

in a small bowl beat together the egg and heavy cream. when 30 minutes is up get your pie shell and glaze your edges with your egg mix. add pumpkin mix.

bake for 10 minutes then reduce he heat to 350 an bake for 60 minutes more {check it at the 50 minute mark - if the center is still wobbly leave it in for 5 minute increments. turn off oven and open door and allow to cool in the oven to prevent cracking. if you can't do this step ie: there are kids running around - remove from oven, put on a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. if you do end up getting a crack down the middle put a big dollop of the vanilla whip cream you are whipping up to serve with it anyways!

the easy element. {cranberry sauce}.

on our quest to get that thanksgiving dinner on the table there is one serious subject that needs to be addressed.
cranberry sauce.
from. a. can.

now i have heard from so many people this line "oh i love the cranberry from a can...reminds me so much of growing up."
" blah blah blah blah blah..." {that is actually what i hear.}

actually what i hear is - i'm lazy.
c'mon - aren't we all trying to move from processed and into real? isn't that what 2012 is all about?

in our family, we have been enjoying this for as long as i can remember and it's been my responsibility to make since i have been 12 years old. {there was one year my sister got a hold of it - i couldn't be there in time - it was a horror of orange zest and cranberries and i would rather not talk about it. i still don't quite understand what happened. no one will give me the whole story. those poor cranberries....} and i couldn't imagine ever going back to that sweet sweet can when i know that this is out there.

do you realize how EASY it is to make a beautiful homemade cranberry sauce that will make the turkey, that you painfully woke up at 5am to get into the oven {can i have another shout out for the ham people!! no 5am - woop woop!!}, actually take notice and thank you for taking the 12 minutes to provide such a wonderful condiment? to value him that you would take the time to make something so simple and outstanding? and one that will actually get ooohs and aahhs at the dinner table and in the end isn't it the validation we are after? it's okay - this is a safe space - you can admit it. i am here for you.

picture this: thanksgiving morning. you are awake before everyone, getting things organized and lined up for your day of cooking - the day to assemble all your loved ones together to give thanks for the year you have had. as you pour that cup of coffee, hot chocolate, tea, juice or whatever you are sipping in the morning to help you wake and reflect, you also pour out 1/2 a cup of orange juice with 1/2 cup of liquid honey into a small/medium saucepan and set on a burner on medium. as you stand and sip, you also stir this mix as it get's hot and the honey melts down into the liquid. as you pop a couple of pieces of toast into the toaster - realizing this may be the last thing you eat today because as everyone else will be snacking on cheese, sausage, pickles, crackers and quite possibly the award-winning antipasto you put up last fall, you will be in the kitchen cooking and secretly chugging the wine that's there "for the gravy" - you will also dump two cups of whole cranberries into your hot juice mix on the stove. give this a stir and bring to a boil while you slather the natural peanut butter that you processed last week - after reading about the horrors of kraft peanut butter - with some of the honey from your backyard hives. while you savour your breakfast and the last moments of quiet before everyone wakes up and the whirlwind of life breaks free, keep an eye on your berries as they pop and turn the heat to low when it comes to a boil. set your timer for 10 minutes and frequently give them a stir. when your timer goes off, turn off the heat and move the berries over and stir them for about one minute while you sigh and brace yourself for the day ahead. set aside and for the next hour give them a stir to help cool them down. once cool transfer to a bowl or container and place in the fridge till ready to use. place them in an unusual but majestic container and celebrate their excellence. now that wasn't so hard was it?

didn't think so.

preparing the feast. {rosemary roasted potatoes}

for about two months now cooper has been asking me to make a feast.
an all-out-no-holds-barred all-the-trimmings feast. every time he sees one on tv he calls me in, points and says "that. i want you to make that."
in july i said no.
in august i said no. it was still too hot! no way was i having the oven on all day.
now it's september and since canadian thanksgiving is coming up in a week {yikes!!} the airwaves have been loaded with commercials to get us in the spirit and my reasons for no are wearing thin.

so...we are making a feast!!

so for the next week, in honour of thanksgiving coming up, i am going to run through our families favorite recipes and share them with you so in turn you will be inspired to create your own feast and maybe some of our favorites with wander onto your table. what a compliment that would be.

a side note: i will not be making a turkey - we make ham around here and usually a spiral ham. just thought i would be up front about this with all of you, to spare you the disappointment of waiting for that post to come. the reason: i can't eat it. my body does not like it - i say that i am allergic to it because then i don't get stares like i am trying to be difficult - if i ate it you would see me for about 5 hours. i would be in the "office." because of this everyone is deprived.
too personal?

first up: potatoes. rosemary roasted potatoes to be exact.

rosemary roasted potatoes.
i love roasted vegetables. love them. but i always seem to botch the onions. then i thought of something genius - add the onions half way through the cooking time! glad i though of that.

extra virgin olive oil
yukon gold potatoes
fresh rosemary
onions {anything but red}
kosher salt
cracked black pepper

pre-heat your oven to 400F degrees.

drizzle some oil in a 9x13 glass casserole dish or a half sheet pan. wash your potatoes & chop them up till they are about 1 to 2 inches big {bite size or just bigger}. add to your casserole dish. chop up your rosemary - i like to use a fair amount, use your judgement - and toss on top of the potatoes. drizzle olive oil over the potatoes and sprinkle salt and cracked pepper. toss together with your clean hands. put in oven.

cut your onion in half then slice in four. toss in a bowl with a little oil and some more pepper and salt. after 20 minutes remove potatoes from oven. add onions to pan then, using a spatula, toss around your potatoes so they will brown on all sides and get mixed up with the onion. put back in oven for about 20 to 25 minutes.

just realized how much i used the word toss up there - fitting word but maybe i should invest in a thesaurus...

top photo courtesy of martha stewart

happy thanksgiving!

happy thanksgiving!

this year i am thankful for good health {although we all have colds!}, happy times, awesome kids, wonderful husband, great friends {old and new!} and awesome weather.

we are heading off on a road trip this afternoon to return monday night. we are going to have a weekend filled with a high school reunion, touring the city, thanksgiving with friends and a lot of catching up with old friends & chatting - well  guess you could call it wine & gabbing!! hope you have a happy thanksgiving filled with laughter and smiles!

all the best. xoxo

turkey hand puppets.

with thanksgiving just around the corner {wait...it's october already?? what happened to sepember? geesh!} and with halloween coming on strong we had to do a craft to celebrate the turkey. the center piece of thanksgiving dinner. and since the only turkey's to enter this house would be of the crafting variety i thought i ought to display them proudly and share it with you.

for this craft you will need a simple amount of supplies. the first one is the most important - a set of perfectly sized little kids hands. now the larger varieties are okay of course but it's the smaller one that make for the cutest turkey's. then gather together construction paper, popsicle sticks, scissors {ask an adult to help here}glue and i found a stapler helped too.

trace the hands on coloured paper {i used brown but i went traditional and there are no rules! go punk if you want!}, cut them out, then cut out your feather shapes and glue them on. cut a little piece for a beak, dot on an eye and let them dry slightly. once dry place some glue on the top third of one side of the popsicle stick, stick on the back of the turkey and i then stapled the stick to the turkey for good measure. et voila!!! turkey hand puppets.

with these you could then decorate your house, your dinner table or encourage your kids to put on a show for your guest. have fun & happy thanksgiving!! xoxo

**update: this post was included in amber doty's report on babble.com "six easy fall crafts for kids". thanks amber!!