Greta wears her great-grandmother’s Thanksgiving apron prepping the potato mushroom casserole.
Hey friends. I’m tired – not fully recovered from last week. Almost too tired from the festivities to line the pan with foil. Blame it on intake excess, the side-kick of celebrations. It was a great party – hilarious times in the kitchen, and at the table – but I’m roiling for balance, feel bad about my belly, and (thankfully) my body craves veggies & grains, instead of turkey, gravy, stuffing and pie.
So I chop the broccoli, place it on the foil-lined pan, and make this cleansing broccoli stand-by.
Plates filled with fowl-free nutrition are suddenly right for me. On Wednesday, I made a variation of another restorative – Quinoa & Chickpea Salad with Crunchy Vegetables, which we munched on a couple of days. In the recipe I substituted beets for radishes and goat cheese for feta.
Exercise apps at the ready for a quick class.
Vegetarian menus combined with intensified workouts – I’m addicted to my Pocket Yoga app – are restoring my equilibrium. Nothing replaces my flesh-and-blood yoga instructor, but the drive consumes time and gas. My living room is the most restful room for yoga in the house – undoubtedly because it’s the only room consistently clean.
Many of you have roasted other veggies, such as cauliflower and brussels sprouts. This recipe for Roasted Curried Cauliflower with Grapes & Almonds is particularly good. But try giving rich, herbacious broccoli a whirl. The feta lends a smidgen of indulgence to the recipe; I always prefer the French fetas as they are creamier and less salty to my palate.
This detox will continue until next Thursday, when I’m hosting a ladies’ party. It won’t be as buttery intense as Thanksgiving, but rest assured a vegetable platter won’t be the only item on the menu. I’ve been fantasizing a low-octane champagne punch with a festive ice-ring, and a ginger cake with lemon curd; I’m consulting Lucy, my go-to mixologist and pastry chef, about both.
Stay tuned, eat well, and be well. After this week, I’ll tip the see-saw in the other direction. After all, it’s the holidays!
(For well-tested Holiday Recipes, click the Holiday Cookbook Ball on the upper right side-bar.)
Hi Peggy –
You’ve described the post-turkey daze well. I’m still in that fog (along with the dog who is sharing turkey leftovers every day). I just wanted to tell you that I modified your sausage-fennel-leek stuffing to make a soup, adding broth, canned tomatoes, roasted corn and, when eaten as a leftover, I threw in some turkey. You saved me a lot of main meal guessing when I wasn’t sure how many would be at the table. I also relied on your roasted vegetable recipe from last year. You know, I learn a lot about the “whys and wherefors” of spices and food types from you – what’s in your magician’s mind for goat’s milk? Tania
Lucky dog – funny! Love your modification of my stuffing recipe – it would make a delicious soup. I always throw the leftover stuffing into my turkey soup, but I’m thinking your addition of canned tomatoes and corn is what I will do next year for a change.
I’m glad my years on the “learn while you burn” plan are of assistance to you. Hmmmm. Goat’s Milk…tangy…easy to digest…I’m thinking some sort of a winter vegetable, cheesy soufflé would be marvelous. Hmmmm…
Thanks for the healthy recipe inspiration. I’m all about farro these days!
Hi Debbie. Me too – it’s such a meaty grain! Check out my recipes for faro in the search engine – what’s your favorite way of eating it?
Can’t wait for the ginger lemon cake! Two of my favourite flavours. I’m willing to tide myself over with broccoli though!
Mine too, Ann!