coconut cranberry bread // coffee glaze

Every year for as long as I can remember my Aunt Nancy makes Cranberry Bread for Thanksgiving, Christmas + Easter, her cranberry bread is the anchor among the cream cheese filled celery sticks and olives that serve as our pre dinner snack  alongside bowls of "crack your own" nuts and cashews. For 20 years I thought her cranberry bread was homemade......people, I was deceived. Our entire family was deceived, our beloved cranberry bread was from a box. I was heartbroken.

When Paradise Meadow brand by Decas Cranberry Products, Inc reached out to see if I would like to bake with their new Julienne cooking + Baking Cranberries  I jumped at the chance. I thought, move over boxed cranberry bread, there's a new bread in town ready to take over the Holidays.

harvest menu ~ Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving is a grande event in our home - the day is filled with amazing food, incredible family, cocktails + games. It is the one Holiday that we stand firm on spending at home, of course our doors are open to anyone open to a compassionate Thanksgiving.

I wanted to share with you our Harvest Menu for our early Thanksgiving celebration this coming weekend, hopefully you will find some inspiration for one or two compassionate dishes to share at your holiday table:

Our Harvest Day Menu
Farmhouse Rolls with Maple Butter
Winter Squash + Quinoa Rissoles over Greens
Cranberry Chutney
Bourbon Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Mashed Red Bliss Potatoes
Garlicky Green Beans
Cider Maple Glazed Carrots
Field Roast + Mushroom Stuffing
Gravy
Pumpkin Cake + Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Mini Cheesecakes
Hermit Woods Harvest Apple Wine (local!)

Keep on reading for some amazing Thanksgiving Day inspiration!
(simply roll over the recipe title + click for recipe!}

winter squash + quinoa rissoles

Thanksgiving is my all time favorite Holiday, I think you will find this true with most food obsessed people, it is an entire day of giving thanks and stuffing your face full of mouthwatering, carb loaded food, while wearing stretchy pants and not saving room for dessert but eating it anyway, then passing out in a food coma- sounds about right, doesn't it? 

So it was a no brainer when NOW Foods contacted me to participate in their smart swap holiday challenge- creating a holiday themed recipe with a "health halo" using NOW Foods product.

Since I am going to be in the Caribbean this Thanksgiving we are celebrating a little earlier than usual. I am sad/not sad I won't be home for Thanksgiving, but couldn't pass up making my huge spread as usual, which, of course always includes a "main course" - this year the centerpiece on our table are these beautiful winter squash + quinoa rissoles, which just so happens to be gluten free as well as vegan

 (with plain pecans, not honey roasted).

maple peanut butter apple tarts

Apple Picking is forever a battle in our house- to simply put it Justin is not a fan of Apple Picking and I totally am, however he was totally into these tarts which is a rarity as he is not big on apples.

Lucky for me, my Girlfriend has a weird boyfriend that doesn't like apple pie or any cooked apples matter of fact, but likes apple picking so she had a ton of apples for the taking. I was totally all over her offer when she told me she had some to spare!

spiked pumpkin "nog" + cinnamon whipped cream

I had never experienced eggnog prior to meeting Justin, as I may have mentioned before, growing up we never ate anything that my Mom + Dad didn't eat- my Mom was a pretty finicky eater and my Dad's only real dislike are peas (even chickpeas!) + lima beans. Needless to say they were never on the eggnog band wagon.

Justin on the other hand loved it! He introduced me to eggnog spiked with rum one Thanksgiving, I fell hard and fast in love with the slightly sweet creamy spiked nog.....for a total of one day. You see, we celebrated a bit early while I was cooking our HUGE Thanksgiving Feast, needless to say neither of us enjoyed our Thanksgiving Dinner on the day it was made, we were so full and pumped up on Eggnog there was no room left for anything else. 

When we became Vegans Eggnog, of course was out for the both of us. 

Until we came across Justin's favorite Holiday Beverage veganized!

pumpkin cake + maple cream cheese frosting

YAY for all things pumpkin! 

Bring cake into the picture and you have a winner. 

The frosting, well the frosting is a total game changer. Just sweet enough and oh so creamy; if you are not a fan of overly sweet + sugary frosting's this one is for you!

A super simple cake that looks really impressive- no joke, 1 bowl for the cake + 1 bowl for the frosting. 

Making just enough cake to share.

cranberry ginger pull apart bread

This bread and so amazingly good and festive; the colors and flavor scream holiday! Which I totally need more of in my life right now. I am sad to say I have been hit with the bah humbug of the Holiday season for the first time ever...I mean ever. Typically I am the girl who at every chance she gets will sing aloud the praises of the holiday season - but not this year. I think it may be because Thanksgiving ran so late this year, I typically get a reprieve between Thanksgiving and the kick start of Christmas, which for me is the first of December. Or, it may be because I have a lot on my plate right now and the thought of lugging up all the Christmas decor just to lug it back down in three weeks puts me in a sour mood. So instead of focusing on the decorations this year I am focusing on the experience of the season- baking, cooking and creating meaningful gifts for friends and family. Maybe, just maybe (I am really hoping) that will finally put me in a jolly mood, if that fails I'll just bust out the Champagne and my all time favorite Holiday album from She & Him!

chocolate cake ~ salted "caramel" frosting

Oh man I am so sorry about the less than stellar photo- I had the best intentions of styling and photographing this cake in a more traditional manner, however time and the day got away from me. This cake was just too good not to share with you. I have made this cake on a few different occasions and it always comes out perfect- a no fail chocolate cake. We all need one of those in our lives.

harvest menu ~ thanksgiving day

 {photo credit modern perch}

In the early days, since becoming vegetarian  and now vegan I have always referred to my Thanksgiving menu as a Harvest Day Celebration or Harvest Menu, it is the term I began using when printing out the menus for the big feast. Being the planner that I am, our menu is developed and printed about a month or two in advance. Even though the gathering is small there is always plenty of amazing compassionate dishes to share with anyone that would like to join us, along with good company and loads of laughs. Some years it is simply Justin and I with family joining us for dessert, other times a few adventurous family members who soon realize after one thanksgiving meal at our house you can have a pretty amazing feast without the turkey.

pumpkin pecan cheesecake

Oh my goodness, this cheesecake brings me back to my Cheesecake Factory loving days. Albeit, 9 times out of 10 I was way stuffed to actually enjoy a slice of their famous cheesecake, but boy did I love looking the crazy combinations and creations on the Cheesecake menu. For Justin and I, Cheesecake is a once a year foodie splurge; reason being we really have no self control when it comes to vegan cheesecake (sad I know). We have deemed Thanksgiving to be our unofficial Cheesecake Holiday.

braised greens // golden raisins + smokey tempeh

Every Holiday table should include at least one "green" dish; for us some years it may be maple cider glazed brussel sprouts, a fall harvest salad or green bean casserole. Growing up the standard green on my Gram's Thanksgiving table were your plain old green beans, for Easter; asparagus from a can. As I mentioned in my stuffing post we didn't often stray from our traditional family menu. On our Thanksgiving menu you will always find the standard Thanksgiving must haves; traditional mashed potatoes, farm house rolls and assorted pies, but you will also find at least one "experimental' dish, if good enough a dish that may find its way onto the Holiday menu must have's list.

acorn squash quinoa stuffing

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday for many reasons - family, loads of food with lots of leftovers, no pressure to find the perfect gift; these are just a few examples of why I love the last Thursday of November. It  is also the one Holiday that Justin and I celebrate at home - our door is always open for those that would like to experience a full on Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner or a Vegan dessert spread with locally made sparkling hard cider and home brewed beer.

Each year it is inevitable that I will prepare way too much food and imbibe too many glasses of champagne - but that's what makes Thanksgiving so great, just throw on a pair of stretchy pants and grab another mini pie!

pumpkin beer bread {quick & easy}

There was one point in time that I thought beer bread could only be made from a box, well actually a lot of  baked goods I thought were made from a box. What can I say, I am a product of the 80's and early 90's where convenience food was king. Don't get me wrong, we ate plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, birthday cakes were homemade (the cake being from a box) with my moms homemade frosting. It wasn't until I started baking on my own in my early 20's, that I began experimenting with making baked goods from scratch. Baking from scratch can seem intimidating at first, you will have some failures (we all do!) but you will also have some amazing baked goods coming from your oven in no time!

pumpkin farro field roast stew

Wow, it seems like forever since my last post. Traditionally, October is an overly active month for us- between work, family events and the beautiful NH fall weather calling my name, I sadly have not found much time for blogging. Fall is one of my most favorite times of the year - whats not to love about fall? The trees show off their gorgeous jewel toned leaves, the air has a bite to it and comfort food is at its finest. At least once a week, typically on a Sunday afternoon, you will find a pot of soup, chili or stew slowly cooking away on the stove. Fall wouldn't be fall without a new pumpkin soup to share. I absolutely love using pumpkin in savory dishes - I actually prefer savory pumpkin dishes over sweet.

chocolate pecan pear truffles

It's just not Christmas without truffles - rich and chocolaty, they are the perfect bite-sized holiday treat when you are looking for just a little something sweet.

Truffles are super easy to make, no stove top or oven required - just 15 minutes of your time, a few ingredients and cute containers to display your handcrafted truffles which are sure to make your friends and family smile this holiday season.

roasted beet + carrot salad // tempeh "croutons"

sometimes i simply crave fresh & light - even in the fall & winter months.

in the summer salads are a staple weeknight dinner for justin and i.

when fall and winter approach we crave warm fall comfort food - soups, stews, casseroles, freshly baked bread. in between all those hearty soul warming meals the craving for fresh crisp greens crept up on us. luckily our local winter farmers market farmer is still growing greens in the greenhouse - paired with roasted root veggies it became the best fusion of summer and fall - a summer fall fusion salad.

pumpkin pie bars

one of the best things about autumn and the holidays are the countless treats that fill our home with warm smells of all things good. i am not a big fan of pumpkin pie, however i am a huge lover of anything that resembles the smell of pumpkin. for me, one of the best feelings is to come in from the cold and walk into a warm kitchen filled with smells of cinnamon & spice or a warm soup simmering away.

it reminds me of my mom & gram - the sweet smell wraps around you like a big hug. childhood memories of the fall always included heading in from a chilly day of playing and being welcomed by a sweet treat, mug of cocoa or a big bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup.

a smbp thanksgiving round up!

 butternut squash & apple bisque 

 roasted mini veggie tartlettes 

with thanksgiving just around the corner i wanted to share with you a few of my favorite fall recipes that would be a beautiful addition to any holiday table.

whether your guests are vegan or not most everyone is sure love one of these vegan holiday dishes!

simply click on the picture to be transported to the original post.

roasted carrot + sweet dumpling squash bisque {gf}

so you can be honest with me - have you tired of my soup posts?

i sure hope not! this time of year Justin and i literally enjoy soup at least 2-3 times a week.

soup is warm, satisfying, makes for great leftovers and tastes even better the next day.

what more could you want?

for pennies on the dollar, soup has a lot of goodness to offer.

plus, it's pretty hard to screw up soup or if you want to get all fancy and call it bisque like i do you can!

soup with its fancy pants on = bisque (but really the truth is its just a creamy soup)...wow i am pretty sure this creamy soup is having an identity crisis since it doesn't have cream in it either.

maple cider glazed brussels + delicata {gf}

i have a hard time understanding why so many people have an aversion to brussel sprouts - they are super adorable and easy to prepare.  personally, i like my brussels roasted. i am also a fan of hiding "undesirable" veggies in quinoa patties or rissoles. this recipe is a loosely deconstructed version of my delicata rissole - which is still one of my favorite recipes to date.

 i do know one thing for sure, this recipe will definitely be making an appearance on thanksgiving.