Nov 20, 2013 in sides & appetizers, vegan, vegetarian, butternut squash, cranberry, honey roasted pecans, orange. Read the original on: Inspiralized
And another first for me… cranberry sauce! If you haven’t noticed already, I’m not big on canned or frozen veggies and sauces. I think that food is immensely more enjoyable when made as freshly as possible. That’s not to say that there’s anything wrong with canned goods…. I often used canned diced tomatoes to save time! However, when you’re preparing a Thanksgiving feast, it’s all about quality and making the time to take pride in your preparations. It’s all about waking up at 4:30am to roast your turkey or making batches of baked goods the night before.
During the Thanksgiving holiday, we’re reminded of how important friendship and family time is. What goes best with friends and family? Food! Stirring a simmering sauce with your spouse or licking the mixer spoons with your kids can go a long way. These types of moments bring us together and make holidays special.
Making this cranberry sauce helped make me feel more connected to my food and Thanksgiving as a tradition. There are so many articles fluttering about right now on how pilgrims wrongfully claimed previously inhabited land as their own. Regardless of that history, Thanksgiving is an established American tradition that brings about loving feelings, memories, and kind sentiments such as sharing, caring and thanking. Despite its controversial historical roots, this holiday brings out the best in Americans!
Wow, I’m getting a bit political today, aren’t I! Enough of that, let’s talk noms.
Since this isn’t a traditional food blog, I didn’t want to make this a traditional cranberry sauce, so I spruced it up with orange zest and juice. Of course, it’s topped upon yummy roasted butternut squash noodles and given a crunch with honey roasted pecans.
The orange adds an extra last-minute flavor in your mouth and pairs well with the warmth of the butternut squash. The honey pecans are just because, well, you can’t go a Thanksgiving without pecans – or at least I can’t!
I’m having so much fun with these holiday creations, that I’m sad to go back to “normal” recipes. Thankfully, there’s Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s coming up!
Read the original on: Inspiralized
My blog is dedicated to spiralized cooking, using a spiralizer to convert vegetables into noodles and creating inspiring and healthy meals.