Nostalgic Trip to Fall Harvest Festivals

Just a short post... but I couldn't resist sharing tonights supper. Usually, people in the middle of freezing, blizzardy weather think of Spring or wish for Summer. Somehow my dinner reminded me of trips to St Jacobs, Ontario in the Fall where you can still see Mennonite farmers on their buggies, eat the most wonderful sausages, and pick up beautiful Brussels sprouts, beets and every other Autumn harvest treat at the farmers market.

Instead of St Jacobs market, my stash of Brussels sprouts, beets and the Sweet Turkey Fennel Sausages came from last week's trip to the Halifax Seaport Market. The Beet & Potato Hash comes from Mango Cheeks at Allotment 2 Kitchen - I've been dreaming about it for two weeks and finally got around to making it. It tastes even better than it looks and will be on my menu often. The Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Pecans is an old standby.

Happy American Thanksgiving

Wishing my American friends a very Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you're spending it with those you love and ....on the off chance that you don't have all the dishes done for your dinner, here are a couple of fantastic side dishes from The Blackberry Farm Cookbook: Four Seasons of Great Food and the Good Life which is stunning and delicious. I'll be writing much more about it soon.
Even if you usually turn your nose up at Brussels Sprouts, you should give these Roasted Pecan Brussels Sprouts a try. The toasted pecans and the oven roasting with olive oil give the leaves a crispness and cut that often bitter flavor.
While this is not the prettiest photo I've ever taken, the Roasted Winter Squash Puree was unbelievably easy to prepare and (shhhh...don't tell anyone...) I must have eaten more than a portion during the "tasting"...even though it didn't need anything else to make it delicious.

These two sides are so tasty, I could easily forget about the turkey!