Don’t get too excited: I had a very quiet Thanksgiving here at Orchard Cottage. And by “quiet”, I do mean “peaceful” (not “lonely” – I swear). No pumpkin pie or cranberries, alas, but plenty of tasty home-cooked autumnal food all the same: hedgerow jelly, onion soup, sourdough bread, sweet potatoes and lots of fresh veg.
All that said, I hope everyone State-side had a lovely Thanksgiving and that you stuffed yourselves silly and had lots of laughs. I will be home for Christmas (yes, I actually do miss Chicago winters), so I’ll get my share of holiday feasting then (and hopefully a bit of holiday snow). Can’t wait….
Food Diary | Thursday, November 26, 2009
Breakfast
Oatmeal with pears and toasted pecans
This is my favorite way to have oatmeal at the moment: oatmeal cooked with diced pears, cinnamon, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Then topped with toasted pecans (I toast them in a dry pan while the oatmeal is cooking), a light drizzle of honey and a dash of soymilk.
Snack
Sourdough toast with almond butter and hedgerow jelly
Our homemade sloe and crab apple jelly has really grown on me. I love living off the land!
Recipe: Crab Apple and Sloe Jelly
Lunch
Black bean and sweet potato taco with goat’s cheese and carrot slaw
So this taco ruled. I sauteed the sweet potato with onion, mustard seed and cumin seed. The combo of sweet potato, black bean and goat’s cheese was amaaaazing. Want. More. Now.
Dinner
Onion soup with sourdough bread and sauteed cauliflower
This onion soup was good, but was missing something (don’t say “beef broth”). I’d like to try it again with mushroom stock and a bit of soy sauce to make it a little, uh, er, meatier…
Not pictures: an extra half slice of toast and an orange for dessert.
What exactly IS “hedgerow jelly”? What does sloe cranberry jelly taste like? This kind of talk is jibberish to us in the states! But I am intrigued and hungry for a closer look. Did you try sauteing the onions first? Even caramelizing them might do the trick. Or did you try adding some dried onion, for some more intense onion flavor? Some Braggs or soy sauce might add some punch. That taco sounds fabulous, love that combination of flavors! I want. Some. Now!
Hedgerow jelly revealed: here is my recipe for https://smarterfitter.com/blog/2009/11/29/sloe-and-crab-apple-hedgerow-jelly/“ rel=”nofollow”>sloe and crab apple jelly.
I sauteed the onions for like 30 minutes! I don’t think they quite caramelized though. Hmm. Oh well. It was edible. =)