For Thanksgiving, there tend to be the three main kinds of cranberry sauce–the pureed smooth gelatin one, the cooked saucy one with the occasional whole cranberry, and the fresh slightly chunky relish variety. Some families go for the gelatinous one in the can, others make a gelatin cranberry sauce from scratch, others are strictly for the cooked saucy one, some go for the raw one, and still other families will go all out and make more than one variety. I like each variety for different reasons, and I decided to experiment with making a raw relish first. This cranberry orange relish is completely raw, vegan and does not use refined sugar. I couldn’t find a recipe out there that I liked exactly, so I combined a few and then added my own take (the raw ginger and maple syrup) to give it a little pizazz. While this kind of relish is a common staple for the holidays, I liked this so much I would love to make it throughout the year, just to have in the fridge to snack on.
The Recipe
Makes 1.5 cups prepared relish
1.5 cups fresh cranberries, whole
1/2 an orange, in quarters (peel on, preferably organic since you’re eating the peel)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 inch fresh ginger root
Wash cranberries and orange well. Peel the chunk of ginger root. Put the ginger root in the food processor and process until it is pulverized a bit. Add the cranberries, orange and maple syrup. Pulse the cranberries, orange and maple syrup in food processor in short bursts. You do not want to over process, or it will not have that pretty and tasty relish quality. Just process enough to chop everything into tiny pieces, like a relish. It’s ready to eat. Taste it at this point to make sure it is sweet enough for your taste. If desired, you can stir in additional maple syrup with a spoon or spatula, but I liked the tart sweetness of this ratio. Store in an airtight container or glass jar in the fridge and serve in a pretty bowl when ready to eat.
I might have mentioned it before, but Thursdays are days I set aside to do craft projects with a good friend of mine. We instituted this schedule about 6 weeks ago and have stuck to it, spending at least all afternoon on Thursdays crafting, and often dedicating the whole day to our crafty projects. We have been very organized about the projects we want to accomplish for holiday gifts and have a schedule written down (somewhere) for what we plan to make each week between now and December 15. This process is making the holiday gift giving so much more affordable and personal! Yesterday was a sort of big day–we made candles and lip balm. But before we got started with that, we had to run some errands around town to procure some of the supplies we needed. I will post the directions for the candles we made soon, but first the lip balm. This was so easy to make once we had the supplies and I don’t know if I will ever buy lip balm again. Plus, this tastes great–like a peppermint/vanilla cookie, with a hint of chocolate (from the cocoa butter).
The Recipe
Makes 36 0.25 oz tins. You will need:
1 microwave safe glass container (we used a Pyrex 2 cup measure) OR a double-boiler set up
tins or lip balm containers of your choosing
wooden skewer for stirring
small funnel
dropper
2 Tbls candelilla wax
2 Tbls soy wax
4 Tbls cocoa butter
2 Tbls shea butter
1/2 cup avocado oil
1/4 tsp vitamin E oil
60 drops peppermint essential oil
30 drops pure vanilla extract
Note on supplies: You can order all of these supplies online. We have a great store called Zenith Supplies in Seattle that sells candle-making supplies, soap-making supplies, etc. in bulk at wholesale prices (you can order from them on their website). We procured all of our supplies from there, except those we already had at home. You can use any number of waxes and oils in this recipe. For waxes, options include candelilla, soy, carnauba, you name it. For oils, you could use avocado, jojoba, etc. It didn’t make sense for us to buy vitamin E oil just for a 1/4 tsp, so we pierced a few vitamin E supplement capsules and squeezed out the oil.
Instructions: Cover your workspace with newspaper to make clean-up easier. Remove the tops and lay out your tins or containers on top of the newspaper in preparation.
lay out tins
Melt your wax and butters first before measuring. Measure out the quantities listed above, first the waxes, then add the butters. Heat these either in a double boiler or in the microwave (we used the microwave since the stove was tied up with candlemaking). Use a wooden skewer to stir the mixture. If using the microwave, heat in 30 second increments until no solid bits remain. Once the butters and waxes are completely melted, add the oils (vitamin E and avocado) and heat again to ensure the mixture is completely melted. It should be perfectly transparent with no bits of stuff floating in it:
oils, waxes, butters melted together
Add the vanilla extract and peppermint essential oil and stir to combine. Test a dot of the hot mixture on your skin (warning: it’s hot!) to see how it feels. It should solidify a bit and at this point, you can try that little test dot on your lips. It should feel great! Now, you’re ready to pour. This is really done most easily with two people–one person to pour, the other to watch the funnel and place a (clean!) finger over the spout when each tin is full (to prevent overflow).
pour the mixture into tins--carefully!
Fill to just below the top of the tins. Do not over fill. You want the tops to be able to slide on easily. Wait for them to cool completely and solidify (about 1 hour).
wait for lip balm to solidify in tins
Replace the lids and they are ready to use. If you accidentally overfilled some of the tins (as we did), use the flat side of a butter knife to scrape off the excess (these ones won’t look as pretty, but at least you can get the tops on!).
replace the tops
These are such great little tins and will fit nicely in your pocket or purse. Plus, they are great for both women and men to use and carry around.
decorate tins with a label if you like.
If you’re inclined, you can make little stickers/labels for the tops of the tins. I think we plan to do this before giving them as gifts. There you have it. Vegan lip balm from start to finish in under 2 hours! What crafts would you love to do leading up to the holidays?
Just a heads up. I’m making some changes to the site over the next couple of days. Mainly, I’m switching to a different web hosting mechanism so that I will have more flexibility in what the site can do. The first change I’m planning to implement once the shift to the new host is complete is to start using a program called Recipage, which will make my Recipes page so much more user friendly. You’ll be able to search for recipes within the recipe page and view them in a range of ways that should make it easier to use. Please bear with me as I possibly experience some bumps in the transition; I’m trying to make it as seamless as possible.
These are one of the simplest preparations for roasted potatoes. You can make any kind of potatoes this way. If the potatoes are large, cut them into chunks. I used the teeniest tiniest baby red potatoes and so I did not cut them, but for normal baby red potatoes you may want to halve them or quarter them. These are great with the Mushroom Gravy recipe. My mom makes a dressed up version of these–lemon horseradish potatoes–which are to die for and maybe, if you’re lucky, that recipe will appear on the site. You can certainly throw in some of your favorite herbs if you want these potatoes to have a little something extra–a fresh sprig of rosemary, some sage, thyme, etc.
The Recipe
baby red potatoes
lemon juice
olive oil
salt and pepper
garlic powder
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Quantities are not included here; just approximate how many potatoes you want for the number of people you are serving. Wash the potatoes and cut off any blemishes.
wash the potatoes
Drizzle a little olive oil in an oven safe baking dish. Use a baking container with a lid (I used an enamelled cast iron dutch oven) or, alternatively, you can use a regular baking pan covered with aluminum foil. Add the potatoes to the pan/dish and drizzle a little more olive oil over the top. You want the potatoes to be lightly coated with olive oil, but not swimming in it! Add a pinch or two of salt, plenty of freshly ground pepper, and a few shakes of garlic powder. Stir around to coat the potatoes with the seasonings. If you’re adding herbs, now is the time to toss those in, too.
coat with oil and seasonings
Bake for 50 minutes with lid on. Remove the lid and add lemon juice (use less lemon juice for a smaller batch and more for a larger batch). Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes with the lid off.
roasted and ready to eat
Serve and enjoy! These are great with a green vegetable, mushroom gravy and whatever other hearty fall/winter side dish you think sounds good.
When we had our first vegan Thanksgiving at our house a few years ago, for 20+ guests, one of Eric’s family members brought buckets of vegan mushroom gravy. It was such a hit–so creamy and rich and satisfying–that I was determined to recreate it. I wasn’t able to get the recipe for the exact gravy that we had, but I made up my own recipe, which is totally awesome (if I do say so myself)! This gravy can be made as thick or as thin as your prefer and it will please vegans and nonvegans alike. Plus, it is so much healthier than the meat versions that you don’t have to feel at all guilty piling it on. Yes, this is a fantastic addition to a Thanksgiving meal, but it is also a wonderfully hearty and satisfying side at any time of the year. I was inspired by the chanterelles and the tiny baby red potatoes at the vegetable stand last week and made it with the potatoes and a side of broccoli. This recipe is outstanding with chanterelles if they are in season and priced affordably, but you can use any kind of mushrooms. For the times when chanterelles are not within reach, I use crimini or regular old white button mushrooms. Any of your favorite mushrooms will do!
ode to the chanterelle
The Recipe
Makes 2 generous helpings
1 cup mushrooms of your choosing, chopped small
1.5 cups of vegetable stock/broth (if you’re watching your sodium, get the low-sodium kind)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.5-2 Tbls olive oil
~3 Tbls flour
salt/pepper to taste
Mince garlic and heat olive oil in a small saucepan:
minced garlic
Saute the garlic for a few minutes on a medium heat (careful not to burn the garlic). Add the chopped mushrooms and stir frequently. The mushrooms should get slightly soft and release some moisture. Add some freshly ground black pepper (wait on the salt to see if you need it at the end).
saute the mushrooms and garlic
Add the flour and stir. This will make a pasty kind of consistency:
add the flour
Now, it’s time to add the vegetable stock/broth. You want to add this a little at a time, stirring to mix the flour/mushroom mixture fully with the stock.
add the vegetable stock a little at a time
The combination of the stirring and the heat will cause the flour to thicken the mixture. Keep adding the stock until it is all incorporated. Let it simmer, stirring frequently for 5-10 minutes after all is incorporated to thicken up. If you want it thicker, add a little more flour. If you want it thinner, add a little more stock.
stir frequently as gravy thickens
Taste the gravy for flavor and adjust salt and pepper to taste. I find that the vegetable stock is plenty salty and so I usually do not add more salt, but feel free to do so if you prefer. Serve it directly from the pan, or serve it in a cute little pitcher (we found the one pictured here at the Goodwill).
a delightful meal
We find that this gravy has so much flavor that we tend to underseason the dishes we serve it with. The broccoli pictured above was steamed with nothing added and the potatoes are very simply prepared (recipe to follow).
This week was a big week consumed with taking the general exam. It was exhausting, and thought-provoking, and I am so glad it’s behind me! Eric and I have been taking a break from work and school since Friday night and it’s been glorious. Friday night, I finished my exam at 7pm and we went straight to Ethiopian food, which was filling and comforting and so delicious. I went to bed early on Friday and slept for close to 12 hours. Saturday was a lovely day of being away from the computer and we spent most of the time outside. We took Maizy to the dog park, and then stopped at a nursery on the way home. We have a little tree out on our parking strip that the city planted and it has been dying a slow death since we moved in almost five years ago. So, we bought an apple tree to replace it yesterday. It’s one of those grafted apple trees with five different kinds of apples on it–half of them are varieties perfect for eating raw, while the others are good for baking! We went with the grafted tree because the different branches will pollinate each other. Whereas, with a single-variety apple tree, you need two different trees to pollinate. We also got a self-pollinating hardy dwarf peach tree, which will only get to be about 5 or 6 ft tall (so cute!) and is supposed to be a prolific producer. Imagine that!! Peaches in Seattle! We planted the peach tree yesterday (see above) and today we will dig out the old tree and plant the new apple tree. So nice to have new life in the garden!
our little peach tree
Monday October 31st: Halloween, lots of prep for the general exam and Kale Chips!!!
Well, it’s over. Thank goodness. Yesterday was a rough day. I literally sat down at 6am and did not do anything else (not even a walk around the block for poor Maizy) until 7pm last night. My only breaks were to grab some snacks from the fridge and let Maizy out in the backyard to go to the bathroom. I was completely exhausted by the fourth day and I think it showed in the response I wrote. The final question was:
Feminist political ecology and ecofeminism have equated gender identities and subjectivities with animals and their treatment in power-laden hierarchies as informed by capitalism and Western enlightenment philosophies about humans and nature. Discuss this research and compare it with research in alternative food geographies that is also concerned with these themes. Describe the changing dynamics of gender, culture, and nature within these research trajectories, and the implications for feminist politics in food geography.
Yeah, there’s a lot in that question, I know. It was very difficult. In any case, it felt good to send off the exam last night and now I just have to continue reading, thinking about these topics, and wait for my oral examination, which happens to be exactly one month from today on December 5th. That exam will last for about 2.5 hours during which my committee will grill me on the topics I wrote about and also probably on some topics I forgot to include. I’ll consider that part of the exam a success if I can make it through the 2.5 hours without weeping.
In the meantime, though, I think I’m going to take a day off from school work and take a long walk with Maizy, maybe bake something and maybe do a little yard work if the weather holds out. It’s leaf raking season and as soon as we rake them up, more leaves come down to cover the nice clean spot we cleared.
Have a good weekend and thanks for hanging there this week while I posted only about the generals!
Today was the third day/ third question for my general exam. I woke up at 5am this morning, which was a nice improvement on waking up at 3:30 am the past two days. I felt pretty well-rested and ready to start writing. I’ve been enjoying all of the snacks I prepared for the week, but today’s highlights were a bowl of plain almond milk yogurt, dried cherries, pecans, and a smidgin of maple syrup and some delicious toast. Before I switched to a vegan diet, I ate huge quantities of yogurt–it was one of my staples. Then, when I cut out all dairy, I gave up the yogurt completely (the soy yogurt didn’t cut it for me). I’ve tried the coconut milk yogurt, which is pretty good, but very sweet. So, I was delighted to find at the grocery last week a large container of plain almond milk yogurt made by Amande. It hit the spot. I also had a piece of Squirrelly bread toasted with avocado, salt and pepper. Heavenly!! I liked it so much, I tried a piece with pickles added, which was also quite delicious:
my lovely toast
Now, I get to have a little fun for the rest of the afternoon. A friend and I made soap last Thursday, and it is now ready to cut before we let it sit for a month to cure. I will be posting a recipe for a lovely peppermint vegetable soap and a lavender shampoo bar in the near future. It smells SO good and I can’t wait to be able to use some! Tomorrow is the last day of the general exam and then I’m done (well, until the oral examination portion)!
The question for today was:
What are the implications of Brown and Rasmussen’s (2010) footnote #10 that reads, “The quotation marks here [around “humans”] are meant to mark the ever-present contradiction that, of course, biologically speaking humans are animals.” for a.) political geography and b.) nature-society studies in geography and c.) your own research?
One more day and then back to the regular blogging. I’ve been saving up a recipe for roasted baby red potatoes and mushroom gravy that will make you very happy, I think.
Another day of examining is done. I completed the second question and am ready to pass out. I had a slow start this morning and have spent the day struggling to stay awake and keep my mind sharp! I promise–some recipes and non-school related posts soon–for now, I will just leave you with today’s very thought-provoking question:
How does the social (and animal) justice frame in political-ecology come together with (or not) the focus on care in feminist care ethics? In other words, do concepts of justice and care work together restlessly or easily?
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