So much to catch up on – look who’s back!

My sister Sarah spent the summer with us out here in Seattle, and this was her first time back out here since she headed back to school this summer.  It’s so fun to have her here again!

After spending all summer long dealing with my pregnant craziness, she was so excited to finally get to meet the man behind the bump.  They sized each other up upon arrival…

And then all three of us headed to one of our favorite Seattle spots – the Ballard farmers market.

Our main mission was to pick up as much of our Thanksgiving spread as possible from local farmers and vendors. 

I was so excited to see fresh cranberries!  These were local to Washington, and so beautiful and crisp.

Potatoes for mashing…

And carrots for roasting…

I love my cute little family of three.  It’s so nice to be able to strap Cullen on, bundle him up, and walk with him wherever we go. 

We came to the market a lot this past summer, and it was fun to be back with my favorite summer sidekick.

Not to mention my two favorite boys.

The rest of our holiday week has involved a lot of snuggling.

And smiling.

And on Monday, the rest of our crew arrived!  My big sister, Rebecca, flew all the way from Connecticut to Seattle with her husband, Sam, and my adorable nephew, Jonah.  This was their first time meeting Cullen, and the first time the baby boys would be together!  We were all so excited for their introduction.  Cullen was a bit overwhelmed…

The past few days have been non-stop torrential rain, but during the brief periods of relief we suited up in our Ergos and explored the neighborhood. 

Jonah is SO much bigger than he was the last time I saw him in August, and I can’t believe that Cullen will be this big in just a few short months!  He is such a precious little guy, and I couldn’t stop harassing him with kisses.

I feel so lucky and blessed that Cullen will have a cousin just four months older than him.  I hope they become great friends, and can’t wait to watch them grow together.

All the excitement was a bit much for him.

For the past few days, our house has been filled with family, food, dogs, babies, naps, and everything else that Thanksgiving should be.

I could not possibly be more thankful this year.

We’ve had a cranky couple of days over here at the Malone house.  Cullen has decided that if he is not eating or sleeping, he’s going to be screaming.  We’re doing our best to keep him calm and happy, but it’s tough to watch the little man cry and not know what to do about it.

Last night after a particularly long scream fest, he finally worked himself to sleep in the car.  Back at the house, he gave himself a much needed nap in the car seat while Casey and I attempted to figure out what to make for dinner.

After a day like yesterday, comfort food sounded best.  I’ve been working on some new Thanksgiving recipe ideas and I’ve just been waiting for Cullen to give me the right window of time to test some of them out.  Last night seemed like the perfect night for a Thanksgiving classic – mashed potatoes.  These were a huge success, and I’m already looking forward to eating them again in a few short weeks!

Rosemary and Sage Mashed Red Potatoes (with Vegan Gravy)

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Ingredients: (serves 4)

• 8 large red potatoes
• 3 small apples (I used gala)
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons Earth Balance (or butter)
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened original almond milk (or other milk)
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions:  I like to have some skins in my mashed potatoes, so I peeled half of them and left the other have with the skins on.  If you prefer smoother mashed potatoes, you can peel all of yours. 

Dice the potatoes into bite sized pieces and steam for ten minutes on the stovetop.  In the meantime, dice your fresh herbs…

And cube your apples into small pieces.  The apples add just a bit of sweetness to the mashed potatoes, without being overly noticeable or affecting the texture.  These galas were really small, so if you have bigger apples you may want to cut it down to just two. 

After the potatoes have steamed for ten minutes, add the apples to the steamer basket and steam for ten additional minutes, or until everything is fork-tender. 

Once softened, add the potatoes, apples, herbs, Earth Balance, and milk to your stand mixer and beat until mashed.  If you prefer an arm workout, you can also mash by hand with a fork or a potato masher. 

I like mine to be mostly creamy with just a few potato hunks.  Yum.  Season to taste with salt.

No mashed potatoes are complete without gravy though, so you’ll need to make a batch of that as well.  I made a white vegan gravy based off of my old recipe, and I really like the way this one turned out.  Definitely the new favorite!

White Vegan Gravy

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Ingredients:

• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup + 2 cups water (separated)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp kosher salt

Instructions:

1. Sauté garlic in olive oil over medium heat until it begins to brown.
2. Add nutritional yeast, along with 1/4 cup water to deglaze, and then add flour.
3. As soon as flour is added, begin whisking constantly.  Pour remaining 2 cups water in slowly while continuing to whisk.
4. Whisk until gravy reaches desired consistency, and then add salt to taste.  Continue to cook over low heat as gravy thickens, until ready to serve. 
5. (If gravy becomes too thick, add a bit of additional water to reach desired consistency.)

Once your gravy is ready and your potatoes are mashed, serve yourself a giant dollop of each and dig in. 

A hint of sweetness from the apples and just the right amount of savory from the herbs make this a great new version of a classic dish.

We enjoyed ours with a few slices of (veggie) Field Roast, but these potatoes will be delicious along side whatever you choose to put in the center of your holiday table. 

One of the newest Recipage features is the ability to search by occasion, including holidays.  If you click on Thanksgiving on my recipe page, you’ll find more delicious holiday-inspired ideas to consider when planning this year’s menu. 

I hope to have a few more festive meals for you coming up soon!  As always, enjoy.