thanksgiving is pretty much all about food.

I love three day weekends...especially the sunny kinds in October that are also known as Thanksgiving. It's definitely true that a three day weekend is much more meaningful when you actually work away from home. For that 3-day break, I'm so thankful! It was a wonderful weekend filled with bike rides, boardgames, and food. For once, I didn't host the Thanksgiving dinner at our little 400 sq. ft. apartment. Instead, we stuffed our panniers with sauteed brussels sprouts topped with pecans*, spicy cranberry chutney**, green salad with apple dressing***, and of course, pumpkin pie**** topped with maple whipped cream all the way to our friend's lovely home. All of this plus our host's amazing coca-cola ham, roasted roots with bocconcini, and lots and lots of delicious mulled wine. Definitely a meal to be thankful for.

* I love brussles sprouts and I see no reason to gussy them up with extras, but this recipe from Elise was simple and lovely. If you're not a fan of the humble sprout, try this recipe and become a true believer! As for my own interpretation of the recipe, I substituted lime juice for the lemon and added pecans instead of almonds. Delicious!

** Every wintery holiday, I make this chutney. It's a time-honoured favorite that I've tweaked and twiddled with until it reached perfection. This time around, I was all out of oranges so I couldn't add the juice. I could have subbed in some plain ol' water, but oh lucky me, I found a half bottle of reisling in the fridge! Saved the day and the chutney. Yum!

*** I love green salad and I love apples in salads. This was a winner. Of course I didn't have the walnut oil the recipe called for, so instead I added olive oil with a couple drops of sesame oil for added flavour. Again, I added some toasted pecans for crunch. And who eats Red Delicious apples? Not me! Granny Smith all the way. I'll definitely be making this salad again.

**** I've made this recipe for a few years now and it's never failed me. In fact, dare I say it, it's the best damn pumpkin pie I've ever eaten. Did I mention it's way too easy to make?