Happy Thanksgiving! Jonathan and I left the woods for the beach and we’re spending the holiday weekend with my family in Santa Barbara. I am blogging for Better Homes and Gardens now, so I tried their New Cranberry Sauce recipe this year and it’s delicious! It has onions, garlic and persimmon, which give it a fantastic flavor. For more photos of this dish and my beachy Thanksgiving, check out today’s post on the Better Homes and Gardens website.
Persimmon Squash Salad
Persimmons are my favorite autumn fruit and I was so excited to share this recipe on Design Sponge on Friday- it’s a great, alternative Thanksgiving side salad. Trees around the Bay Area are bursting with persimmons right now and my friend, photographer Topher Simon, let me come over and pick from (and photograph!) his tree. Be sure when eating persimmons raw you choose the Fuyu variety- they are more squat and crunchy. The other more oblong variety leave a pasty taste in your mouth when eaten raw- they are meant for cooking with.
Check out the Design Sponge post of this recipe for more photos and detailed instructions. Enjoy!
By Erin Gleeson for The Forest Feast
Opening Night at Umami Mart
Thank you so much to everyone for coming out to my opening last night at Umami Mart! I had so much fun! A special thanks to my good friends Kayoko and Yoko (UM owners) for hosting The Forest Feast in Oakland. We celebrated with snacks from the blog (Gorgonzola Grapes, Radishes with Butter and Stuffed Dates) and toasted the new book deal with glasses of The Forest Feast’s signature cocktail, The Skylonda. My photos, greeting cards and furniture I designed (using a photo I took of an orange tree) will all be on display, and for sale, through the end of January at Umami Mart (815 Broadway, Oakland). Cheers! And happy weekend…
Quinoa with Squash, Peppers & Figs
This dish is great to make in advance because it can be eaten warm or at room temperature.
Quinoa with Squash, Peppers & Figs
serves 4-6 as a side
1 c dry quinoa (this will yield 2-3 c cooked quinoa)
1 red bell pepper, cored and sliced into bite-size pieces
2 c butternut squash, peeled and cubed (I often buy pre-cut)
3/4 c chopped dried figs, stems removed ( I often use Mission figs)
olive oil for roasting
vinaigrette of your choice or simply olive oil and balsamic
salt & pepper
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 425F. Spread the sliced peppers and cubed squash on a sheet pan. Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes or until the squash is fork-tender (this will depend on how big the cubes are, which can vary when buying pre-cut squash. Aim for approx 1-inch, bite size cubes.
Boil 2 c water and add the dry quinoa. Cook for about 20 minutes or until it’s tender and the water has been absorbed.
Meanwhile, chop the dried figs.
When the squash and peppers are done, toss in a bowl with the cooked quinoa and figs. Dress lightly with vinaigrette and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Bonus ideas: Use this recipe as a starting place! Be creative and make your own additions, perhaps pecans, pine nuts, cilantro, red onion or a different dressing (I’ve also made it with a spicy sesame-soy). Enjoy!
Spiced Apricots in Dark Chocolate
I am excited to now be blogging for Better Homes and Gardens and my first post on their Delish Dish column is up today! My posts will go up every 2 weeks and will feature BHG recipes, like these Spiced Apricots in Dark Chocolate. I took several other photos of this dish, so check out the post to see the others!
Artwork by Erin Gleeson. Recipe by BHG.
