Countdown to Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is all about the food. Turkey, gravy, bread, stuffing, mashed potatoes, another serving of stuffing, cakes, pies! Talk about a gluten overload. Last year, I was completely dairy free at Thanksgiving – no more butter. Potatoes were portioned out for me as soon as they were done cooking. I had a little bowl set aside so we could add my butter substitute to them before the potatoes were covered with real butter and milk and turned into mashed potatoes for the rest of my family.

This year, we are having Thanksgiving at my aunt’s house and I helped choose some gluten and dairy free recipes or alternatives so there is more food that is safe for me to eat. Don't worry - I'm offering my culinary skills and abilities as well!! After the potatoes are done cooking this year, some will be go the traditional route while others are going to be mashed with rice milk and olive oil and garnished with the chives that just regrew in my herb garden. I’m making the cornbread and stuffing from Cooking for Isaiah before Thanksgiving to bring. Our gravy will be gluten-free. And for dessert? My mom is bringing a flourless chocolate cake and I’ll be reprising my sweet potato cookies. And I’m trying my hand at pumpkin pie. Since I’m splitting it with Eliot, I’m under the challenge of a gluten, dairy, tree nut, and soy free pie. Even harder? I am embarrassed to admit that I have never even tasted pumpkin pie before so I will not have anything with which to compare it. A bittersweet blessing? I was talking with Eliot about the recipes I was finding for our pie while riding the eL. Once we were in Jewel, he said he was going to look in the baking aisle. I was perplexed because he doesn’t bake – that’s my role in the kitchen. I found some gf pasta and returned to the aisle to find him reading cans of pumpkin pie mix. Libby’s Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix is clearly labeled as gluten free! Just add eggs and evaporated milk. Evaporated milk has been my downfall – I am not familiar with 1:1 substitutions like I am with butter, milk, and ice cream. I quickly searched on my phone and found that I can use coconut milk instead. If I am making bread, cookies, stuffing, and a small appetizer (to be determined) from scratch, I can use a gf pie mix and canned pumpkin mix as a cop out, right?

Tune in after the big day to see how this all turns out! Now to just fine tune my shopping list and make sure my camera is fully charged…

(Yes, the above pictured stuffing was made a month or two ago just to make sure that it WILL turn out. Stuffing is one of my favorite parts of the meal!!!)