thanksgiving recipes

i meant to blow off Thanksgiving. Instead I cooked a feast over 4 days. I love having all of this Real food in the house, and wish i had more opportunities and inspiration to keep it up!

so- new recipe to kill pumpkin pie forever. holy crap http://www.indianfoodrocks.com/2007/11/curry-that-pumpkin.html

Pumpkin and potato curry [adapted for the white girl]

Bengali Kumror Chakka

1 small pie pumpkin, chopped into small cubes (or any old squash. i used kabocha, and i baked it in the oven beforehand. that may not have been necessary, but it turned out delicious.)

• 5-6 medium potatoes, cubed to same size as the pumpkin - (or much smaller, and nuked 5 minutes, to catch them up with baked pumpkin)
• 1-2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp panch phoran - didn't have this. used cumin seeds and mustard seeds. find the other seeds and be better than i am!
• a pinch of hing - ditto, used extra garlic
• 1 dried red chilli, broken into two pieces
• 1 tejpatta (=BAY LEAF)
• 2 inch knob of ginger
• 2 medium size cloves of garlic (OR 5)
• 2 green chillies, sliced vertically and seeds discarded (HOLY CRAP 1 IS ENOUGH)
• 1.5 tsp jeera powder (=CUMIN)
• 1.5 tsp coriander powder (sup dawg)
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala (or whatever blend is around)
• 1 tsp amchur powder (there is no substitute for this. find it!)
• salt to taste
• 1 can coconut milk- i used light, it worked.
• some chopped cilantro, for garnish

1. Pound the green chillies, ginger and garlic in a mortar and pestle into a corase mixture. food processor
2. Heat oil in the pan of your pressure cooker. soup pot.
3. Add the panch phoran and when it splutters, add hing, then red chilli pieces and then tejpatta.
4. Then add the pounded mixture of green chillies, ginger and garlic.
5. Add the potatoes and the pumpkin and stir.
6. Mix all the dry spices except for the amchur powder with a few teaspoons of water to make a paste.
7. Add this to the pan and stir well. Cook for a few minutes till you can smell the fragrance of the masalas start to waft through. About 3-4 minutes.
8. Add 2 and half cups of water can of coconut milk and cook under pressure until the first whistle or its equivalent. for a while, til the pot makes a mess or the potatoes are soft.
9. Allow to cool till you can open the pressure cooker without hurting yourself. Add the amchur powder and mix well (doh). Then add chopped cilantro leaves and serve with naan or roti or paratha. dal and brown rice.

Notes (from the original recipe author):

• If you don't have panch phoran, don't fret. Take 2 pinches each of mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, nigella seeds, cumin seeds and fennel seeds.
• Be careful while cutting that pumpkin! Cut your pumpkin first and then figure out how many potatoes you will need. You want as much pumpkin as potatoes.

also amazing http://www.sugarlaws.com/flourless-chocolate-hazelnut-cake

finally: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/persimmon_pomegranate_fruit_salad/

add brown rice, dobkin dal makhani, winter vegetable soup (from soup love, a really cute and disappointing book), and the best baked spinach, and you've got a happy family of bellies. oh, and a bag of movie popcorn with Real Butter. I am thankful for time off, Eatwell Farm, my stoneware casserole dishes, The Muppets, my people, and my darling son.