Let's Save a Flock of Turkeys Before Thanksgiving!

Oh, you guys and girls. Dearest friends and compassionate animal lovers. My heart is singing with joy and excitement because an entire flock of turkeys (7) will be saved this Thanksgiving, with your help! 

“I’m laughing becuase this is totally a “Katie-Thing” to do.”

— My younger brother, Ryan

Photo from FarmSanctuary.com 

This is no joke though. Just look at the faces of those sweet little cluck-clucks! We only need 42 people to donate $5 to save an entire flock (which is $210). Come on, you can't even get a latte from Starbucks for that...but you can get sweet feel-goodness. Produce On Parade sees an upwards of 80,000 unique individuals per month! Will you be one of 42 to donate $5? or $30? Any bit at all helps! 100% goes towards saving the flock. 

If you decide to join me on this turkey-saving-crusade, you will receive a certificate of adoption from Farm Sanctuary and a personal thank you note from yours truly (that's me!)

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CLICK ON THE PINK BUTTON IN THE RIGHT SIDEBAR at the top of the page TO LEARN MORE. 

We have until the 27th. I know you already do so much to help animals, won't you help us adopt Tibbott, Martha, Gable, Anna, Elsa, Cecelia, and Turpentine? It's super easy!

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Stuffed Sage Carnival Squash

Carnival squash. Have you heard of it? I had never! It came to me on a chilly, leafless and blustery day, neatly packed in my CSA box. Speckled, mostly green and yellow, with odd pools of vibrant orange marked it's skin. Carnival squash is probably most akin to acorn squash, but delightfully unique in its own way. 

This little guy is lovingly filled with only the most scrumptious of autumn goodies. Honeycrisp apples, earthy sage, crunchy pepitas, silky red chard, Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage Grain-Meat Sausage, and pumpkin. Oh yes, we are now filling winter squash with pureed pumpkin.

This is how the pros do it. 

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world”

— Anne Frank

You guys are going to love this squash! This is an easy and impressive festive squash stuffed with apples, kale, pumpkin, and vegan sausage. It’s the perfect star or companion of any Thanksgiving dinner.

Stuffed Sage Carnival Squash

By Katie Henry - Produce On Parade

This is an easy and impressive festive carnival squash stuffed with apples, kale, pumpkin, and vegan sausage. It’s the perfect star or companion of any Thanksgiving dinner.

Ingredients

• 1 carnival or acorn squash, halved
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 red onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp. ground sage
• 1 small apple, diced
• 1 Smoked Apple Sage Field Roast Grain-Meat Sausage link, diced.
• 4 large kale or swiss chard leaves and stems, chopped
• ½ 15 oz. canned pumpkin
• 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. pepitas

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425° F. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place face down on a baking sheet coated with a nonstick cooking spray. Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork.
2. Meanwhile, in a large rimmed frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium low. Add the onion and garlic. Sauté until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
3. Now, stir in the salt, pepper, and sage. Add the apple, sausage, and kale. Sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the kale is wilted.
4. Add the remaining ingredients, mixing well to combine. Stir occasionally while over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes. The apples should be softened but not cooked through. Remove from heat to rest, until the squash is done baking.
5. When squash is done, keep the oven on, and divide the stuffing evenly between each squash half filling the center. Place back in the oven for about 3 minutes to heat through. Remove from the oven and serve hot.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 00:45
Total time: 00:50
Yield: 2 servings

More Easy Squash Recipes

Smoked Gouda and Butternut Pasta

Eggnog Roasted Acorn Squash

Herbed Acorn Squash Bisque

Cheesy Stuffed Autumn Delicata Squash

Dutch Word of The Day

Stuffed --> gevuld (who-feld)

Good Deed of The Day

Milk. It does the body bad. Real bad. A new study from the British Medicine Journal "...found that those who drank three glasses of milk daily were more likely to die of heart disease and cancer. For the women, milk drinkers had a significant better chance of suffering a hip fracture." Yikes. Maybe it's time to switch to one of the other thousand non-dairy options, yea?

Maple Peanut Soba Salad with Edamame & Apples

This is what's born when vegans have no vegetables in the house. Creativity! The great produce purge of 2014 was a purposeful one of course. But we got back from vacation over a week ago. The only reason we even had these apples was because Todd's mother lovingly packed up six honeycrisps which he gently toted all the way back to Alaska from Ohio in his carry-on. The edamame are those frozen packs from Costco, I always have them on hand.

Soba and peanut butter are a natural combination and apples and peanut butter go together beautifully. Edamame goes with soba and voila! 

“I don’t feel superior because I am vegan. The truth is I am vegan because I don’t feel superior to others.”

— Michele McCowan

A quick and simple peanut butter soba noodle salad studded with vibrant edamame and crisp apples. Sweetened with maple syrup, with an Asian flare. 

Maple Peanut Soba Salad with Edamame & Apples

Recipe by Katie @ Produce On Parade

A quick and simple peanut butter soba noodle salad studded with vibrant edamame and crisp apples. Sweetened with maple syrup, with an Asian flare.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 cup water (adjust according to desired thickness)
• 9 oz. package of soba noodles, dry
• 9 oz. frozen package of edamame, shelled or 1/2 cup soybeans
• 1 medium apple (I like Honeycrisp), julienned
• dash sesame seeds (for garnish)

Cooking Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil for the noodles.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together the peanut butter through and including the water. Add additional water as needed for it to have the consistency of an alfredo sauce. Taste and add additional soy sauce and/or syrup to your preference.
3. Microwave the frozen edamame according to package and when cool enough, shell and place in large bowl. Discard the pods, or feed them to your dog like I do.
4. Core and julienne the apple. Add to the soybeans.
5. Cook the soba noodles according to package, usually they only require 4 minutes to boil. Drain and add to the apples and soybeans. Pour the sauce over the noodles and mix very well to combine.
6. Serve warm and topped with a dash of sesame seeds.

Dutch Word of The Day

Kind --> aardig (are-digch)

Good Deed of The Day

November is World Vegan Month! Here, from the Huffington Post, is "A Countdown to Kindness: A Reminder for Each Day of World Vegan Month." You'll definitely want to read it!