Tuesday, November 23, 2010

What I'm Thankful For (and a Contest)

My family has never been one of those that goes around the Thanksgiving table and has everyone say what they're thankful for. It always seemed a little cheesy to me. But since I'm now a cheese-free vegan I think I can go for it with feeling dorky.

Tasty ginger cookies.

Besides, it's always a good idea to keep perspective on the good things that are happening, because sometimes it's too easy to dwell on the bad. Here goes. My list of things that I'm thankful for in 2010.
  • my parents (for being here and healthy and always supportive)
  • my friends (for same and for letting me whine and keeping me going)
  • my agent (for always being ready with a hooray)
  • my editor (for helping make those hoorays possible)
  • my dog (for always wiggling when I get home)
  • the opportunities life has given me
  • the opportunities I've made in life
  • the infinite resource the internet
  • warm blankets on a cold night
  • the beautiful blue sky outside my window
Wow, pretty amazing list when I look at it all lined up.

As a bonus item for today, I'm thankful for the fabulous RT Book Reviews because they asked us Buzz girls for some advice on how to write YA books and they're posting it on their blog today. (FYI, they have a really great collection of YA news, interviews, and guest posts.)

Now, for the contest. I'm giving away a signed copy of Forgive My Fins.* To enter, comment with your favorite meat-free Thanksgiving dish. (Double points if you include a recipe or a link to one.) I'm going to give this one a try.

Hugs,
TLC

teralynnchilds.com
@teralynnchilds

* US/Canada only, winners to be announced Monday

23 comments:

jpetroroy said...

I love sweet potato pie

TinaFerraro said...

I am crazy for mashed potatoes!

And YAY about the Buzz Girls being at the RTBookReview blog!

danya said...

I am vegetarian so our Thanksgivings are always meat-free! My favorite dish would have to be pumpkin pie, but as for a main course dish...my mom often makes a really delicious veggie lasagna for Thanksgiving :)

Thanks for the giveaway!

chocoholic410(at)hotmail(dot)com

Unknown said...

I like my grandmas homemade raspberry tarts. I dunno if she even uses a recipe anymore when she makes them

Cassandra
cassandra dot crouser at yahoo dot com

Alissa said...

I'm definitely all about baked brussel sprouts, tossed lightly in garlic and mustard powder. :]


Alissa
thegrammariansreviews (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Jessy said...

My favorite meat-free dish would have to be my grandma's stuffing. I don't know what she puts in it, but I try to fill my plate with it before it's all gone.

Pokadots1121 said...

My favorite is apple cinnamon pie with with ice cream.
The recipe website-http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Apple-Cinnamon-Pie-with-Vanilla-Ice-Cream-2594
Erica
Pokadots1121@yahoo.com

Steph said...

My favorite part of Thanksgiving is the stuffed artichokes that act as, kind of, the first course. I always look forward to it! however, my favorite dish has to be the sweet potatoes, which is just mashed sweet potatoes (or yams) with marshmallows covered all over the top and baked. I'm sure you've either seen it or have had it before. It is absolutely delicious!
Another one of my favorites is stuffed mushrooms, but my aunt makes them with pieces of sausage inside the stuffing. However, I'm sure there are other recipes out there that have no meat in them at all.

Marie said...

I absolutely love mashed potatoes and peas!

ako4eggs at comcast dot net

JB said...

Marcaroni and cheese has always been my favorite! Sometimes I like to add goldfish crackers to it!

redheadrockstarJB (at) gmail (dot) com

Unknown said...

I love butternut squash and brussel sprouts

donnas said...

Its all about the Pecan Pie.

Ingredients
Dough:

* 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons sugar
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup cold butter (1 stick), diced
* 1 large egg, lightly beaten
* Flour, for rolling the dough

Filling:

* 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 cup packed light brown sugar
* 3/4 cup light corn syrup
* 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
* 2 cups chopped toasted pecans
* 1 to 2 tablespoons bourbon
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 3 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions

Make the dough by hand: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using your fingers, work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles yellow cornmeal mixed with bean-sized bits of butter. (If the flour/butter mixture gets warm, refrigerate it for 10 minutes before proceeding.) Add the egg and stir the dough together with a fork or by hand in the bowl. If the dough is dry, sprinkle up to a tablespoon more of cold water over the mixture.

Alternatively, make the dough in a food processor. With the machine fitted with the metal blade, pulse the flour, sugar, and salt until combined. Add the butter and pulse until it resembles yellow cornmeal mixed with bean-sized bits of butter, about 10 times. Add the egg and pulse 1 to 2 times; don't let the dough form into a ball in the machine. (If the dough is very dry add up to a tablespoon more of cold water.) Remove the bowl from the machine, remove the blade, and bring the dough together by hand.

Form the dough into a disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough with a rolling pin into a 12-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie pan and trim the edges, leaving about an extra inch hanging over the edge. Tuck the overhanging dough underneath itself to form a thick edge that is even with the rim. Flute the edge as desired. Freeze the pie shell for 30 minutes.

Set separate racks in the center and lower third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Put a piece of parchment paper or foil over the pie shell and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake on a baking sheet on the center rack until the dough is set, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and lift sides of the parchment paper to remove the beans. Continue baking until the pie shell is lightly golden brown, about 10 more minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

While the crust is baking make the filling: In medium saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and stirring constantly, continue to boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the nuts, bourbon, and the vanilla. Set the mixture aside to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. (If the crust has cooled, return it to the oven for 5 minutes to warm through.) Whisk the beaten eggs into the filling until smooth. Put the pie shell on a sheet pan and pour the filling into the hot crust.

Bake on the lower oven rack until the edges are set but the center is still slightly loose, about 40 to 45 minutes. (If the edges get very dark, cover them with aluminum foil half way during baking.) Cool on a rack. Serve slightly warm or room temperature.

Yan said...

Mashed potatoes with gravy lol I keep it simple xD

Margay Leah Justice said...

I love many dishes that are meat free, but I think my favorite is stuffing.

Margay

Marley Gibson said...

I'm crazy for mashed potatoes, too. And if you're going vegan, for the added flavor, you can put vegetable broth in it to kick it up some.

Love the RT blog!

Mariah said...

Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup! I made it today for Thanksgiving!

a_readers_adventure at yahoo dot com

jess said...

I love stuffing and mashed potatoes with gravy...yum!

jecca.0104@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Hi :)
Thank you for the opportunity to win a SIGNED copy!
My favorite non-meat Thanksgiving food is... Pumpkin Pie.
NOT store bought - my mom makes it.
(I don't have the recipe)
Happy Thanksgiving!
Love & Best Wishes to you and yours,
Rob

Jessica said...

OMG. My favorite is a tie between pearlized onions and pumpkin pie. So goood!!!

Happy Thanksgiving Tera!!!

Jessica
ireadtorelax@yahoo.com

Kari said...

I luv mashed potatoes drowned in gravy, and thanksgiving is the one time in the year that my mother will make them and i savor it.

sunnynikki said...

Cranberry relish, it simply isn't Thanksgiving without it and my aunt makes me enough each year to last until Christmas, it is the perfect blend of sweet and tart. It is a pain to make so I'm grateful that she takes the time to make it every year.

Jen said...

My favorite meat free Thanksgiving dish that my mom makes for me each year is a roasted butternut squash lasagna.

I think she used a recipe from the Food Network this year (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/lasagna-of-roasted-butternut-squash-recipe2/index.html)

jennifer_723 {at} yahoo {dot} com

Anna said...

My grandma and I used to make these really amazing short bread cookies, and because my mom can't have sugar we would use frutose. They were rather bland but I still ended up loving them because they were so different. They had a very flour-y taste to them and we dyed them all sorts of different colors, but the cool thing was that they didn't have all that much sweetener in them and they were still good. :]
~Grace
peachandblue2@gmail.com