Welcome to Thanksgiving week. The big day is almost upon us, and I for one am pretty psyched about it this year. It’s been a crazy year, and I’m so looking forward to some down time over the holidays. Thanksgiving week is usually about when I start going into end-of-year wind down/party time mode. And the three days leading up to Thanksgiving I have trouble focusing on much other than food. Fortunately, I’ve got this site as an outlet for that, and you guys all seem keen to listen to my babbling about recipes. Thanks for indulging me! So, jeweled rice. Probably not the most conventional of Thanksgiving sides, but we are eating vegan, so convention can go right out the old window. This fruity pilaf is something you’d probably find at a Middle Eastern restaurant, rather than at most Americans’ holiday tables, but it’s actually perfect Thanksgiving material: buttery spiced rice, sweet bits of fruit, crunchy nuts, and it’s not bad to look at either. It’s also pretty darn easy to make. (Most of the work is in gathering ingredients, but you’re probably headed to the supermarket this week anyway). Impress your family without a sweat. That’s my kind of dish. To Thanksgiving the dish up a just a bit, I added some roasted butternut squash chunks. You wouldn’t normally find squash in a dish like this, but it works, and you can let your squash roast away while the rice simmers, making life nice and easy.
