A savory pumpkin pie
and a series of random thoughts...
Welcome to To Vegetables, With Love, a celebration of a vegetable life, less ordinary. ‘ Find archived recipes on my recipe index.
My book Tenderheart is available from Books are Magic, Kitchen, Arts and Letters, Book Larder, Bold Fork Books and also here or here.
This week’s recipe is for paid subscribers. For everyone else, my thoughts (and recipe gift links) are free.
Some things I’ve noticed in the past few weeks:
- There is a numbness in the air lately. I cannot shake this feeling. People seem tired, resigned. Even media thanksgiving stories seem muted. It’s a bit unnerving, to be honest. I figure we are living out the phrase “once bitten, twice shy”…
- Many women, particularly Asian women, brown women, and particularly particularly black women are choosing to rest. With good reason.
- There is a re-centering in media, including food media, of white/European narratives and experience. This is a view shared by many colleagues, that diversity is not the focus as it was in recent years, that tokenism often takes priority over decolonization, that minority groups are not receiving the support they need to thrive. I put this here because my newsletter is a safe space for all. Many may not agree with this point of view, but as a person with a very diverse audience, with readers from all racial/cultural backgrounds – and I appreciate you all! - I feel it my responsibility to keep this conversation front of mind. This is a highly nuanced topic that requires constant redress. To remember this fact, and to do what you can in your daily lives to see life through another’s lens, is to be an ally in the never-ending fight for equality for minority groups.
- Is the earlier-than-usual embrace of the holidays an attempt to ameliorate this global malaise? Since the first week of November, Christmas has been in full swing. Store windows are decorated, holiday markets have popped up all over the city. The streaming services have centered holiday content with zeal. Maybe it’s always like this, and I just don’t notice. Nevertheless, I’m right there with this movement. I watched my first Christmas movie this week, a suitably cheesy but strangely high-production-value and enjoyable Hallmark movie called Christmas in Notting Hill. We used to live in Notting Hill and it felt like the pinnacle of escapism, to reminisce in all the scenes that feature streets from our old neighbourhood. Nostalgia for simpler times.
- I predict a huge cookie season this year. Once this week is over, and Turkey season passes, cookies will come out swinging. For me, come December, cookies will occupy my every waking thought. This will surprise many, as I utter the sentence, “I hate baking” at least 4 times a week, but that disdain does not extend to cookies during the month of December. I cannot wait to start thinking about it. I lean German when it comes to Christmas (purely because I love German Christmas markets LOL) and usually bake lots from Advent, though this year I know I will be delve deeply into
’s new Classic German Cooking, which I’ve owned for a few weeks now but which I’ve not allowed myself to look at too much because I’m preserving the experience for when I’m in full Christmas cooking mode. Let me know your favourite cookie recipes in comments.Happy Thanksgivng to all who celebrate. For those who don’t, you’ll still love this week’s recipe, a savory pumpkin pie!!!! Yes, it’s cheesy but still a quite sweet from the winter squash/pumpkin. I made mine with a Carnival squash and it was SO lovely, so earthy and full of depth.
A milestone was reached for To Vegetables, With Love this week. This snuck up on me, but I hit 50,000 subscribers! I’m blown away. This newsletter has been my light for the past couple of years. It is a space where I can be unashamedly myself, sharing personal, and at times vulnerable, stories about food and life, where I can freely share the in-the-moment vegetable recipes which I’m loving right now, where I can speak my truth amongst a truly very special community of food and vegetable lovers. For me, food is not only about sustenance but it is a connection to family, to our histories, and to one another. Thank you to each and every 50k+ of you who have signed up, especially to those who read and comment every week (I love seeing your comments), and big, big, big THANKS to paid subscribers who make my work here possible. As my 14-year-old self would say, Vegetables, and vegetable-lovers, RULE.
First, a little tidbit from The Today Show this week. This is my second appearance in their Thanksgiving extravaganza that features 20+ chefs frantically sharing recipes over 3 hours of morning TV. I honestly have so much fun. It’s joyous and I know lots of people love seeing the frivolity. I made a simplified version of my one pot Mac and cheese topped with tater tots. Catch the recipe and segment here (sorry I think the video content is only available in US)
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NOW, Five weeknight salads or Thanksgiving sides/mains:
Monday: HERE’S A NEWBIE! Just in time: Crunchy Brussels Sprouts and Apple Slaw
Tuesday: Grilled Eggplant, Herby Lentils and Turmeric Tahini
Wednesday: Warm Roasted Carrot and Barley Salad
Thursday: Crunchy Spring Iceberg Salad
Friday: Tofu salad with brussels sprouts, brown rice and sesame dressing
🥦 My cookbook, Tenderheart is for cooking vegetables, all year round. Pick up your copy here. It is also mostly vegan (or vegan-izable) and gluten-free adaptable.
A savory pumpkin pie
© Hetty Lui McKinnon for To Vegetables, With Love.
