* image These past few months have been busy for our family, especially since our oldest joined a local swim team. Between juggling our work schedules and balancing school with practices... we're all pretty wiped out. Although it's a lot of work, I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving. Preparing the holiday meal for our family fills my heart with joy, and I can't wait to get started. To make things easier for me, I don't deviate much from our first Thanksgiving as a family. The dishes I make are familiar ones, and the recipes for them live at my fingertips. Keeping the same menu year after year means I don't have to spend time researching recipes or planning a new one. Here are my tried-and-true Thanksgiving recipes, as well as my prep timeline for the big day!
Bloggers and friends from all over the world come together for #ElleAPalooza to remember and honor Elle from Elle's New England Kitchen.
When I first started blogging in 2008, I established an early routine of self-doubt, giving myself a pep talk every time I prepared to click on the "publish" button. Although I loved cooking and writing and sharing my love for food with others, I wasn't sure whether anyone would really care about what I had to say. But, slowly, I let go of my doubt and truly came to appreciate how close-knit and supportive the food blogging community really was.
One of the first people to show interest in Taste As You Go was Elle (Lee Ann) of Elle's New England Kitchen. She regularly left thoughtful comments, and I was grateful for each and every one of them. As our mini conversations jumped from my blog to hers and from Twitter to Facebook, Elle became so much more to me than just a blogging mentor and inspiration.
She became my friend.
My friendship with Elle flourished online, but we never had the opportunity to meet in real life. I guess part of me always assumed we'd have time to schedule a fun get-together the next time I was up in Boston for a Red Sox game or in Connecticut visiting my family.
Actually meeting Elle in person was something I looked forward to doing "someday". Not only did we share a love of food, but we also shared a love of all things relating to New England, so I knew we'd have an amazing time together whenever our meeting finally took place.
But everything changed when I read the devastating news on Facebook of Elle's sudden passing from a pulmonary embolism. I was in shock and didn't allow myself to believe the news for days. I was just chatting with Elle online... How could she really be gone?
I waited too long to tell her that I wanted to arrange a way for us to meet. And how long had it been since I last told her that I was grateful for her friendship? My sadness quickly morphed into disappointment. Disappointment about my lack of initiation and lack of action. Disappointment about missed opportunities.
Elle, your presence in my world will be missed. Our silly conversations online will be missed. The time spent reading your blog updates will be missed. Though, I'm sure that I'll be stopping by your blog every now and then to remember the good times we shared, to get dinner ideas for my menu plans, and to think about how lucky I was to have you in my life.
In honor of Elle, I'm sharing her recipe for Edamame Ginger Dip with all of you.
It's simple to make and has a nice kick to it thanks to the use of fresh ginger. Serve with pita chips instead of hummus or as an accompaniment for your vegetable platter instead of ranch dip. Either way, I'm sure you're going to love it.
Author: Taste As You Go // adapted slightly from Elle's New England Kitchen
Elle's Edamame Ginger Dip
This Asian-inspired dip has a spicy kick to it thanks to the fresh ginger. Serve with pita chips or as an unexpected accompaniment for your veggie tray.
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 3 MinInactive time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 8 M
Ingredients
8 ounces frozen shelled edamame
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon tahini
1 clove garlic
1/8 teaspoon salt
Hot sauce, to taste
Instructions
Prepare the edamame according to the package instructions.
Once the edamame is cooked, puree all of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
Cover and chill for about an hour before serving.
Serve with your favorite chips, crackers, or veggies for dipping.
