Happy almost-Thanksgiving! How are you spending your holiday??

It’s hard to believe we are already at the end of November. Personally I don’t love having Thanksgiving so late in the month, as it then feels like there is hardly any time before Christmas!

For tomorrow, we are hanging out at home in the morning — I’ll go on some sort of run or walk to get outside. We will then head to my parents’ to watch the Lions game and afterwards will have Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt and uncle’s house. I’m bringing a big fall salad w/ mixed greens, roasted delicata squash, toasted pecans, pomegranate, goat cheese, and a maple cinnamon balsamic vinaigrette.

What is your favorite part of a traditional Thanksgiving meal? I absolutely love homemade cranberry sauce!

We’ve had such cloudy weather here in Michigan the past couple of weeks… gray skies upon gray skies, with little to no sign of that changing any time soon! We also had our first snow of the season at the end of last week!

On to some recent November eats! 

Happy, Happy Birthday to Alec! To celebrate, I made him a vanilla almond cake w/ cream cheese frosting. I essentially used this recipe from Ambitious Kitchen (obviously minus the strawberries, and in a 9×13 pan). 3 +2 candles for turning 32! Woohoo!

The weekend before his birthday we had my parents and brothers over for lunch (taco salads + burrito bowls) and went bowling. All was fun!

This past weekend we celebrated by going to Pacific Rim (one of our favorite go-to Ann Arbor restaurants for a nicer dinner!). I had my usual ahi tuna that I always love to get when I’m there… I sometimes consider getting the sablefish (the other “best dish” IMO — which is what Alec likes to get)… but the past several times I continue to end up opting for the tuna! Just too good to pass up.

Chocolate mousse with a passion fruit topping on the house for a birthday dessert… wasn’t my favorite but Alec liked it which is what matters! 🙂

On Saturday (Alec’s actual birthday) I made a palak paneer for the first time, since he really likes Indian food (this dish in particular). It was a bit trickier / more time-intensive (for the first go) than I anticipated, but it turned out well after a few adjustments!! The most challenging thing was that I’m not a big fan of Indian food and don’t really know what this dish is *supposed* to taste like (as in, what would make it good or better)… so I was a cook flying blind! Thankfully Alec was there to save the day as far as spice/seasoning adjustments went.

The flavors have been growing on me a bit as I’ve had it a few times! I look forward to making it again, now that I know what to expect and things would go more smoothly.

This is the same salad combination I mentioned above that I’ll be bringing to Thanksgiving — topped w/ some chicken for lunch. Eaten w/ some granola on the side for extra satisfaction and to be full enough.

Alec’s dad recently came to visit for a weekend and I made this delicious cilantro peanut chicken from Pinch of Yum. I marinated the chicken breasts and then cooked them in our wok. Served w/ coconut rice and sautéed bok choy. I absolutely loved the flavor of this chicken and will definitely be keeping it in our regular rotation!

Followed by ice cream (chocolate + maple sea salt) w/ homemade (super easy!) peanut butter caramel. The combination of the maple sea salt w/ the PB caramel was clearly superior to the chocolate, leading me to go w/ only the maple sea salt on the nights to follow! The maple sea salt is from Trader Joe’s — really really good.

Alec’s new job is in Milford (Michigan), so we went to Milford on a recent Saturday afternoon to walk around and have lunch. I had this delicious apple salad w/ some really great salmon, smoked gouda, and a delicious roasted apple vinaigrette.

Sometimes (oftentimes!) lunch is super simple. GF bagel w/ cream cheese + carrots + chips + citrus fruit.

Salmon w/ my favorite roasted red pepper sauce, plus baked potato w/ butter (and LOTS of salt + pepper), and sautéed broccoli.

The roasted red pepper sauce makes a lot, so I froze some and later repurposed it for this dish! Looks somewhat messy/chaotic, but oh so good! I simply roasted some potatoes (seasoned w/ lots of paprika + garlic powder + salt + pepper), roasted some bell peppers + onion, and then topped w/ sunny side up eggs and the roasted red pepper sauce.

Pumpkin muffins w/ chocolate chips. One of my favorite flavor combinations!

More pumpkin w/ chocolate, this time made into bars for our after-church lunch.

Apple cranberry crumble for another church lunch this past weekend… I liked this okay — the main thing is that thought it was a bit too tart. It had potential though! I would use the same recipe again, I would just sub maple syrup for the honey and add more maple syrup. Then I think it would be really good!

One of my favorite frittatas that I’ve made in a while! Red pepper + broccoli + onion + freshly-grated parmesan + feta. Frittatas are often a go-to dinner option for me to use up whatever veggies or cheeses we might have on hand.

Veggie curry, based off this recipe from Cookie & Kate. I was going to do a red curry (per the recipe), but they didn’t have any red curry paste at the grocery store. Yellow curry it was! Loving all the ginger lately as we head into the colder months.

Pumpkin pasta topped w/ fresh sage, peas, and parmesan. Another comforting fall-inspired meal!

Breakfasts lately have been my nut/seed breakfast bowls topped w/ plenty of peanut butter + drizzle of agave syrup + chopped honeycrisp + cinnamon. I could eat this exact thing every morning!

Everyday Enjoyment:

Upcoming holiday break // 

Usually at this point in the year I’m feeling in epic need of a longer break to unwind… the Christmas holiday season is my favorite time to really relax and have some more extended downtown. Usually my time off at the end of the year is a mix of relaxing and getting some random things done that I don’t normally have as much time for. We will decorate for Christmas this weekend, and then it’s only a couple of weeks until till my upcoming extended unstructured time! Looking forward to: reading, taking my time, not having so much of a schedule each day, and getting organized with a few life logistics. We have felt really behind on a lot of “life stuff” for a while now (due to a combination of factors over the past 5 years such as me being in grad school, launching my business, Alec’s super long commute)… we are trying to push through to get all of that more organized!

Alec having a shorter commute! //

YAY. As mentioned in last month’s post, Alec started a new job with a much better commute! It is so nice to have him home a bit more throughout the week, and for him to not have to deal with the stress and hassle of commuting from Ann Arbor through Metro Detroit each day! It was getting so bad with the traffic, constant construction, etc.

Currently reading //

Currently reading Deep Work by Cal Newport, which I randomly decided to read at what feels like a really good time for me. I read his book Digital Minimalism back in 2020, which significantly shifted the way I approach my phone and social media (as in, I basically got off all social media after reading the book and feeling motivated to make some changes). I’m feeling motivated to read it again after I finish the current book, as I’d like to make some additional changes and revisit my desire to not be on my phone/technology as much. I HATE HATE HATE feeling/being overly attached to my phone and will plan to get even more aggressive in my boundaries with this!!!

What are you looking forward to with Thanksgiving? Any favorite foods or traditions?

What are you currently reading, watching, or listening to?

Have a wonderful turkey day!