Dinner and Dessert with @GayLeaFoodsCoop Coconut Whipped Cream #giveaway

Whenever the holidays rolled around at home, you could count on my mom, grandma or I baking up grandpa's favourite pumpkin pie, to be served with lashings of just sweetened whipped cream. Now, I was not a pumpkin lover by any stretch of the imagination, so the more cream I could pile on the better (sorry mom).

As the years went by, I made my peace with the squash, but developed an allergy to dairy products - leaving me "whip-less" when all I really wanted was a tiny dollop on my coffee or hot cocoa. Thankfully, those sad days are long behind me, and dairy substitutes are getting better than ever - even our go-to "butter and sour cream guys" Gay Lea have come out with a fabulous brand new topping option for vegan, cholesterol-free, lactose-intolerant or otherwise milk-avoiding folk - Coconut Whipped Cream.

Gay Lea's Coconut Whipped Cream is made from pure coconut cream, which makes it a delectably flavourful topping for fresh fruit, shortcake, bread pudding, pancakes, drinks and (of course) pumpkin pie! Not only is it a fantastic (and easy to use aerosol) topping for your sweet treats, but it's even great in savoury recipes too - just check out the Island Coconut Sweet Potato Mash featured below! Dollops frozen on a baking sheet make to-die-for "sneak treats" that melt in your mouth better than any ice cream (tip: freeze "topper" sized dollops and add them to a mug of cocoa or coffee - it's a heavenly burst of creaminess that cools the drink to the perfect temperature!). With all that creamy texture and decadent flavour, you would never believe that is healthier than regular whipped cream, being cholesterol free, low in sugar and only 13% fat.

Think you'd like to try this twist on conventional whip yourself? Well all my Canadian readers (sorry US), can enter TODAY through Friday, December 5th for a chance to win a Gay Lea dessert prize pack! You'll get 4 gorgeous dessert plates, 4 dessert forks, 4 napkins, 4 napkin rings, a pie lifter, and two vouchers for Gay Lea Coconut Whipped Cream! The RaffleCopter widget is below the recipe - enjoy, and good luck!

Moroccan Turkey Stew - Thanksgiving #SundaySupper leftovers

My favourite part of the holidays was always the leftovers. After the dishes are done and put away, stuffing, potatoes, veggies and turkey tucked away into containers for weeks of minute-ready dinners, I relished the late night, taboo ventures into the fridge for a scoop of my Gramma's potatoes, the next-day open-faced turkey and gravy sandwiches on thick slabs of French bread (or Challah at Christmas), and of course the stews, pastas and soup that filled the rest of the year with comfort food on a dime. 

While our Thanksgiving is long past, the rest of the holiday season is only ramping up! Looking in the freezer, I discovered that we still had frozen turkey meat to use before cooking up another bird in a month or so! Needing to clear freezer (and fridge) space, I turned to my love of all things Moroccan to cobble together a hearty, healthy and exotic pot of warming stew. Tons of veggies bulked up the turkey meat and made a rich, savoury dish over yellow rice - the traditional serving style would be over couscous, but we had none and I didn't fancy running out mid-cook! I gave some of the batch to a coworker of mine, who enjoyed it with her husband and kids (granted, it's a harder sell to the young ones, but adventurous eaters will love it), and the rest we were more than willing to "gobble" up!

 
This week, our #SundaySupper group is re-inventing holiday (specifically Thanksgiving) leftovers. We have the whole gamut of goodies on tap - check out our selection below!

Breakfast:
Cranberry Sauce Muffins by The Foodie Army Wife
Leftover Stuffing Breakfast Strata by Ruffles & Truffles
Sweet Potato Casserole Muffins by Magnolia Days
Turkey & Chorizo Breakfast Hash by Brunch with Joy
Cranberry Sauce’d Corn Bread Muffins by Rhubarb and Honey

Main Dish:
Leftover Pie by Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
Thanksgiving Leftover Waffles by Foxes Love Lemons
Stuffing Hash by The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
Turkey Pizza by Meal Diva
Turkey & Caramelized Onion Risotto by kimchi MOM
Turkey with Creamy Mushroom Marsala Sauce by Casa de Crews
Moroccan Turkey Stew by What Smells So Good?
Peruvian Cilantro & Turkey Soup by The Little Ferraro Kitchen
Turkey & Butternut Squash Stew by Cooking Chat
Turkey Kreplach Soup by Panning the Globe
Turkey & Stuffing Crepes by Peaceful Cooking
Cranberry Apple Pecan Chicken Salad by NeighborFood
Herbed Turkey over Cornbread Waffles with Cranberry Sauce by girlichef
Creamy Peanut Gochujang Pasta by Wallflour Girl
Cranberry Sweet Potato Soup by Take A Bite Out of Boca
Turkey Enchilada Pasta Bake by Curious Cuisiniere
Turkey Orzo Risotto by Family Foodie
Turkey Croquettes by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings

Side Dishes:
Cheesy Mashed Potato Croquettes by Noshing with the Nolands
Whipped Carrots with Sriracha Butter by Healthy Delicious
Cranberry-Balsamic Glazed Cauliflower Wings by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
Parmesan Mashed Cauliflower and Potatoes by Momma’s Meals
Cheesy Jalapeño Potato Cakes by Bobbi’s Cozy Kitchen
Italian Mashed Potato Pancakes by The Weekend Gourmet

Sandwiches:
Cranberry & Turkey Sandwich by The Redhead Baker
Monte Cristo Sandwich by Nik Snacks
Hot Brown Turkey Sandwiches by The Life and Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch
Sprouted Grain Turkey, Cranberry & Brie Panini by Amee’s Savory Dish
Turkey Cranberry Flatbread by Peanut Butter and Peppers

Condiments & Sauces:
Cranberry Vinaigrette by Nosh My Way
Leftover White Wine Syrup by Food Lust People Love
DIY Yellow Mustard by The Texan New Yorker

Dessert:
Banana Cheesecake with Pecan Graham Cracker Crust by Desserts Required
Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Gluten-Free Lemon Cake by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
Spiced Cranberry Sauce Buckle by The Wimpy Vegetarian


Cocktails & Drinks:
Cranberry Orange Crush by The Messy Baker
Cranberry Bellini by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on Twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7 p.m. ET.  Follow the #SundaySupper hashtagand remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

Gluten / Soy / Nut / Dairy Free Pie Crust #RecipeRedux

I apologize for the horribly long title, but for something as all inclusively allergy-friendly as this pie crust had to be, nothing else would do!

You see, a friend of mine has a son with Celiac disease. This is hard enough for a family to deal with on it's own, but he's also allergic to soy, milk and tree nuts as well as avoiding any pork products. As you can imagine, holiday treats can be a bit of a Russian roulette, if not an outright forced Scrooge-fest. Over the years, I've done brownies and cookies for their gift basket, but I knew one thing they missed sharing as a family was a good old fashioned apple pie.

I have such fond memories of helping my mom make and eat apple pies over the years - from picking bags and bags of Northern Spies to peeling them, spicing them just right with cinnamon (no sugar or anything else!), rolling out and crimping the pie crust and finally digging in with a fork - that it is unthinkable that anyone should have to go without the experience of enjoying a real, homemade apple pie at least once in their lives. A little scouting on the web and cobbling of recipes later, I had it - a rollable, flaky pastry safe for the whole family and perfect for a no-frills apple pie, as well as any other sweet or savoury treat you need!

This month the #RecipeRedux group is sharing food memories - many of us are especially thankful for food memories we have shared with friends or relatives throughout our lives, whether it was a special meal eaten as a child or a cooking tradition passed down the generations. Please enjoy the shares below and make sure to say hi!

Zucchini Bread Granola

Most gardeners out there have a love-hate relationship with zucchini. On one hand, it's a huge joy to see something in the backyard plot take off so well and proliferate - on the other hand, that energetic growth and spread often gets out of hand, leaving the planters of good intentions with baseball bat-sized, six-meal fruit by August. The beginning squash are greedily consumed, and you have no problem adding a chopped cup or two to every meal. Then the second week's harvest comes in... and the third, and so on, until you have no choice other than zucchini rotting on the vine, or zucchini rotting in the fridge.

After years of this constant cycle, I finally started to shred and freeze my excess zukes for later baking. I opted for 1 cup "pucks", which fit perfectly into most recipes, and once my taste for summer squash returned I started digging them out one at a time. One of the first things I decided to whip up fit nicely into my holiday gift giving list and even made extra for snacking - a whole-grain, chunky, crunchy granola. The perfect "make now, eat later" treat as well, I originally just made a batch for the holiday giftees, but we couldn't stop snacking, especially on the carob-kissed chunks! This would be a decadent start to the morning, or an after-school snack that kids will love and not realize the innate nutritional value of. If I could take credit for it I would... but the honour of that inspiration goes to Healthy Food for Living. Either way, my family loved it - and if they love zucchini bread half as much as we do, I'm sure yours will too!

Shared with Gluten Free Wednesdays

Favourite Gingerbread Cookies #CreativeCookieExchange

I don't think there's a more quintessential holiday dessert out there than the Christmas cookie. Regardless of whether your preference is crisp, crunchy biscotti, light as air meringues, buttery shortbread or spicy gingerbread, the season is rife with variation to suit every taste.

At home, our family knows one cookie and one cookie only - my mom's classic shortbreads. To call anything else on the holiday platter "our" Christmas cookie would be nothing short of sacrilege - not to mention my sister would probably boycott the whole set of festivities given that they (and chocolate chippers) are the only cookies she'll touch. That said, those outside of our immediate household enjoy a more varied spectrum of holiday flavours - especially one of my favourite teachers (and now co-workers!), who loves anything and everything ginger-related. As such, I make it a point to bake a batch of spicy ginger cookies every year for her, always varying a touch in ingredients or method but always undeniably packed with the root. This year I took a fairly basic blend of butter, sugar, molasses and spices inserted two hits of ginger (fresh and ground) for extra pop. Sturdy enough to roll out and cut, they remain tender and fragrant after baking for days thanks to the high portion of liquid sweetener. The whole grain flours add an increased rich flavour and texture too, without being "hit you over the head" nutritious tasting.

This month's Creative Cookie Exchange theme is Ginger! Dried and ground, candied, fresh--if you like ginger in your cookies you have come to the right place! If you are a blogger and want to join in the fun, contact Laura at thespicedlife AT gmail DOT com and she will get you added to our Facebook group, where we discuss our cookies and share links.

You can also just use us as a great resource for cookie recipes--be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts (you can find all of them here at The Spiced Life). You will be able to find them the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month! Also, if you are looking for inspiration to get in the kitchen and start baking, check out what all of the hosting bloggers have made:

• Ginger Curry Sugar Cookies from The Spiced Life
• Favourite Gingerbread Cookies from What Smells So Good?
• Vegan Ginger Cookies with Cardamom from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Ginger Chocolate Ninja Cookies from NinjaBaking
• Ginger Lemon Sandwich Cookies from Sweet Cinnamon & Honey
• Buttery Ginger Shortbread Cookies from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Pepparkakor-- Swedish Ginger Cookies from A Baker’s House
• Oat, Orange and Ginger Crisps from Made with Love
• Séches aux Gingembre from Food Lust People Love
• Ginger Sour Cream Cookies from Basic N Delicious
• Ginger Molasses Cutout Cookies from Magnolia Days
• Chewy Ginger Cookies from Spiceroots
• Chocolate - Ginger Chewies from Baking in Pyjamas
• Orange Ginger Cookies from Indian Curries/stew
• Refrigerator Ginger Cookies from DessertStalking Blog