Prep of one kind and another

My loves! Come follow me over at Instagram if you haven't already, will you? I can't remember my handle, but you'll find me. Ha ha ha. Okay, wait. It's @catherinewman. I think! Then you will get to see my parents peeling another 10 pounds of potatoes *this* year! Which they will definitely be doing, even if they think they can just quietly work on the jigsaw and crossword puzzles all day. Poor things.

Oh, is Ben home? I hardly even noticed! [clutches heart weepingly during Silver Bells]

I am really just checking in from the chaos of multiple gravies (vegan! turkey! gluten-free!) and stuffings (gf! not gf! with mushrooms! without!) and pies (vegan cranberry cheesecake! gluten-free pecan!) to say that despite my long, unexplained absences, I will be posting a gift guide this year, probably early next week. But if you have any advice, please feel free to share it: I use the amazon postings to generate revenue, which I donate all of (usually to Partners in Health, but sometimes to a mix of places), but I hate to support Amazon in particular and world-destroying billionaires in general. Thoughts? I'm wondering if it would work to have links to independent sites, and then to have a button for donating, like a little charitable tip jar... or if that's going to be too complicated, and the good of the huge donation outweighs the bad of the Amazon links. Anyhoo. Just thinking out loud, it seems.

Some T-giving-ish recipes, in case you don't have them from years past (plus mashed potatoes with and without copious amounts of sour cream and butter and/or Earth Balance and creamed cashews):

Basic Brined Roasted Turkey

Turkey Gravy

Vegetarian Brown Gravy

Herbed Goat Cheese

Wild (or not-so-wild) Mushroom Pate

Boursin-Style Cheese Spread

Holiday Crudités with the best-ever Green Dip

Butternut Bisque

Sparkling Cranberry Centerpiece

My Mom's Cranberry Sauce

Butternut Galette

Parmesan-Rosemary Butternut Gratin

Classic Pecan Pie (but with this gluten-free pastry)

Also, I have some lovely new low-carb holiday sides up at diatribe, if low-carb is your dietary family of origin or choice. 

If you need a psychological palate cleanser, please read Chanel Miller's exquisite book and visit https://native-land.ca/ to acknowledge whose territory you are living on. 

In unrelated news, did I mention my new book? I mean, I see it over there in sidebar, but I am so excited about it that I am going to remention it here! It comes out in May, but books basically live and die on preorders, so if you would, I would be so grateful. Amazon here. Indie Bound here.

Illustrated by the amazing Debbie Fong, whom you can follow on Instagram!  @pommopress

The menfolk in my household were BAFFLED by this page.

I mean, who doesn't want to learn how to vacuum?

Can you see the blurbs here, or do you have old-lady eyes like me? They are from Jess Lahey and Lisa Damour, and I love them so much.

Sending you warmth and courage, my darlings. xo