All-time Favorite Posts

The Forest Feast turned 2 today! On that foggy morning 2 years ago, I had just gotten married, just left New York City for a cabin in the woods and I needed a new project to be excited about, a fresh start in a new place. Only in my wildest dreams did I think this little blog would inspire a whole new direction for my career and a cookbook dream project to boot! THANK YOU, my dear readers, from the bottom of my heart!  Your sweet notes and encouragement have inspired me to continue sharing recipes and made it possible for this series to grow. I am so excited to see what will be in store for The Forest Feast, and can’t wait to share my cookbook with you in April.

Growing up in the apple orchard, every fall we had more apples than we knew what to do with. When we had eaten all the apple butter, apple pie, apple sauce and apple cake we could manage, my mom would start dehydrating them to make garland, and we’d save them for decorations around the holidays. The Jewish harvest holiday of Sukkot just ended, and we haven’t managed to take down our sukkah yet (the little hut you built to eat meals under for a week). I just love sitting out there, maybe just another week or so! Jonathan snapped some pictures of me sitting under it the other day, while I was slicing apples for dehydration. I strung the dried apples (along with peppers and dried orange slices) on pastry twine and hung them in the sukkah.

I’m feeling a little nostalgic, so I thought I’d share some of my favorite all-time posts from the archive with you:

Watermelon Salad (my most popular post to date! from July 2012)

Roasted Brussels Sprouts (Jan. 2013)

Campfire Cocktail Hour (Feb. 2012)

Red Roasted Carrots (April 2012)

Guacamole Deviled Eggs (Nov. 2011)

Happy weekend, everyone!

With lots of gratitutde,

xx Erin

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Have you ever seen how Brussels sprouts grow? They are so beautiful! I recently came across this field of them not too far from us, in Half Moon Bay, where there is so much gorgeous farmland on the sea. I got some Brussels sprouts in my CSA box this week so it inspired me to come home and make this.

ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH VEGGIE SAUSAGE & GOLDEN RAISINS

serves 4

You’ll need: Brussels sprouts, veggie sausage, golden raisins, olive oil, salt and pepper

Take 3 big handfuls of Brussels Sprouts and halve them. Lay them out on a baking sheet and sprinkle generously with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast at 425F for about 20-25 minutes, just until the start to get browned and crispy on the edges. This differs oven-to-oven, so just keep an eye on it after about 15 minutes. The magic is in the crispy bits so don’t take them out too soon. Some parts can be a bit blackened.

Meanwhile, pan fry slices of veggie sausage in olive oil until slightly browned. Add the Brussels when they come out of the oven and toss with a handful of golden raisins, just until warm. Add a bit more olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

Recipe and artwork by Erin Gleeson for The Forest Feast