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Attack of the Brussels Sprouts

So… who went out shopping at 3AM?

Yeah, I said three. Apparently, five isn’t crazy enough anymore. Stores such as JC Penney and Kohl’s opened their doors at three in the morning. But Walmart had ‘em beat: they opened a minute after midnight!

My own Black Friday has been super-lazy so far. I didn’t even go out running today. Hey, I deserved a break, after persevering through yesterday’s awful run: Weather.com said it would stay around 60 degrees. So I ventured outside in short-sleeves, shorts, and no gloves. Well, I don’t what weather.com was smoking, because 1/2-way through my run, there was an extreme drop in temperature, and the wind picked up to 30mph. By the time I arrived home—bright red cheeks and burning hands—the updated weather conditions were “feels like 31” with gusting winds. My poor, uncovered arms never saw it coming. And it only got colder as the day went on.

I thought it’d be great to wear fleece sweatpants for Thanksgiving. Sadly, my personal stylist sister was horrified and forbade me to do so. Therefore, I waited until this morning to break out said sweatpants. So now I’m just hanging around in fleece, listening to Christmas music, and helping watching my sister hang Christmas garland around the house. Sorry little sister; this CCK is tired. She had a busy Thanksgiving: cleaning, decorating, and making vegan food. Twas the night before Thanksgiving…

The Mashed Potato Sister showed off her juggling skills.

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Or lack thereof.

Roast Veggie “Candy”

They’re so sweet and melty that they could be candy.

  • Spices (I use oregano and rosemary)
  • raw veggies (I love brussels sprouts for this recipe)
  • unrefined coconut oil
  • optional, but highly recommended: cinnamon

Roast your veggies, with the first two spices, at 400 degrees (un-preheated) until they’re soft. For my sprouts, it takes around 30-40 minutes. I like to roast them dry and put the coconut oil on right before eating them. But you can coat them in coconut oil first if you’d rather. Also right before eating, sprinkle with the cinnamon.

They’re good warm, but I especially like these veggies straight from the fridge; that way the coconut oil hardens around the sprouts… kinda like a truffle. Candy for dinner! (Be sure to buy unrefined coconut oil. The refined stuff doesn’t have that yummy “coconutty” taste.)

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Above, two of the tables. There was also a third, “grown up” table in the dining room. My sister and I somehow always end up at the kids’ table, even though we’re both in our twenties. We like to joke that someday our own children will receive the elusive invitation to the adult table before we do! 😕

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And here’s my mom, working on this year’s Apple Pie.

By the way, her broken knee is healing… but now she broke her toe as well! Seriously, poor Mom!! The doctor told her, “Try and stay off your feet as much as possible.” So what did she do? She went and invited a houseful of company for Thanksgiving. Translation: very little “staying off [her] feet.” In fact, the above photo might have been the only time she did sit down in the past two days. She really is superwoman.

I hope everyone had a delicious Thanksgiving, full of yummy food and (more importantly) great company. (Or, for non-American readers, I hope you had a great Thursday.) I’ll recap my vegan Thanksgiving feast in one of my next posts. This one is getting too long!

 

Published on November 26, 2010

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52 Comments

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  1. Stefanie says

    I went to Joann Fabrics today to pick up some more fabirc and thread. 3 AM is too early for anyone to do shopping. The walmarts around by my house are all open 24 hrs so I am sure people were just walking the stores waiting for the sales to start. It looks like you had a great Thanksgiving. 🙂

  2. Erika says

    Never saw a vegan Thanksgiving before. Can’t wait to see what your family enjoyed on Thanksgiving. I bet it was delicious!
    PS – People are crazy! I would never wake up at 3 to go shopping! 😕

  3. Eric Jaffa says

    Last year, Wal-Mart had a policy of opening on Thanksgiving morning & staying open through Black Friday.

    That was to avoid a crowd building up & trampling someone to death, which happened in 2008 at a Wal-Mart in Valley Stream, NY.

  4. Jennifer - jcd says

    Black Friday sounds horrible. Why would anyone want to go shopping at 3 AM? I would rather stay home and relax instead; avoiding the crowds completely. Aren’t holidays meant for spending time with family? Not shopping…

  5. Albizia says

    Why are people so obsessed with shopping? And why on earth would they risk their lives for a bag of discounted products? I don’t get it. Since we don’t have Thanksgiving, we don’t have Black Friday either but yesterday a big chain opened a few hypermarkets in my country and they ended up in the news. I’m not sure whether this is funny or sad. But I’m getting too serious so I will stop talking about this and will say that you have great decorating skills. I love the tables! And it seems like you and your sister had a lot of fun in the kitchen 🙂

  6. Demelza says

    Haha, I don’t think there is any sort of sale I would go out that early for.
    Or rather, that I would fight amongst a crowd of rabid shoppers for.
    I will proudly admit that I stayed in my Jack and Sally pajama top and Hello Kitty pajama pants for half of Thanksgiving. I figured I deserved some level of comfort while I was up cooking and baking for so long.
    I was, however, a bit shocked when my mom surprised everyone halfway through the meal by saying we had two guests coming over…at least I managed to stay out of the pictures, though. 😛 Sadly, my day of lounging came to an end when I had to drive to the barn to take care of our horses. No possible way to do that in pajamas. :s

  7. Ashley says

    You and your sister are uber cute! Having a good sister relationship is such a blessing. 🙂

    What’s your favorite way to eat brussel sprouts? I’d like to try them, but nobody in my family likes them so I’m a tad intimidated by those sprouts!

    Thanks for your amazing posts and yummy recipes.

    Ashley

  8. Erika @ Health and Happiness in LA says

    Black Friday sounds like my version of hell. Lots of tired, cranky people mobbing each other to buy stupid stuff. That’s what nightmares are made of!

    I actually got hungry last night at around 11 and I didn’t have anything at all to eat, so I roasted up some brussels sprouts!

  9. dragonmamma/naomi says

    Ooh, I love that blue hutch to the left of the dining room table. (I get more excited about furniture than I do about clothes.)

    I went to Trader Joe’s and that was it. Not too surprisingly, they were fairly empty. I’d guess that most people have tons of left-over food at home and don’t need to grocery shop for awhile.

  10. Danielle says

    Glad you had a good Thanksgiving! I had a vegan thanksgiving too(: My dad says vegan food is tasteless, but after I made everything, I really proved him wrong!

    I went shopping today, but it was at 1030. I got some really good deals, but I might go earlier next year, so that I have more time to shop. A lot of the sales stopped at 12 or 1. But I do think that going shopping at midnight is just too crazy for me!

  11. gemlily5 says

    I personally think that stores should not open before 7am. I work in a bookstore and we did not open till 9am, our regular time. 🙂 There is no real need to break up sleep patterns just to get items you can always get later, even if the sale is not that big.

    I see you are making brussel sprouts? I bought a pack of them,not organic though.No organic place has them! So I have ‘Bird’s Eye’ brussel Sprouts. They are good to eat right? I try hard to switch over to as many organic items as I can get. Believe me, it’s not easy! 🙁 How long should they be cooked?

    Thanks again for this informative series. 😀

  12. Fi says

    Hell’s no I ain’t going shopping! I’m on my couch in my fleece pj’s 🙂 with a blanket and tea and watching a comedy show 🙂 so cold here! Happy thanksgiving! Xxx

  13. Brittany says

    I did end up going shopping today, but not super early like most of the crazies. We went around 3:30 PM and the mall wasn’t very busy. Otherwise, my day has been pretty lazy as well. I’m loving it!

    I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving Katie.

  14. Mary @ Bites and Bliss says

    I definitely am not the type to wake up in the middle of the night to go shopping b ut kudos for those that did, I’m sure they snagged some great deals. I’ll be going out later today to look at new running shoes, though! 🙂

  15. thedelicateplace says

    haha i love b-sprouts! candy fo sho! 🙂 feel better mama CCK! my goodness, this girl can’t catch a break! i am totally scared of crazy black friday shoppers and i was in the warm comfort of my bed utnil 930am today 🙂 i’m enjoying my lazy day off, i know i’ll need all the energy i can muster as christmas approaches!

  16. PJ @ Home and Garden Deccor says

    No, I did not go shopping today. I haven’t been shopping on a Black Friday for the past 10 years and probably won’t for the next 10 years. There are great sales in retail and online stores throughout the year ongoing, so I really don’t need to put myself in that shopping stress and even get up for in the middle of the night.
    I rather will use today for taking down my Fall decoration and to get ready for decorating the house for Christmas tomorrow.

  17. theflourishingfoodie says

    Love the brussel sprout bat! I have never gone shopping on black Friday. The whole stores opening at midnight things seems a bit excessive to me. 5 AM seems plenty early!

  18. Rachel @ Bloomingbuzz says

    your tables are so cute! and i had a pretty vicious run as well yesterday…the weather must have just been gross everywhere! glad you got through it though and could enjoy a good meal 🙂

    we tried brussels sprouts for the first time yesterday with our Thanksgiving meal! i LOVED them and will definitely be eating them again (even once I polish off all the leftovers…hehe) We were definitely inspired to give them a shot after reading your blog 😀 enjoy your Friday and fleece!

  19. Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga) says

    Omg just posted about black friday…NO I am not going out. Why would i want to get trampled to save 20 bucks on a dvr player that I dont want/need anyway…with a tired and cranky kid in the backseat and drive around for parking for hours?! No way! I will gladly let everyone else “have” those deals…LOL

    It looks like you had a great TG w/ your family 🙂

    xoxo

  20. gaby says

    Wow, you had such a beautiful table setting! We do potluck style Thanksgiving and just spread it all out on the bar/ counters/ stovetop to fit it all. It was soooo delicious!!! Seriously, I think every year the food gets better…or maybe I just forget how amazing thanksgiving food is every time. So happy for leftovers 🙂
    I did NOT go shopping today and probably won’t this weekend. But my brothers and cousins all went to Old Navy at midnight. They’re crazy! They even waited out in the cold for an hour before! They wanted to get a free video game that they gave out to the first 50 people and they got it. But for me, I don’t own a video game system and I don’t need to buy anything that badly. I’m kind of crazy when it comes to bargain shopping too, I’ll spend forever comparing prices and finding the best deal when I really need something so sales prices don’t entice me at all, it’s still more than I usually pay! And I have overflowing closets anyways. I plan to do most of my holiday shopping on Etsy this year just to find more unique gifts.
    Tonight I’m also just watching a movie under my fleecy blanket, it’s too cold to go out!
    I’m glad you had a great thanksgiving!

    ps. you, your mom, and sister are so pretty!

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      haha Old Navy opened at midnight too?? Well, I guess it’s not too ridiculous to go out then, if you haven’t gone to bed yet. But to go to bed and wake up at three is just insane! You and I are two peas in a pod… especially with grocery shopping, I am always about the deal! If I need Larabars, fr example, but I know they’re cheaper somewhere else, I’ll usually hold off (or buy one to tide me over). Or, I’m crazy with coupons! 🙂

  21. rjinmaine says

    trying to love brussels!!! haha i think i’ll make them your way next time. I’m determined to convert. oohhh myy 3am!? that would be a commitment! i hope they saved some money:)

  22. Lola says

    Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!! We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Mexico, so I wonder, what is Black Friday anyway? some sort of special sales day?

  23. Moni'sMeals says

    I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

    I shopped only because I went a movie and I peeked around here and there. 🙂 Better than I thought it would be with the crowds.
    Good for you to have a lazy day.

  24. seemichellecook says

    If there was ever a contest for champion brussel sprout eater of the year, I am so convinced I would win! I eat sprouts each and every day, roasted with lemon pepper mixed with whatever other veggie I had on hand that week.

  25. spoonfulofsugarfree says

    How Fun! No, I did not go shopping at midnight at all! I don’t really like shopping that much….except for food 🙂 Besides, why risk being trampled by a mob of people??

  26. Anne @ Food Loving Polar Bear says

    I personally think that stores opening at midnight is madness! we just recently opened had a FEW stores which are open 24/7 which is a rarity in this country 😀

  27. Jennifer says

    hey, I know this comment is WAY late, but stay at the kid’s table as long as you can…it’s boring at the grown-up table.

  28. Britteny Roberts says

    Hey, we are stationed in Germany and I am having a really hard time finding the coconut oil…have any ideas of what I could use instead? Thanks!

  29. BrittneyKay says

    Katie!
    I absolutely ADORE you and love all your recipes! I was really excited when I saw this one about brussel sprouts (as well as your whole album on oatmeal!).. always looking for different recipes for them. Thank you for another one!! 🙂

  30. Gail says

    Say the comment about using carrots…sounds great! What other veggies might this recipe work with? Thanks!

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