Thanks! Yes, THANKS. Thanks to you all for following Shared Kitchen. 

Thanks to all of you who take the time to comment and share your thoughts

(and thanks to those of you who don’t, if they’re a bit, well, you know, mean spirited HA HA!)..

Thanks to all of you who bought our Shared Kitchen book and cooked from it this past year.

Thanks to all of you who cook for others bringing a touch of fun, excitement, joy and deliciousness into other people’s lives.

Thanks to the birds who chatter and sing every dawn and dusk giving each day a shape, a timeframe. I love that.

Thanks to the people who grow gorgeous flowers in their garden that we get to admire.

Thanks to all the children who still sparkle with a zest for life even though their lives have been disrupted in unimaginable ways through Covid.

Thanks to the drivers who stop and wait for ‘oldies’ to cross the road safely (one day it will be me, and you, trying to get to the other side!).

Thanks to the doctors, nurses and hundreds of thousands of others who go beyond the call of duty, saving lives, often putting their own lives at risk, or on hold.

Thanks to the doctors and nurses helping save my brother’s life in America.

Thanks to the thousands of volunteers who set out each day to do good in this world.

No thanks to rudeness in parliamentary galleries.

No thanks to hecklers with confused messaging.

No thanks to those who slander others because they share a different viewpoint to theirs.

No thanks to meanness, threats and violence.

Thanks to the good in people’s hearts and may it help quash hatred and bitterness.

Thanks, the biggest thanks of all, for living in a country where goodness WILL prevail. It must be our agenda

Thanks. Thanksgiving. The giving of thanks. We don’t celebrate American Thanksgiving here in New Zealand, but we can all give thanks.

To my American followers, enjoy your Thanksgiving.

Hamburgers and asparagus are hardly the sort of food Americans will be serving up for Thanksgiving. Scroll down for a couple of my favourite side dishes to serve alongside turkey or your chosen protein if you are cooking up a Thanksgiving feast. The chargrilled Brussels sprouts dish is seriously good and the creamy parsnip purée a nice foil to it. The pic of roasted parsnips needs to words to tempt you.

CHICKIN’LICKIN’

Back home, it’s all about the barbecue and eating outdoors when the weather allows. Tender chicken, thin shavings of garlicky zucchini and minty yoghurt stuffed into buns is easy to put together mid-week. Make a spicy tomato sauce to go with them or use your favourite brand of sauce or chutney. Meat and two vege has never been better (there’s a peek of lettuce leaves in the photo, so that’s the second vege!).

CHICKEN BURGERS WITH MARINATED ZUCCHINI

CHEESY ASPARAGUS

Looking for a new way with asparagus? Toss with seasonings, dust with cheese and crumbs and bake until golden. Easy! And there are plenty of other good combinations on the Shared Kitchen site.
Check them out here ASPARAGUS

BAKED ASPARAGUS

BEST-EVER BRUSSELS

These are sensational. Richly flavoured, with an edge of bitterness set against the sweet piquancy of parmesan, and just a little hint of chilli and lemon to keep things interesting, and, oh, mustard. That’s what hangs this dish together. It’d be wise to make double.

CHAR-GRILLED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

CREAMY PARSNIP PURÉE

This is so good, with anything. If you are a meat-eater, serve it with roast beef or a steak, or lamb cutlets, or the Thanksgiving turkey. If you are vegetarian, serve with broccoli or wilted greens tossed with a little ginger and oil, roasted tomatoes and baked mushrooms: colour, crunch, savoury flavours, and rich creamy purée. Mmmm.

CREAMY PARSNIP PURÉE

ROASTED PARSNIPS WITH CRISPY PARMESAN 

These are utterly gorgeous and I bet you won’t be able to get them to the table without having a pick!
ROASTED PARSNIPS WITH CRISPY PARMESAN & GARLIC

BALANCING ACT

I’ve written about my frustrations with kitchen scales before. I found a decent one! (Why is it I always want to say ‘a set of scales’ and ‘my kitchen scales’ when, apparently scale (singular) is the correct term? One of life’s big mysteries … NOT.) Anyway … a few more notes about the merits of scales and what I opted for.  BALANCING ACT