It’s Thanksgiving tomorrow in the U.S. and today I’m deviating from my usual focus here in Power Lines to sprout what may become the first of more editions of the Recipes & Reflections version of this newsletter.

Because staying well-nourished is a central pillar when stepping into regenerative power.

RECIPES

For context, food is holy to me and cooking is one of my favorite arts.

My family culture is based in food artistry with both of my parents as a magic tag team in the kitchen for years.
I studied the environmental history of various foods during my Masters and how they shaped history.

I worked as a cook for many years — at sea, in my own catering business, as a cooking instructor, in a restaurant.
I also studied organic farming and permaculture and worked on an organic farm for a while.
And learning about food as medicine was central to my healing these past 13 years.

If you are in the U.S. you may be feasting in some form with other people — family, friends, or community — as part of Thanksgiving.

If you’re stoked to engage in a deeper honoring of Indigenous foods, check out these 10 recipes by Sean Sherman, a James Beard award-winning Sioux Chef. We had the transcendent joy of eating Sean’s food at the opening event for the “Mary Sully: Native Modern” exhibit at The Met this Fall.

• (Not included in the recipe link) His arepas with wild mushrooms and turkey meatballs with wild rice and berry glaze had me swooning!
• Btw if you’re in NYC, go see the Mary Sully exhibit. It’s amazing. And a huge shoutout to my cousins Phil Deloria and Peggy Burns for their work to bring Mary’s work to national recognition. (learn more here)

Then there’s the question, what do people eat while cooking in an all-day cook-a-thon?

Snacks and soups are key players because you can make a big batch, they store well, and folks can self-serve.

Here are some winners:

• Snack // Slightly Sticky Walnuts with Sesame and Sumac. These are from the cookbook Nothing Fancy by Alison Roman. OMG! We made these as a snack for our family for the week, but we’re having to ration them to make sure they don’t vanish as soon as they’re served up!
• Snack // Coconut Curry Cashews From Rebecca Katz a longtime food as medicine cookbook author. Similarly, these nuts are wildly delicious and tend to get devoured immediately.
• Soup // Cozy Roasted Vegetable Soup. Also from Rebecca Katz. She is a queen of soups and in all her recipes (both online & in cookbooks) she drops awesome food as medicine tips!

Last but not least, this is Michael’s pick! (*my husband):

• Frosting // A little magic miracle called Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting 😂 From Good & Sweet by Brian Levy. (*t’s at the very end of the email as he typed it out). From M, “It’s a little bit involved to make, but SO worth it! We dolloped it onto a batch of pumpkin pie bars and had to use enormous restraint to not eat it for breakfast every day until it was all gone (partially succeeded at that).”

REFLECTIONS

Thanksgiving brings up the multidimensional theme of digestion.

Digesting a pause from work.
Digesting the many reasons you have to be grateful.
Digesting all the feasting (or overeating) that can occur on this holiday.
Digesting family joy and family dynamics.
Digesting the Invention of Thanksgiving.
Digesting history to fuel intentional, regenerative futures.
Digesting the year as it comes to an end.

So here are some reflections (and power practices) for you:

• What would be most nourishing to you in these days ahead?
• How can you make more time to digest during this holiday?
  (e.g. slow down, be in nature, be by a fire, etc.)
• How can you widen the aperture of your heart to be with and digest all the facets that arise on this holiday while staying connected to the seat of your Power that Serves the Whole?
• What are meaningful actions (even subtle ones) that you can engage to help ease disconnection or old hurts and invite healing at various scales?
• What is one thing you can do to share some of your bounty to uplift the flourishing of other people and our kin in the wider living family?

Grateful for you, all life on Earth, and beyond ❤️

Cream Cheese Frosting by Brian Levy

1/4 cups milk (we used homemade almond milk)
3 tbsp heavy cream (we used coconut cream)
2 egg yolks
31⁄2 tbsp cornstarch
½ vanilla bean (optional), split lengthwise
12 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature (we used ghee)
11⁄2 bricks cream cheese (see Note), at room temperature
1⁄2 cup golden raisins, preferably Hunza, packed
1⁄2 cup, packed Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp lemon juice

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, heavy cream, egg yolks, and cornstarch. If using the vanilla bean, scrape in the vanilla seeds and add the pod, too. Whisk the mixture constantly over medium heat and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to let it bubble for 2 minutes, whisking all the while. It will be very thick. Remove it from the heat, add the butter, and whisk until the butter has completely melted.

In a food processor, puree the cream cheese, raisins, dates, vanilla extract, and lemon juice until completely smooth, 2 to 3 minutes.

In a stand mixer with the whisk, continue the custard (discard the vanilla pod) and the cream cheese mixture and beat on medium speed until the mixture reaches room temperature. Refrigerate the frosting in the mixer bowl (along with the whisk attachment) until it's cold, 15 to 30 minutes.
Continue to whip it until it gains some volume and lightens in color slightly. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. If you do keep it in the refrigerator, let it come to room temperature before using it so that it's soft enough to spread.

NOTE:
For those who'd prefer a non-dairy alternative, you can use Vegan Cream Cheese 👇🏼.

Vegan Cream Cheese by Brian Levy

½ cup cashews
6 tbsp canned coconut cream (not coconut milk)
2 tbsp coconut oil
¼ tsp Salt
2 tbsp + 2 tsp filtered water
1 ½ tsp apple cider vinegar

Put the cashews in a bowl and cover them with cool water until the water level is about 1 inch above the cashews. Cover the bowl and let the cashews soak for 2 hours (at room temperature) or overnight (in the refrigerator).

Drain the cashews (discard the soaking water). In a blender or food processor, combine the soaked cashews, coconut cream, coconut oil, and salt and blend until very smooth. With the machine running, add the filtered water and vinegar and continue to blend until it looks perfectly smooth and creamy. Scrape the "cream cheese" into a jar and refrigerate it to set. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.