An attempt was made to ascend one of the remaining remnants of the old growth forests of British Columbia. Up into the endangered Jumbo valley, whose ski resort future is looming within her glory. Though we underestimated the mighty whipping winds which brought a taste of winter and a swelling fondness for the unpredictable. At first our persevering spirits motored forth, with my 7 month old baby strapped to my chest, every step was placed with meaning and my clumsy nature replaced with grace. Meandering up this narrow slippery path, the moment being the only possibility, I squelched the idea that this sort of reckless snowy mountain hike makes me a negligent mother. It’s that kind of domesticated human brainwash babble that I catch myself in sometimes. Our feminine ancestors were certainly out perusing the land daily foraging food with their babies. We did end up turning back, it was a white out and the epic views were smothered in clouds and snow. For now the foraging will happen close to home, until Jumbo welcomes us back next summer. It was an absolute pleasure to reconnect with my sister and our friend, we came home from our hike to a slow cooked boeuf bourgignon which I’m just going to have to recreate and share with you all.
For now I have a spiffy way to roast up brussels sprouts that every the pickiest little turkeys will gobble right up. These caramelized maple almond brussels sprouts and pumpkin will convert any hater, they sure did the trick for me, former loather of all things brussels and J too. The sweet gooey maple crunchy roasted almond bits and slightly bitter minister cabbages speckled with slices of creamy pumpkin- oh it’s just perfection. Honestly I ate these as a meal by themselves today, even baby Mav chowed down. Paired alongside roast chicken or turkey, you’ve got yourselves a colourful healthy side dish and maybe even a new fall staple.
- 1 lb brussels sprouts, cut in half or quarters for really large ones
- 1 small pumpkin, guts removed and thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tbs butter or ghee
- 3 Tbs maple syrup
- 1 Tbs roasted almond butter
- ⅓ C chopped almonds
- ½ tsp salt
- Preheat oven to 450F
- Place brussels sprouts and pumpkin in a large bowl, set aside
- Melt butter in a saucepan, add garlic and almond butter and stir it all together so there are no clumps.
- Cover the brussels and pumpkin with this sauce, toss the veg until evenly coated and spread evenly on a baking sheet.
- Roast for 10min. or until just tender.
