This week we'll explore versatile pecans and a special holiday guacamole recipe. We'll also delve into how to see the planet mercury this month (it's a rare opportunity!) and another homemade holiday gift idea.

Eat Colorfully

Seasonal Ingredient Spotlight

Something about the fall holidays always makes me think of pecans. They're such an iconic late-fall treat. In addition to munching on them by the handful, there are many great ways you can enjoy pecans. They're fabulous in/on everything from salads to roasted vegetables to snack boards to baked goods.

If you want to explore a somewhat out-of-the-box recipe featuring pecans, I absolutely adore this Roasted Vegetable Harvest Pasta. It features high-protein chickpea or lentil pasta, a rainbow of seasonal vegetables, crunchy pecans, and juicy pomegranate. It works great as a plant-based main course for a holiday meal but is also weeknight-friendly.

On the sweet side, pecans and maple syrup are an iconic fall combination. Those flavors are pure magic in these Maple Pecan Ginger Oat Flour Scones. Made with oat flour as the only flour component and peanut butter as the only fat, these healthy (and vegan and gluten-free) scones are actually sort of magical.

Looking for an easy appetizer nibble for a party? These Maple Rosemary Cayenne Roasted Nuts combine sweet and spicy flavors and are a tasty way to keep everyone satisfied until dinner.

Special Recipe: Pomegranate Guacamole

Looking for the most unique holiday appetizer around? This show-stopping pomegranate guacamole is easy to make, requires just a few simple whole-food ingredients, and is friendly for almost any diet. Unlike most of the classic holiday appetizers, this one is light and nourishing. I don't have this recipe on my blog yet, so you can only get it here (feel free to share it with a friend!).

Ingredients:

• Two large or three small avocados
• Juice of a lime
• 0.25 tsp flaky sea salt, like fleur de sel
• 0.25 c pomegranate seeds, plus extra for garnish
• Two sprigs of fresh mint, cut into thin ribbons
• 10-12 cucumber slices (optional)

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Directions:

1. Mash together the avocado, lime juice, and salt.
2. Add the pomegranate seeds and fresh mint, then stir gently. Transfer the guacamole to a serving dish.
3. If desired, use a miniature cookie cutter (these are the ones I have) to cut the cucumber slices into small stars and use them to decorate the top of the guacamole.
4. Finish the guacamole with an extra sprinkle of pomegranate seeds.
5. Serve with your favorite veggie slices, crackers, and or chips for dipping.

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Recipe Notes:

This recipe is for a large batch of guacamole; it will serve 4-6 people as an appetizer. You can easily halve the recipe if desired. Feel free to change up the flavors by using a different citrus (lemon or orange would both work nicely) or by using basil or cilantro instead of mint. To make a spicy version, add a few pinches of cayenne.

Live Colorfully

In the Natural World

Over the next couple weeks, there's a rare opportunity happening in the sky: if you get lucky, you might be able to see Mercury!

Mercury is the planet that is closet to the sun. Because it's often obscured by the sun's brightness (and because it's quite small), it's typically very difficult to see from Earth. However, as we move into the middle and latter parts of December, we'll get our best chance to catch sight of this elusive planet.

In case you're curious, Mercury is an oddball. It's traveling about 1.5x as fast as Earth, so it's very speedy. Because it's the inner-most planet of the solar system, its year is only 88 Earth days long. But weirdly, Mercury spins on its axis very slowly, so its day (= one rotation) is equivalent to 59 Earth days! That would be like us having less than two sunrise/sunset cycles in an entire year. Mercury has no moons either, since anything near it is gravitationally attracted to the sun rather than to tiny Mercury.

We have a few pre-sunrise voyages planned in the next couple weeks to try our luck. According to our research, the best bet will from about December 17-27 and about 40-50 minutes before sunrise. You'll want to look in the same direction as where the sun will rise (southeast, for those of us in the northern hemisphere) and close to the horizon (less than ten degrees). Mercury sometimes appears to have a rosy tint.

If you want to try to find Mercury, I'd suggest using an app to help you (I really enjoy StarWalk) and doing some of your own research before you head out (we like this article from BBC Sky at Night). Good luck!

(PS In other astronomical news, I can't resist reminding you that today (Sunday the 15th) is December's full moon. Keep an eye out for it tonight!).

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HOMEMADE GIFT IDEA: EASY FIG JAM

As we continue into the holiday gifting season, I wanted to share another easy and unique homemade gift. (In case you're new here, in last week's newsletter I shared ideas about decadently giftable vegan "freezer fudge"). My suggestion this week is unexpected but delightful, versatile, and very special: it’s fig jam!

My super-easy fig jam recipe uses dried figs instead of fresh. This allows the recipe to be made with just a single ingredient (dried figs, plus some water), with no sugar or pectin added. It’s also incredibly fast to make and comes together in less than half an hour total. The only caveat is that it needs to be refrigerated (or frozen), so this is a gift for people you'll be seeing in-person.

What can your lucky friends and family do with this fig jam? It’s a great element on snack boards, is fabulous stirred into sauces or salad dressings, makes a delicious jam cookie, and even goes well on sandwiches and flatbreads. This year, instead of rushing to the store for those last-minute items, what about sharing jars of this fig jam with your friends and family instead?

Thanks for joining me for this issue of Eat Colorfully, Live Colorfully! I'd love to hear from you, so please feel free to reply with questions, thoughts, or requests. If you missed a previous issue, you can view all my newsletters here. Have a great week!