Month: November 2020

Gentle Reminder: Today is the Last Day to Get $50 Off My Online Course

You’ll still be able to register for the course through December 15th (but it will be full price.)

This 12-Week Online Course Runs from January 21st-April 8th 2021There are Limited Spots Available. It is Only Offered Once A Year.

I’ve worked really hard to create an experience that allows you to gently excavate the things you aren’t able to access every day. Also, this is not a business course. It is for anyone who is seeking more clarity in their lives and looking for positive change.⁠

I hope to see you there!

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe. Photo by Michelle Smith Creative for Gather Goods Co

As I’ve gotten older my tastes have evolved and I’m less interested in making the status quo and I’m more interested in shifting tradition slightly and improving upon it. While pumpkin pie is a classic, it has felt a little bland to me in recent years. So this year, while we have Thanksgiving at home with just the three of us, we are going to change the traditional pumpkin pie to pumpkin cheesecake and make it in individual sizes for extra appeal. I recommend topping each mini cheesecake with whipped cream and sugared pecans. Because, you know, calories don’t matter on Thanksgiving, right?!

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 2 packages 8 ounce cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup sugar reserved for graham cracker crust
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 sleeve graham crackers, crumbled in a food processor
  • 1/2 stick butter, melted
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, reserved for graham cracker crust
  • 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
  • 1 pinch ground cloves
  • 1 pinch ground nutmeg

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Combine softened cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl or mixer and beat until smooth.
  • Add in eggs one at a time until blended.
  • Grease a muffin pan.
  • Mix together graham cracker crumbs, reserved sugar and cinnamon until well blended.
  • Press a layer of the graham cracker mixture into the bottom third of each muffin tin reservoir.
  • Take out 1 cup of batter in the mixing bowl and spread it into the bottom of crust, filling it about halfway full.
  • Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir until blended.
  • Add the remaining batter to the top of each muffin tin.
  • Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until center is almost set.
  • Let it cool and refrigerate overnight or for 3 hours.
  • When serving, top with whipped cream and sugar pecans, if desired.
Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe. Photo by Michelle Smith Creative for Gather Goods Co
Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe. Photo by Michelle Smith Creative for Gather Goods Co

Photos by Michelle Smith Creative for Gather Goods Co

Vegetarian Stuffing Recipe with Mushrooms and Leeks

I posted recently about an amazing vegetarian mushroom stuffing recipe that I’ve been making for the past few years for our annual Friendsgiving (skipping this year for obvious reasons). I mistakenly said that it was vegan but if you are looking to make it vegan there are a few easy swaps: instead of butter I would use either vegetable stock or vegan butter and there is another part where the bread uses an egg as a binder, I read that flaxseed or tapioca starch would work as a binder replacement. I haven’t tried either but would love to hear if you do.

Vegetarian Stuffing Recipe with Mushroom and Wild Leeks

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/2 cup hot water
  • 1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
  • 2 sticks butter
  • 1 pound shitake mushrooms
  • 1 pound button mushrooms
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped leeks
  • 6 garlic cloves, diced
  • 2 cups white cooking wine
  • handful fresh thyme, chopped
  • 1 baguette, cut in half and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 1 egg, beaten

Instructions
 

  • In a small bowl pour 1 1/2 cups hot water over dried porcini mushrooms and let it sit until the mushrooms get soft, about a half-hour.
  • Transfer mushrooms to a cutting board and chop into small pieces, leave any liquid behind and reserve for future use.
  • Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat
  • Add shitake and button mushrooms and saute for about 10 minutes
  • Add leeks and garlic and saute for 5 minutes
  • Add wine, thyme, and porcini mushrooms. Cook until most of the wine is evaporated about 5 minutes and stir it occassioanlly.
  • Transfer all these items to a large bowl. Mix in bread, egg and season with salt and pepper as needed.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking dish
  • Add in some of the reserved mushroom liquid to keep the dish moist.
  • Transfer stuffing to baking dish
  • Bake for about 40 minutes, uncovered, and until it is heated all the way through.

Notes

Recipe via Epicurious.com and Rochelle Palermo Torres. Highlighted via Gather.

What do you think? Does this sound like a recipe you might try? If you love mushrooms (which I know is controversial) then you will love this dish. It’s great to bring to a potluck where you know there will be vegetarians in attendance as well.

Photos by Michelle Smith Creative for Gather Goods Co

Discover & Create A More Fulfilled Life ONLINE course

I am so grateful that I have had something to focus on to help distract me from this crazy year.

Over the past six months, I have been hard at work turning the course I created: Discover & Create A More Fulfilled Life, into a fully ONLINE course. It has been a labor of love and not a small task and I am SO excited that it is out in the world.

This course was created to help you figure out what matters to you most by accessing what is hidden below the surface, letting go of the things that aren’t serving you, creating a clear vision and creating actionable steps once you’ve achieved that clarity of purpose.


I know that it can be hard sometimes to discern your own voice or know what’s next in a noisy world. This course is intended to cut through that.⁠ It is what I have learned through my own experience and that which I’ve taught others over the years.⁠
⁠
Over the twelve-week course, you will learn: who you are, what you value, what your dreams are, what you need to let go of, why it matters, and how to bring it all together.⁠

The course is 12-weeks and runs from January 21st-April 8, 2021. There are only a limited number of spots available and it will only be offered once a year. Registration ends December 15th and if you sign-up before November 23rd and use coupon code: DISCOVER you’ll get $50 off.

For more details visit courses.gathergoodsco.com

I hope to see you there!