yes…

Yes to jingle bell rock and all the other cheesy holiday music to follow.

Yes to my overly excited sister who will be skipping through her home today…I’ll give her a break, it’s her favourite time of year.

Yes to being in a small home that will become very loud with my South American/European family…we all tend to fight for air space.

Yes to Kris Kringle…I got my mafioso-looking father this year. While your list only said a very descriptive, “Bay and Sears”, I have decided to fulfill your most recent bizarre interest in Kabbalah (retirement does strange things to people). Which means you’re getting a book…now go get that tree of life.

Yes to my father’s repeated requests for chicken again this year and NOT turkey…yes we’ll pretend like we do every year.

Yes to eating in moderation all the yummy food that will grace the table…I’ll make sure not to forget my enzymes.

With that in mind, here is my stuffing recipe that I get asked to make every year. Yes, yes, yes to stuffing…the holidays wouldn’t be the same without you.

1 packages of sprouted Ezekiel bread cut into cubes(look for the orange bag in the freezer section)

2 packages of naturally-raised spicy Italian sausage (cut into pieces while still partially frozen)

1/2 cup raisins (or cranberries)

3/4 cup walnuts or pecans

2-3 organic apples (depending on the size) cut into cubes

2 1/2 – 3 cup chicken or veggie stock

3 organic celery sticks diced

1 large red onion diced

4 cloves garlic chopped

2 tbsp coconut oil

Roughly 2-3 tbsp olive oil

Dried spices (1 tsp of each): thyme, rosemary, oregano & basil

Chili flakes to taste

Honey or agave to taste

salt & cracked pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large pot, saute onions and garlic in coconut oil over medium heat until onions are caramelized. Add in sausage pieces and brown. Add in dried fruit, celery and nuts – combine well. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine cut pieces of bread, oil, spices, plus salt and pepper. Mix well and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Put into the oven to crisp and brown thoroughly. Remove from oven after 10-15 minutes or so and add into the large pot of sausage mixture. Put heat on medium again and combine all ingredients well. Add in stock and apples and mix well.

The mixture should soften quite a bit, but shouldn’t be too mushy or too dry.

Add in more spices if needed, plus chili flakes and honey so that the mixture is spicy and sweet. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix on medium to low once all ingredients are in and cover or serve immediately.

Serves 6 with left overs (or double it for more)

You will never…and let me repeat…NEVER, catch me making stuffing out of a box. It’s really not hard to make stuffing and this recipe gets rave reviews every year. Being Blood Type O, one of the few breads we can generally tolerate is Ezekiel bread which is made with sprouted grains. While there still is wheat in here, it’s sprouted which changes the molecular structure of the grain and generally the bread is easier on the system to digest. And we all know that over consumption around the holidays is a big problem. So much so that there are more cases of gout on Thanksgiving and Christmas due to over consumption and a massive build up of uric acid. So all I can say, is slow down, there will be tons of left overs. Also bare in mind how you’re dividing your plate. While I love stuffing, there should be more greens on your plate than starchy items. You won’t be passing out at the table at the end of dinner and might even be able to make a little room for a small piece of dessert. So go on…enjoy.

So yes to all things Christmas. I can do it, I really can…

And lastly, I’ve decided…

yes…

…to Mr. Bling.

New York, here I come.

Oh ya baby.