Last episode of 2020 + holiday recipes!

Hi friends,

This Wednesday’s episode is all about food: more specifically, we’re talking about food deserts and food forests. Hopefully it’ll be an educational and entertaining last episode of 2020, since we’re taking December off to reflect, regroup, and flesh out the next season of World Is Burning (we have so! many! ideas! And if you want to send us more, you can do so at worldisburningpod@gmail.com).

We’ll also be doing a recap of the first 12 episodes over on Instagram and Twitter with a lot of bonus resources and stories, so be sure to follow us there.

We wanted to share some favorite holiday recipes with you all today, since now more than ever we’re trying to plan ahead and avoid the craziness of the grocery store on a holiday. Hopefully you can buy some ingredients at your local farmer’s market this weekend!

Whether you’re planning Thanksgiving solo (@ Olivia making a four-course meal for herself) or cooking for your family, we hope you’re able to enjoy good food and some much-deserved downtime this week.

Cooking nutritious, comforting, homemade meals is a great way to reconnect with your food and is scientifically proven to make you feel better. So if the climate anxiety feels especially strong this year, consider holiday cooking a small solution.

Butternut Squash Lasagna via Pinch Me Good
This is the recipe that I’m loosely basing my butternut squash lasagna off of. Noodles + Butternut Squash + Spinach + Ricotta + seasonings of choice is really all you need 🙂 – Elise

Cheez-It Broccoli Casserole via Keri Caldwell on Food.com
This is a staple for my Thanksgivings, precisely because I refuse to do Thanksgiving without it. Stevie of @yayforearth has a great palm-oil free Cheez-It recipe, but also this is a reminder for us to dig into sustainable palm oil in a future episode and embrace imperfection in the meantime 🙂 (Kellogg statement on their sourcing.) This Cookie and Kate Better Broccoli casserole uses quinoa for texture and is worth a try too. Also, fresh broccoli is the way to go! – Olivia

Butternut Squash soup with Crispy Hot Chickpeas from Mama Eats Plants
If this sounds like a weird combination, try it! The sweetness of the squash and apple is balanced marvelously by the spicy chickpeas. I also season and roast the squash seeds and make a simple arugula salad, as mentioned in the recipe. – Olivia

Chocolate Banana Ponderosa Cake from Laura Lea Balanced
DELICIOUS. You can make this with regular sugar, a flax egg and vegan butter, or as listed. The best.

For the morning, these Fluffy Vegan Banana Pancakes are easy and divine – I sub maple syrup for vanilla and canola for coconut oil. This flaxseed pancake recipe from Loving It Vegan is great too.

For more ideas, we also love Minimalist Baker (including their Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup), From My Bowl by Caitlin Shoemaker (incredible resource for affordable vegan and gluten free recipes), Last Minute Thanksgiving Recipes from Blacks Going Vegan, and Lauren Toyota from Hot For Food’s Thanksgiving archives.

I’ve made my own pecan pie in the past, but this year I decided to splurge and buy one from a local bakery – nothing wrong with supporting local business and giving yourself one less thing to do.

Wishing you all a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season. We’ll see you Wednesday!