And so Thanksgiving is upon us, the lists, the shopping, the recipes, the cooking, the table setting, the pie baking, the turkey carving, the gravy making, the potato mashing, the gathering, the praying, the eating, the talk-talking, the going back for seconds-ing, the cleaning up, the big sighing of relief. It's a lot. Might it be sacred work, this?

What first attracted me to this recipe shared by a long-time Kitchen Parade reader: the convenience of cooking whole cranberry sauce in a slow cooker. What keeps me coming back: it fills the house with a sweet aroma of cranberries, fresh ginger and orange zest! More good news: for anyone who wonders about sweetening cranberry sauce with maple syrup (my favorite natural sweetener), the answer is yes, it works beautifully, just as well as regular sugar. Cranberry Sauce Made from Scratch. Fresh & Seasonal, Perfect for Thanksgiving and Winter's Cranberry Season. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real . Budget Friendly. Naturally Gluten Free. Great for Meal Prep.

My favorite Thanksgiving vegetable dish for many years, a savory butternut squash casserole with beautiful color, just roasted butternut squash stirred with gently cooked onion, a few spices and a little cream. That topping? Buttery toasted pumpkin seeds! Squash Puff is easy to make and a welcome savory side dish to the Thanksgiving table where "sweet" and "rich" seem to preside. Fresh & Seasonal, Perfect for Thanksgiving & Other Fall Meals. Easy to Make Ahead. Vegetarian. Weight Watchers Friendly. Rave Reviews.

It's Thanksgiving crunch time, right? I'm here to help with an entire "pick one" Thanksgiving menu plus lots of insider tips from someone who cooked her first Thanksgiving dinner at age 16! Plus ... the new Weight Watchers program, MyWW.

A quick read, recipes for all of November, not just Thanksgiving; why I love crows; commemorating the Marine Corps birthday; as usual, more recipe and life ideas for right now, the height of fall and still almost three weeks before Thanksgiving.

Healthy winter comfort food, a low-calorie but hearty vegetable stew made with chunks of butternut squash and carrots rich with winter spices like cumin, coriander, ginger and paprika. Perfect for simmering atop the stove or in a slow cooker. Weight Watchers who follow myWW love this recipe, no points for a main dish serving! Fresh & Seasonal, Perfect for Cold-Weather Meals. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real . Very Weight Watchers Friendly, Zero Points! Whole30 Friendly. Naturally Gluten Free.

Hey, here's an idea. Let's call this the "Thirty Days Has November" edition of Seasonal Sundays. That's because it's completely focused on putting real food on the table for the other 29 days, ignoring the 30th day looming out there, you know, Thanksgiving , the holiday that shall not be named.