From our kitchens to yours: our favorite holiday recipes

The cookbook is part of a larger program we call Season of Giving. After a long and exciting year, we want to ensure our teams take the time to give back to their communities, chosen families, and themselves. We’ve been running a number of internal events over in December that focus on everything from mental fitness coaching to laughter yoga (yes, it’s a thing!) Our hope is that by taking a moment to reflect and give back, our teams can head into the holiday season feeling proud of what they’ve done in 2022.

In the spirit of the season of giving, here are three of the recipes from our cookbook. We promise they’re all made with love, from our kitchens to yours!

Coquito

Ingredients

🍴 4 cans of evaporated milk
🍴 2 cans of coconut milk
🍴 1 can of coconut cream
🍴 1 can of condensed milk
🍴 2.5 cups of rum
🍴 1 tsp of vanilla extract

For the spice mix:

🍴 1.5 cups of water
🍴 6 cinnamon sticks
🍴 8 anise stars
🍴 4 small pieces of ginger
🍴 A handful of cloves

Instructions:

1. Bring the water and spices to a boil. Reduce this until it’s 1 cup of water and a yellowish color. Let it cool.

2. Shake the cans well and pour them one by one into a large mixing bowl. Make sure to keep stirring.

3. Once the spice mix is cool, add it to the mixing bowl. Mix and taste. Then add the vanilla.

4. Add the rum 1 cup at a time. I like 2.5 cups but you can add or reduce the amount.

5. Once you’ve added the rum, taste the Coquito and see if it still needs some sugar or a pinch of salt.

6. Let it cool and refrigerate.

Polish stew

Ingredients

🍴 Kielbasa sausage
🍴 1 carrot
🍴 1 russet potato
🍴 1 yellow onion
🍴 4 cloves of garlic
🍴 Cabbage (or sauerkraut)
🍴 3 Roma tomatoes
🍴 1/2 a can of crushed tomatoes
🍴 1 cup of canned corn
🍴 1/2 tbsp of paprika
🍴 1/2 tbsp of thyme
🍴 1 - 2 bay leaves (optional)
🍴 1 1/2 cups of beef broth (or any other broth you have)

Instructions:

1. Peel and then cut the onion, carrot and potato into 1/4-inch pieces. (We like to use a grater to shred the carrots instead!)

2. Peel then mince the garlic.

3. Cut the kielbasa sausage into half coins.

4. Cut the tomatoes into 1/4-inch pieces

5. If you’re opting to use fresh cabbage, shred the cabbage. Otherwise, you can use sauerkraut.

Next:

1. Heat a medium- sized pot over medium-high heat. Once it’s hot, add 1 tbsp of oil. Then add the diced onions and carrots, stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent. Finally, add the cabbage or sauerkraut to the mix, followed by the minced garlic. Stir occasionally until fragrant.

2. Add the paprika and thyme. Stir until the veggies are coated.

3. Sprinkle some salt and pepper.

4. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp of oil on medium-to-high heat in a large non-stick pan. Once it’s hot, add your Kielbasa. Stir occasionally for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned.

To build the stew:

1. Add the cooked kielbasa into the pot with the veggies. Stir occasionally for 1-2 minutes until the sausage is coated with the herbs and spice.

2. Next, pour 1/2 can of crushed tomatoes into the pot. Stir occasionally for 1-2 minutes.

3. Add 1 1/2 cups of broth to the pot and stir. Bring to a gentle boil over high heat.

4. Once it’s boiling, add the diced potatoes. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally until the potatoes are tender.

5. Turn down the stove down to medium-low heat. (Optional add 1 - 2 bay leaves.) Add canned corn to the stew. Let the stew sit on a low heat for 10 minutes.

6. Serve in a bowl on its own, or with rice and/or mashed potatoes.

Nanaimo bars

Ingredients

🍴 1 cup of butter, softened, divided
🍴 5 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
🍴 ¼ cup of white sugar
🍴 1 egg, beaten
🍴 1 ¾ cups of graham cracker crumbs
🍴 1 cup of flaked coconut
🍴 ½ cup of finely chopped almonds (optional)
🍴 3 tbsps of heavy cream
🍴 2 tbsps of custard powder
🍴 2 cups of confectioners' sugar
🍴 4 (1 ounce) squares of semi-sweet baking chocolate
🍴 2 tsps of butter

Instructions

1. In the top of a double boiler, combine 1/2 cup of softened butter, along with the cocoa powder and sugar. Stir occasionally until it’s melted and smooth. Beat in the egg and stir for 2-3 minutes until it’s thick.

2. Remove from the heat and mix in the graham cracker crumbs, coconut, and almonds. Press into the bottom of an un-greased 8x8-inch pan.

3. For the middle layer, beat the remaining 1/2 cup softened butter with the heavy cream and custard powder until it’s light and fluffy. Mix in the confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread over the bottom layer in the pan. Chill to set.

4. While the second layer is chilling, melt the semi-sweet chocolate and 2 teaspoons of butter together in the microwave, or over a low heat.

5. Spread the melted chocolate mixture over the chilled bars. Let the chocolate set before cutting into squares.

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