My Thanksgiving Menu – VeganMoFo 25

A good time was had by all, and I may never be hungry again.  Oh, who am I kidding?  I’ll probably be hungry again before midnight!

We had:

Spinach dips with breads (vegan)
Veggie tray with ranch
Relish tray (vegan)
Cranberry relish (vegan)
Crackers and cheese
Deviled eggs (by MIL)
Fruit salad (by MIL)
Vegan dressing
Regular dressing
Tofurkey (vegan)
Turkey
Ham
Homemade egg noodles
Mashed potatoes (vegan)
Gravy (vegan & not)
Broccoli (vegan)
Green beans (vegan)
Rolls (vegan)
Cookies (by BILs)
Cupcakes (from BILs)
Zucchini and pumpkin bread (by BILs)
Brownies (vegan)
Pumpkin pie (not vegan)
Apple pie (not vegan)
Pecan pie (vegan)
Pumpkin pie (vegan)

I think that’s it.  It was a LOT of food!  My fridge is way full, even after leftovers went home with guests.  The vegan food mostly came out good this year.  The dressing needed a little more liquid this time, the pecan pie was ok but not stellar, and the vegan pumpkin pie was a horrifying gelatinous mess that I refused to actually let the guests taste and then threw away.  But, I don’t think anyone went home hungry.  The big winner in the desert category was brownies made from this recipe. I did not make any substitutions, but didn’t add the optional chocolate chips or nuts.  They were quite moist, but not overly heavy.  At least one small guest had three, so I knew they were a keeper!

Hope you all had a lovely day.  If anyone wants a specific recipe, let me know!

L

Vegan Thanksgiving Dressing/Stuffing/Filling – Vegan MoFo 22

Growing up in southern Indiana, we always had a bread based dish on Thanksgiving that we called “dressing.”  After I became an adult and was exposed to the horror of Stovetop stuffing, I discovered that some people cooked it inside of the bird (eww) and called it stuffing.  Then, I had friends whose families call it filling.  So, in my house, we now call it dressing-stuffing-filling.  Those of us who like it REALLY like it, and will eat it for days after, for any meal or snack.  I made the non-vegan version for years, but after I became vegetarian and then vegan, I came up with this one.  I don’t have any pictures of the finished item, but I suspect you’ve seen dressing enough to figure it out on  your own!

Ingredients

1 large loaf of stale bread ripped into bite sized pieces**
1 large onion, diced small
4 stalks celery, sliced thin
2 cups soy milk
2 cups vegetable broth
4 T vegan butter, softened
2 T white vinegar
4 T flour or starch (soy, potato, chickpea, corn)
3 t sage
2 t thyme
2 t black pepper
1 t salt

Directions

** You can use white, wheat, or a combination of breads.  Bread can be “staled” by either leaving in oven for a day or two prior or baking on a low temp until dry

Place ripped bread in large mixing pan.  Add spices, onions, and celery, and flour and toss gently.  In a separate pan, mix softened butter with soy milk and vinegar.  It should take on the consistency of oily buttermilk (sorry).  Add vegetable broth and stir.  Add liquid to dry ingredients and fold in.  If you like your loaf to be really dense and not have bread pieces still visible, stir more briskly for longer to break up the bread more.  If you prefer the bread bits, fold in gently.  Spoon mix into shallow baking pan, cover with foil, and cook at 350* until warmed through.  If it gets too dry as you cook, add a little more veggie broth.  After thoroughly warm, remove foil and continue cooking until top browns, visible liquid evaporates, and stuffing “sets.”  Time depends on what else you have going in the oven.  I would expect at least 30 minutes covered and another 15-20 uncovered.

Heavy? YEP!  Nutritions? Not so much.  Delicious?  Oh yeah!

Thanksgiving Shopping List – VeganMoFo 21

It’s time to get ready for the feast.  At my house, I will be cooking for vegans and omnivores with conservative tastes, so it means a fairly “traditional” menu, but with veganized versions.  The vegan menu will include:  crudites, spinach dip and bread/crackers, cranberry relish, black and green olives, sweet and dill pickles, rolls, tofurkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing/stuffing, green beans, and pecan pie.  I’ll be posting some recipes in the coming days.  The first step is the grocery list.  Below is a list of all of the items you would need to create my planned meal.

Nutritional yeast
Vital wheat gluten
Vegan gravy mix
Faux chicken bullion
Vegetable broth
Soy or chickpea flour
Soy mayo
Soy sour cream
Vegan butter
Extra firm tofu
Garlic and onion powder
Soy Sauce
Olives
Pickles
Flour
Whole wheat pastry flour
Flax seeds
Arrowroot or tapioca starch
Vanilla extract
Maple extract
Pecans
Maple syrup
Sugar
Agave syrup
Baking soda
Brown rice syrup
Flax seeds
Crackers
Potatoes
Green beans
Cranberries
Oranges
Celery
Onions
Carrots
Broccoli crowns
Red/green/yellow peppers
Rolls
Bread loaves (for stuffing)
Frozen spinach

Whew. I’m getting close to having it all, but have at least one more trip to go. How about you?