vegan thanksgiving recipes part iii

I've been raving about my father-in-law's vegetarian stuffing recipe on this blog and in real life. Every year, I start talking about this stuffing on November 1. He resents the pressure to excel, but is always sweet enough to make extra stuffing for me. And you guys, it is the best.

After multiple emails and general annoying follow up from yours truly, this is the best I could pry out of him in terms of a recipe. I apologize for letting you down, but you really can't go wrong with this mix of ingredients. When we have vegan family members attending, he uses veggie broth and omits the egg. I've crossed out the non-vegan ingredients in this excuse for a recipe he gave me.

You know, Steph, I never do it the same.   And I just use amounts that seem right, depending upon the size of the end product…  I use that store-bought bread cubes…just plain bread cubes.   Lots of chopped yellow onion.   Much less (about ¼ as much) chopped celery.  A whole lot of sliced mushrooms.   I use crimini, but you can use any kind.   Usually chop up an apple or two.    Dried cranberries.  Sometimes I throw in pine nuts, or other nut meats that I may have around.  Very small pieces.   Lots of parsley.   Chopped.   An egg or two.   Then low sodium chicken broth, or if truly veggie, then use vegetable broth.    Salt and pepper to taste.  Fresh sage and thyme….lots of it, chopped well.   Then wash your hands, and stick them in it and mix it up real well.    I put it in low sided casserole dishes, maybe 2 to 4 inches deep, max.   Cover with aluminum foil and bake at about 350 to 375 for about one half hour.   If the pans are deep, maybe cook an extra ten minutes.   If you like it a bit crispy on top, then remove the foil for the last ten minutes.

Coming up next: the perfect apple sauce with no added sugar. I am making this, so I promise it will be an actual recipe next time.

vegan thanksgiving recipes part ii

This Thanksgiving recipe is pretty basic, but super yummy. Roasted root vegetables are healthy, flavorful, and very easy to cook. Adding sage and thyme really ties them into the rest of the Thanksgiving dish flavors. Use whatever winter root vegetables (or squash! and then let me know how that works out because I've never tried it!) make you happy. I just made this recipe up when I had a bunch of leftover root vegetables from another recipe, so it's by no means an exact science.

The important thing is chopping everything up to a size that enables everything to cook evenly. In general, carrots and parsnips will cook the fastest, followed by the sweet potatoes, and finally the regular potatoes. So I make sure to chop the carrots and parsnips a little bit larger than the potatoes. Also, make sure there's enough room in your casserole dish for every vegetable to be touching the bottom of the dish while roasting, and stir everything around mid-roast.

Roasted Root Vegetables

A healthy & easy side dish for the fall

Servings: 6

2 small or 1 large sweet potatoes

4 medium carrots

2 parsnips, peeled

2 small potatoes of your chosen variety

2 tablespoons olive oil

Dried sage, thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary (to taste - but go bigger with the sage than the other herbs)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cut carrots and peeled parsnips into 1 - 1.5 inch pieces.

3. Cut sweet potatoes and regular potatoes into .5 - 1 inch pieces. (See photo above for relative veggie sizes)

4. In a large casserole dish, pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil and use a paper towel to coat the inside bottom and sides of the dish with oil.

5. Place all the veggies in the dish and drizzle with remaining oil. Sprinkle dried herbs as desired and use hands to mix everything together, coating the vegetables with oil and herbs.

6. Put casserole dish on middle rack of the oven for 40-50 minutes, or until fork tender. After the first 20 minutes, use a large spoon to stir the vegetables and expose different parts of them to the bottoms and sides of the dish.

7. Allow to cool briefly before serving. Keeps well and is tasty cold or reheated.

Coming up next: THE BEST STUFFING RECIPE EVER, and it just happens to be vegan. That is, if my father in law ever sends the damn recipe to me. But seriously guys, it's the best stuffing I have ever had in my entire life. Get ready.

vegan thanksgiving recipes part i

Can you all believe it's November already? Do you know what that means? That my favorite holiday is just around the corner. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year because of its emphasis on family without being preoccupied by gifts. Also, the food doesn't hurt.

The Husband's family is an interesting mix of vegans and carnivores, so Thanksgiving with his family is filled with both traditional and creative dishes. There are a couple vegetarians on my side of the family that have inspired some great dishes, too. Over the years, I have enjoyed amazing vegan dishes cooked by others, and whipped up a couple vegan recipes myself. Between now and Thanksgiving, I plan on sharing some of these recipes here.

(cooking! with a rather large belly! also, how terrible are those orange linoleum counters? i'm trying to own it with the cafe curtains)

This first is a twofer! After the jump, my mom's amazing vegan gravy recipe (with some minor tweaks by me) and my mashed cauliflower (mashed potato alternative) recipe.

holiday cheer

(The Cat Who Thinks She's A Dog, full of holiday cheer)

Personally, I love the holiday season, despite my general cynicism and crotchety demeanor. I love an excuse to select the perfect gift for each of my loved ones. I love dragging a tree home (aka having The Husband drag a tree home) and having the smell of pine fill my house. I love browbeating The Husband into hanging lights on the front of the house. I love making new ornaments every year, usually with a friend or family member (don't worry, the old ornaments get donated or repurposed). 

I have much to celebrate during this season, especially this year. However, not everyone feels the same way, for perfectly valid reasons. Times are tough, and life can be hard; pain and suffering (and family issues) do not, unfortunately, take a holiday. Sometimes you just don't feel that energy. However, for those that are healthy, mobile, financially stable(ish), and desiring to get out of their anti-holiday rut, here are a few ideas:

• Be kind to yourself. Just because you're not a magical holiday elf full of cheer doesn't mean anything is materially wrong with you or your life. Instead of focusing on trying to be celebratory and energetic when you feel the exact opposite, just give yourself a break, go somewhere safe and quiet, do what you need to do to feel okay (within reason, let's keep to healthy coping mechanisms, mmmmk?). 

• If you can, find things to be grateful for, and then go and express that appreciation in a way that feels right to you. 

• If finances are difficult or the idea of choosing gifts for your loved ones sounds daunting, consider giving the gift of time. You don't have to have a special skill. I would love if someone gave me the gift of helping me purge my wardrobe and donate stuff I no longer wear. The only skill someone would need is the ability to slap me when I try to justify keeping a shirt I haven't worn for 5 years.

• Buy a plant, not a Christmas tree. Feel smug when your plant lives and flourishes while bleary-eyed neighbors are dragging dead trees out to the curb in January.

• Eat well. Eat healthy, satisfying, whole foods. It's amazing what eating healthily can do for one's mindset. Feel smug (and awesome) when everyone complains about the crap they've been eating nonstop.

• Send a holiday card, packaged treats, or something similar to a local nonprofit. Try to focus on one that serves marginalized populations or deal with subjects that are still considered somewhat taboo by our society. The animal shelters will be inundated with cards, candy, and well-wishers, because society loves pets. However, the center that serves survivors of rape, domestic violence, the HIV-positive community, etc., may not receive much holiday cheer, if at all, from the community it serves. Sending a card thanking the staff for what they do is such a small thing that really, truly, raises morale.

(me decidedly not in the holiday spirit, France, 2007)

CHEESEFEST OVER. Happy holidays everyone.