It’s no secret among my friends that I love to cook. Put me in a kitchen for couple of house, give me a pile of ingredients and a great chef buddy to work with and some beautiful things are likely to happen!
We started by putting together a list of things that Thanksgiving cannot happen without, and then added some of our personal favorites. Here’s what we came up with:
Tofurkey
Roasted Hubbard Squash -
We cut off the top of the squash and carved out the guts. Then we covered it in foil and popped it into the oven at 350 degrees for one hour and 20 minutes. When it was done, we carved it into strips and served it with the stuffing and gravy on top.
Hearty Vegan Stuffing -
1 loaf of bread, we used Silver Hills Squirlly cut into 1-in. cubes
1 pound some kind of Tofurky Italian sausage (or your preference)
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 cup vegan butter– I like Earth Balance, melted
1/2 of a large onion or 1 small onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
14-15 ounces (about 1 3/4 cups) Veggie Stock
1 egg substitute, with dashes of salt and pepper added to it
a VERY generous pinch of poultry seasoning
large baking dish, greased
Directions:
I should mention that according to my mother’s recipe, the bread should be left out for 1 week in a paper bag to get a little stale, however, she has made this without leaving the bread out and it tastes the same. I surely don’t do it.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook the ‘sausage’ (crumbled or chunked) until heated through. Add the celery in, then add the onion and garlic. Saute until tender.
In a large bowl, add the cubed bread and all the other ingredients. Mix together.
Add the stuffing to the baking dish and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes, until the stuffing is not watery. Don’t cook too long or it may dry out.
This can also be prepared a day or two ahead. Just bake it for 45 minutes and refrigerate. Bake for 20 more minutes or so when ready to serve.
Enjoy with or without the vegan gravy of your choice
Two Gravies
Yorkshire Puddings -
Ingredients at room temperature:
2 cups sweet rice flour
2 tsp guar gum
2 cups soy milk
Egg Replacer for 6 eggs
1 tsp salt
Olive Oil
Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix with whisk. It’s ok to leave a few lumps.(Batter should be super runny.) Let stand at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. Put a half a cap full of oil into each muffin cup. Fill muffin cups about half full of batter and bake approx. 25 mins.
Variation – I did these Gluten Free, however you can use wheat flour instead of the sweet rice flour, and just eliminate the guar gum which isn’t necessary with wheat flour.
Pumpkin Pie! -
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Have ready, one 9″ unbaked pastry crust
Blend in blender:
2 cups solid-pack canned pumpkin
1 cup almond milk
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tbsp. blackstrap molasses
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. EACH ground ginger, nutmeg and salt
1/4 tsp. ground allspice or cloves
Pour the filling into the pastry and bake 60 minutes, covering the edges with foil if they begin to brown too quickly. Cool on a rack, then refrigerate overnight before serving.
Portabellos with Almond Sauce
Roasted Seasonal Mixed Veggies
Scalloped Potatoes -
6 medium potatoes, peeled and super thinly sliced
4 tablespoons earth balance
3 tablespoons flour (we used sweet rice flour)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 1/2 cups Almond milk
1 small onion, finely chopped
Preheat oven to 325ºF.
Heat 3 tablespoons of earth balance in a saucepan over low heat until melted. Blend in flour, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Gradually stir in almond milk, 1/2 cup at a time. Heat to boiling. Boil and stir 1 minute.
Arrange potatoes in greased 2 quart casserole in 3 layers, topping each layer with part of the chopped onions and 1/3 of the sauce. Dot the top with the remaining 1 tablespoon of earth balance, broken into little pieces.
Cover and bake until potatoes are tender, about 60-70 minutes. Let stand 5 to 10 minute before serving.
Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded Daiya cheese to the sauce and mix to melt.
Olives
and
Chocolate Chip-Coconut Cookies
Recipes to come very soon!
Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, is all I can say for taking a more than a year long break! I promise on my love to you, my 3 loyal readers that I will update this blog much more regularly (and with interesting articles too!)
