“Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude.”
~Edward Payson Powell, author and journalist
In my family, as in many others I’m sure, we have a tradition to go around the Thanksgiving table and say what you are thankful for. Along with many other things, this year I am thankful for a compassionate Thanksgiving:
The sides were always my favorite part (and the majority) of my Thanksgiving meal anyway, and it now brings me great joy and pride to be able to say thanks without causing harm to another being. Plus I have all sorts of new main dishes to try out that I will actually want to eat!
So what does one make for a vegetarian Thanksgiving? Let me give you some ideas….
1. I’ll be trying this Lentil and Mushroom Loaf with Savoury Potato Filling for my main course this year.
A close second is this Seitan Stuffed with Walnuts, Dried Cranberries, and Mushrooms. Next year?
2. Other potential main courses include all sorts of stuffed squash dishes. This Chanterelle and Apricot Stuffed Acorn Squash With Miracle Mushroom Gravy particularly caught my eye.
3. A couple other roundups include:
41 Delicious vegan Thanksgiving recipes
Well’s Vegetarian Thanksgiving 2012 (not entirely vegan, but has some great ideas)
4. For dessert, the pecan pie at the PPK is amazingly perfect.
5. And then of course there’s my family’s traditional dishes… every single one vegan or easily made so. <3
Worst. picture. EVER. Round 2 at the Thanksgiving table, long before I was a blogger and remembering to take pictures immediately! :)
We have stuffing (not cooked stuffed), green bean casserole, candied sweet potatoes, frozen cranberry salad, jellied cranberry sauce (of course!), and rolls. Plus frozen pumpkin ice cream pie for dessert, and pecan pie.
Recipes
1. This year I’ll be making the stuffing I perfected a few months ago, because YUM.
2. For the green bean casserole, I recommend this recipe. It’s the best green bean casserole I’ve ever had, vegan or no. (I do leave out the carrots since they don’t seem traditional to me.) However – I think the key is using fresh green beans! We buy the steam in bag kind, steam them, chop them into smaller pieces, and use fresh. Makes all the difference in the world.
3. Frozen cranberry salad
A little bit different twist on the usual cranberry sauce, as long as you remember to take this out of the freezer when the meal is being served (we don’t always!), this adds a nice coolness and creaminess to the plate.
1 can whole berry jellied cranberry sauce
1 8 oz can crushed pineapple in juice (keep the juice!)
1 C vegan sour cream
1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Freeze until solid in shallow (1-2″) dish – we always used an old ice cube tray, to give you an idea of size to get the right thickness.
3. Remove from freezer when ready to serve, slice into squares. Eat immediately, melts quickly!
Enjoy!!
Totally irrelevant to anything above,
but I saw this and loved it!
Tomorrow I’ll return with the recipe for the frozen pumpkin ice cream pie – you do not want to miss this one!! :)
