Humane Holidays: Thanksgiving
The days of tasteless vegan alternatives are gone. A myriad of delicious, mouth-watering vegan options are readily available. Not only do they taste good, they are generally healthier than the animal counterparts. Here are some suggestions to help you create a delectable vegan Thanksgiving.
Mashed potatoes are easy to veganize - just use non-dairy butter. Cranberry sauce (or, if you're like some "cran in a can") is typically vegan.
Turkey Alternatives
Gravy
Stuffing
Dessert
Pre-made Roasts
These are available at Whole Foods, natural food markets and some supermarket chains. You can get them ordered for you through most natural food markets.
Celebration Roast
Tofurky
To create your own faux-turkey roast, try this recipe from VegWeb:
Ingredients (use vegan versions):
5 blocks firm/extra firm organic tofu
2 teaspoon vegan poultry seasoning
1/4-1/2 cup fresh chopped herbs (savory, rosemary, sage and basil)
1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable stock powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Marinade
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 - 1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs
1 Tbsp vegetable stock powder dissolved in a couple tablespoons of hot water
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon of mustard
Optional: Add a sprinkle of hot pepper flakes
Directions
Blend tofu in blender or food processor until smooth.
Transfer to a large bowl, stir in herbs, poultry seasoning, stock powder and salt and pepper.
Line a medium, round bottomed colander with one layer of cheese cloth or a clean dish towel. Put the tofu mixture in colander and fold remaining cheese cloth over the top. Place the colander on a plate (to catch excess water being squeezed out) and put a heavy weight on top. Put in the fridge and press for 2-3 hours or overnight if possible.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
After pressing and with the tofu still in the colander, scoop out the center, leaving about an inch of tofu around the edges. Place stuffing in the cavity. Put the tofu mixture you scooped out over the stuffing and press down firmly.
Flip the formed tofu-turkey on to an oiled cookie sheet. Brush the whole tofu-turkey with the marinade.
Cook for about 1.5 hours brushing with marinade every 15-30 minutes. The tofu-turkey can cook for as long as you need it to.
Marinade directions
Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together
Taste and adjust the spices if you feel the need.
Serves: 6
Source: VegWeb
Ingredients
8 tablespoons vegetable oil
3-6 cloves of garlic, squashed and minced
3 slices of yellow onion, chopped
8 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
4 tablespoons Bragg's Liquid Aminos, low sodium soy sauce or tamari sauce
2 1/2 cups water or vegetable broth (to start)
1/2 teaspoon ground sage (dry)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup red wine or red wine vinegar
1/4 cup red wine or red wine vinegar
6 sliced mushrooms (optional)
Directions
Cut off the top of the garlic head, exposingIn a medium saucepan heat oil on a medium or medium-low heat. Add garlic and onion and cook until slightly tender and translucent.
Add the flour, yeast and soy (or tamari) to make a paste. Be careful not to let it burn. Gradually add the water, stirring constantly. With frequent stirring, bring the gravy to a boil and allow it to thicken. Add pepper, mushrooms, red wine (or red wine vinegar) and balsamic vinegar.
If the gravy is too thin add a small amount of cornstarch which has been dissolved in some cold water. (Dissolving the cornstarch in water first will prevent lumps.)
You can add more water to the gravy if you want a lighter gravy for certain dishes. The flavor is very strong and can easily handle the extra liquid. Its even better if you let it sit in the fridge overnight and gently reheat it.
Serves: Approx 4 cups
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Vegan Gravy
Source: VegWeb
Ingredients
1 vegetable bullion cube
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
few dashes garlic powder
2 heaped tablespoon nutritional yeast
few dashes of soy sauce or tamari (add more or less for your tastes)
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1/4 - 1/2 cup flour (to desired thickness)
1 tablespoon vegan butter
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Combine all ingredients in pot, and bring to boil. Cook on medium low heat until done.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Stuffing is very easy to make and easy to veganize.
Source: VegWeb
Ingredients
6 cups diced bread
2 tablespoons margarine
1 medium onion, diced
3 stalks celery, sliced
2 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon sage
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 to 3/4 of a red delicious apple, optional
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place diced vegan bread in a 9 x 13 baking pan and place in oven for about 15 minutes, until the bread is well toasted. Meanwhile, warm the margarine in a saucepan and sauté onion, celery and carrots over medium heat until onion is translucent.
Remove vegan bread from oven and add onion mixture, herbs, parsley, optional apple, nuts and salt. Mix well. Carefully drizzle the stuffing with vegetable stock and toss gently.
Bake, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes.
Season with black pepper if desired.
Serves: 6-8
Source: VegWeb
Ingredients
1 can (16 ounces) pureed pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar or sucanat (or 1/2 cup maple syrup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice, optional
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, optional
2-3 tablespoons cornstarch to firm up the pie filling
1 package (10-12 ounces) silken/soft tofu (Don't use the low fat tofu, then the pie tastes like it was made with tofu.)
1 9-in unbaked vegan pie shell
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 F.
Blend the pumpkin and sugar.
Add salt, spices, cornstarch and tofu, mix thoroughly.
Pour mixture into pie shell and bake for 15 minutes.
Lower heat to 350 F and bake for another 60 minutes.
Chill and serve. Top with non dairy topping and it will fool any pumpkin pie lover.
Serves: 8
Preparation time: about 1 hour + chilling time
Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie
Source: Have Cake Will Travel
Crust Ingredients
2 1/4 cup light spelt flour
3/4 t fine sea salt
1/4 cup + 2 T canola oil
1/4 cup + 2 T unsweetened almond milk
Crust Directions
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Place in food processor; pulse several times until dough forms.
If you don't have a food processor, simply mix all ingredients with a couple of forks in a large bowl, combine well, and knead a little to assemble.
Roll the resulting dough out and place in a round 9-inch cake pan coated with non-stick cooking spray. You can also press it with your hands, keep in mind that the less you handle your dough, the better/flakier it is.
For decreased shrinkage, place the prepared dough in the freezer for 30 minutes before baking it.
Cover with foil and place pie weights on top. Bake for 20 minutes, remove foil, bake for another 5 minutes, until golden.
Remove from oven and from pan, let cool completely before placing filling inside.
Filling Ingredients
32 oz vanilla soy yogurt
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips (melt in microwave or double-boiler)
1 cup chunky all-natural peanut butter
Filling Directions
Place all ingredients in a food processor: blend until completely smooth, stopping several times to scrape sides with a rubber spatula.
It's time to assemble the pie! Pour as much of the filling as you can into the crust up to as high as possible without having it overflow.
Place the whole pie in your freezer, until completely set, a few hours. Thaw for 15 minutes at room temperature, then serve.
