A Lotus Grows in Brooklyn

I’m shocked at how many people think a vegan Thanksgiving is a hardship, or even an impossibility. Personally, I’ve always found the turkey to be the least interesting part of the meal. Often dry, bland, blah. And now that I’m vegan the very idea of eating the flesh of poultry turns my stomach.

Lucky for me (and for the planet and the animals), there are so very many delicious vegan holiday recipes. I spent the weeks leading up to “Turkey” Day overwhelmed by the wonderful ideas I was seeing around the vegan blogosphere. In the end, I made a small meal on a slim budget that was absolutely delightful.

Green Beans in Lemon-Almond Vinaigrette
(adapted from Bon Appetit magazine)

1 lemon
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb. green beans, trimmed
handful of slivered almonds

Zest lemon. Boil green beans 5-7 minutes until crisp-tender. Mix Dijon mustard in a bowl with lemon juice, lemon zest, oil, and dash of pepper. Combine beans and sauce and sprinkle with almonds.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes
I used a recipe from Lauren’s Vegan Journal. It was simple and tasty. I don’t know about  peeling the potatoes after they’re cooked, though.  I nearly singed my fingerprints off handling those guys. Guess I was too impatient.

Apple ‘Sausage’ Cranberry Stuffing
(adapted from Healthy.Happy.Life) This was probably my favorite part of the meal. I love how many tasty things you can put into stuffing. Some might (and did) say this was too sweet, though, so maybe leave out the cranberries if you’d like it more savory.

6-7 cups diced sourdough bread cubes
3 Tbsp vegan buttery spread
1 cup onion, chopped (white or yellow)
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup roasted hazelnuts, chopped
1 medium apple, chopped
1 cup cranberries
1 1/4 cups vegetable broth
2 links vegan Sausage, chopped (I used Tofurky, but Field Roast Grain Meat Co. would be even better.)

Slice bread into small cubes. Set aside.
Prepare the diced vegan sausage by sauteing in a skillet until the bits become browned and a bit crispy on the outside. Set aside.
In a medium pan, melt in the buttery spread. Add the onion, parsley and herbs. Saute until tender.
Add in the black pepper, hazelnuts, apple, and cranberries. Saute until tender.
Add in the veggie broth. Let simmer for a few seconds.
Fold in bread cubes. Try not to mash the bread, but you also want it soaked through. You may need to add more or less bread cubes depending on the dryness of your bread. Too soggy? Add more cubes. Too dense? Add a bit more veggie broth.
Fold in sausage bits.
Transfer stuffing to 13×9 baking dish and bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Celebration Roast
For the “main course” I bought a Field Roast Grain Meat Co. Celebration Roast, which was pretty good but not spectacular. I think this is the last holiday I’ll tip my hat to the vestiges of my omnivorism. I think it would have helped to have basted it with oil or broth, as the directions say, and perhaps to have had a cranberry sauce. But everything else was so good, the faux meat was incidental!

Onion Dip
Oh, and of course, it’s a tradition in my family to snack all day on onion dip, so I got vegan sour cream (Tofutti) and mixed it with good ol’ Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix. Enjoyed it with Natural Ruffles and could hardly tell it was different from the dip I grew up on.

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake
Recipe I used was from Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen. Was mucho delicious!

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving. Now, let’s start planning Christmas dinner!