Category: Vegan Thanksgiving

by betsy

Vegan Kale Salad with Pomegranate Balsamic Marinated Figs and Dates Topped with Smoked Almonds

Yield: 8 servings

This beautiful and healthful salad was inspired by one that my close friend, Yvette Hetrick, makes with fresh figs caramelized in orange balsamic.  Ever since she shared the idea for her dish with me, I had wanted to make a version for Thanksgiving.

When Yvette and her husband, Randy, lived in VA Beach (they live in Sausalito now), we used to start co-planning in earnest for our respective feasts as soon as the November culinary magazines hit the stands.  And afterwards, we would pool our leftovers for a potluck dinner following a long beach-state park hike with all of our dogs in tow.  She and I both miss that tradition so much.

Undeterred by the lack of fresh figs and orange balsamic in VA Beach, I plunged ahead using two kinds of dried figs, adding some dates for good measure, and substituting pomegranate balsamic vinegar which was readily available at our local Kroger and sounded very fitting for the holiday.

After marinating the figs and dates all day, I turned over their caramelization to our nephew, Curt Lindelow, a partner and manager of a Bonefish Grill in South Carolina, who knows his way around a kitchen.  He did a beautiful job unsupervised by me and even recommended additional dressing, which was on point.  The following recipe reflects our combined efforts.

8 dried Kalamata figs, stems snipped, and the figs sliced into 3 pieces each

8 Mission figs, stems snipped, and sliced in half lengthwise

8 dates, pitted, and sliced in half lengthwise

6 tablespoons pomegranate balsamic vinegar

6 tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

4-2 inch sprigs of fresh rosemary

2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced lengthwise

1/2 teaspoon yellow or Dijon mustard

1/3 cup smoked almonds plus a few more for garnish

8 cups shredded fresh kale (I fold the leaves lengthwise, cut out the stems with kitchen shears, and pulse the kale in a couple of batches in a food processor fitted with a metal blade)

Several hours or the day before you plan to serve the salad, place figs and dates in a shallow dish (I use a ceramic 5 x 9-inch loaf pan).  Whisk together the vinegar and oil and pour it over the fruit.  Season to taste with salt and pepper, and then add rosemary and garlic.  Stir to combine.  Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate at room temperature.

Just before serving time, heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high.  Add the fruit and all of the marinade and cook down, slightly caramelizing, for about 7 minutes. Whisk in the mustard.  Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if desired.  Place the shredded kale in a serving bowl and pour the contents of the skillet directly over the kale.  Toss to evenly distribute the fruit and dressing.  Add smoked almonds, toss lightly again, and serve the salad immediately garnished with a few more smoked almonds if desired.

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by betsy

Vegan Roasted Garlic Whipped Cauliflower

Yield: 4-6 servings

I’ll just confess right off the bat that I have no specific proportions for this dish inspired by my dear friend Yvette Hetrick.  For some of you, the lack of a precise formula may come as a great relief, as you can ad lib to your heart’s content.

I started off keeping track of what I was adding for flavor.  However, since I was working in 3 batches for the number of guests we had for Thanksgiving–and since I kept adjusting–I gave up at some point.  (And, by the way, a double recipe would have been plenty for 8 people; I enjoyed lots of leftovers!)

So, following is all you need to know to veganize this old “Weight Watchers” standard to suit YOUR taste.  Don’t let the dish’s dietary “roots” turn you off; it’s just that, ounce for ounce, cauliflower has far fewer calories than potatoes.  However, by the time I get finished doctoring it up, I’m not sure how many fewer calories it actually has.  But it does have it’s own unique flavor somewhere between cauliflower and potatoes.  And for that reason alone, it’s a keeper.  By all means, feel free to go easy on the ‘butta, sour cream and such, and then you can reap the low-cal benefits.

Be forewarned: cauliflower is LOADED with fiber, so it is very easy to feel overly full after a moderate portion of this dish.  Of course, you could just exercise some portion control, but it is so tasty that that is easier than it sounds!

4 cups water

Sea salt

1 large head of cauliflower, cored, broken into florets, rinsed and drained

1 head roasted garlic (rub whole head with olive oil and roast at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until very soft)

Any or all of the following in whatever proportions you desire; let taste be your guide: vegan butter, vegan sour cream, vegan cream cheese, and nutritional yeast (do NOT omit the cheesy “nooch”!)

Pinch white pepper

Optional garnish: snipped fresh chives

In a 4-quart covered saucepan, bring generously salted water to a boil.  Add cauliflower, loosely cover pan, and gently boil for about 6 minutes, reducing the heat if necessary.  Drain cauliflower and WHILE IT IS STILL WARM (that is very important), add half the head of garlic and season to taste with vegan butter, sour cream, cream cheese, nutritional yeast, additional salt, and white pepper.  If desired, add some or all of the remaining roasted garlic.  Serve warm garnished if desired.

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by betsy

Vegan Smokey Pumpkin Grits with Maple-Roasted Pepitas

Yield: 4 servings

This golden and delicious dish personifies fall.  Whether you serve it for breakfast or brunch, as tapas, or as a side dish, it is sure to satisfy as a warm and comforting ode to autumn.

When I was growing up, my family probably ate cheese grits for breakfast on more Sundays than not.  When I became vegan, I learned that cheesy grits need not be a faint and distant childhood memory, thanks to nutritional yeast.

For this recipe, I make the grits even more creamy and golden, with just a hint of smoke and savory sweetness, by incorporating coconut creamer, smoked paprika, vegan butter, and pureed pumpkin.  The creaminess of the grits is perfectly set off by crunchy pepitas lightly toasted with more nutritional yeast, salt, and just a hint of maple syrup.

For some recipes, the garnish is nice, though not necessary.  But for this one–though I would still make the dish even if I didn’t have fresh sage growing in the garden–I feel that tiny, tender and very young sage leaves add the perfect finishing touch to balance and accent all of the other flavor notes.

Find the simple and simply addicting recipe HERE at One Green Planet!

 

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by betsy

Our Blooming Thanksgiving Platter–Third Up: Barley with Butterut Squash and Baby Bellas

For this addition to our five-star Thanksgiving feast, I turned to star chef, Emeril Legasse. 

In a recent culinary magazine, his recipe for a barley, mushroom, and squash risotto made in a slow cooker really appealed to me.  I gave my slow cooker away age ago–I just don’t enjoy cooking that way–but I loved his concept.  So I simply made some quick-cooking barley and folded in cubed and sauteed butternut squash and baby bellas whose flavor I deepened with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.  It was a hit and it made a ton, so I plan to add broth and make soup with the leftovers.  

Minced rosemary would be a nice addition, but I was flavoring the gravy with rosemary, so I didn’t include and it is still super tasty.   Similarly, since our dressing included sauteed onion, I didn’t add, but sauteed onion and garlic would be nice, though my stripped down version was delicious and satisfying.

Yield: 16 servings (when served with a couple of other side dishes and a main dish)

4 cups vegetable broth or stock

Pinch sea salt

2 cups quick cooking barley

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 butternut squash about 8 inches long, seeds, membrane, and peel removed; cut ino 1/2 inch pieces

Pinch of sea salt

1 pound baby bella mushrooms, sliced about 1/4-inch thick (I purchased them pre-sliced from Trader Joe’s)

Approximately 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

In a 2-quart saucepan, bring the broth or stock and a pinch of salt to a simmer.  Stir in the quick cooking barley, and simmer, loosely covered, about 12 minutes or until tender and water is evaporated.  Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high.  Add squash and a pinch of salt and saute, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until tender and just beginning to develop some color.  Lower heat if necessary to prevent from sticking.  Add mushrooms and continue sauteeing and stirring for about 3 minutes or until tender.  Turn off heat and stir in nutritional yeast.  Spoon cooked barley into a large bowl, add vegetables, and gently stir to combine.  Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if desired.  Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately.  If you make the dish well in advance of serving, spoon it into an oiled heat-proof serving dish, cool, cover, and refrigerate until about an hour and a half before serving time. Remove the dish from the refrigerator about an hour before serving.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and heat barley mixture, covered, for 20-30 minutes or until lheated through.  Serve immediately.

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by betsy

Our Blooming Thanksgiving Platter–Second Up: Vegan Apple-Roasted Pecan-Sage Stuffing

On a recent Sunday, listening to our outstanding local public radio station, WHRV, announcer and jazz musician, Jae Sinnett, host of “Sinnet in Session,” shared his recipe–as he frequently does, for his show follows “Splendid Table” in their line-up–for an apple-pecan stuffing.  I didn’t write the recipe down, since I was driving; rather I just used it for inspiration, thinking it sounded perfect for our Thanksgiving feast.  To Jae’s basic recipe, I added cornbread to the bread base, as our family has always used a combination for what we think is the best taste and texture.  I also used roasted pecans–and a lot of them!–for depth of flavor.

Yield: 10-12 servings (when served with a couple of other side dishes)

1-8 inch pan of cornbread, cooked and cooled

About 10 ounces of multi-grain bread

1 pound roasted and lightly salted pecan pieces or halves (I purchased them already roasted and salted and Trader Joe’s; if using halves, break them with your fingers as you add to the stuffing); reserve a few to sprinkle on the top if desired

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large yellow onion, but into 1/4-inch dice

About 3 stalks of celery, trimmed, and cut lengthwise into 4 strips and then cut crosswise ino 1/4-inch pieces

2 sweet-tart apples (I used an apple grown here in Virginia), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4 inch pieces

Approximately 2 teaspoons of rubbed sage or to taste

Vegetable broth or stock, added a little at a time until mixture is very moist but holds its shape and is not soggy (this will take at least 2 cups, so start with that amount)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Photo Credit: SoupAddict.com

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Crumble cornbread into a large mixing bowl.  Tear bread into bite-size pieces into the same bowl and toss gently to combine.   In a large cast iron skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high.  Add the onion and saute, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes.  Add celery, and continue sauteeing and stirring for about 2 minutes.  Add the apple and do the same for about 3 minutes.  All vegetables should be tender, but still hold their shape.  Add them to the breads in the large mixing bowl along with the sage, and toss gently to combine.  Begin adding broth or stock, stirring and “fluffing” with a fork until desired consistency is reached.   Taste to check for seasoning, and stir in salt, pepper, and sage as needed.   Oil a 9 x 13-inch glass or ceramic dish and spoon in stuffing without packing it down.  Sprinkle with reserved pecan halves if desired.  Bake just until heated through, about 25 to 30 minutes.  Cover with foil if the top appears to be drying out during the baking process.    Serve immediately.  If you want to prepare earlier in the day and reheat before serving, simply bake for about 20 minutes, cool, cover, and refrigerate.  About an hour and a half before serving, remove the dish from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for an hour.  Then reheat, covered, in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes or just until heated through.

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by betsy

Vegan Cranberry Crunch

Yield: 8 servings

This is our traditional Thanksgiving dessert; my Mom’s absolute favorite. It’s also really good for breakfast, slightly warmed. This year, however, because of our Thai-inspired Thanksgiving menu, I made a pumpkin-coconut milk dessert for the big feast, but I just had to make this a day or so later.

The crust/crumble part of the recipe, which I veganized, comes from Joy of Cooking. Looking for a Thanksgiving dessert one year, I saw it and thought that the filling I wanted with it was pretty much like whole berry cranberry sauce. So, I made the recipe on the back of the fresh cranberry bag and that’s what I’ve done every year since.

Filling:
1 bag of fresh cranberries, picked over, rinsed and drained
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar

Mix together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Cool.

Crust and Topping:

½ cup butter or margarine, melted
1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup regular or quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together all ingredients except pecans with a fork. Spoon half of this mixture into 8 or 9” baking dish. (I use a deep dish pie pan.) Pour filling over to cover; it doesn’t have to come quite to the edges. Mix pecans with remaining pastry mixture and spoon evenly over filling. Bake 30-35 minutes or until nicely browned.

Delicious served warm or at room temperature with vegan vanilla ice cream and/or Soy Whip. Refrigerate leftovers–if there is any!–covered.

Source: adapted from Joy of Cooking

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by betsy

Vegan Calzone Stuffed with Savory Leftovers–Thanksgiving or Otherwise

Yield: 1 calzone (2 servings)

Calzones are the perfect little pouches for turning leftovers into a whole new meal. And with the dough such a breeze to make, there’s no reason not to add these savory and portable meals-in-one to your weekly repertoire.

For the calzone in the photo, I mixed some leftover Spaghetti Squash with Caramelized Onions, Greens and Dried Cranberries with a little of my Vegan Swiss “Cheese” and my vegan Veggie Marinara Sauce, tucked it into my go-to pizza dough, and brushed the surface with woodsy Rosemary Olive Oil before baking it to a golden brown.

I happened to have all of those ingredients on hand, and that’s the point: you don’t need to make anything special to stuff in a calzone. Just get creative with what you have so that these little packages don’t become big burdens.

However, if you want to make my version, just click on the links below to go to the recipes. Once there, you may need to scroll down to find the specific recipe or part of a recipe you’re looking for, e.g. Veggie Marinara Sauce in a stuffed shells recipe.

My recommendation, though, is to just use my method (below) to make your fabulous creation.

1/2 cup Vegan Spaghetti squash with Caramelized Onions, Greens and Dried Cranberries
(without the croutons)
approximately 2 tablespoons Vegan Swiss “Cheese”
approximately 2 tablespoons vegan Veggie Marinara Sauce
coarse sea or kosher salt if needed
1/2 recipe CPK’s Pizza Dough
Rosemary Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place pizza stone inside to heat for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine squash mixture with vegan “cheese” and marinara sauce to make a thick filling that holds together well. Add more vegan “cheese” or sauce as needed. Taste and add salt if desired.

Tear off a piece of foil about six inches wide, shiny side down. Spray lightly with non-stick spray. With fingers lightly dusted with flour, shape dough into a ball and place in the center of the foil. Beginning in the center and working your way to the edges, use your fingertips to gently press the dough into a circle approximately 1/4-inch thick. (If the dough is too thin, it will tear; if too thick it will unappealingly heavy.) Spread dough with a thin layer of “cheese,” leaving a generous 1/4 inch border. Mound up the filling on top of the vegan “cheese” on one half of the circle, again leaving a generous 1/4-inch margin. Fold plain half of dough over filling and press edges together to seal. Crimp with a fork and prick top a few times. Brush with Rosemary Olive Oil.

Carefully remove hot stone from oven. Slide calzone onto the stone, foil and all, and bake for 11-15 minutes or until golden brown. When calzone develops a little bit of color, brush top again with oil, sprinkle with salt if desired and finish baking. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 10-15 minutes. Slice calzone in half and serve one half per person. Serve warm with heated marinara sauce for dipping if desired.

Reheat any leftovers on a seasoned pizza stone in a preheated 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes.

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by betsy

Vegan Thanksgiving with a Thai Twist–Setting the Stage

At our house, Thanksgiving is a time for celebrating tradition…and innovation.

Both my husband and I come from families of excellent cooks and food enthusiasts; the kind that eat one meal while planning the next.

Upon marrying and moving to Virginia Beach, Joe and I established a tradition of hosting Thanksgiving feasts for both of our families—his from Pennsylvania plus Georgia and Wisconsin, mine from Mississippi—along with a couple of family friends now in South Carolina.

As soon as the November culinary magazines hit the stands, I go into long-distance planning mode with my mom. For about a decade, we were more than content to celebrate the bounty of the season by preparing and serving various quasi-gourmet twists on tradition with contributions from the entire clan. But about seven or so years ago, we decided it would be fun to incorporate traditional Thanksgiving ingredients into non-traditional Thanksgiving dishes.

Our first foray into the global fusion Thanksgiving concept was a tribute to my husband’s family’s Italian heritage. On the menu that year, along with more standard Thanksgiving fare, was pumpkin gnocchi with browned sage butter and pine nuts. After that, we featured penne pasta with spinach and creamy pumpkin sauce and pumpkin tiramisu on the menu.

Another year, we decided to go whole hog—or, rather, whole turkey—into the global fusion concept, spicing up our Thanksgiving repast with tastes of Mexico and the American southwest from where much of my family hails. Two particularly memorable dishes were my Mom’s delicious cornbread-bread stuffing rolled inside tortillas, and black beans with hunks of sweet potato.

Still another year, we saluted American drive-in/diner food. Since a burger, even a veggie burger, isn’t a burger without fries and onion rings, our Thanksgiving “fries” took the shape of oven-roasted sweet potato wedges and our “rings,” tempura battered and fried acorn squash slices. An ice-cream scoop of traditional stuffing and another of broccoli coleslaw with dried cranberries completed our blue-plate special.

Other featured cuisines have included the Cajun South, the Caribbean, and Morocco. This year, it was Thailand. Excited that Joe’s mom, older sister and our niece could be with us, but a little blue that no one else could make it this year, including my family–this was only the second Thanksgiving in 48 years that we’ve spent apart–never mind that our beloved dog had also recently passed away, my friend David Prescott knew just what to do.

As the choral director at our school, he has access to almost any prop one could ever want. So, on Wednesday, he appeared in my door with a cart bearing loaner gifts: a beautiful carved Buddha portrait bust, bamboo mats, two lanterns, and two lengths of shimmery gold and berry-colored fabric. Plus, my mom surprised me with a beautiful blooming Christmas cactus. The photo accompanying this post shows how I put it all together, though I wish my mom or David had been here to work their designing magic.

The thoughtfulness behind their gifts embodies not only what Thanksgiving is all about, but it gave me just the little nudge I needed to shake the blues and focus on creating a special and festive atmosphere for our small gathering–our “smalliday“–that expressed my gratitude at being able to share it with Joe, Terry, Tina and Gabriella.

In the posts that follow, you will find our menu and each individual recipe with accompanying photos, delicious for a non-traditional Thanksgiving or any time you’re in the mood for tastes of Thailand.

May we live each day like it’s Thanksgiving.

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