This year, we gave thanks with an homage to one of our favorite cuisines: Thai.
The Menu
Yield: 6-8 Servings
I thought that cucumber sounded like an odd ingredient, but please don’t omit. It adds welcome color, taste and texture to this beautiful soup.
2-3 tablespoons canola oil
2 shallots or 1/3 cup onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small dried chili, whole
6 cups vegetable stock
3 kaffir lime leaves (available in the freezer section of Asian markets)
2 medium-large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size dice
2 tablespoons vegan fish sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
2-3 teaspoons sugar
1/2 of a large red bell pepper, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup rich or extra-rich coconut milk
1 medium cucumber, cut into bite size pieces (leave peel on)
Handful of fresh basil leaves, preferably Thai basil leaves
Heat oil until shimmering in the bottom of a soup pot or wok over medium-high heat. Add the shallot or onion, garlic and chili. Stir fry for just a few minutes to release fragrance and soften onion and garlic. Add stock and lime leaves and bring to a boil. Add the sweet potato. Reduce heat to medium and allow soup to simmer until the potato is easily pierced with a fork, about 6-8 minutes. While sweet potato is cooking, add the vegan fish sauce, lime juice and sugar. When sweet potato has softened, and the red pepper and the cucumber. Allow to simmer for only 1-2 minutes, as the vegetables should retain their firmness. Reduce heat to low and add the coconut milk, stirring to incorporate. Adjust seasoning for balance of salt, sweetness and spice. Stir in basil leaves and allow to wilt. Remove whole chili and serve warm. Soup keeps and reheats well.
Source: Veganized from: http://thaifood.about.com/od/thaisnacks/r/pumpkinsoup.htm
Yield: approximately 20 small fritters
These beautiful fritters flecked with yellow, red and green are perfect for any festive occasion, but easy enough for any night of the week. We served them for Thanksgiving as one of two side dishes. The original recipe called for two eggs which I decided to substitute with blended tofu. I was nervous about my decision, especially because there appeared to be too much tofu and veggies for the amount of liquid. But the batter came together nicely. And when the first mounds of it hit the oil, my fears were completely allayed. They were perfect! Not only did they hold together beautifully, but they were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. And they were delicious with me and my sister-in-law, Tina’s, Thai Cranberry Dipping Sauce. I suggested some ingredients and she put them all together perfectly. See our (loose) recipe below.
1/2 cup mashed firm tofu
4 tablespoons vegan fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 block firm tofu, cut into small dice
1 cup corn (fresh or frozen)
4 scallions, sliced thin
1 loose cup chopped fresh coriander
1/2 of a medium red bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 kaffir lime leaves (available in the freezer section of Asian markets), stems removed and snipped into slivers (I made a chiffonade by placing one on top of the other, rolling them up, and cutting them into thin slivers with scissors)
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour or rice flour (I used all-purpose)
1 teaspoon baking powder
canola oil for frying
Puree together first three ingredients in a blender. Add the next 8 ingredients and stir together. Mix the flour with the baking powder and add to mixture, stirring to blend in completely and form a thick, lumpy batter. Taste and add up to one more tablespoon of vegan fish sauce if not salty enough. Heat about 1-inch of canola oil in skillet over medium high heat until a droplet of water sizzles and sputters. When oil is ready, drop 4-5 heaping tablespoon or small scoops (my preference) of the mixture into the oil, preventing them from touching each other. (Odd shapes are desirable.) Cook for 1-2 minutes or until they are golden on the underside and are set enough to turn. Gently turn them with a spatula or tongs and fry until golden brown on the second side. Remove from oil and allow to drain on an absorbent towel or paper. Keep warm in the oven set on the lowest temperature. Continue frying in this manner until all of the batter has been used. Serve with Thai Cranberry Dipping Sauce.
Source: Veganized from http://thaifood.about.com/od/vegetarianthairecipes/r/thacornfritters.htm
Thai Cranberry Dipping Sauce:
1 small can of whole cranberry sauce (or about 1 cup of homemade cranberry sauce)
Stir sauce in a small bowl and add some of each of the following to taste:
Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Source: Betsy and Tina DiJulio
Yield: approximately 2 dozen appetizers
This is one of those ad libbed recipes that turned out brilliantly. We just made a simple eggless cornbread stuffing using a vegan packaged mix (Pepperidge Farm Cornbread Stuffing) to which we added a little finely diced onion and celery along with some veggie broth and a couple of pinches of Five Spice Powder. We cooked the mixture in the microwave for about 3 minutes before fluffing it with a fork to insure that the onion and celery was soft. It was surprisingly tasty by itself and over-the-top fried up as spring rolls.
approximately 1 1/2 cups of your favorite vegan cornbread dressing
2 pinches Five Spice Powder
1/2 package 6-inch square spring roll wrappers (about 24-25), thawed, and covered with a kitchen towel
halved, whole or sliced water chestnuts
canola oil for frying
Stir Five Spice Powder into cornbread dressing until well combined. Heat about 1-inch of canola oil in skillet over medium high heat until a droplet of water sizzles and sputters. Watch closely. While oil heats, place about 1 heaping tablespoon of filling and one water chestnut (or a half or a slice) into the center of a spring roll wrapper. Fold in sides and then roll up, jellyroll fashion. Moisten edge to seal if necessary. Set onto a plate, and continue with remaining wrappers, filling and water chestnuts. When oil is ready, place as many spring rolls as will fit without touching or over-crowding. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until they are golden on the underside . Gently turn them with a spatula or tongs and fry until golden brown on the second side. Remove from oil and allow to drain on an absorbent towel or paper. Keep warm in the oven set on the lowest temperature. continue frying in this manner until all of the batter has been used. Serve with Thai Cranberry Dipping Sauce.
Thai Cranberry Dipping Sauce:
1 small can of whole cranberry sauce (or about 1 cup of homemade cranberry sauce)
Stir sauce in a small bowl and add some of each of the following to taste:
Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Source: Betsy and Tina DiJulio
Yield: 6-8 servings
The main course of this year’s Thai-inspired Thanksgiving repast, this version of Pad Thai is quick, easy and vitamin-infused, thanks to baby bok choy.
8 ounces Pad Thai rice noodles (thin, flat linguini-like noodles)
3/4 tablespoon tamarind paste (available at Asian markets)
1/4 cup hot water
3 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon chili sauce (to taste)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3-4 tablespoons oil for stir-frying
1 shallot or 1/4 cup onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 “heads” of baby bok choy, or other Chinese cabbage, roughly chopped
2-3 tablespoons vegetable stock
1/2 cup firm tofu, crumbled (you may use soft tofu, it just breaks down to a greater degree)
2 cups bean sprouts
Garnishes:
2 green onions, sliced
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup ground or finely chopped peanuts
lime wedges for serving
Bring a pot of water to a boil and remove from heat. Soak noodles in the hot water for 6-10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Tip: Noodles are ready to drain when they are soft enough to eat, but still firm and a little bit “crunchy”. The noodles will finish cooking when they are fried.
Dissolve the tamarind paste in the hot water. Add the next four ingredients and stir well to dissolve the sugar. Add as much or as little chili sauce as you prefer, but don’t skimp on the sugar (you need it to balance the sourness of the tarmaind). Reserve.
Place wok (or large frying pan) over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons oil plus the garlic and shallot. Stir-fry 1 minute to release the fragrance. Add the bok choy plus the stock. Stir-fry 2 minutes, or until bok choy is bright green and slightly softened. Push ingredients aside and add 1/2 tablespoon more oil to the center of the wok/pan. Add the tofu and stir-fry briefly to scramble it. Push tofu aside and add a little more oil to the middle of the wok/pan. Now add the drained noodles and 1/3 of the sauce. Stir-fry everything together for 1 minute using 2 utensils and a tossing motion (like tossing a salad). Add a little more sauce and continue stir-frying in the same way for 1-2 more minutes, or until the noodles begin to soften and become sticky. Reduce heat to medium if noodles begin to stick and burn. Add the bean sprouts plus the remaining sauce. Stir-fry to incorporate everything together for 1-3 more minutes, or until noodles are done. Noodles are cooked to perfection when they are soft but still deliciously chewy and a little bit sticky. Remove from heat and taste-test, adding more vegan fish sauce or soy sauce if desired for more salt/flavor.
To serve, scoop noodles onto a serving platter. Sprinkle with the green onion, cilantro, and ground nuts. Add wedges of fresh-cut lime on the side. Serve immediately. (Thai chili sauce can also be served on the side for those who likes their noodles extra spicy).
Source: http://thaifood.about.com/od/vegetarianthairecipes/r/padthaiveg.htm.
Yield: 8 servings
For this Thai-inspired version of my go-to Pumpkin Flan, I simply substituted coconut milk for the soy milk. We had our Thanksgiving meal as a late lunch sans dessert at around 2:30 p.m. and then went to a 5 p.m. screening of “A Christmas Carol.” When we got home to have dessert, we were starving and it was dark outside, so I didn’t get a photograph of it. Therefore, I’m re-posting the photographed version of it made with soy milk, as it looks virtually identical. However, for our Thai meal, I combined vegan sour cream with a little maple syrup and spooned that over each serving, garnishing the tops with walnut pieces and a sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice. I should have made two flans, as virtually everyone wanted seconds.
1-12 ounce block of firm Silken Tofu (drained)
3/4-1 cup pureed pumpkin
1 cup coconut milk
2 ½ tablespoons cornstarch (you may alternatively use 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, but the result may be slightly more cakey than custardy)
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup brown sugar (this is not a really sweet custard, so add another ¼ cup brown sugar if you prefer)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Custard: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil an 8-9 inch round glass or ceramic pie dish. Place all filling ingredients in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process until smooth and completely combined. Scrape into the pie dish, gently smooth top, and bake 45 minutes (but check every 5 minutes beginning at 30. When you touch the top, it should not leave a mark and, when jiggled, it should move slightly, but appear mostly set.) Let cool to room temperature on a wire rack and, if not serving right away, chill, covered. Serve chilled or at room temperature with topping and garnish.
Topping:
about 1/2 cup vegan sour cream
3-4 tablespoons maple syrup
Whisk together until well combined. Chill if not using immediately.
Garnish: a sprinkling of walnut pieces and pumpkin pie spice
Yield: 1-9 x 13″ sheet cake
I took this cake to school today as a day-before-Thanksgiving treat for my Advanced Art and AP Studio class. It was a hit. One of my students described it as having the texture of pumpkin bread but a little more cakey. I agree. It is a slightly more dense cake or a slightly less dense bread. Regardless of how you look at it, it is moist, yummy, and it slices really nicely.
The original recipe calls for chocolate chips and nuts with no frosting, but I’m not a big pumpkin and chocolate fan, so I omitted the chips and I sprinkled the nuts on top in case a “picky” student wanted to pick them off. The recipe also calls only for cinnamon, but I use pumpkin pie spice and much more of it than the 1/2 teaspoon specified. And, finally, I used brown and turbinado sugars instead of the white called for.
You can bake the batter in loaf or Bundt pans, but sheet cakes are so easy to transport and don’t require as much cooking time as the others. However, sheet cakes seem to need frosting, so I just made one of my favorite go-to recipes and added maple extract.
Vegan Pumpkin Cake:
3 cups flour
2 cups brown sugar (I actually used 1 cup brown and 1 cup turbinado sugar)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1-15 ounce can pumpkin puree
1 cup canola oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13″ pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. Add oil and pumpkin. Mix well by hand or on low-medium speed of an electric mixer just until combined and no lumps remain. Scrape into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Frost with Vegan Maple-cream Cheese Frosting and garnish with walnuts or pecans.
Vegan Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/4 cup vegan butter (I like Earth Balance), softened
1/4 cup vegan cream cheese, softened
approximately 2-3 cups powdered sugar
approximately 2-3 tablespoons unsweetened soy milk (or plain, vanilla or vanilla lite)
1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together first two ingredients on high speed. Add powdered sugar and soy milk with mixer turned off and then slowly bring the speed up to high to completely incorporate it, adding approximately 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1-2 tablespoons of milk at a time until desired consistency is reached. If too thin, add more powdered sugar; if too thick, add more soy milk. Beat in maple extract.
Garnish:
Approximately 1/2 cup walnut or pecan pieces
Cake Source: Adapted from Aliciasrecipes.com
Yield: 4 servings
Though pasta may not be traditional Thanksgiving fare unless you are of Mediterranean decent, you’ll be happy to bunk tradition with the creamy golden goodness of this earthy dish. But you won’t want to save it only for holiday feasting. And if you don’t live in America and/or don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, enjoy this dish whenever butternut squash are at their prime.
I think pasta can be a bit heavy, so I use half the normal 2 ounce-per-person recommended serving which is just enough pasta to hold the dish together. Whole wheat pasta is highly recommended, as its inherent nuttiness contributes significantly to the distinctive flavor profile of this dish.
Yield: 4 small servings (the onions cook down considerably)
You’ve probably been seeing versions of this ‘in” appetizer in the fall culinary magazines. And there’s good reason! Besides being pretty and festive, there is nothing not to love about it.
My version is similar to all of the others, but uses vegan cream cheese or my vegan goat “cheese” as the first layer. Folks who don’t care for onion will change their minds once they take the first bite of these onions’ rich, golden-brown and earthy sweetness offset by sweet-tart cranberries and a hint of mellow pungency from balsamic vinegar.
Spooning the onion mixture atop a layer of luscious white “cheese” that has been smoothed over crunchy grilled bread or a whole grain cracker (in a pinch) makes for one scrumptious appetizer.
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, halved, peeled, and cut crosswise into thin slices
coarse sea or kosher salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
2 medium-large cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
4 tablespoons dried cranberries
4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
optional: 1/4 teaspoon or so of dried thyme or minced rosemary (use about 3 times more if using fresh herbs)
vegan cream cheese (purchased) or vegan goat “cheese” (see my recipe below)
small piece of good bread, like ciabatta, grilled or toasted or sturdy whole grain crackers
In a large cast iron skillet over medium-high, heat olive oil to shimmering. Add onion, salt and pepper and saute, stirring frequently, until soft and beginning to turn golden. Add garlic and continue sauteing and stirring frequently until onion is golden-brown. You may add a little splash of water during the cooking process to speed it along if desired. Stir in cranberries, balsamic vinegar and optional thyme or rosemary, and cook just another minute or until cranberries are slightly softened. Remove from heat and serve atop small toasts or crackers spread with vegan cream cheese.
If you would like to make your own vegan goat “cheese,” here is a version I created that is a hit among vegans and non-vegans alike (it makes about 1 1/2 cups). If you use this recipe, here is a crowd-pleasing alternative preparation: spread the “cheese” about 1/4-1/3″ thick on a serving platter. Double the recipe for the chutney above and spoon over the top of the “cheese.” Serve with toasts or crackers.
Vegan Goat “Cheese”
14 ounces regular firm tofu (not silken)
2 garlic cloves or roasted garlic cloves
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional, but it makes the “cheese” extra yummy)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Amino Acids
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
pinch granulated sugar or raw sugar (optional, but I like it for balance)
zest of 1/2 a lemon
Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process until smooth and creamy. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container.
