First Vegan Thanksgiving

Every thing turned out great – see below tips to help with your success!

See my previous blog Thanksgiving – for the birds, for links to recipes.

Vegan Lentil Walnut Loaf – I followed the recipe, except I substituted dried cranberries for the raisins and added toasted almonds in addition to toasted walnuts. In the glaze, I didn’t have apple butter so I substituted apricot jam. Additionally, I used panko for the breadcrumbs, and added lots of seasoning, extra poultry seasoning especially. Next time, I would add extra oat flour and breadcrumbs. Additionally, I would change the glaze to make it more savory. The family liked this, but, thought the glaze was a little sweet.

Mashed Potatoes with roasted garlic – pretty basic, boiled red potatoes, added plain almond milk, Earth Balance, bulb of roasted garlic, salt and pepper. Family liked this too, my picky daughter suggested a little more salt and a little more almond milk for extra creaminess next time.

Golden Gravy – No changes, my husband loved this and kept dipping the rolls in the gravy.

Mushroom, pecan, dried cranberry stuffing – I made vegan cornbread a few days before, I crumbled this and added in sauteed onions, celery, and portabellas, toasted almonds and walnuts, dried cranberries, and dried apricots. Mixed this all together with poultry seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper and then added enough vegetable broth to moisten. Cooked along with Lentil Loaf in the oven, covered for about 1/2 of cooking time. My husband is not a big stuffing person, but he liked the flavor. My daughter liked the stuffing but not the mushrooms. Next time I would add in some apple while the veggies were sauteeing.

Spinach, apple salad with candied pecans and mustard agave dressing – This was good, my salad phobic daughter had seconds. I used a mixture of spinach and field greens, a thinly sliced gala apple, and sweetned pecans (I melted Earth Balance in pan, added a few tablespoons of raw sugar and some broken pecans and let in cook for about 10 minutes – watch and stir or they will stick and burn) For the dressing (I did not measure), in the Vitamix I put in a whole clove of roasted garlic, salt, pepper, a few good squeezes of dijon, a splash of olive oil, a few small squeezes of agave, and a few splashes of apple cider. Blend, taste, adjust seasoning.

Pull-apart rolls – these were our least favorite. They needed more salt and some sugar, and a little more flour – they rose beautifully but needed more of a flavor punch. I would try them again because they were so easy, but would definitely add a little more salt and some sugar.

Pumpkin pie – I used the crust recipe from my Vegan Apple Pie post but substituted shortening for the Earth Balance. I think this made the crust better. I would add a little sugar next time. I used vanilla flavored soy milk, raw sugar instead of “granulated sugar cane syrup”) and for spices, I didn’t use ginger, nutmeg or allspice, I used pumpkin pie spice and a lot of ground cinnamon. I also cut out some shapes and put on the pie after it had been cooking about 20 minutes. This turned out really good, it set up beautifully after sitting in the fridge overnight, it did crack a little, but taste was not compromised.

Hope my tips were helpful and maybe you can use some of these for your next vegan Thanksgiving, or Christmas meal. Happy Cooking!

Related articles

• Healthy, Happy Vegan Thanksgiving 2011! (kblog.lunchboxbunch.com)
• Our semi-homeade Thanksgiving (lazysmurf.wordpress.com)