we heart vegan

Finally… the night has come for everyone to get together and eat delicious food!  Vegan Thanksgiving! Cravings have been fulfilled.

The vegan feast included:

Homemade hummus from Noelle (with some sliced peppers, cucumbers, celery and carrots)

Sweet potato casserole from Julie (a definite hit… it barely lasted the first 5 minutes)

Quinoa salad, roasted brussels sprouts, and cutie cupcakes with frosting turkeys from Staci (she has outdone herself!!)

Roasted butternut squash and apple soup from Meg (complete with toppings: toasted coconut, toasted cashews, and sliced green onions)

Green Bean casserole and pumpkin pie from my mom!

Gingerbread biscotti from Betsy

Spinach salad(s) – one with tofu, barley, cherry tomatoes and corn plus another with slivered almonds, strawberries and mandarin oranges from my sister Nichole and her lovely vegan friendly boyfriend Jarod ;)

Vegan Shepard’s Pie and stuffing

The vegan shepard’s pie came out much better than I imagined!  A great comfort food that was much heartier and healthier than the original!  It was adapted from the recent Veg News magazine and also The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook

Root Vegetable Shepard’s Pie

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

12 oz. mushrooms (any kind, I used baby bellas)

2 1/4 cup gravy (recipe follows)

3/4 cup peas (fresh or frozen)

3/4 cup dried green lentils

Root vegetables:

3 medium Macomber white turnips

2 medium rutabagas

4 medium parsnips

4 medium yukon gold/yellow potatoes

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large skillet; add the onion, carrot, peas and mushrooms, cook until softened.

Add the lentils and gravy and let simmer until the lentils are somewhat softened; they will finish cooking in the oven. Put in to a large casserole dish (or two large pie dishes like I did).

Directions for root vegetables:

Wash turnips well and chop into evenly large chunks.  Be careful with this, the turnips are very tough to chop!

Boil the turnip cubes in enough water to fully cover; cook until fork tender, about 10-12 minutes.

Drain, let cool slightly, then peel the cubes of their skin with either a knife or your hands.

*follow this same method for the rutabagas and parsnips

*peel the potatoes, then follow this boiling method

each time using the same water (just keep it boiling and have the next product ready) and then place the all the cubes in the same bowl with an added 2 Tbsp. or Earth Balance butter and 1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast.

Lightly spoon-mash the root vegetables so that the cubes are still defined, yet mashed.

Top with the root vegetables, spray lightly with canola spray and bake at 350 F for 40-50 minutes

until heated through, bubbling and slightly browned on top (if it starts to brown too early cover with tin foil).

Vegan Gravy

Makes about 2 -2 1/4 cups

2 cups vegetable broth or water (I used vegetable broth)

3 Tbsp. soy sauce

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast

Salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

2 Tbsp. arrowroot powder dissolved in 3 Tbsp. water

1/4 cup almond milk, unsweetened original

Directions:

Bring the vegetable broth (or water) to a boil with the soy sauce, thyme, nutritional yeast, and salt and pepper; turn heat to low.

Dissolve the arrowroot into the 1/4 cup water;

add, whisking constantly, to the lightly simmering vegetable broth mixture.  Cook, still on low, until thickened.

Whisk in the almond milk and heat until thickened.

*Always taste before serving!

SAVE SOME ROOM IN THAT HUNGRY STOMACH FOR MORE!!!

Hearty Vegetable Stuffing

Serves about 15

2 french baguettes, either diced or roughly chopped

1 (or more) cup cornbread, either diced or roughly chopped

7 Tbsp. Earth Balance (I know… 7 is a lot… but so isn’t 15 servings!! Of course you can use less.)

1 large onion, chopped

3 medium carrots, chopped

4 large celery stalks, chopped

1 Tbsp. fresh chopped sage

1/4 tsp. of each the following:

basil

thyme

garlic powder

rosemary

parsley

Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

2 cups (or more, I needed more…) vegetable broth

Directions:

Place the prepared bread onto a baking sheet and place into a preheated 400 F oven; cook until dried out and golden.  Set aside.

In a large skillet heat the Earth Balance and add the onion, carrots, celery, herbs, and salt and pepper; cook until softened and slightly browned.

Add the bread to the skillet (or as much fits).

Place any dried bread that didn’t fit in the skillet into a buttered baking dish; then add the bread and carrot/celery mixture to the top.

Pour in the broth until the bread is moistened, the more moist the better.

Bake the stuffing, covered with tin foil, in a 350 F oven for 20 minutes; remove the foil and bake an additional 5-10 minutes until the color deepens.

This is the greatest stuffing I’ve had in a while! And no turkey was harmed in the making!

Great success!  It definitely was an awesome time! I’ll hopefully get some updated recipes soon for the Sweet Potato Casserole and the Gingerbread Vegan Biscotti!! I’m so thankful to everyone who came to hangout, eat and bring their own creations of amazing vegan food!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Tags: Brussels sprouts, Butternut squash and apple soup, Ellen Degeneres, Gingerbread biscotti, Green bean casserole, Thanksgiving, Vegan biscotti, Vegan green bean casserole, Vegan shepard's pie