Thanksgiving

I never understood why people panic so incredibly about cooking Thanksgiving. I mean, sure, there are people out there who cook nothing more than toast all year round, but those are not typically people who will throw a Thanksgiving dinner party for 20. Typically. I always cook the meal, even when sometimes I go to other people's houses. There is something about making the house smell good to kick off December that appeals to me. And I panic just about as much as getting up every morning. Sure, you don't know what you're going to get, but you know it'll be worth the work.

This year has been the first one when I did not have any turkey to eat myself, although I made it for my husband. I just ate the side dishes and the pie at the end, and they were all vegan and delicious. I thought I'd share it here, just for some ideas for folks who still look for veggie friendly and low fat meals. Everything took about 5 hours to make, including the turkey.

Here's our Thanksgiving in pictures:


We kicked off the day with a semi-large breakfast: smoked salmon (some fish is the only meat I eat lately) over hashbrowns with mustard and a vegan home made biscuit - Bobby Flay was right: the combination of salty smoky salmon and potatoes is dreamy: 

Here's the rest of the day's foods, in the order they emerged from the kitchen:

 I made home made tomato sauce, with the last fresh tomatoes from my yard. I added garlic, onions and parsley to it and let it stew on low for an hour or so. This is what the green beans boiled into. 

 

Green beans stewed in the sauce above it. 

 

Vegan gravy: rice milk, vegan butter-like spread, flour, pureed garlic, onions, dill, salt and pepper. 

No comment here - you all know what this is  ...  

 

As my husband called this: 'this was the star of the dinner': he made the cornbread and the bread (both vegan, with recipes we found online, just googling), and I crisped the cubed pieced first, in the oven, and then built the stuffing: made my own vegan broth, with salt, pepper, fresh carrots, celery, mushrooms, onions, garlic, parsley, and baked it all together at the end. It tasted like the whole garden got dumped in the baking dish.  

My personal favorite: the mashed potatoes. The only thing that went in them, besides pepper, salt and garlic powder are:

Roasted cauliflower: you mix it in with onions and garlic puree (see a pattern yet?!), and lay it on a cookie sheet, put it in the oven till it softens and it starts charring at the edges.

  

Vegan pecan pie, and honestly, the best any-kind-of-pie I have ever had! There is no skimping on flavors in this house! I manage the savory, and my husband manages the sweet tastes for sure!

 

 

 

Our table, finished, and my plate. I hope everyone had a plentiful, delicious and peaceful Thanksgiving!  

Let the Holidays Begin!

I have been doing pretty well on my (not so new anymore) vegan and lowest fat diet. It's not so new anymore when it's been a year next month since I started it. One day at a time ...

I am not missing meat at all, which is a common question I get. The minute you stop thinking of "meat alternatives", you're pretty much set. If you're going to continue wanting vegan bacon, you'll never want anything but the real thing. I just learned to color within my new lines. Or better bet, I tell folks that being vegan is not depriving at all. It's like coloring with a limited set of crayons: you can still color, just as much as everyone else. But my crayons box only has 10 sticks  instead of 24, which is what everyone else's box has. You just learn that that's your reality and your "box" and those are the tools you have access to and the tools to keep you afloat and successful. You will survive and then some. You will get creative about recipes and what foods to make for what occasion. And you will be fine. And full, for sure, I am here to assure you of that.

But I was a bit melancholy over possibly missing one Holiday staple that I was sure I will not be able to "adjust" to meet my diet. There is nothing that spells Christmas clearer for me than a good glass of (low fat, lite) eggnog spiked with some rum. So, I was thinking that for sure that will have to be eliminated from my tradition starting this year. Well, think again.

I found this recipe (below) online and my rock star husband, who is my new personal chef when it comes to mixed drinks and bread making and baking goods in general, made it for me. Oh my word, it is so delicious! I skipped the coconut milk because of the fat content there, and I used rice milk which only has 2 total grams of total fat and 0 cholesterol and 0 saturated fat. I did use the cashews, but you can see it's only a third of a cup and one batch makes about 3 small tumbler glasses (servings), on ice. I will try without the cashews next time, as I think the flavors and the dates alone will be enough for consistency and aroma.




                                              

 
Let the holidays begin, folks! I am all set!

Check back soon, as I am about to document my first 'mixed' (vegan + not, for my husband) Thanksgiving prep. Anything could happen, really. I might have forgotten how to bake a turkey. We shall see. One day, and holiday at a time ...

And no, we absolutely do not buy "tofurky" in this house. That just seems wrong! 

 

The finished product. Cheers, all!