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!