Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, because it’s secular, it’s personal, and it’s all about family (and food!). But I know that for a lot of veg*ns, this is a very stressful time of year. It can be hard to hang with the omni relatives, nibbling on lettuce and cranberry sauce and feeling altogether left out. So this year, whether you’re bringing a dish to join in with the family, or creating a whole meal to share with your ‘family’ of friends, you can make sure it’s amazing with these ethical edibles.


Entrées

• If taking on a main course seems overwhelming, never fear – you have options! There’s the ever-prevalent Tofurkey, available at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and online. There’s also the amazing Celebration Roast from Field Roast, a soy-free ‘grain meat’ company. This one is a bit harder to find, but it’s often at Whole Foods, and online ordering is always an option.
• For the more adventurous, you can create your own, homemade Un-Turkey. Here’s an awesome seitan roast recipe, and here’s an amazing instructional video.
• I also love the idea of stuffed gourds for Thanksgiving! If you’re fond of traditional flavors, you’ll love this recipe, complete with video, from Compassionate Cooks. But, if you’re into something a bit more exotic, these Moroccan Couscous Stuffed Squashes sound amazing! (just replace the butter with margarine and the chicken broth with veggie stock).
• Finally, I’m super in love with the look of this Celebration Pot Pie With Pumpkin Biscuit Crust from Susan at the FatFree Vegan Kitchen.

Sides

• Stuffing! Mmm, I love stuffing. This Sausage Stuffing looks divine, as does this mouthwatering trio of options.
• Vegan mashed potatoes are really easy – just sub alt milk and Earthbalance™ for dairy milk and butter. But if you’d rather go a non-traditional route, why not trying these Crash Hot Potatoes or Bubble and Squeak Cakes from Vegan Yum Yum.
• And what are potatoes without gravy?! You can find a super simple gravy recipe over at VegWeb, and a slightly more complex mushroom gravy recipe from Isa over at the Post Punk Kitchen. Plus, here’s a gluten free gravy from Book Of Yum.
• Green beans are pretty integral, right? Here’s a few of my favorite dishes I’ve come across: This Green Bean Casserole from the FatFree Vegan Kitchen, and another Green Bean Casserole from Vegalicious.
• And finally, the candied yams (or other such sweet potato delicacy). Another one from Susan at the FatFree Vegan Kitchen, this Pecan Topped Sweet Potato Casserole looks great. And don’t forget, marshmallows aren’t vegan, but you can find incredible Dandies available online here.

Desserts

• The Vegetarian Times offers an easy Pumpkin Pie Recipe.
• Here’s another Pumpkin Pie Recipe, this one soy-free and gluten-free too, woo-hoo!

Whew! That should set you up pretty nicely. Happy Thanksgiving!

I married a serious lentil lover. I think, if he could, Damian would eat this soup 3-5 nights a week. He requests it constantly, and lucky for him it’s an easy make. Unlike a lot of soups, this one comes together in well under an hour. It’s a super-hearty, super-healthy, and many many levels of delicious.


Ingredients:
2 ribs of celery
2 skinny carrots
1/2 yellow onion
2-4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon basil

1 cup green lentils
1 large tomato, diced
4 cups veggie broth or water, more as needed

handful fresh spinach
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Dice the veggies and sauté the mirepoix, garlic, and olive oil in the bottom of a soup pan. When onions are glassy, add the bay leaf and spices and continue to sauté another few minutes.

Add the lentils and stir them into the sautéing veggies. Keep stirring them around for about 2 minutes (add more oil if needed). Add the tomato and broth, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for an additional 20ish minutes, until lentils are tender.

Before serving, stir in the spinach and vinegar. Spice as you wish.

Serve steaming in an old chipped mug, with a huge hunk of crusty bread.

What can I say, it’s soup season right? So bring on the soup! And this one’s got ’seasonal’ down to a science, perfect for harvest potatoes, autumn apples, and of course, the rocket. I grew some garden rocket myself this year (you may know it as arugula, or roquette) but it couldn’t weather the summer’s heat. Maybe you’re growing a patch in your fall garden?

Regardless of whether it’s all store-bought or farmer fresh, this simple soup will certainly hit the spot. With a slight arugula spice, a nip of apple tart, and a heart that’s anchored in taters, you really just can’t go wrong. This is a seasonal celebration soup, so ladle up a bowl while you contemplate the awesomeness of autumn. And enjoy!


Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery
2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely diced
1 tart apple (I used a lovely organic granny smith)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 cups veggie broth + 1 cup water
1/4 cup dry sherry or vermouth

1 pinch nutmeg
1 teaspoon thyme (or 2 teaspoons fresh)
1 teaspoon oregano (or 2 teaspoons fresh)
1 pinch ginger

1 teaspoon agave
2 cups tight packed shredded arugula leaves, stems removed

salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Homemade vegetable stock

Instructions:
Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet, and add the potato, onion, celery, and garlic. Sauté the veggies until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Add the apple, lemon juice, stock, booze, and spices. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the agave and arugula and continue simmering until the potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes. Transfer half the soup to a blender and puree, or use an immersion blender to blend in the skillet (don’t overdo it! you want those chunks)





Salt and pepper to taste, and garnish with fresh arugula, fresh thyme, or vegan bacon bits. Revel in the season!

First burritos and now enchilada sauce – I’m on a Mexican kick these days! I suppose it makes sense, since I associate Latin flavors with hot weather and carefree evenings. Nothing says summer quite like guacamole and pico de gallo . . . except maybe a mezcal margarita!

I’ve always loved enchiladas, but gave them the boot after reading the back of the canned sauces (think sugar, preservatives, and MSG, for starters). But I missed them too much, and so early this summer I set about testing recipes. And you know what? Enchilada sauce is actually really simple to make.

To me, red sauce always tasted like nothing else did, so I figured it had to have some strange exotic additive, some odd ingredient that would make it impossible to master. But . . . nope. It’s just aromatics, stock, tomatoes, and chilis. And it’s easy!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon oil

1 onion, chopped

a few cloves garlic, chopped

a handful cherry tomatoes

1-2 oz dried whole chilis – I use about 1.6 oz Anchos

1 1/2 cups veggie broth

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

1/4 cup vinegar (white or cider, I use cider)

2 tablespoons flour (use chickpea or rice for gluten-free)

3 tablespoons chili powder – I used 1 each Ancho, Chipotle, and ‘chili spice’

1 teaspoon cumin

salt to taste

1/4 cup Tofutti™ cream cheese (optional)

Instructions:

Place chilis under water in a bowl, allow to rehydrate (an hour or so).

Heat a pan over medium heat, add the oil, and then add the onions and garlic. Sauté until they begin to lighten, then add the fresh cherry tomatoes. Sauté another few minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients, bring them to boil, and then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for a few minutes.

Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool before transferring to a food processor. Blend until smooth.

For a creamier sauce, which I highly recommend, add the Tofutti™ and re-blend.

The first thing I did with my sauce was – of course – enchiladas! Two small corn and black bean enchiladas, topped with a homemade vegan ‘cheese’ sauce, and cooked up in a bread pan. SO cute!

A few days later I used the leftover sauce in ‘bowls’, which is this sort of trendy and terrific way of dining that’s popping up all around Portland. It’s basically just grain + legume + green, topped with sauce = surprisingly awesome way of eating. In this case I used brown rice + pinto beans + kale + roasted zucchini, topped with the enchilada sauce. Divine!

Oh holy goodness you guys, these are seriously addictive.

I came across the concept a few months back when I went RAW. Kale chips are sort of ‘trending’ around the RAW food community right now. And although I could buy a local version around town, I was [of course!] determined to make my own. And I did – with my good friend Katie who has an Excalibur dehydrator (*swoon*). Remember this pic?

That’s our first batch of kale chips! They were amazing, gobbled up and gone within days, and bookmarked in the back of my brain for further tinkering. I was waiting to acquire a dehydrator of my own, which . . . sort of hasn’t happened yet.

And then last week, I just couldn’t wait any longer! I mean sure, RAW food is great and all. But these are still so good for you, whether they’re cooked or not! Kale is overflowing with calcium, lutein, iron, and vitamins A, C, and K, plus beneficial phytochemicals and antioxidants. Tahini is rich in calcium, protein, vitamin E and the B vitamins, as well as essential fatty acids. And nutritional yeast is like the vegan dream food – it’s high in protein and has B vitamins including B12, as well as folic acid and zinc. So what was I waiting for?!

***As a note, my friend Katie and I just couldn’t get enough of these. Like, it’s really hard to stop eating them. BUT, my husband can’t stand them, so maybe they’re not for everyone? Just a heads-up.

Smokey BBQ Kale Chips

Adapted from renegadehealth.

Ingredients:

2 big bunches of kale

1/2 cup tahini

1/4 cup tamari

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 teaspoons BBQ spice – your favorite blend

a couple drops of liquid smoke (to taste)

water to thin as needed

Instructions:

Rinse, de-rib, and rough tear the kale into a giant bowl.

Put all of the other ingredients into a food processor or blender and mix until smooth.

Pour the mixture over the kale, and use your hands to toss it all together. Squish Squish! Get it good and covered.

Spread the kale out evenly on lined or oiled cookie sheets, glass platters, or whatever works. I think I did a cookie sheet, 2 casserole dishes, and a glass pie ‘pan’. You only want one layer of kale, so it’s going to cover a lot of space.

Now the ‘cooking’. You want this to be as ‘dehydrated’ as possible, instead of baked. Ideally, you could put your oven on the lowest setting when you’d be home for 6-8 hours or so (please don’t do this overnight, okay guys?). Otherwise, just decrease the cook time as you increase the temperature. I think I did mine at about 250º for 4 hours (ish). Every oven is different so you’ll need keep an eye on it and be your own judge. Just remember that too much heat will change the flavor. Crispy, but not crunchy. Don’t overcook them!

I promise this is easier than it sounds. It’s intuitive, and you’ll know when they’re close by what they look and smell like. Just try not to eat them all in one sitting!