I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We did.  Since I no longer had rookie status – this being my second year hosting the family dinner, the nerves were not there that were there last year. If you go back over my posts last year, starting here, you’ll see I was a hot mess!

The prep I did this year – only two consecutive days beforehand – made for a stress free day. I was pretty much done, except for the last minute stuff, by 10:30 that morning!

So, without further adieu,  on to the food!

Of course the star of the day was turkey!

I decided to have Turkey Breast: Three Ways.

Going left to right on the above platter:

Breast #1: Cooked in the crockpot with a can of chicken broth, 1/2 stick of butter and 6 cloves of garlic. I skinned the breast before putting it in the broth and cooked it on low overnight. It fell right off of the bone!

Breast #2: My first brine! I made a brine of: water, orange juice, low sodium Teriyaki, cloves of garlic, whole anise seed, whole coriander seed,  salt and a banana pepper split down the middle. I let it sit in that mixture overnight and then rotisseried it.

Breast #3: I marinated it overnight in a mix of: Harissa, blueberry jalapeno jelly, thai chili paste, red pepper flakes, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, olive oil and malt vinegar. It also got rotisseried. It was by far my favorite!

- the only dish of which I had no leftovers!

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

• 6-8 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 16 oz container of reduced fat sour cream
• 1 stick light buttery spread
• 1/4 c. fresh dill, chopped
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 7 oz bag 2% milk shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 slices country ham, sliced thin
• 1 bunch green onions

boil potatoes until tender and mash with a mixer with sour cream, spread and seasonings

place in a casserole dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray

sprinkle cheese on top

cook ham until crisp like bacon and crumble, sprinkle over cheese

chop green onions – both white and green portions and sprinkle on top of ham

bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until cheese is golden brown and melted

Stuffing: which I made with my harvest stuffing bread, diced celery, carrots, onions, one banana pepper and zucchini,  and chicken broth, along with shredded chicken breast. Also salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, garlic powder and sage. I baked one dish with an added mix of fat free half and half and a beaten egg, the rest I assembled into 1/5 cup balls and baked to a golden brown.

Cranberry Sauce

adapted from allrecipes

• 1 cup water
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 (12 ounce) package fresh cranberries
• 1 tangerine, peeled andchopped
• 1 apple – peeled, cored and diced
• 1 cup chopped dried mixed fruit - I used prunes, apricots & raisins
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

In a medium saucepan, boil water and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to simmer, and stir in cranberries, apple, dried fruit, pecans, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries burst. Remove from heat, and let cool to room temperature.

Rich (Yet Lowfat!) Pumpkin Custard, as made here.

And Blueberry Pie – this was my first lattice crust and I must say I am pretty darn proud! The pie went over well with my nephews – I used a tangerine for the zest and juice instead of a lemon and it gave it such a wonderful flavor! This is probably going to be my standard now!

We also had Pumpkin Crescent Dinner Rolls, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, green beans, broccoli slaw and a sweet potato casserole that I will be talking about in the next few posts!

Thanks for sharing our meal with us! Hope you enjoyed!

Photo from RealSimple

Ingredients
serves 6

1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 bunch fresh spinach, thick stems removed and leaves chopped (about 4 cups)
1 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup whole-wheat bread crumbs
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 large egg white
kosher salt and black pepper
1/4 cup ketchup
2 pounds red potatoes, quartered
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup marinara sauce (optional)

Directions
Heat oven to 400° F. In a bowl, combine the turkey, onion, spinach, parsley, bread crumbs, mustard, egg white, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper.

Transfer the mixture to a baking sheet and form it into a 10-inch loaf. Spread with the ketchup. Bake until cooked through, 45 to 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the potatoes in a large pot of cold water. Simmer until tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Drain the potatoes and mash in the pot with the buttermilk, oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Serve the meat loaf with the marinara sauce (if using) and potatoes.

With the weather turning cold, my seasonal job ending, and the holidays approaching for whatever reason I haven’t been too inspired to be in the kitchen.  I intend to change this around this week and enjoy some hearty stews all winter season.  I started this soup late afternoon before an appointment I had and was hoping the beans would soften by dinner hour.  Of course that didn’t happen and we ate the soup for dinner the following evening.  Lesson to be learned is to soak beans of any kind in high altitudes!

Since I was rushing to get the soup started I decided to food process all kinds of veggies to make an on the spot stock.  This was a successful idea which will be used again.  Plus it is much easier to food process raw veggies than blend cooked chopped veggies in batches.  All ingredients used for this soup are from our crop share except a couple cloves of garlic (not pictured).  Note: due to the freshness of the veggies I also used the celery leaves which I highly recommend trying.

Ingredients: Turnip, 2 Red Potatoes, Tomato, 2 Carrots, Large Onion, Kale, Celery, Split Peas, and Curry Powder

I heated up some olive oil in our new 5 quart cast iron dutch oven (thank again nan), and added the veggies as they were food processed.

Veggies

Once the veggies started to soften and become aromatic I added about 8 cups water, 3 T curry powder, S&P, and the whole bag of split peas (12 oz.).

Ready to Simmer and Thicken

I let the soup simmer for hours, literally, until I went to bed and then left it covered on the stove to cool overnight.

Soup to Cool Overnight

The soup sat in the fridge all day and before dinner it simmered for about another hour.  This was the best split pea soup I’ve ever made : )

Curried Split Pea Soup

]]> http://hungryhungryhippie.com/2009/11/27/91-thanksgiving-posts/ Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:03:20 +0000 elise http://hungryhungryhippie.com/2009/11/27/91-thanksgiving-posts/

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!

Quite frankly, I delayed writing this post because I felt like everyone else’s thanksgiving eats were way more blog-worthy (and there were a LOT of them).  Plus, I didn’t get home from work until after 8 pm and all I wanted to do at that point was put on my PJs, watch football (slash Home Alone), and stuff my face (not in that order). 

On a holiday such as this, it would feel weird to eat before giving thanks, and so I feel as though I should acknowledge what I’m grateful for before I share my food.  [There’s logic in there, somewhere]

So here are a few of the things that I’m glad to have in my life…

• my wonderful fiancé
• my loving family
• my beautiful sisters
• my supportive parents
• my friends (old and new)
• my stressful, but rewarding job
• my health
• my happiness
• my appetite metabolism
• my readers!

And now, without further ado…just another day on the cardiac step-down unit.

I brought TWO Tazo Chai tea bags because Starbucks’ holiday hours were 7 am to 5 pm.  Not so helpful for an addict who has to be rocking a considerable caffeine buzz by 6:30 am.  Although not too different than my usual pre-packed work eats, there was something about this specific combination that made my tummy especially happy. 

Apple, salad, dried fruit, bars, and leftover cornbread.  Perfection.  This salad was pretty freakin’ huge, and contained spinach, leftover curried parsnips/carrots, cherry tomatoes, and raisins.

Recognize the new one among the bunch? 

Yep, the first flavor I tried was the Tribal Cinnamon Oatmeal. 

No superman vision?  No worries, see below.

Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Raisins, Organic Agave Nectar, Organic Peanuts, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Apples, Organic Almonds, Organic Whole Grain Crisp Rice, Organic Cinnamon, Organic Sunflower Oil (Organic Sunflower Oil, Natural Tocopherol, Organic Rosemary Extract).

Nutrition Info here

This bar tasted JUST like a bowl of oatmeal.  Delightful!  The flavor of the cinnamon and nuts tasted precisely like a bowl of oats with all the toppings.  The agave nectar made the consistency gooey without leaving anything sticky on my fingers.  It separated easily AND I was able to break off bites without it crumbling apart.  This is my ideal texture in a work setting because I can eat it easily on the go – no muss, no fuss (read: no crumb-covered scrubs).

Work was nice and mellow.  They overstaff on holidays because they want to make it as stress-less of a shift as possible.  Another perk of working holidays?  The chief of cardiac surgery buys a HUGE banquet style spread for everyone who works on Thanksgiving (and the time-and-a-half pay isn’t too shabby either…).  As gorgeous and thoughtful as the feast was, the vegan friendly options were extremely limited (as I suspected they would be).  Oh well, more for everyone else. 

I got home and was delighted to have already prepped a bunch of eats to replicate my own gourmet Thanksgiving meal. 

Roasted veggies (butternut squash and brussel sprouts)

Cornbread and broccoli

Sweet potato tower

Spinach artichoke dip with every carb vehicle in the apartment (represented by the above photo – which was a pathetically inaccurate display of the actual portions consumed)

That’s more like it.  Goodbye cornbread, you were great while you lasted.

I was WAY too full for dessert.  Oof.  Food baby twins.  Like Kate Gosselin and the Octomom combined. 

Instead I busted out an old friend.  Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea!  I rolled myself to bed after my feast for a serious snooze fest.  Off to the West coast for the weekend!

Thanksgiving Leftovers Sandwich: Leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, corn, cranberry sauce, mac & cheese, spinach balls, puerto rican rice, brussel sprouts, pearl onions, BACON, white castle hamburgers and ravioli inside a foot long bun.

Source:
http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/post/258422664/thanksgiving-leftovers-sandwich-leftover-turkey

You must be wondering about the relation between potatoes and laptops. Are there laptops made of potato peels? Can laptops be made of recycled potatoes? Have scientists invented machines which transmute potatoes into laptops? Have potatoes gained computational capabilities? Or have we discovered intelligent laptop wielding potatoes in the outer reaches of space. These could be some of the sophisticated questions cropping up in your fertile imagination. The answer to all of them is a resounding NO!!! Not yet, at least.

What I had in mind was the ballooning food inflation in India. It has hit 15.5% today, pushed up by potato prices which soared this year, reaching up to Rs.30.00 during the Navaratri season. Prices of grains and pulses, fruits and vegetables have also seen an upward trend. One of the reasons for high food prices seems to be lack of rains. This was a drought year for the country and understandably it severely affected the crop yield.

However, the more compelling reason for high food inflation and for high potato prices in turn, is the continued lack of investment in agricultural sector and the conversion of agricultural land for residential and industrial purposes. Combined with an uncooperative weather, this has lead to skyrocketing food prices. The Gandhian vision of grassroots level development was lost as soon as India stepped into the industrial development. But I believe it is time we rediscovered his ideology. With a nation of more than 1.2 billion people and still growing, we cannot continue to neglect the farming sector which performs the most critical function of feeding the nation. All talk of India becoming a superpower will be rubbished if half of the nation goes hungry. Although substantial sums are allocated in the national budget for development of the farm sector, most of it is siphoned off by politicians and vested interests. Some of them have built monuments and statues to fulfill their megalomaniac ambitions, pulling the wool over the poor farmers. The policy and frame work for development of agricultural sector may already be in place, but as usual due to inadequate enforcement, they cannot bear fruit. There is an urgent need to focus our attention and invest time and resources to nurse this vital sector back to health.

Contrary to food prices, laptop prices have fallen steadily. A decent laptop is now available for as much as Rs.16000.00. These laptops until a year back used to sell for almost double this price. The prime reason for reduction in prices is the continuous improvement of technology which has multiplied the computing capabilities manifold while slashing the component prices each year. Such focus of energy and intense research is of course driven by market interests.

Perhaps private farming initiatives could achieve similar excellence in agricultural production if the necessary regulations to dissuade them from overexploitation of labour and resources are put in place. Maybe the solution is to form agricultural cooperatives. I am not sure of the correct route to follow.

But one thing is certain, if the inflationary trend continues, it would be difficult for many of us to make both ends meet. Most importantly, it would severely affect the nutrition of children and the poor, not to mention the seeds of anarchy it would sow in the society. For each of us it is a wake up call not to be taken lightly. This could presage the course of things to come unless we choose to be dead serious about it. After all, we cannot eat laptops, no matter how cheap they become.

Thanksgiving Leftovers Sandwich: Leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, corn, cranberry sauce, mac & cheese, spinach balls, puerto rican rice, brussel sprouts, pearl onions, BACON, white castle hamburgers and ravioli inside a foot long bun.

Source:
http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/post/258422664/thanksgiving-leftovers-sandwich-leftover-turkey

I love french fries – all shapes and sizes. Soggy, crunchy, burnt, crispy, frozen, baked…you name it! My favorite among all these lovely and blessed fries are the Twister fries. The only time I get to enjoy them is during their seasonal run at McDonald’s. They only offer it a couple of months a year. Other than that, I would be happy with the regular fries served in fastfood joints.  The thing is, they have become rather expensive. One large fries can sometimes be equal to one full rice meal. Given that equivalence, I limit my fries consumption to say twice a month, or much less if the Twister fries are not in season.

A friend of mine, who is also a french fries junkie, gave me a tip, saying that there’s a french fries heaven in all branches of SM supermarket and hypermarket. It didn’t take too long for me to see this french fries nirvana. Lo and behold…

Thank you french fries gods for sending these lovely fries our way. Spudtacular!

T’was another day full of many things to be thankful for…

I ended up spending the majority of the afternoon baking in the kitchen with my mom. Between the two of us, we made three pies and two tarts – that’s a lot of flour & sugar. I did not get around to climbing into the attic to unveil the boxes of Christmas decorations, but since my travel plans have changed, I’ll be able to conquer that task activity this weekend.

Back to the baking. Check out my mother’s lovely pies (she’s done this once or twice):

2 Apple

1 Pumpkin

Our usual Thanksgiving group was thinned out this year (just 10 of us), but there was still enough food to feed an army.

I enjoyed a glass of homemade apple juice (really, everything is homemade in this family) as a pre-dinner “spirit”:

It’s tradition to have a green salad as a starter. This year was no different:

(mixed greens, satsuma, red onion, walnuts & simple vinaigrette)

Can’t forget about the homemade rolls. I managed to contain myself to just one this year:

Satsuma place “cards” are another commonality in our family:

My plate…yep, just one : )

• Turkey
• Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
• Gravy
• Roasted Winter Squash, Beets & Garlic
• Broccoli with Parmesan
• Cranberry Sauce

I couldn’t get enough of my aunt’s amazing veggies!

I often forget what I have to be thankful for, taking too much for granted. Today I was reminded about the things I am thankful for:

my mother, my father, my brother, family, supportive friends, running, clean air, education, my health and the health of my family, delicious food, a warm house, coffee, old pictures, sunshine, mornings, rain, hugs & laughter…

Hope you all were able to share the day with those you love.

Many Thanks,

~ Hillary

Well, it was just my parents and me at Thanksgiving this year, so it didn’t actually happen.  But still, a list of things I am thankful for, in no particular order.

1. My family: They are wonderful people who make me who I am.  I hate (but totally understand) that we can’t all be together for Thanksgiving this year.  And this includes my nephew, who is literally the coolest thing EVER.  Ever.
2. Dana: because she won’t let me lie.
3. Potatoes: My favorite food ever.
4. Hooded sweatshirts: It’s way colder at home than it was in Virginia.
5. Kristen and Lauren: Amazing roommates.
6. Turkey Beef wellington: Love Thanksgiving at my house.
7. The Religious Studies department at William and Mary: Oh wow, nerd.  I know.  But, I mean, if that’s my future, well, I’ve got to appreciate my roots.

Oh man I’m really bad about this.  I genuinely can’t think of anything else right now; please don’t revoke my humanity card.

small documentary of our day today :O)

hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving 2009

Main course:
Vegetable Soup
Mashed potatoes
Turkey

Dessert:
Spice cake
Puff Pastry “strips”
Meringue cake (store-bought)

The turkey I’ve made in the last 5-7 years has always been moist as a result of both brining and baking it in a bag. However, this year it was absolutely superb. Please don’t think that I’m boasting. I did absolutely nothing differently from years past. The difference is in the turkey itself. I ordered a turkey at a farmers market earlier this year through Rueggseger Farms. The turkey was never frozen, it was “harvested” on Tuesday morning and we took delivery in the evening. It was astonishingly fresh and well-cleaned and absolutely lip-smacking when cooked.

Additional Recipes will be coming soon.

It was really cold last night and all I wanted was for time to hurry up so that I could make my Thursday night dinner! My favorite potato soup is from La Madeleine, believe it or not. I always ask for extra bacon and cheese.

[100% organic]

Ingredients:

• 6-8 slices of prosciutto
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 carrots, diced
• 1 lb red potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 4 cups chicken stock/broth
• 3 TBS butter
• 2 TBS corn starch
• 2 cups of milk
• 2 cups of grated cheddar cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. Place 6-8 slices of prosciutto on a lightly greased
3. Bake at 400°F for about 10 minutes, until crisp. Set aside to cool. Break into crumbles
4. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot and saute onions and carrots until they start to soften, about 5 minutes
5. Add potatoes and enough chicken stock to cover everything. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes
6. While the potatoes are cooking, melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat
7. Once melted, add corn starch, whisking to combine. Allow to cook for 1 minute
8. Add the milk slowly, whisking constantly to smooth out any lumps
9. Continue to heat while whisking until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes
10. Once it reaches the desired thickness, remove from heat and stir in grated cheddar cheese
11. Once potatoes are tender, pour the cheese mixture into the potato mixture, stirring to combine
12. Heat to a simmer and cook until thickened
13. Season with salt and pepper to taste
14. Top with crumbled crispy prosciutto

*Adapted from Craving Chronicles.

So today is Thanksgiving, and I am beyond thankful!

First off, thanks to you guys for your comments – they were super helpful and informative, and I love the quotes. It was awesome to hear your thoughts on food and exercise, and also really comforting to know that I am not the only one who is currently having some faultiness with love. And I am with Erin, a quote of the day is a fab idea.

Today was fabulous. Truthfully, normally I get a little stressed out by holiday events. I love my family, but you know how it goes sometimes getting together with everyone has you dealing with all of the smaller families and their individual personalities all at the same time – sometimes combined with hosting the whole shindig for everyone can be a bit much! But this Thanksgiving, we all went over to my Aunt’s house, and even though some of my family has been going through some roller coaster events as of late, we all got along famously. My Aunt had us all go around after we had prayed and say something that we were thankful for. I was genuinely so thankful to be with my family and to have them during the holiday season. I’m also thankful for my parents and all of the love and support they give me, and that in two weeks I will have made it through my FIRST SEMESTER OF COLLEGE! This is no light task, as I have maintained a really high GPA, and at the start of Spring semester I’ll be considered a sophomore even though I am only a freshman! With my scheduled courses (I have to plan them ahead of time for my minor, so that by default makes me plan them for my major.) that means I will most likely be able to graduate by the end of next academic year. Four years in two would be such an amazing accomplishment, and I know a huge save for my family financially. It makes me tear up a little to think of all of that, because this time last year I was not in school, on the outs with my family immediate and extended because of my food issues, and just really sad and lonely. Now I am in a totally different place. I am thankful to be happy, healthy and loved. 

OK, enough of my sap. *wipes tear* On to some eats!
Here’s a little something I found at the grocery store to fill my OJ void while I’m at home. How cute is this little carton? It made me feel like I was back in elementary school buying my little milk carton to go with my lunch in my Aladdin lunch box. Oh yes, I was always as cool as I am today.

I also made my second attempt at a yogurt mess. This time it didn’t have any nut butter, but I made up for it with crumbs! I was finishing off the cereal box, and at first I thought, aw man no cereal to put into this. But then, I saw the bright side of only having a few cereal pieces in the box was – crumbs! Guys, I highly recommend this, it tasted delicious. Crumbs plus nut butter? Oh man, I don’t know if my taste buds can even handle thinking about that yumminess.

 Blueberry Siggi’s yogurt, nanner slices, Kashi honey CRUMBS! (and a couple pieces)
Yuuuuummmmyy

I also had some more delicious spaghetti squash, and tried to make it look decidedly more spaghetti-like. I had it with pasta sauce and meatless meatballs, which are really good. I think it really looks like pasta!

Today for Thanksgiving, we were responsible for bringing some mashed potatoes and some warm vegetables. Mom cooked the potatoes, and I mashed.

 Made with silk soy milk. Love that my Mom loves soy milk as much as me.

Then I cut the brussel sprouts and my Mom roasted them in the oven. The green beans are all her. She cooked them and then added her own special little jazziness to them. It had orange juice, brown sugar and something else in there. Who knows, they were delish!

<— Look at these beauts. These ended up being my favorite part of our meal.

And the beans!

Mom in action. Look at her adorable houndstooth jumper, such a fashionista!

After dinner at my Aunt’s, my Mom and I plus my cousin, Matt came back to the house. The three of us hung out and chatted and watched, “House” before he went to meet some of his friends while he’s in town. Now that both of us are more grown up, I really like to talk with my cousin, and he truly is such an awesome guy. He lives and works in Burlington, where I go to school, and he is always telling me that I can crash at his house anytime, offered to do anything he could while I was sick (even though he was sick himself!) and he is just a super nice guy. An example of this? He cooked Thanksgiving dinner all by himself for 16 of his friends who weren’t going to have anywhere to go and hosted a party at his house. Admirable, totally admirable.

Now I am settling in for the evening. Happy, healthy, totally content.

I hope you all had fabulous and lovely Thanksgivings! 
Question – Anybody going out for Black Friday shopping?  I wasn’t planning on it, but I saw some pretty good deals in the paper that came today and hey, I am not one to pass up a shopping excursion.

Good morning friends.  There will be a  food inflation that rises to  15.58 pct.  With that thing, we will experience hardship as food is the main necessity of each and every one of us.  As for some advice, we should be intelligent to think of other things that will help us in our daily necessity need of food.  We can plant vegetables in our garden.  That can help a lot. 

Food inflation rose to 15.58 per cent for the second week of November from 14.55 per cent in the previous week as potatoes and pulses turned costlier. 

On an annual basis, potato prices more than doubled, pulses became expensive by over 35 per cent, while onions rose by 27 per cent. 

Price rise was significant on weekly basis with urad and poultry chicken rising by 15 per cent each, eggs by 8 per cent, moong by 6 per cent, arhar by 5 per cent and fruits & vegetables by 3 per cent. 

Among the non-food articles, raw silk turned expensive by 3 per cent, while fodder and groundnut seed by 2 per cent each. 

Fuel index though remained unchanged at the previous week’s level. – Indian Express

I’ve been busy.

Thanksgiving is here!  Huzzah!   What was consumed at my house?  There were two major food-related parts of the day, and both were delicious.

For noshing earlier in the day, we had a cheese board with smoked Gouda, unie kaas, a summer sausage and a sliced cameo apple.  Wine was Yalumba Muscat, an Australian dessert wine that was perfect with the cheese!

For dinner?  Goose!  The menu was goose (stuffed with apples and onions), stuffed pumpkin (stuffed with stuffing), mashed potatoes, mashed yams, green beans with garlic, roasted beets, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.  The beers for today were Stella Artois and Smithwick’s, although I’m not sure either of us drank an entire beer.

The goose looks kind of creepy, doesn’t it? “Hello, Clarice.” Anyway, here’s dinner:

The verdict on goose?  It was alright!  The preparation is different from a turkey, and the overall flavour is a bit more gamy, but it was a nice change.  (Edit:  it turns out goose is really good when it’s cold–come to me sandwiches, I am going to eat you now…)  I would probably choose a turducken or another festive meat over this in the future, but it’s good to have a new thing in my kitchen repertoire.

We haven’t gotten into the pie yet…I’ll put up a picture of that when I get to it.

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Happy turkey day! Oh wait, sorry — “tofurky” day. The time has come and Thanksgiving is here, and we vegetarians can still enjoy a hearty holiday of food, fun and family while staying our compassionate and healthy selves. This year, as we’re giving thanks and seeing friends and relatives, try out some new recipes that will add some spice to your cooking and offer a flavorful and cruelty-free option to enjoy.

But, what to use instead of the traditional ingredients? No turkey? No chicken-broth-based soups? No gravy? No worries — I’ve gathered some great recipes and options to make this the best Thanksgiving ever.

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Turkey Substitutes

VegCooking had a cool page on turkey substitutes that I found right here. They called them “faux” turkeys which I like — including the famous Tofurky, but also wild grain veggie turkey breasts, also a great main dish for Thanksgiving.

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Vegetarian Stuffing

VegWeb, one of my favorite vegetarian and vegan recipe sites, has an awesome vegetarian stuffing recipe right here. What’s great is they have a whole list of vegan versions as well for this recipe and all. Stuffing, “turk’y'z” perfect sidekick, is a must for Thanksgiving and can be made just as easy with vegetable broth or vegan butter replacements, etc.

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Vegan Mashed Potatoes
Corn and mashed potatoes — you’ve just got to have ‘em for a traditional Thanksgiving. Corn is an easy one, most canned and fresh, in fact all, now that I think of it, are vegan, so that’s good. But if you’re vegan and want a good mashed potatoes recipe without any butter or cheese or anything, I found a good one here at this site. There’s also a garlic potatoes recipe here if you’re interested in that flavor. Explore around — there’s so much to see on the web and in cookbooks for vegan mashed potatoes.

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Other cool recipes and creative options

You don’t just have to go traditional-based for a Thanksgiving, of course; I found a whole collection of creative and flavorful veg recipes here, like jicama salads, black bean chili, and more. Check it out at VegKitchen right here.

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So, I hope this little friendly post gives you some inspiration for making the perfect vegetarian or vegan Thanksgiving. Let me know what you think and drop a comment or email or tweet me. If you’re enjoying the blog, please feel free to subscribe by email to get new posts delivered right to you — it’s really quick to set up and free.

Enjoy your tofurky day and be well,

Brian

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Here’s the list of links in this site if you missed them:

Faux turkeys @ VegCooking -link-

Veg stuffing @ VegWeb -link-

Mashed potatoes (basic) @ Bettay Gourmet -link-

Mashed potatoes (garlic) @ VeganChef -link-

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Enjoy!

Van TofuParty dishes

I don’t know how it is in other countries, but I’m having cauliflower all over this time of the year.   I wanted to try something new and found this:

CAULIFLOWER AND POTATO BURGERS

1 cauliflower
-> cut into florets

2 potatoes
-> cubed

=> boil together

=> when ready, mash

1 tbsp soy-sauce
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp breadcrumbs
1 tbsp soy flour
2 tbsp chickpea flour

=> add all of this to the mashed pototoes and cauliflower
=> let it cool for a while
=> preheat the oven at 175 °C
=> shape your burgers by taking one small handful of your mixture
=> bake in the oven, 20 min.,  turn the burgers halfway the time

PDF of this recipe.

I served them with Bulgur pilaf and a basic brown sauce (from Vegan Planet)

1 1/2 small red potatoes
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Bring 3 qt saucepan of water to a boil.

Slice unpeeled potatoes.

Add potatoes and unpeeled garlic cloves to the boiling water and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Preheat boiler and butter a shallow 1 qt baking dish. Drain potatoes and garlic well and slip garlic from it’s skin.

In a shallow bowl mash potaoes and garlic with a masher or a fork.

Add 1/2 cup Parmesan and the butter, milk, salt, and pepper and mix thoroughly. Spread potatoes in dish and sprinkle Parmesan evenly on top.

Broil potatoes until top is lightly browned.

Good lord. This is the Platonic Ideal of Food.  This is Food. Capital F. When it’s late at night and I’m a bit hungry, this is what I want. All the time. Every time.

This dish will change your life.

I was browsing one of my favorite sites, YumSugar, when I came upon this daring recipe. I’ve been feeling in a food rut for the last couple of weeks, and wanted to surprise Ryan with something fun and new. And my love for macaroni and cheese led me here.

Ingredients:

- 6 T olive oil

- 1 cup chopped bacon (or Morningstar strips for us!)

- 1 small white onion, chopped

- 4 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed

- 1 lb ditalini

- 2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

- 8 oz. smoked provolone, cut into cubes

- 1/2 cup parmesan

- salt to taste

Directions:

Put 4 T of the olive oil and the chopped bacon into a large/deep skillet over medium high heat.  This helps bring out the bacon fat.  If you’re using Morningstar Farms like me, you need to add a couple of tablespoons of butter to make the fat content a bit higher. Add the chopped onion and cook about 3 minutes. Stir in the cubed potatoes, making sure to cover them in oil/butter. Spread them out as much as possible to cook.

Pour in 4 cups water, and stir everything. Take care to remove anything that’s crusted to the bottom of the skillet. Stir often. Bring to a low boil and cook for 20 minutes until the soupy sauce is thicker and barely covering the potatoes. Meanwhile, be preparing the ditalini. Drain and add the the bacon-onion-potato mix at the end of the 20 minutes. Stir in the remaining 2 T of olive oil and cook for 3 more minutes.

Stir in the diced tomatoes and cook them for about a minute. Turn off the heat and add in the cubed smoked provolone and stir. Salt to taste. Mix in the parmesan. Serve hot!

This makes a TON, which is great for leftovers. Ryan and I had so many leftovers the last time I made this that we both had seconds that night AND had seconds for lunch the next day! I was most skeptical of the potatoes in this dish, but they are just wonderful. They are velvety smooth and totally necessary. Also, smoked provolone is to die for. It is salty and creamy and smoky and delicious.

10.0. I can’t believe I’m not eating this right now.

This is a Thanksgiving staple at our house. The Boy usually makes it, but it was The Girl who first tried it out and made everyone fall in love with it. This recipe is very easy to make ahead of time. Just cook it about 80% of the way, then reheat it in a covered dish for about 20-30 minutes before serving. All props to the Barefoot Contessa and the Food Network. My favorite thing about this is that it manages to include heavy cream, butter, olive oil, and cheese without being the slightest bit ashamed of itself. Good stuff!

Ingredients:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter the inside of a 10-by-15-by-2-inch (10-cup) baking dish.

Remove the stalks from the fennel and cut the bulbs in half lengthwise. Remove the cores and thinly slice the bulbs crosswise, making approximately 4 cups of sliced fennel. Saute the fennel and onions in the olive oil and butter on medium-low heat for 15 minutes, until tender.

Peel the potatoes, then thinly slice them by hand or with a mandoline. Mix the sliced potatoes in a large bowl with 2 cups of cream, 2 cups of Gruyère, salt, and pepper. Add the sauteed fennel and onion and mix well.

Pour the potatoes into the baking dish. Press down to smooth the potatoes. Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of cream and 1/2 cup of Gruyère and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, until the potatoes are very tender and the top is browned and bubbly. Allow to set for 10 minutes and serve.

As I stated in my last post I was recruited last minute to make the mashed potatoes. Well, my in-laws, the kings of last minute changes just decided that we don’t need them. Oh well…

I decided to give you the recipe anyway. This a a great make ahead of time recipe. Put it all together, refrigerate, and then bake when ready!

Anne Marie’s mashed potatoes

Source: my aunt

Yield: 1 13×9 pan

• 8-10 red potatoes — don’t peel, boil!
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 16 oz sour cream
• 1/2 c parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to tase
• garlic powder
• fresh basil

1. preheat oven to 350
2. boil potatoes, do not peel,
3. drain and mash after boiled
4. add cream chees
5. add sour cream, parmesan, salt and pepper, garlic powder, and basil
6. put in a 9×13 pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes