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Thanksgiving feast

Wait, didn’t I just blog a Thanksgiving feast? No, that was a Thanksgiving-themed feast. This here one was on actual Thanksgiving day! Totally different. This was a pretty small gathering of 3 couples, but we didn’t lack anything.

For my contribution, I baked because it’s what I do. I figured everyone would like ciabatta rolls, so I made some of those. There was also a maple walnut oat loaf made with white whole wheat. Kind of healthy but didn’t taste like it.

Somehow I didn’t get any pictures of the snickerdoodles I made. They were definitely a hit though. Who knew such a simple cookie could be so popular? The main dessert was this pumpkin cinnamon swirl cheesecake. Tasty, but I think I would have liked it a little denser. Others liked the fact that it was a little softer. It was perfectly set up though and cut and stayed together nicely. I forgot to swirl it though so it kind of looks like rock strata.

Here’s my plate of belt-loosening goodness, clockwise starting at 12: sweet potatoes with Dandies marshmallows, mac & cheese, Stuffed Hazelnut Cranberry Roast En Croute By Field Roast, dressing and mashed potatoes under the gravy, Match Vegan Meats holiday roast (this time the pre-made version), the maple walnut oat bread and green bean casserole in the center. There were also two cranberry sauces: the regular jelled canned kind and a home made cranberry pineapple sauce. I had to clear some space before I could get them on my plate though.

Both the roasts were great but different. A more traditional person might like the Match roast better. I really enjoyed the cranberries, apples and crystallized ginger in the Field Roast. But I know ginger is a strong flavor and can turn some people off.

I’ve been cruising the vegan blogs today checking out everyone’s holiday meals in between working and mopping up drool. As with vegan cheeses, how much does it rock that we have an actual assortment of holiday roasts to choose from now?

Thanksgiving-themed vegan potluck

Oh man. The Sunday before Thanksgiving our monthly vegan lunch group (join us on Facebook) had a Thanksgiving-themed potluck hosted by the lovely Lisa & David. Two Thanksgivings in one week! Our potlucks always rock and this was no exception. Somehow we always manage to have the right mix of foods.

For my blogging about them completely unsolicited, Match Vegan Meats wanted to send me one of their holiday roasts but they ran out. So instead they sent me all the vegan meats I’d need to make one, or five. 🙂 They have the recipe posted online, so you can do it too. I didn’t follow the recipe exactly. Instead of herbed stuffing mix, I used cornbread that I added seasoning to. If you have a favorite stuffing recipe that isn’t super moist, you could definitely substitute it here. The amount you see here is a double batch of the recipe. I made a shiitake mushroom gravy to go with it. I also specifically shaped them long and thin so it wouldn’t totally dominate anyone’s potluck plate.

I think the Match went over really well. Some people hadn’t had it before so it was a good introduction. If anyone wants to comment with their thoughts on it, I know the Match folks would love to hear them.

But enough about me. There was a whole spread of deliciousness. I didn’t even get pictures of everything.

Vic posted the recipe for this root salad. I’m totally going to make it. I love eating stuff like this. Great way to make autumn/winter veggies pop.

sweet potato pie, chocolate almond brittle

My plate piled high. I see some mac & cheese, greens and stuffing that didn’t make it in the pics. Lisa also made a chocolate layer cake. Yum!

Breakfast at The Organic Grill

Our flight was at 2pm so most brunch options would be cutting it too close. The Organic Grill‘s brunch started at 10 and was pretty close by so we decided to try that. It’s not a vegan restaurant, but there were plenty of options. I got the tofu rancheros. I was completely happy with this. Right amount of food. Very satisfying.

Okay, so we might have gotten 3 breakfasts between the two of us. *blort* Kevin wanted the blueberry slamcakes. And he was glad we’d ordered an extra thing. The pancakes were pretty small and he didn’t love the scramble. I liked the pancakes but if you’re starving it might not be enough food.

The other thing that intrigued us was their tofu omelette. They really hype it up on the menu. And what could be bad about tofu stuffed with vegan cheese and veggies. We’re pretty sure they’re using Daiya cheese too. It was huge, like almost burrito sized. They seem to shred the tofu and maybe mix it with little batter to make it into an omelette shape. The Daiya really made it though.

After this, we walked around the corner to get falafels from Mamoun’s since Kevin hadn’t had them yet. We ate them later on the plane. Kevin wasn’t impressed. I still think they’re pretty good but not necessarily the best I’ve ever had.

More bingeing

While eating brunch, Matt & Danielle sent out a tweet that they would be at Pala Pizza at 4pm and to come join them. Uh, sure, why not! It was kind of dark in there so photos were pretty sucky. The pizza was good. They used Daiya. We also split some gnocchi. Sadly, it was gummy and undercooked.

So after eating at Pala, we hopped in a cab with Ken & Leigh and headed to Veggie Conquest to eat some more! We were lucky enough to be in NYC during Veggie Conquest and to get tasting tickets through Ken & Leigh. Thanks guys! The secret ingredient for this event was cranberries and the course was dessert. Here’s the list of entries. I think #4 was a no show.

The tastes arrived in small bites. Definitely doable. My favorite was also the judges, #7 the rice crepe with cran-ginger sauce. What we didn’t know is that after the competition, there would be a huge buffet of delicious foods set up. Oh crap. Match Vegan Meats was one of the sponsors and provided volunteers with some of their vegan meats for the buffet dishes. My favorite was the swedish meatballs. Definitely comfort food. I think it’s the one in the middle of my plate. No, I didn’t clean this plate, but I sure as hell tried everything.

We also got to sample one of the creamiest vegan ice creams I’ve ever had from the Raw Ice Cream Company. That’s right, it’s also raw. Amazing!

All in all, this was an amazing event. A bunch of like minded people eating tasty food in a beautiful space (an art gallery exhibiting never seen before photographs of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones) for a bargain price of $20. We are totally going to have to start one of these in Atlanta.

Breakfast and brunch

Saturday after the wedding was another day of a ridiculous amount of eating. It started out innocently enough. We knew we were going to meet a bunch of folks for brunch at Counter around noon. But both of us are early risers and weren’t going to make it all the way ’til noon. So we went by Cafe Pedlar for coffee again and then got bagels.

Then later we headed over to Counter to meet up with a ton of people. We basically took over the back of the restaurant.

Now, I’ll give them a break on the service since we were such a huge group and arrived in waves. But again the food wasn’t worth the hype. I got the tofu scramble. It’s mostly up under the toast. I will say the potatoes were awesome. Nice crisp on them, soft inside. The tofu scramble was bland and uninteresting. How do you mess up tofu scramble? You can make it an infinite number of tasty ways. It’s inexcusable really.

Kevin thought his french toast was pretty good. But there should have been more of it.

Anyway, my overall impression from my two visits to Counter is that it isn’t worth the hype.

After brunch, we grabbed the rented evening clothes and headed downtown to return them. I’m glad I went with Kevin because I was able to see Trinity Church Cemetery.

Oh, we’re not done eating yet. Coming up, pizza and Veggie Conquest!