Thanksgiving turned to 11

Sure, I’m a little behind on posts. It’s not that obvious until I get to the Thanksgiving pictures … on Christmas eve. What happens when you get together a couple dozen vegans that love food on Thanksgiving? An epic feast.

Here we have a Gutenfleischer’s glazed ham and turkey, a Tofurky (actually 2. one got deep-fried), a Match Meat holiday roast, the Field Roast Hazelnut Cranberry Roast and I’m not sure what else.

We didn’t mess around with gravy and dressing.

Roasted veggies, mac & cheese, butternut squash casserole, mashed potatoes, crescent rolls, candied sweet potatoes….

Green bean casserole, maple roasted brussels sprouts…

Kale salad with mangoes

Many desserts…ginger bread cake, pumpkin cheesecakes…

Cookies, pie, bundt…

My first plate. Oh yeah, calzones and ciabatta bread….

Plate number 2…gotta try everything!

Someone else’s dessert plate because mine just had tiny bites. I was tapped out!

And a collection of the toughest turkeys in the world on the white board

Tofurky Vegetarian Feast

How do I keep getting so lucky? A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from a representative for Turtle Island Foods asking if I’d like a free coupon to try one of their vegetarian feasts. Um, yeah! It took three tries before I found it in stock. Sevananda ended up being the winner, but Whole Foods has since gotten some in. It was stored in a big freezer until it was time to drag it home and cook it. And even then it waiting in my fridge for a few days before it worked out that I could cook it.

Here it is taking a ride home:

Which was almost a disaster. At some point I rode over a bump that busted open the box. Luckily I noticed in time to keep from losing anything.

My Tofurky was fully defrosted so I was able to cook it in about 75 minutes. I used the olive oil, soy sauce and sage recipe for basting because I have fresh sage growing in my yard. For the veg, I used an onion, a carrot, a sweet potato and half a delicata squash. Everything went in my big Le Creuset lidded pot lined with foil. Pro-tip: spray foil with oil before you start loading it up. I didn’t and had a bit of stickage. Here’s the little buddy right out of the oven:

Sorry for the dark pics but it was, dark. An inside shot:

Plated up with gravy (included) and broccoli:

The veg turned out lovely. Some of the sweet potatoes were caramelized and everything just melted in my mouth. I’ve always liked Tofurky and, yeah, it’s still good. The gravy was a little thick, but very tasty. I could’ve thinned it but went with it as it came. Oh, and the broccoli is just a box of frozen stuff I had because I am lazy. There is a “wishbone” but I have to admit it’s still in its package. I’ll probably gnaw on it as a snack at some point.

Oh yeah, the cake. An Amy’s chocolate cake came with the feast. It was also fully defrosted. The cake was pretty moist and had nice chocolate flavor. I was wondering if it was going to be more poundcake like, but it was normal cake like. The downside is that it doesn’t have frosting. Cake needs frosting. Or ice cream. Or both. I had some extra vegan cream cheese frosting from something else, so I gave it a little topping.

Perfect!

If you aren’t really a cook or need something easy to take to some horrible meat filled holiday meal, this is a good option. We all know there are a few holiday roast options out there now. This one seems to be the most reminiscent of turkey if that’s what you’re looking for.

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.

all sliced up for the potluck
all sliced up for the potluck

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.

garlicky potatoes
garlicky potatoes

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.

redneck caviar and chips
redneck caviar and chips
green beans
green beans
cranberry sauce two ways
cranberry sauce two ways
sausages, fruit
sausages, fruit
sweet potato pie, chocolate almond brittle
sweet potato pie, chocolate almond brittle
my plate
my plate

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!

A nice surprise

Yesterday, I got my November issue of Gourmet in the mail. I think I got the subscription for free on some offer at amazon.com. Usually there’s only a recipe here and there that is naturally vegan and maybe a couple more that might be worth veganizing. So it was really nice to be flipping through and find a whole vegetarian Thanksgiving menu spread. What’s even better, is that when I looked it up at their site, they actually have 3 vegetarian menus online! Okay, not vegan, but still, most of the recipes are pretty easily veganized. Seriously, you’ve got to check out the pumpkin stuffed with vegetable stew on the website. How impressive would that look as a centerpiece?