Happy Thanksgiving and Thanks to fellow Vegans!

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and to give thanks to all you fellow vegans; I am truly thankful that there are people worldwide that choose a vegan lifestyle. It's comforting to know I am not alone, knowing that others too care about the welfare, rights, and lives of animals, the environment, and their own health. Some days, I feel like I'm up against the rest of the world with my veganism, but for this holiday, I am going to be thankful that at least I'm not alone against the majority of the world.

Thank you all, for your committment to veganism :thumbsup:

Hope you have a good day, vtveg! We don't have Thanksgiving here of course, but we do have thanks ;)

Aww how sweet, Happy Thanksgiving to you too vtveg!
I actually have a Thanksgiving question! I've been invited to an American friend's Thanksgiving dinner this weekend, and i have to bring a dish. I'm conscious of the fact that there won't be much for me, so i need to take something i can have as a main, something that can be served cold and something that'll make people think 'wow, i can't believe that's vegan!'. I was thinking maybe a pasta salad, but it just seems a bit boring... any suggestions??

Hello vtveg! Pleased to notice your thanks.

Solidarity on Black Thursday! Today is a day of mourning (meh, what day isn't?) and also a day of thanks for my own freedom and integrity, for the clarity of heart, of mind, of soul that it takes to be vegan. I am thankful to be able to make a sanctuary of my own body, my actions, my words and thoughts. It is a day of hope, for we can hear the quiet rumble of a vegan world on its way. And now...

I'm hungry.

Happy Thanksgiving vtveg and everyone else.

Sarabi, what have you got as your avatar? It looks like a baby kangaroo :D

hi JC - my extended family is not vegan but are combining vegan friendly sides into the main meal; so my husband and I are brining our own main dish, a vegan pot pie and our own desert, a vegan apple pie. My brother in law made a vegan pumpkin pie so as to not leave my husband and i out of the pumpkin pie experience. I'd be happy to share a killer pot pie recipe with you and anyone elese here fofr that matter. It might be too late to make for Thanksgiving, but it's great any time!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

(trying to not think of the mass Turkey genocide. If it wasn't turkey it'd be something else :down:)

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JC

Aww how sweet, Happy Thanksgiving to you too vtveg!
I actually have a Thanksgiving question! I've been invited to an American friend's Thanksgiving dinner this weekend, and i have to bring a dish. I'm conscious of the fact that there won't be much for me, so i need to take something i can have as a main, something that can be served cold and something that'll make people think 'wow, i can't believe that's vegan!'. I was thinking maybe a pasta salad, but it just seems a bit boring... any suggestions??

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Probably too late, but how about a cold pasta dish with veg and peanut sauce?

Peanutty Sauce:
Heat 1 teaspoon peanut oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add 2 tsp grated ginger and 3 cloves minced garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add 1 c veg broth broth, 1/2 c peanut butter, 1/4 c low sodium soy sauce, 3 Tbs rice (or white) vinegar, 1 tsp chili garlic sauce, 1/4 tsp salt; stir until well-blended. Reduce heat, and simmer 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

We made this last week and it was delicious cold.

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harpy

Sarabi, what have you got as your avatar? It looks like a baby kangaroo :D

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My guess would be a baby deer (a fawn is what I think the baby deer are called)!

All of the dead animals at my mom's house made me really feel sick today as I was helping her prepare for the meal, so I skipped the dinner over there, and have a fantastic Tofurky roast in the oven here cooking, it smells fabulous! It's just me and the kitties, but I prefer it that way over pretending with 10 people that animal lives don't matter, but taste buds and mindless cruel traditions DO matter :dizzy:

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vtveg

... I'd be happy to share a killer pot pie recipe with you and anyone elese here fofr that matter. It might be too late to make for Thanksgiving, but it's great any time!!

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vtveg, give it up :bandanna: I love pot pie, post the recipe please!

I didn't do anything special for Black Thursday. I had some Morningstar chik'n strips (it's all in the seasoning, but I love it)... then I tried to find a homeless shelter that's supposedly down the street, but I didn't see it when I looked. Other than that, I went into information overload from the past week of obsessive reading of critical animal studies and veganism and had to lie down and relax... then meditate when I got back up (it worked like a charm).

Reading, and writing, so much about veganism also filled me with too much desire to change the world... I was feeling a huge pressure in my mind to turn the world vegan NOW. Gotta slow down and stay relaxed...

I spent Thanksgiving in an all vegan house in Austin, Texas. Perfect, or what?

^ Lucky you!

My thanksgiving was great. My family has finely gotten used to the vegan thing. My mom knows how to make most of her sides vegan, must people try the entree that I make, grandma only asked once if I ate fish (she still doesn't get the dairy thing), and my desert came out good for the first time! I also got to feed a fellow vegan that had to work during the day and whose family lives far away.

:D Hope everyone else had a good one :thumbsup:

I had a good day too, other than having the dead bird in the middle of the table and having to listen to everybody talk about how delicious it was... My mom veganized the sides for me last year and my sister refused to eat any of it. She also wouldn't let any of her kids eat any of them and kept saying there was nothing there for them to eat. So, this year my mom bought me a tofurkey feast and they had their butter and cream soaked sides. :( At least there was no conflict. :rolleyes:

Okay, folks. To cure my confusion about whether or not I should be celebrating Thanksgiving with others, I have marked my calendar for next year to plan for a VEGAN Turkey Day feast.

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RubyDuby

My mom veganized the sides for me last year and my sister refused to eat any of it. She also wouldn't let any of her kids eat any of them and kept saying there was nothing there for them to eat.

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That would have really annoyed me!:pissed::dizzy: I'm glad that this year went well though.

(I keep reading about Thanksgiving dinners and I think I will be making a roast dinner myself today.:satisfied: I don't know what I'm giving thanks to though, maybe I will be thankful for potatoes and parsnips.:D)

yeah, my sister is a piece of work. I only see her when I have too.

I think potatoes and parsnips are worthy of thanks... most definitely. :D

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RubyDuby

My mom veganized the sides for me last year and my sister refused to eat any of it. She also wouldn't let any of her kids eat any of them and kept saying there was nothing there for them to eat.

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Reading this made me SO mad. :pissed: She just sounds horrible... :mad:

^ I felt the same and can relate to it some. I also get a bit of "you're being such a pain in the ass" from some of my family so this year I said all I wanted was two boiled potatoes before the mashing stage and my EarthBalance margarine. Done. Turns out I was also given frozen spinach yet the rest of the family's creamed spinach was made from fresh spinach.
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"Mark, would you like some salad?"

"Yes, but only if there is plain oil and vinegar for it."

"Yes, no problem."

A small bowl of salad with dressing already applied was put at my place. I took a few bites and it was quite clearly salted and seasoned with who knows what, so it wasn't just "plain oil and vinegar" as I insisted after all, but I decided not to worry about it since the damage was done and complaining about it would have ruined the evening and made me out to be an even bigger pain in the ass. A few bites more and I discovered there were croutons hiding underneath I didn't see at first, too. [egg? dairy? diaceteal tartaric ester of mono and diglycerides, etc? ] Luckily I didn't eat any and I just gave up on the "vegan" salad at that point. My spinach and potatoes were room temperature.

Sarabi - what you said really hit a personal string in me "Reading, and writing, so much about veganism also filled me with too much desire to change the world... I was feeling a huge pressure in my mind to turn the world vegan NOW. Gotta slow down and stay relaxed...". I too have felt this way A LOT, the pressure to turn the world vegan NOW, the desire to turn the world to vegan NOW, the pressure to convince people to turn vegan NOW. While I know it's an unrealistic thought, while I know I can't personally change the world, or anyone on my own, I can't help but get overlly frustrated with the fact that SO many people have negative ideas about veganism, so many people continue to eat as uneducated individuals, and ignorantly, whether by choice or because of lack of education, that many people choose NOT TO educate themselves on food, where it comes from, what its nutritional value is, etc. But why should I concern myself so much with the rest of the world, with what other people choose to do with their lives......I guess because in some way, however large or small, what others do also affects my life. Like those who choose to consume large amounts of animal flesh and by-product; they are enabling and contributing to huge amounts of global warming, greenhouse gases, etc. from keeping factory farms in business. So the same ground I walk on is being destroyed by others who choose to contribute to that destruction.

Okay, okay, now I'm going on a rant......well Sarabi, I just wanted to note that I too feel much how you described you felt.

wow, that doesn't sound like fun at all. They must think you're nuts to be happy with potatoes and frozen spinach! You wouldn't rather just bring your own food?

[QUOTE=Mahk;622356] I also get a bit of "you're being such a pain in the ass" from some of my family so this year I said all I wanted was two boiled potatoes before the mashing stage and my EarthBalance margarine.QUOTE]

Do you have to be so very awkward!;):D

I'm thankful for having 4 vegans in the family!

^ lucky!!

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RubyDuby

wow, that doesn't sound like fun at all. They must think you're nuts to be happy with potatoes and frozen spinach! You wouldn't rather just bring your own food?

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I actually love potatoes and spinach, at least warm that is.:D I worry that bringing my own food sends a bad message of "eating a vegan diet is so abnormal that even in a banquet setting with almost a dozen non-meat dishes they still can't easily be accommodated".
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One guy at the table kept saying how he loved animals and "could never harm them". I had to bite my tongue from saying, "Except for the ones you pay to have killed for your food, I guess." I'm not nearly as confrontational IRL as I am on the internet, you see.:smile:

Vegan Pot Pie
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 an onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 tbsp. Earth Balance vegan margarine
1/2 Cup flour
2 cups vegetable broth
1 Cup plain silk soy milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
3/4 Cup frozen peas
3/4 Cup frozen edamame

Saute celery, onions, and carrots in butter for 10 minutes. Add the flour, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add broth and milk to mixture while stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat until bubbly then stir in the peas, edamame, salt, and pepper. Once it is well combined.....

Pour into a casserole dish and top with crust (cut 2-3 slits in top crust). Bake @ 375 F for 30-45 minutes.

Pot Pie Crust
2 cups flour
2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup earth balance
6 tbsp. cold water

Mix flour and salt together, cut in shortening, add the water, then shape into a ball and chill. Once its chilled roll out the dough to fit the casserole dish.

This pie crust recipe makes enough to cover the bottom of the casserole dish and provide enough for the top crust.

Note
When my husband and I make this we add veggie protein strips. Morning Star Meal Starters makes excellent faux chicken strips made with vegetable protein. We like to throw in about a half a cup of these too.

You can alter this recipe however you like, substituting any veggies you may dislike for others.

It's fantastic!!! If anyone makes this, let me know what you think of it. I forget where I found the receipe.....

This past Thanksgiving, I wasn't vegan yet, but I'm actually excited for next Thanksgiving. I'm going to have to ask my mom if I can modify some of the dishes we make.

My mom's candied yam recipe can easily be made vegan by not using butter or using vegan butter and using vegan marshmallows.

I've already found a vegan recipe for green bean casserole. But I'm also considering making it more like the conventional way by making a dairy free cream of mushroom soon from scratch and then using soy milk instead of cows.

I would like to experiment with making potato salad with by replacing Kraft mayo with veganaise and Miracle Whip with Hummus. I have discovered they have a similar tang to them that may make a good potato salad. I should be able to make a small dish of it for myself.

And of course I want to make some kind of Thanksgiving loaf.

I think i may just 86 the baked macaroni. I don't think my family will approve of my trying to veganize the macaroni. Ironically enough, I will have to cook it.

good idea subbing hummus for miracle whip. I wouldn't have ever thought to try that.

If you can find Suzanne's ricemallow creme it works out to be a lot cheaper than vegan marshmallows and is a very yummy candied yam topping.

What do you mean by macaroni? Like mac and cheese? The mac daddy recipe in veganomicon is really good. I'd be happy to pm it to you if you're interested.

I'll definitely look for that ricemallow cream the next time I go shopping. The last time I kept checking to see if marshmallow fluff was vegan but of course it's not, lol.

Yeah, I mean macaroni and cheese. I'd love for you to send me that recipe. Thanks a bunch :)