Re: Vegan Food for Thanksgiving and Other Celebrations
Okay I need suggestions!!
Usually the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving I host a big Mock Thanksgiving at my house - now this year me and my friend Caitlin (who just went vegetarian last year) don't know quite what to serve bc we ran the whole shebang last year - so I need suggestions!!
I also need suggestions as to what I can bring to my thanksgiving dinner at my relatives house which will most likely have absoutely nothing for me.
any help would be greatly appreciated!!
"An outside enemy exists only if there is anger inside."
- Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Re: Vegan Food for Thanksgiving and Other Celebrations
oh my god the scalloped potatoes are delicious!!! i did a couple things different though. i didnt make so much first of all, i used coconut milk instead, and i added garlic powder and parsley to the mix aswell. i also upped the heat to 400 degrees and cooked them for alot longer.
"you dont have to be tall to see the moon" - african proverb
Re: Vegan Food for Christmas and Other Celebrations
I just bought the Vegetarian Christmas magazine hoping there would be some good vegan recipes in there. There are a few + some that could possibly be adapted. However, the majority are cheese, egg, milk laden The celebrity chefs are unable to make anything that does not have half a pound of cheese in it.
If I was a vegetarian I would be concerned about my fat intake from all that high fat cheese and eat vegan most of the week - not this lot *sigh*.
im going to my meat eating parents house for thanksgiving and i need some yummy ideas of what to take. (must feed at least 7) if anyone has suggestions or knows what theyre making, id love some suggestions.
Last edited by flutterby; Nov 16th, 2005 at 08:32 AM.
Reason: New thread merged with existing.
I'm taking some vegan green bean casserole to my grandparents' for Thanksgiving, as well as either some vegan chocolate or pumpkin pie, as they're both very omni-friendly.
Re: Vegan Food for Christmas and Other Celebrations
I always stress at preparing christmas food as I am the only true vegan there although about 6 r vegetarian. However, the dreaded turkey is always expected but I think this year I'll dig my heels in about that one.
I will be making my famous nut roast.
1 Cup crushed nuts (cashews and brazil are good but any will do. No peanuts)
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 tabelspoon each oregano,parsley,thyme,rosemary and sage.
1 onion chopped and sauteed.
2 tabelspoons oil
1 teaspoon massell (not) chicken stock
Add either 1 tub silken tofu or enough soy milk to moisten or a mix of both.
Form into a loaf and bake until brown on top.
I like to make individual roasts in a muffin tin, they look good and are easier than trying to slice the loaf.
I serve with gravy of course.
Don't have any ideas for dessert yet.
Can't come at the American pumpkin pie thing I'm afraid that is suggested on this thread. I couldn't imagine buying pumpkin in a can yuk It is so easy to prepare fresh. But hey we eat some stange things in oz too I guess.
My sister in law usually brings choc pav, so I'll have to have something really special on hand. Any suggestions?
Re: Vegan Food for Christmas and Other Celebrations
treehugga, I never use canned pumpkin in my pies, I either buy mine fresh or substitute fresh squash or sweet potatoes. I agree that pumpkin in a can is ICK.
for the last 14 years i have simply just skipped the turkey at thanksgiving dinner. but i thought that this year i would try one of the fake turkeys. whole foods carries the unturkey as well as the tofurkey. anyone prefer one over the other?
"The fact that man knows right from wrong proves
his intellectual superiority to the other creatures;
but the fact that he can do wrong proves
his moral inferiority to any creatures that cannot"
But I have tried the nut roast... if you are willing to spend a bit of time in the kitchen, it's definitely worth it!
I'm making it to bring to a meat-eaters Christmas dinner...actually I'm making the whole dinner for 6 people... it should be interesting!
It's also a favorite of Foxytina...i think she makes it every year if i'm not mistaken.
Re: Vegan Food for Christmas and Other Celebrations
happycow
Im so glad we're not going to my nanas for lunch this year... the table will always be laden with fat sugar and dead animals.
my family would be like "why are you just having salad huh? you afraid of getting fat? your a horrible gorl for doing this to your mother"
last eyar my sis ghad some soup and my aunty was lie "are you gonna go vomit it up now?"
And she tried to force my to eat an ice-block! i cant stand my mums fam
My dad is such a champ....he's irish and had always been so stuck in his ways...i never thought that he would end up being the one who respects me the most but...he want to take me to a vegan restaurant! im so happy!
Happycow - that is terrible about your moms fam... I couldn't even imagine someone saying or doing those kinds of things! It would make me so angry, I would definitely leave! I hate when people are disrespectful. How did you manage to get out of lunch? Thankfully, you did! That's a relief!
You're Dad sounds Super cool though! You can tell he really loves you and wants to take part in what you believe in...good for him!!!
yes! i LOVE it terra! i make it every thanksgiving AND christmas.
im not supposed to eat the tofurky, since it has gluten, but i HAVE tried it before and its delicious. i really enjoyed it. i was thinking about eating it this christmas, but was thinking "but i love the nut roast so much!" LOL. im sure ill make the nut roast because its so yummy.
but yes, i really liked the tofurky. ive never tried the unturkey.
"you dont have to be tall to see the moon" - african proverb
I ate meat/cheese substitutes when I first started this game but don't any more - I prefer to be creative with vegetables, pastry and the like.
I find personally that vegan cheese and meat substitutes taste a bit disgusting.
We don't bother with rice milk any more either in tea/coffee, we only have it in porridge.
If it's the Now and Zen Unturkey, I have heard that one is better. My mother is trying the Tofurkey this year for the first time. I am making marinated seitan cutlets in a hazelnut rosemary crust with wild mushroom sauce. However, I may also make Tina's NutLoaf.
Tina, will you post the link to that recipe again, please?
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. - Albert Einstein
thanks for all of the responses. only now i am torn between 3 dishes instead of 2! you guys were supposed to narrow this down for me. it sounds like i can't go wrong either way though. the loaf looks really good.
"The fact that man knows right from wrong proves
his intellectual superiority to the other creatures;
but the fact that he can do wrong proves
his moral inferiority to any creatures that cannot"
thanks for all of the responses. only now i am torn between 3 dishes instead of 2! you guys were supposed to narrow this down for me. it sounds like i can't go wrong either way though. the loaf looks really good.
just make them all! that's what I do when I can't decide on things. though it has proved to make me a rather gluttonous person... and I always end up saying "holy crap where did all my money go?" but it's better than making decisions, heh.
"Boy, I got a vision and the rest of the world wears bifocals." -- Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid
Re: Vegan Food for Christmas and Other Celebrations
I just found out I dont have to cook, except for my soy pecan pumpkin pie. WHOOOOHOOOO! My aunt is going to cook. She going to make some special stuff for my cousin and I.
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
I think I'll invite some non-vegan friends over for thanksgiving. I'm going to cook some dishes myself, but will order most dishes from this place www.veginout.com. Click on MENU. Looks good, eh?
"Animals are my friends... and I don't eat my friends". ~ George Bernhard Shaw.
I'm just wondering why there would be a desire to imitate the the meat we use to eat before becoming vegan. I'll try to say this the right way; I don't want to offend anyone, but if one is honestly happy and content and believes in being vegan then why pretend we are still eating meat by using subtitutes that imitate them? Personaly I embrace this lifestyle and find my old ways replusive and have no desire to relive any part of it by pretending the food is still the same flesh it use to be.
I look at the concept of Tofurkey and Unturkey in a positive light. It's almost a bit campy considering how ingrained Thanksgiving and turkey eating is in this country. And I don't think they taste anything like meat. But I can certainly understand any vegan not wanting a Tofurkey at their table.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. - Albert Einstein
i personally see no reason to not eat a meat analog. i eat them all of the time. not because i miss meat, but because i like variety. i know that there are oodles of not meat analog choices to eat, but i like the seasonings of some meats. like sausage, i love the taste/seasoning of sausage, just not from meat. so i buy vegan sausage all of the time.
for the last 14 years i have not eaten turkey or any turkey substitute for thanksgiving dinner. they carry the tofurkey in my market now and i see no harm in trying it. not because it is like meat, but because i want to try something new.
no harm that i can see. and hey, if it is good, perhaps someone else in the family will like it and who knows?
"The fact that man knows right from wrong proves
his intellectual superiority to the other creatures;
but the fact that he can do wrong proves
his moral inferiority to any creatures that cannot"
I love Tofurkey stuffing but don't particularly like the roast. I tried the Unturkey for the first time last Christmas and liked it better, so I bought the small one again for Thanksgiving.
I would certainly save a lot of money if I could live purely off beans, rice, and local veggies, but I have more exotic tastes than that. Soy products by companies such as Now and Zen put variety in my diet and offer easy-to-prepare options for when I don't have time to prepare tofu the way I like it or a hefty grain dish.
That's wonderful that some of you have simpler tastes and can eat "pure" food, but do you realize how pretentious you sound when you put down those of us who differ?
I am definitely trying the nutloaf but I have a question for those of you who have made it. Do you use the recipe linked above or the recipe from vegcooking.com/peta? The recipes are slightly different.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. - Albert Einstein
I'm planning on making the cashew nut loaf from peta.. this one http://www.vegcooking.com/recipeshow.asp?RequestID=294
is that the one everyone is talking about? if so, i'm excited, because i've heard how delicious it is. I'll let you guys know how it turned out for me.
"Boy, I got a vision and the rest of the world wears bifocals." -- Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid
I am definitely trying the nutloaf but I have a question for those of you who have made it. Do you use the recipe linked above or the recipe from vegcooking.com/peta? The recipes are slightly different.
Hmmm.. i haven't tried the one from vegcooking. It's very similar, but there seems to be a lot of margarine in the recipe...2 cups worth.
This one only has 2 tablespoons of marg. in the recipe. It also has celery in the stuffing, which I like and more spices!
But to be honest, I'm sure they're both delicious. I think they would turn out very similar. So i'm sure it doesn't matter which recipe you use.
Oh - and PLEASE make sure you use RAW cashews for the recipe.. roasted cashews won't work well
I'm just wondering why there would be a desire to imitate the the meat we use to eat before becoming vegan. I'll try to say this the right way; I don't want to offend anyone, but if one is honestly happy and content and believes in being vegan then why pretend we are still eating meat by using subtitutes that imitate them? Personaly I embrace this lifestyle and find my old ways replusive and have no desire to relive any part of it by pretending the food is still the same flesh it use to be.
I agree, but if I were cooking for omnivores, I wouldn't mind a fake Thanksgiving turkey to make them feel more comfortable.
Even when i was an omni i hated turkey. So I dont think any turkey analog would taste good to me. But for people who did enjoy the taste of turkey, Im glad that Tofurky/unturkey exist so that they can enjoy those tastes cruelty-free. It doesnt matter what you eat- what matters is what you don't eat.
It reminded us of a low sodium version of turkey roll lunch meat from our omni days. I think omnis would like it. The stuffing was nice, a blend of bread and rice.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. - Albert Einstein
We have had Tofurky, hubby doesn't like it though, I did quite like it. He does not like fake meat as he never liked meat as a child, he was always a natural veggie so he wouldn't want a substitute. He likes a nut roast though. The kids mostly quite like the fake meats.
Is Unturkey available in the UK does anyone know? I've not heard of that before.
well i waited too long and the market was out of the smaller version of the unturkey. so i bought the smaller version of the tofurkey and i also bought everything to make the nut loaf. so we should have plenty of options. thanks for all of the advice. next year i will try the unturkey.
"The fact that man knows right from wrong proves
his intellectual superiority to the other creatures;
but the fact that he can do wrong proves
his moral inferiority to any creatures that cannot"
We have had Tofurky, hubby doesn't like it though, I did quite like it. He does not like fake meat as he never liked meat as a child, he was always a natural veggie so he wouldn't want a substitute. He likes a nut roast though. The kids mostly quite like the fake meats.
Is Unturkey available in the UK does anyone know? I've not heard of that before.
Lesley
The Unturkey is from the company Now and Zen, I believe, out of California. It is very difficult to find in my area of northeastern U.S. so it may not have made it across the ocean to the U.K.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. - Albert Einstein
The Unturkey is from the company Now and Zen, I believe, out of California. It is very difficult to find in my area of northeastern U.S. so it may not have made it across the ocean to the U.K.
really? we have it in Mass! but i ended up buying tofurkey anyways. i havnt tried either before soo i decided to just blindly pick one. i hope its good!
"An outside enemy exists only if there is anger inside."
- Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Oh, now I am jealous! Actually, I could probably find one within a hour or so drive from here. It's just that Trader Joe's, Wild Oats and a small organic grocery are so close I limit my shopping to them. I have found that Whole Foods has a much better selection of vegan items than Wild Oats. Did you see the Unturkey at a Whole Foods?
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. - Albert Einstein
Diane, is the Whole Foods in Greenwich? I still haven't made it to the Wild Oats out your way -I've been too busy and too broke. But I found the Unturkey at Edge of the Woods here in New Haven.
Re: Vegan Food for Thanksgiving and Other Celebrations
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Roxy
The celebrity chefs are unable to make anything that does not have half a pound of cheese in it. 
It is so easy to prepare fresh. But hey we eat some stange things in oz too I guess.
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