Vegan food for celebrations

[speedylemons]

I told my mom i wasn't going to thanksgiving this year.. i'm all for being thankful and whatnot but i just don't feel like putting up with all the smells and nonvegan foods people will be pigging out on.. and then there are the stares and stupid questions about what i don't eat and why etc etc. christmas is enough to deal with and i dont really even agree with the celebration of either of them. ugh. so yeah, i'm not doing anything on thanksgiving.. other than some homework. maybe i'll make myself a nice little dinner. ha.

[Annie]

I believe we're having Thanksgiving at our house this year. I really want to cook up some cookies and atleast one vegan dish for everyone (not sure what that'll be yet...any ideas would be awesome!)

This will be my first holiday as a vegan and I'm not really looking forward to watching people chow down on meat, gravy and sausage stuffing...

[howdawg]

Thanksgiving... It's actually starting to bum me out a bit. I have a rather large family, and everyone gets together at my parents house for Thanksgiving. Normally, I am out of town for this event... I think the last time I was here for it was three or four years ago...

So this year, I will be in town, but I have decided not to attend. If you have read some of my previous posts, you know that I do not like to be around other people who are eating meat. I will not go to restaurants where people will be eating meat around me, and I will not even sit down for a meal at a wedding, etc where others are eating meats..

I'm just not quite sure what I'm going to do. I will probably stop by and say hello to everyone, but there will be appetizers rounding the entire time, and the amount of meat that will be served at this event is dispicable. There will probably be around fourty people or soo.. Everyone a meat eater, and after it's all said and done, everyone will be fat and tired, and there will be enough left-overs to do the whole thing again.

I think I'm just writing this to complain a bit, I don't really have much of a point... But if you live in Ohio or Pennsylvania, and need an extra vegan guest for a vegan Thanksgiving, I'm a perfect cantidate ...(My resume is attatched lol!)

I hope all of you who are planning a vegan Thanksgiving have a wonderful time. Happy holidays to you all, and let's hope the suffering of animals is less this year than it was in the years before.... and BTW... What will you be giving thanks for this year?

[Haniska]

I put in for the week of Thanksgiving off. My manager said she would get to it later, and later wrote a kind of rude note on the fridge at work about how we shouldn't be so ridiculous as to expect to have the holidays off. I think that she realized that she would have to cover me or else find someone to work on their day off.
It might have been kind of weird anyway, as my father and I were going up for deer season...
I was telling my manager this, and she said "Oh I know what you mean. I went to a friend's house for thanksgiving and we had to wait for them to get done killing things before we could eat."
I didn't ask what they had on the table.
Btw: I told my dad all this and he cried he laughed so hard. Then we had a conversation about how messed up factory farming is.

Oh, so, probably working Thanksgiving, and since my fiance is problem going to his hometown I will probably have a bad thanksgiving.

[Roxy]

We already had our Thanksgiving last month. I worked that day and got so sick of having people ask "When are you having your turkey dinner"

For dinner, we went to relative's place and they always make sure to have vegan everything for me to eat! I still sat down at a table with people eating meat, but we also indulged in lots of vegan goodies and I even brought the Soyatoo cream to have with desert.

[foxytina_69]

yum that sounds nice roxy.

we already had ours too. i made nut roast, stuffing, yorkshire pudding, gravy, mashed potatoes, candied carrots, and i think i also made green beans. oh and there was cranberry sauce and i made a chocolate cake too.

[Wishin986]

I love thanksgiving! not for the fact that people over stuff themselves w. non-vegan food but because its one of the few times all of my friends are home together during the year besides christmas and summer. we always have our own dinner the night before thanksgiving!

however, this year half my friends are in europe studying abroad so I think the rest of us are going to do a smaller dinner at my friends apartment in providence.. which actually now that I think of it I might be able to pick some stuff up at melanies vegan eden! yay!

other than that the family one is eh - lots of non-vegan food but theres always veggies and fruit and my mom usually tries to buy and bring a vegan cake. or order me food from our local whole foods. so we shall see. last year i bought tofurkey but didn't realize it needed like a day to defrost soo that didnt really work out on the actual day. ill have to be more prepared this year.

[Tigerlily]

So I was thinking about Christmas dinner. My family is Middle Eastern and we make some Middle Eastern foods for our Christmas dinners. One is a "stuffing". It's rice cooked with hamburger meat (with spices, etc). I've been thinking about it lately and I sort of want to eat it again. I think I'll make my own vegan version. Does vegan "hamburger meat" cook the same as regular meat? Or is the cooking time less? The meat is cooked with the rice but since rice takes about 30-40 minutes at least...the vegan meat might be too overcooked by then.

[Roxy]

Tigerlily - the vegan ground round is pretty much already pre-cooked and doesn't require much cooking at all. If I use it to make a "meat" sauce for spaghetti, I stir it in just for the last few minutes.

[Tigerlily]

Okay, thanks.

[Roxy]

You're welcome

[Wildflower]

yum that sounds nice roxy.

we already had ours too. i made nut roast, stuffing, yorkshire pudding, gravy, mashed potatoes, candied carrots, and i think i also made green beans. oh and there was cranberry sauce and i made a chocolate cake too.

Foxytina, I am searching for your nut roast recipe and found this thread. Can you point me too it, or post it?

I was thinking i would make it for Thanksgiving this year (the american one that is, which is coming on the 23rd).

I have never had a nut roast, but it sounds good. Does it taste like stuffing? I was thinking it may be better than tofurky roast, because noone ever eats that but me, even the years my sister was vegan and my boyfriend was vegetarian - they still wouldn't eat it. I think it tastes great, but I thought i would try something non-turkey oriented for a change.

[Wildflower]

oh, as a reply to the actual post -

- Are you making anything? - I plan to make a vegan Coconut-Ginger-Madamia Nut Carrot Cake and probably one other gluten free thing (my mom isn't supposed to have gluten - any ideas Foxytina?) and probably a nut roast.
- Are you eating together with nonvegans? - usually i go to my parents (non vegan) and my sister (used to be vegan, last year wasn't, who knows this year) and my grandmother (not vegan) and my boyfriend (eats mainly vegan, but is technically a fish only omni - he won't be earing turky though).
- Any other celebration activities? - just getting together with family, and eating! I actually really like this holiday because there is no religious stuff or present giving or anything crazy like that. just being thankful, being with friends and eating a great meal. I am taking that week off of work as well as the following Monday.

[Haniska]

I came into work the other day and my manager had wrote on the schedule that I had off on Thanksgiving! YAY! She found someone to cover for me Thursday and Sunday and is working on Wednesday and tenatively Tuesday :-D. I called her up and she said that she appreciates all the shifts I cover and all the things that I do for her. Anyway, going to Grandma's for Thanksgiving. THinking about making a nut roast also. I was going to get a tofurky, but things like that are usually more novel than tasty in my book. Would like others to participate as well and I can't imagine my family eating something that is "fake".

[Wildflower]

haniska, I don't know how your family would feel about a pot pie, but I founf this recipe last night and am now seriously thinking of doing a pot pie and a nut roast. there is also a great recipe for wild rice acorn stuffed squash.

Yum, yum, yum! now i want to have my own vegan thanksgiving as well as going to my moms.

http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/b...anksgiving.htm

http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/page/1435893.htm

[Haniska]

Thank you wildflower, I think that they would like a pot pie, my mother used to make one all the time. I think that seitan will be better accepted? Nobody likes the idea of tofu, hehe. I have also always wanted to make a stuff squash, how festive! Thanks for reminding me.

[Wildflower]

you could probably get that chicken style seiten made by Whitewave and chop it up into chunks. would probably be very simillar to chicken pot pie.

[luvzsunshine]

I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet. I'm not near my family so I have 2 choices. 1) go to my ex-inlaws (still very close) or 2) to a friend's family dinner. Both of which don't understand or respect that I am vegan and both will make me feel completely guilty if I don't show up. I'd rather just stay home. So you can see why I CAN"T STAND Thanksgiving!!!!

[Evez27]

yum that sounds nice roxy.

we already had ours too. i made nut roast, stuffing, yorkshire pudding, gravy, mashed potatoes, candied carrots, and i think i also made green beans. oh and there was cranberry sauce and i made a chocolate cake too.

I can't believe you could do all that! That resembles the dishes I am used to and I would love to see some recipes. Are they all here on the site? Thanks Eve

[Evez27]

"Coconut-Ginger-Madamia Nut Carrot Cake"
This sounds great too. I hope the recipe is here. Has anyone else here tried it or seen it?
Eve

[Wildflower]

Sorry, Eve, the recipe is from the cookbook, Vegan with a Vengeance, and I am afraid I would feel guilty posting it on the web as the author seems pretty cool. But, the cookbook is worth buying just for this recipe, as well as all the other super yummy ones included. www.theppk.com

[Evez27]

I've found a few recipes for thanksgiving. I am making a carrot cake
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6516
and either this yummy nut loaf http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=7406.0
or this Thanksgiving "Meat" Loaf
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=7408.0

What do you like better? I love stuffing and I love regular meat loaf.
Eve

[Evez27]

Oh yeah definately!!n Thanks fot the link.
Eve

[Caleb]

I plan on eating a PB&J before heading to my relative's. If I find anything vegan there, i'll eat it.

[Mermaid07]

this is my first thanksgiving as a vegan! The past two years I was a vegetarian. I always go to a family friend's house. The lady took care of me and i have known her since I was three. She seems to be confused about what i can and can't eat. I told her no meat, butter, dairy, eggs. So if they make the mashed potaotes with out any of those thingss. I am scared that something non vegan will be there so I will stick to salad, veggies and bring my own dish for everyone to share. I was thinking maybe a pasta salad. I also want to bring a dessert. Any ideas on desserts that omni;s would love? I am also scared about answering questions about being vegan as I will be around older people who think you NEED meat to be healthy.
Thanks for the help!

[DancingWillow]

this is the first thanksgiving that i won't be spending with my family...i just can't afford it. but, i'll be going home for the winter holidays. i can't wait to see my family and friends! i've missed them so much. and have i mentioned how much i miss the florida weather?

i think i'm going to spend thanksgiving by myself my only other option is to spend it with a friend here. she invited me to her family's huge celebration. she's very considerate, so i know that she'll have plenty of vegan stuff for me, but i don't want to deal with looking at a huge turkey in the middle of a table and watching all the people eating it and commenting on how good it is...and not to even mention the smell...ewww

i was thinking of painting my room during the thanksgiving break, since i'd never have the time otherwise. i'm very excited about that!

[Wildflower]

I also want to bring a dessert. Any ideas on desserts that omni;s would love?

Apple pie made w/earth balance!

My meat eating family seriously made this a few years ago, for an omni centered dish. My dad thought the earth balance made the pie healthy. He didn't know it made it into a vegan pie and seemed irritated when i told him.

[Tigerlily]

I plan on eating a PB&J before heading to my relative's. If I find anything vegan there, i'll eat it.

Maybe you could offer to bring a dish? That way you can veganize it and be able to eat at least one thing. Even something simple like mashed potatoes.

[veganpixie]

Is anyone here familiar with a company called Heaven Scent? I bought 3 packages of their organic sage and rosemary stuffing a few years ago and it was the most wonderful tasting stuffing I've ever had, that + the tofurky, and the remainder of my traditional homemade vegan organic meal I always make, wow, it was great! Back to my question before I forget...

Is anyone here familiar with the Heaven Scent organic sage and rosemary stuffing? If so, how do I get to their website? How do I find their stuffing product? I don't mind trying another brand or product, but providing that it's 100% vegan, including no sugar or corn syrup and it's free of additives and chemicals...I'm a healthy vegan and I truly care about what I eat and what I put in my body. I'm in N. Central Florida and all they have here is gross toxic Chatham stuffing, ick, even at Mother Earth, ugh...I called Whole Foods down south in Miami and the grocery guy is gonna see if he can help get some sent to me somehow...like send some priority mail to my po box...it's just so frustrating to not find other healthy good vegan stuffing foods...it's the 21st Century and people are STILL eating meat and toxic laboratory poisonous processed food?! ugh ugh ugh!!! Okay, I just had to get that out...if anyone can help or offer a suggestion, please let me know, thanks.

[Seaside]

Is this what you are looking for? There is an email address too: info@heavenscent-foods.com

[Soul Rebel]

Do you have any other stores than Whole Foods? I could have sworn I saw vegan stuffing in our Good Foods Co-op this past week, and I think it was organic too.

[Soul Rebel]

"Coconut-Ginger-Madamia Nut Carrot Cake"
This sounds great too. I hope the recipe is here. Has anyone else here tried it or seen it?
Eve

My wife has made that a couple times and it is delicious! I would recommend buying Vegan with a Vengance. It is a great cookbook with tons of good recipes.

My wife, son and I are going to eat at our Good Foods co-op this thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to it just being us this year.

[veganpixie]

I'm not sure if that is the same company, though it appears to be, maybe they changed their packaging and I don't recognize it, but I just learned the painful news from an employee at Whole Foods south of where of we live that the company no longer makes and sells the stuffing any more! :-( *crying* I'm really bummed, this totally sucks! *sigh* I'm trying to find a simple recipe to make my own, but I'm not sure that's gonna be feasible. The company does sell croutons, but the image isn't clickable and I can't get more info, including on how to order it or the ingredients or price, ugh! Okay, thanks for the help.

[Tigerlily]

What's wrong with homemade? It's really easy to make... Honestly, using a pre-made package seems sort of silly to me.

[harpy]

I don't know if it's the sort of thing you're looking for, but there's a sage and onion stuffing recipe on this page that looks so simple even I could probably manage it

http://www.veganfamily.co.uk/yule.html

You could add rosemary.

[veganpixie]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll see if I can find an easy recipe, though those recipes that may appear to be easy aren't always, but it just occurred to me that what I may need is bread crumbs. So, I'm going to see if I can find some at my local natural food store. Tigerlilly, yes, I agree with pre-packaged being silly vs. homemade, but it just depends on the situation. The sad truth is that I finally spoke with an employee at Whole Foods in Miami, which is where we moved from, and the guy reluctantly broke the bad news that Heaven Scent stopped making and selling the stuffing we enjoyed so much! *sigh* :-( So, we're real bummed about that. Anyway, I'll see what I can find or muster up. Thanks again and have a safe warm nice Thanksgiving Holiday! *hugs* and Peace

[GpWp23]

me and all my vegan/vegetarian(and a few not so veggy) friends had our second annual vegan thanksgiving this year. it was so great we each brought a veganized dish inspired from our family thanksgiving. i hope out tradition will carry on for a long time.

[fiamma]

To make breadcrumbs all you need to do is put some bread in a food processor or blender and voilà you have crumbs! Or use a grater if you don't have a food processor. I'm sure your stuffing will be great veganpixie

That's a great link, harpy, thanks for that!

[pavotrouge]

I've got to admit I'm not a Christmas/holiday in general person, that's why this year I decided to celebrate only with my best friend.

She's an omni, but has periods in which she eats vegetarian or even vegan (that's the way I started, too), so there won't be a discussion about vegan food.

But I want to cook something special for Xmas, nevertheless.
I'm still thinking about my menu and was wondering what you guys are making.

[happy_veg]

hey does anyone have any ideas for a loaf type thing i could make that would go well with vegan gravy, possible cranberry sauce and all the usual veggies for xmas dinner? i didn't want to do a nut roast as im not thaat keen on nuts, i prefer lentils and beans and that kinda thing.
or any other suggestions really...
i just wanted to make something that would go with all the usual xmas extras if you get me, just so i don't annoy the family by ruining their traditional xmas meal by serving curry or something lol

[harpy]

This is one I've made a few times, though not recently. It came from a leaflet I got in the health food shop yonks ago and the original recipe had eggs in it (in the "outer layers" part); think when I've made it I've just increased the amount of margarine slightly until the mixture sticks together reasonably well. If you do it you might want to have a trial run before Christmas - you could use something cheaper than pine nuts.

Pine Nutmeg Loaf with Herb Stuffing

For the outer layers
Margarine and dried breadcrumbs for lining loaf tin
25g/1oz margarine
1 onion, peeled and chopped
225g/8oz pine nuts or a mixture of pine nuts, almonds and cashews, grated
4 tbsp soy milk
125g/4oz soft white breadcrumbs
salt and pepper
grated nutmeg

For the stuffing:
175g/6oz soft brown (or white) breadcrumbs
125g/4oz margarine
grated rind and juice of half a small lemon
0.5 tsp each dried marjoram and dried thyme
4 heaped tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Set oven to 189c/350f, gas mark 4. In a greased 450g/1lb loaf
tin [depends on calibration of your tins - some say a 2lb tin is
needed] put a long strip of greaseproof paper to cover the
bottom and the narrow sides (so you can lift the loaf out when
it's cooked). Grease the paper and sprinkle it with the
breadcrumbs (which also help the loaf to turn out cleanly). Melt
margarine in a saucepan, fry the onion until soft, not browned. Now remove
from heat and add all the other ingredients for the outer layers. Season
with salt, pepper and grated nutmeg to taste.

Mix the stuffing ingredients together and season.

To assemble, spoon half the outer layer nut mixture into the tin and smooth
the surface. Mould the stuffing with your hands into a rectangle that will
fit on top. Put that in, then spoon in the rest of the nut mixture. Smooth
the surface again. (You now have a sort of sandwich, with the nut mixture on
the top and bottom and the herb stuffing in the middle.)

Cover with greased foil and cook in the oven for an hour. If the surface
isn't brown enough, cook it for a few more minutes without the foil. Then
leave to stand for 3 or 4 minutes before turning out. Use a knife or spatula
to free the loaf from the side of the tin, then life out gently using the
paper. Peel off the paper and serve decorated wtih a few extra nuts, parsley
or lemon slices.

[Wildflower]

Last year I made a lasagna for christmas eve, and i think I might do the same thing this year. Someone else (non-vegan) who may have been italian said her family does that every year, and I stole the tradition. It is great served with veggies, salad, bread, oils, antipasti, etc.

I can't even remember what we did for christmas day last year...maybe leftovers?

[Annie]

I'm gonna be with my bf for christmas this year and I really want to make him a nice dinner for christmas eve...but I have no idea what to make =/

[Roxy]

We'll be going out on Christmas Day. Hopefully to my boyfriend's cousin's house. They always make sure that there are loads of tasty vegan items for me to eat!

If, for some reason we don't go there, we will go to the Hilton Hotel for their brunch. There are lots of vegan items for me to choose from there.

I just can't be bothered creating a huge mess for just the 2 of us, here at home. I'd rather let somebody else do all the work

Christmas Eve will probably consist of many cranberry martinis!

[harpy]

Sorry, happy_veg - have just noticed you requested a non-nut loaf recipe and mine is a nut one

I don't have a vegan lentil loaf recipe but there are a few around on the web, e.g. http://www.vegsoc.org.au/recipe_deta...p?RecipeID=214

[foxytina_69]

we'll be going to my dads house for christmas eve and christmas day. i was hoping to make the usual holiday dinner on christmas day for steev and i but im not sure if ill feel up to it at all. it would be nice though. theres never anything nice to eat at my dads house. my "step mom" makes mostly stuff from a box or a can lol. and its all animal products, but she is willing to use our vegan butter instead of normal butter for her mashed yams and mashed potatoes and veggies. ugh. (my sister is vegan also) but who wants to eat mashed yams, potatoes and cooked veggies for their holiday meal. i like my nut roast, gravy and all the trimmings. (especially with the yorkshire pudding and chocolate cake for dessert. mmmm.)

[Jamie]

Can you not bring one over foxytina? You could make it in advance and just get them to cook it around there, or you could make it yourself completely and either bring it along warm, or if they have a microwave you could heat it up a bit (I know it wouldn't be the same, but like you say, a bit nicer than just the veg!)

[foxytina_69]

actually, thats what i did last year, but my family just got drunk and loud and annoying all night so the dinner wasnt even enjoyable, barely anyone was sitting and really eating dinner, and its a waste to go to such effort for a few minutes of eating when theyre all just partying their faces off. lol. id rather save it for home or not make it at all! but thanks for the suggestion

[jamboxrock]

I'm having a Christmas party this Saturday, my first, and I'm very excited. All my friends and bf are omni, but I'm pretty sure I've put together a spread that everyone will like:

raw veggies w/ ranch dressing & hummus
artichoke dip w/ bread, crackers & pretzels
creole stuffed mushrooms
veggie dogs in a blanket
sweet n' smoky nuts
sugar cookies
peanut butter chocolate chip cookies
snickerdoodles
fudgy cocoa mint cookies
spiced crackle cookies
tofu eggnog
warm spiced cider

I'm visiting my family for a day and a half the week before Christmas. My parents are very supportive of my veganism, and my mom makes a special trip to a natural market before I get there. Last year we made veggie chili...she was really proud that she found a recipe out of an old Southern Living. And my dad cooks with tofu sometimes when I'm there. Very cute.

For Christmas Eve through New Years Eve I'll be in Ripon, California meeting my bf's family and friends. Not so sure how well veganism will go over there. They throw a huge party on Christmas Eve, and make hundreds of tamales. I asked if his sister or mom would get me a couple staple groceries before I get there, so I know I can at least eat on Christmas Eve and Christmas when everything is closed. I think I asked for cereal, soymilk, a couple sweet potatoes, veggie chili, and some fruit and veggies. There's a Trader Joe's about 10 minutes away, so I figure I can explore there when stores are back open. PLUS, we're going into San Francisco for a day, and I'm hoping to eat at Cafe Gratitude and Millenium. I can't fathom eating at a vegan restaurant, where there are actually choices, as opposed to getting the one veggie item, as I'm used to. I'm hoping to move to San Francisco next year, so I'm really excited to see the area.

[fiamma]

Jamboxrock your food always sounds so divine!!! Can you post the recipe for, like, ALL of those things?? Just kidding well, sort of...