Vegan food for celebrations

[RubyDuby]

Excellent idea. Thanks.

I might make them from scratch... kind of depends on how much time I have (and how much food I decide to make and bring). I want to bring enough food so that I can eat and not look weird, but I'm also afraid of bringing a bunch of vegan stuff that everyone will refuse to eat. At least I know my mom, grandma, and fiance will try my stuff... they might not like it, but at least they won't look at it like it's poison!

People are funny. I mean, who doesnt like potatoes and veggies with gravy? The minute you DONT put carcass or breast milk in it it's suddenly "gross". Yeah, dead animals are yummy, soy beans are scary and gross. And we're weird!!!

[foxytina_69]

lol ruby.

for halloween were going to make a special dinner (not sure what yet), some halloweenish cupcakes, maybe some cookies too, and a drink that is a halloween color. well also have candies and dress up a little and carve pumpkins.

[foxytina_69]

okay i think i know what i want to make for our spooky halloween dinner.

breakfast!

we can make tofu scramble and form it into "eyeballs" and the vegan bacon will be the mouth. and we'll form the hashbrowns into shapes of spiders, and have vegan sausages as scary intestines and the ketchup can be blood. LOL. oh and we'll have ghost toast with it. http://yumsugar.com/725164

and we'll make a slushee drink that is a halloweenish color and wrap toilet paper around the glasses so it looks like a mummy.

ooOooO spooky. and we'll have our halloween decoarted cupcakes for dessert.

yes were kids at heart

[jamboxrock]

Ghost toast is such a cute idea!

I made that sheperd's pie from Vegan Planet yesterday. (Our NY Giants and Miami Dolphins played yesterday in London so we did a British food and beer theme that probably would've amused you guys that actually live over there.)
It was really easy to make and came out super-delicious. I used frozen soy crumbles instead of veggie burger pieces (essentially the same thing), and left out the ground walnuts which I didn't really see the purpose of. Yum.

I'm having a little Halloween party, making pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes decorated with frosting spiders, chocolate covered coffin shaped pb rice krispie treats, cutout sugar cookies on sticks that will hopefully stand up in a cookie garden of sorts, bat wings & vomit (blue corn chips & guac), carrot fingers & snot (baby carrots & thai peanut dip), non-alcoholic vampires blood punch, and bloody mary's. At least, I'm hoping to make all that. If all goes according to plan there will be pics on the pictures thread.

[foxytina_69]

jambox that sounds fabulous!!

[RubyDuby]

that sounds klike fun foxy. although the toilet paper on the glasses sounds like it could get messy! I HAVE to make ghost toast.

jambox- dont ya just love that shepards pie? yummmmmmy. i'm a huge nut-fan so we had it with the walnuts (plus walnuts are a great source of omega 3s).

cant wait to see the pics.

[Jgraffeo]

How is it? I was thinking about Thanksgiving and this will be my first as a vegan. Hopefully it's at my parent's so it's not awkward bringing my own food and my mom can help me cook some food.

[rantipole]

I really like it a lot. Make sure you follow the directions and don't overcook or it will get tough.

When I cook it, I wrap it in foil along with mushrooms, sliced leeks, and carrots. I make a baste out of soy sauce, OJ, sesame oil, parsley, and sage.

Good luck with the first vegan Thanksgiving! It's challenging but very worth it. Don't forget to bring a dessert and soy creamer for the coffee!

Cheers,
rant

[ALexiconofLove]

Ultimate Shepard's Pie -- taken from Vegan Planet

2 Tbs olive oil
1 large yellow onion
1 large carrot, chopped
4 oz white mushrooms, chopped
1 tbs tomato paste
2 tbs tamari (soy sauce)
1 c vege stock
1 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 tsp dry)
1 tsp fresh minced marjoram (or 1/2 tsp dry)
salt and pepper
1 tbs corn starch dissolved in 2 tbs water
3 frozen vege burgers thawed and crumbled (or sub the boca crumbles )
1/2 c frozen green peas, thawed
1/2 c ground walnuts
3 c mashed potatoes
1/4 tsp paprika

1.) preheat oven 375. Heat 1 Tbs olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and carrot. Cover and cook until tender ~5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, soy sauce, stock, thyme, marjoram, s & p to taste. Stir in corn starch mixture and simmer to thicken slightly ~1 minute.

2.) Spoon filling mixture into a lightly oiled 2 1/2 quart baking dish. Stir in chopped burgers, peas, and walnuts. Taste, adjust seasonings. Spread mashed potatoes over the top. Sprinkle with paprika and drizzle with remaining 1 tbs olive oil.

3.) Bake until potatoes are hot and bubbly and the top is golden brown ~30 minutes.

Serve hot

I made Ruby's Shepherd's Pie recipe today, and woman was it good. I accidentally oversalted the pie mixture, but I undersalted the potatoes, so it all worked out fine. The omnivorous republican capitalists (ORCs?) in my house loved it and pronounced it fit for Thanksgiving. Thank you *so* much, Ruby!

On a side note, I tried to find instant vegan mashed potatoes... and refrigerated vegan mashed potatoes... and frozen vegan mashed potatoes... all with no luck. I found *one* kind of instant mashed potato sold in a ginormous economy box that didn't contain milk... but it had some other non-vegan additive. Ugh. So I grudgingly made them from scratch. I have never made mashed potatoes before, but they turned out very nice, so I'm proud of myself, even if they're an "easy" thing to make!

[ALexiconofLove]

The omnivorous republican capitalists (ORCs?)

Scratch that. Omnivourous republican christians. Less redundant.

[DancingWillow]

my mom has made it for thanksgiving in the past and i was surprised at how much i liked it. it's time-consuming and not so easy to bake though, so i'm lucky to have my mom doing the work for me

[foxytina_69]

check here http://www.veganforum.com/forums/sho...light=tofurkey

its absolutely wonderful! steev and i chop up carrots, onions and celery, toss it around the tofurky, put chunks of vegan butter on the veggies and over the roast, and make our own sauce of soy sauce, oj, sage, marjoram, thyme, pepper, garlic, and some liquid smoke. i also season the top of the roast with the same spices. we baste it many times while it cooks. i think its better that way.

its much better than turkey, and its great on sandwiches!

i personally didnt find it time consuming at all. you just throw it in and baste it every now and then until its done! it cooks quicker if you let it thaw first though, so try buying it soon enough so you can leave it in the fridge for a day to defrost. i find it much easier to make than my nut roast!! but i love the nut roast too so i think i like them equally

[RubyDuby]

Awesome ALexiconoflove

You should look into buying Vegan Planet. It's one of my favorites.

[MarkAnthony]

I'm fairly sure the Rowan Hill Bakery mince pies in Lidl are vegan if anyone's interested. I couldn't see any dairy or meat in them, my only concern was that I couldn't see a suitable for vegetarians label on them. I'm going to check nearer to Christmas with my copy of the Animal Free Shopper but they looked vegan to me.

[veganpixie]

I need help. Please help me find an easy simple Thanksgiving vegan stuffing recipe. I have a frozen loaf of organic spelt bread in the freezer, but I'm not sure that will work. Is there an easy way to make croutons? Last year, I searched for an easy stuffing recipe and all the recipes that came up were complicated and called for corn bread and wine and other weird things. If I could, I would duplicate the former Heaven Scent Organic stuffing croutons. Those were delicious! I feel so disappointed and sad that the company stopped making them! ugh! And all I can find here in the local stores here in North Central Florida, USA is Chathams, which is ick gross, yuck...very unhealthy, laden with sugar and other unhealthy additives and I think I even saw some dairy in the ingredients, gross, yuck! :P My husband and I are going to enjoy our wonderful traditional Tofurky Feast this year, but we'd like to have our own additional homemade stuffing. I need a recipe that isn't time-consuming or complicated. Please help. Thank you for your help.

[animaladvocate]

I have been asked to do some catering for my local animal sanctuary's fund-raising event.It is so near to Christmas that I wanted to make some cakes with Christmasey flavours and all suggestions will be gratefully received.
I am toying with the idea on making some mince pie cheesecake as a variation on the theme of mince pies.If I add some mincemeat mix to my cheesecake recipe do people think this will work or not?Also I was thinking of making some vanilla sponges and making sandwich cakes with buttercream and mincemeat in between the two layers(instead of jam/jelly).What do you think?Could this be the start of a new craze?!

[bryzee86]

aa, you craaaaazy! Best to try a small version and see if it works first.

If all else fails, try Cherry's Christmas cake on parsleysoup.co.uk - it's the best. I did it last year and even jo - who HATES fruit cake with a passion - ate loads.

[foxytina_69]

this christmas im making:

-tofurky
-stuffing
-gravy
-creamed corn
-cranberry sauce
-candied carrots
-yorkshire puddings
-garlic roasted baby potatoes
-bubbly grape juice (fake wine )

not sure what for dessert yet.

[julbord]

Im thinking of having eggplant or pumpkin instead of turkey.

[dreamqueen]

For Festivus tomorrow I'm making:

- spinach sesame salad
- onion dinner rolls
- chili sin carne con mole
- chipotle yam wedges
- chocolate pumpkin pie

Just thinking about it is making my stomach growl like an angry, angry lion. I *heart* being vegan!

[Mystic]

My husbands family is Southern Asian so they traditionally have curries - so I am having:

- Dhal & Rice
- Salad made from Cucumber, Tomato, Coriander
- Steamed Potatoes
- Vegan Chocolate Cake

[xwitchymagicx]

I'm having:

• Nut Roast
• Roasted Vegetables (potatoes, brussel sprouts, parsnip)
• Carrots
• Broccoli
• Onion Gravy
• Stuffing (maybe)

[foxytina_69]

yum sounds good everyone!

i forgot i was making the dumplings too. ooooh it was so good. we had vanilla soy ice cream with mandarin oranges on top for dessert.

[alisont]

Mum and me had

Chestnut, mushroom and red wine pate en croute
Roast pots and parsnips
Veggies - carrot, leeks, cauli, brocolli, green beans
Stuffing

Trifle for pud

[applepie]

Last night - we celebrate Christmas eve in Germany - I had butternut squash with lentil and chestnut filling, and brussels sprouts.
Tonight I'm having dinner with a friend from Singapore - her Mum will cook real Chinese food for us - I'm very excited!

[fondducoeur]

We didn't really have anything special for Christmas (Robbie and I did a lot of driving, and missed out on all of the big meals which was fine), but for work I brought in

Basic Vanilla Cupcakes with the chocolate variation of the vegan cream cheese icing, and Chai Latte cupcakes, both from VCTOTW.
They were a hit!
I love bringing vegan treats to work, as my co-workers are really good about trying things, and really like my cooking, which I think it a good thing for veganism because people think I am much less crazy when they realize I actually eat delicious food.

[Healthy]

All this food sounds so great I feel like celebrating all over again, but today it's back to fruit, raw kombuca and salads

The vegan foods for me this holiday season were:

Christmas Eve
Two baked potatoes
Salad
Marinated raw eggplant (this is amazing! it's made with raw apple cider vinegar and lemon juice)

Fre organic vegan wine

Christmas Day
Pierogies for breakfast (these were natural and vegan, just dough and potatoes)

More potatoes for a snack (chips)

Unfiltered sake

More Fre organic vegan wine

And vegan meatballs!

Hooray for Oolong tea to keep me going!

[Osity]

I love tofurky spicy sausages. I get them in the natural value section at zehrs.



www.rethinkhumanity.com
Join the forum!

[fondducoeur]

Yesterday my boyfriend's advisor had a party for his PhD defense (I'm now dating a doctor of mathematics)
His advisor wanted all the food to be vegan in Robbie's honor (he's been vegan for 8 years), but didn't know what to make, so what ended up happening is I brought much of the food. I made a couscous salad with black beans, red onions, corn, spices, and fresh cilantro, fresh guacamole, hummus, and earl of grey cupcakes with orange buttercream icing (from vctotw). Every thing was gone except 3 cupcakes (and I doubled the recipe so there were a lot of those). We also gave the lemony roasted potato recipe (from veganomicon) to his advisor, so his wife made those and they were eaten up immediately as well. Everyone seemed pleased with all the vegan food and it made me really happy.

[RubyDuby]

aww, thats awesome!

[lizzo]

This will be my first Vegan Holiday season and I'm excited to show em' what I can do ! I bought just about every vegan cookbook I could when I became vegan but could still use some suggestions on putting together a cohesive holiday meal! Any 'starter to desert' winners?

[Cherry]

I would write a list of your/your guests' top 3 favourites and then see if the combination sounds good. I'll probably be with my mum, sister and brother in law, and will probably go with bruschetta (just cos everyone loves it),traditional roast dinner with chestnut roast (cos I'm boring and that's what I always make) and chocolate cheesecake cos if I don't get in there quick with a vegan chocolate dessert, a non-vegan one will appear. It doesn't sound particularly cohesive, mind you

[harpy]

You may get some ideas from this thread, lizzo:

http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=980

I have managed to avoid cooking Christmas lunch one way or another for a good few years, but when I did I often used to make this as a main course (the recipe is older than it looks!):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandsty...tures.weekend4

If you serve that or a nut roast type of dish with veg, no-one can eat much else so I used to do a fruit-y or salad-y starter I think. In Britain there is no choice about what you have afterwards, everyone is legally obliged to have Christmas pudding (ETA so Cherry's illegal)

I guess you lot have Thanksgiving to deal first though!

[Laura(Go vegan)]

So this is my first Thanksgiving as a vegan (yea!) and I thought it would be awesome if everyone shared their favorite vegan thanksgiving recipe.

If you could please share main dishes, side dishes and of course desserts it would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

[Anastazee]

Hey Laura, I just signed on to find some delicious sounding Thanksgiving Ideas seeing as I'm going to begin planning this weekend. Wheres all the responses guys?! I know you all have amazing input.

[Anastazee]

but I did just find another thread from last year with some great ideas. just look under Thanksgiving Tags. YUM

[DiaShel]

So this is my first Thanksgiving as a vegan (yea!) and I thought it would be awesome if everyone shared their favorite vegan thanksgiving recipe.

If you could please share main dishes, side dishes and of course desserts it would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

Mine too!!! I need some ideas... mom's cooking but I don't think she'll make anything special for me

[jamboxrock]

Here's my menu for this year, although I haven't tried all the recipes yet so I can't really vouch for them...

Seitan Cutlets from Veganomicon
Cornbread Stuffing: http://www.veganchef.com/southernstyle.htm
Green Bean Casserole: http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/11...casserole.html
Cranberry Relish: http://www.vegan.com/recipes/vegan-t...nberry-relish/
My Miso Cashew Gravy: http://veganhomemade.wordpress.com/2...f-challenge-2/
Mashed Potatoes & Corn that my boyfriend's mom is leaving plain for me
Spinach-Artichoke Stuffed Mushrooms: making up the recipe tonight
Pumpkin Pie Brownies: http://theppk.com/blog/2007/09/17/pumpkin-pie-brownie/

[fondducoeur]

Here's what I am making:

Nut roast: http://www.boutell.com/vegetarian/nut-roast.htm
Mashed potatoes (peeled russet potatoes mashed with earth balance, soy milk, and salt) with nutritional yeast gravy
Steamed cauliflower with tahini sauce (the sauce is just made with tahini, water, lemon juice, salt, and garlic powder)
green beans with earth balance
pumpkin pie (I can't find online where this recipe is from, but you can pm me if you want it) in a pre-made pie shell topped with soyatoo whipped cream

This is essentially what I made last Thanksgiving, and even my bf's omni roommate was very impressed. He said the pie was the best he'd ever had.

[sunrisesunset]

oh boy oh boy
i'm having vegan thanksgiving at my house tomorrow!!!
i just finished making the pumpkin pie:
3/4 cup tub sugar and 1 can(16 oz) pumpkin puree
cream together
add 1/2 tsp salt. 1 tsp cinnamon. 1/4 tsp cloves. 1/2 tsp ginger
add 12 oz silken tofu (blended til smooth)
pour into pie crust cook for 50 min on 400 yay! pumpkin pie!
i have two tofurkys which i have to admit i love.
mashed potatoes
apple pie
cranberry sauce form trader joes
some merlot
rice stuffing yum
dinner rolls
roasted corn
i can't wait!

[Lifeonmars]

Well, its that time again when we have to suffer at the dinner table watching our families chomp into poor turkeys flesh gloating, pointing out repeatedly that we should try it, that one turkey isn't going to matter etc etc. Well, maybe its not that extreme at every house on thanksgiving, but the point is that its a holiday evolved around meat basically. Specifically turkey.
I know that we cooked some amazing vegan dish's out there and I am curious what every one made? I for one am bringing an amazing vegan quiche that is going to kill every one elses dish because mine is just that amazing. Also, my sister who isn't vegan but supports me is bringing a pesto pasta salad.

[Vegmom]

That's why we started staying home and just having our own vegan Thanksgiving. Family might not like it, but it works for us. We couldn't stand the thought of having to smell cooked turkey at DH's G-ma's.

Today we had Tofurky, yams, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce, steamed carrots, rolls, and pumpkin pie! All vegan, so we were able to enjoy it all.

[fondducoeur]

I am spending Thanksgiving with just my vegan fiance. We made a nut roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, steamed cauliflower with tahini sauce, and pumpkin pie (with soyatoo whipped cream). It was delish.

[fiveqs]

Our first Thanksgiving as Vegans! Another Tofurkey here, with potatoes, carrots and onions around it. Made a big batch of stuffing with whole wheat bread, celery, onions etc. and egg replacer. Made gravy by making a roux with Smart-Balance Light and flour added the water and used Superior Touch "Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Vegan Base" whisked in. Turned out really good. Also Had Cauliflower, Regular Cranberry sauce and "Cranberry Sauce Shaped Like a Can". Also the dumplings that came with the Tofurkey. Now we are all really stuffed
Take Care!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Paul Q

[Fyvel]

We celebrated a vegan thanksgiving with friends (not vegan, but cool about vegan food): they made some food and we made some and shared.

We had sweet potato & carrot soup, lentil pate, homemade whole wheat bread, green beans, garlic whipped potatoes, butternut squash, kale, homemade seitan & cranberry sauce. For dessert we had a apple & pear crumble and chocolate chip walnut cookies.

It was so nice to not have to be around a dead bird.

[Quantum Mechanic]

This is my first Thanksgiving as a vegan, and I'm spending it at the college. Some other people prepared the food, and there were several vegan options, including mashed potatoes (with vegan sauce), green beans and mushrooms with small red peppers and a curry taste, and sweet potatoes.

Also there was a vegan cranberry sauce! Fortunately the food was off to the side, so I didn't have to smell or see the turkey that much during the dinner. Oh, and the vegan options were pretty clearly and in large print labelled vegan, which helped me. I wish they had had some vegan pie though, but the pie was store bought and so a bit more limited I guess.

I would've liked a little less starchy, some more variety of veggies, but compared to what A LOT of vegans get at thanksgiving and other non-vegan catered meals (which is little to nothing) I did very well and got a tasty and satisfying meal! Especially the green beans, considering that I've been a little more limited in the last few days in vegetables since the cafeteria closed for the week.

[Lifeonmars]

Wow! It sounds like everyone had great vegan dinners.

[DiaShel]

It was my first vegan thanksgiving too. I brought a tofurky dinner to my parents and made a peanut butter, chocolate, banana pie for dessert.
My mom had some small substitutions to her sides so I could have them. I avoided disaster my checking the margarine before she started cooking and realized it made milk. My dad ran out and got a vegan one. No one gave me a hard time, it was pleasantly surprising.

[Mahk]

Isn't it an odd tradition these political types like Sarah Pallin and such go through; a turkey "pardoning". I don't get it. It's all a big joke to them but don't they see all turkeys are falsely accused and none deserve to die?

My dad, 92, out of the blue said at the table,"Not a good day for turkeys". I said nothing, it took me by surprise, but in retrospect I thought of so many things to say:

-But birds are evil and we must kill them, right?
-But if we didn't kill animals for food we'd all die.
-But turkeys want to be killed; it gives them a sense of purpose that their life of torture and enslavement was not without meaning.

I'll be ready next year.

[Quantum Mechanic]

I hate it when people call it 'turkey day' in a light-hearted way. I hated it as an omni too. Seems so disrespectful, when you're about to eat them.