Vegalicious

With our last guest gone, and last dish put away, I am now ready to show off my Vegan Thanksgiving Meal spread and share a few new recipes. My table looked much like the Vegan Thanksgiving Menu I posted before Thanksgiving.

Here is a close-up:

On the menu we had:

• Mashed Potatoes [recipe below]
• Mushroom Gravy [recipe below]
• Asian Noodle Salad–Foonchyoza
• Carrot Salad [instead of oil I used 2 tbsp of vegan mayo for 10 carrots]
• Potato Salad
• Freshly made cranberry sauce [recipe below]
• Canned organic cranberry sauce [for our guests, just in case]
• Green Beans
• Vegan Stuffing [I bought a prepackaged stuffing and then added celery and raisins]
• and, of course, just for my hubby, the Apple Pie!

Now for a few new recipes.

Vegan Mashed Potatoes

serves 4

Ingredients

1. 5-6 large potatoes, peeled and chopped into 2-3 inch chunks
2. sea or Himalayan salt to taste
3. water for cooking potatoes
4. 2-3 oz vegan cream cheese
5. 3-4 oz vegan sour cream
6. 1/2 cup almond milk

Preparation

1. Boil potatoes until soft, with salt [I use my waterless cookware, so I end up needing very little water, which makes for richer tasting potatoes]
2. Strain potatoes from water
3. Add remaining ingredients and mash potatoes by hand or with a food processor/hand mixer until there are no clumps

Vegan Mushroom Gravy

serves… an army 😉

Ingredients

1. 12-16 oz white or crimini mushrooms
2. 1 large onion
3. 4 oz vegan cream cheese
4. 4 cups almond milk
5. favorite seasoning to taste
6. sea or Himalayan salt to taste
7. 1 -2 cups of water, if needed, depending on how thick or thin you want your gravy to be
8. 2 tbsp of flour dissolved into pancake-like mixture with a bit of water

Preparation

1. shred mushrooms and onions into smallest pieces possible
2. preheat a skillet on high
3. throw in veggies and add a splash of water to start frying
4. reduce heat to medium, keep stirring and adding splashes of water as needed
5. saute for 5-10 minutes [I use my waterless cookware, so I add little water, cover the skillet and leave it on low-medium heat for 5-10 mins stirring only a couple of times]
6. add seasoning and salt
7. stir in cream cheese, stir until melted and integrated
8. add milk, increase heat and bring to boil
9. once gravy is boiling, reduce heat to low-medium heat and slowly stir in flour mixture, constantly stirring, so no clumps would form
10. remove off the heat and enjoy over delicious mashed potatoes

This gravy was a hit with my non-vegan guests. 🙂

Home-Made Raw Cranberry Sauce

this is delightfully simple and delicious recipe–you won’t go back to canned cranberries after this!

Ingredients

1. 12-16 oz fresh cranberries, washed
2. 5 tbsp honey [non-vegan option], or maple syrup [you can add more, if needed, depending on your happy place] 😉
3. zest of 1 lemon or orange

Preparation

1. place cranberries and honey/maple syrup into a food processor and blend until nice, homogeneous texture is achieved
2. place into a container and add zest of lemon or orange

Enjoy!

Well, I hope you had fun checking out my meal pictures.  Remember that you don’t have to wait until next Thanksgiving to give these recipes a try! They are great for any day of the week and any occasion, especially if you are hosting a dinner for your non-vegan friends. They will be impressed by your culinary skills and will sure have another reason to go plant based. 😉