Thanksgiving 2010

Tempeh and Wild Mushroom Fricassee 
This is from an article the New York Times ran this year, but I'm having trouble finding the exact link. This is pretty much the recipe. It's super easy and so delicious and healthy and something like 320 calories in a whole cup sized serving. Not that anyone I know cares about that.
12 oz (1.5 packages) of tempeh
2 c. button mushrooms, chopped
2 c. crimini mushrooms, chopped
2 c. shitake mushrooms, chopped
2 portobella caps, degilled and chopped
2 large leeks, chopped finely
20 cloves of garlic, minced (seriously 20)
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. flour
1/4 c. white wine
12 oz (1 can) veg broth
salt, pepper, thyme, and parsley to taste
2 T. oil

It helps if you chop up all the veggies first, because things get moving pretty fast once you start cooking stuff, and it helps to have everything ready to add all at once. Chop the tempeh into small cubes and cook in the oil in a dutch oven until browned evenly. Medium-high heat is desirable. Once the tempeh is browned, pour in the white wine and the soy sauce and stir it up with the tempeh til everything boils off. Remove tempeh from pan and set aside. Put the sliced leeks, all the mushrooms, and the garlic in the dutch oven and simmer for a little, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour, then the seasonings, and finally the veg broth. Cover and let everything simmer in there for a little while, when it's nearly done, add back in the tempeh and simmer for about 5 minutes uncovered until some of the liquid evaporates/thickens. Make it the night before and reheat it about 20 minutes before it's time to eat.


Family Recipe Vegan Stuffing
1/2 a log of the "gimme lean" fake sausage, cooked and chopped up small
1/2 a loaf of stale white store brand bread, ripped into pieces
1/2 c. celery, sliced very thin
2 small yellow onions, sliced thin
2-3 T. earth balance stick
1 c. veg broth
salt, pepper, thyme, and parsley to taste

Sautee the onion in the butter on medium heat until translucent. Add in the celery and sautee for 5 more minutes. Add in the fake sausage, the bread and the seasonings. Slowly stir in the veg broth, using more or less based on the staleness of the bread. This is best as a "drier" stuffing. Reduce heat to low, so nothing burns to the bottoms and cook for about 10 minutes stirring frequently/constantly.

Creamed Spinach
1/2 a package of frozen chopped spinach
1/3 a tub of tofutti better than creame cheese
1 T. earth balance
1-2 T. plain unflavored almond milk
salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper to taste

Thaw the spinach in a skillet with the earth balance over low-medium heat. Use a plate to cover the skillet so it defrosts more quickly.  Add the cream cheese and the seasonings. Slowly add the milk until the desired consistency is reached. I love the kick the cayenne gives it.

I also made my "usual" roasted garlic mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy, both can be found in the way beginning of this blog with the tvp meatloaf. I also made a pecan pie which turned out really soupy and not that good, so I'm not posting it here. But thanksgiving was awesome this year.

Knishes

I had never actually eaten a knish, but I had heard about them from my friend Andrew a pretty long time ago. This weekend, Sam and I went camping, and when I asked him what he wanted to eat on the trip, he mentioned tofu knishes on his list. Apparently, these are available premade, but I didn't know so I made them from scratch. They were fun/easy to make.

First, you must make mashed potatoes.
-3 large russett potatoes
-3-4 cloves of garlic
-fresh parsley to taste
-almond milk
-2 T. earth balance
-salt and pepper to taste
-a couple sticks of green onions

In a food processor or blender, chop up the fresh parsley, garlic cloves, and green onion. Cube the potatoes and boil them until soft. Drain the potatoes, and mix them with the earth balance, chopped up seasonings, and almond milk. I made the potatoes a little bit watery because I thought this would be good for the knish. I used maybe 3/4 of a cup of almond milk for this purpose.

Next you make the dough:
-3 c. whole wheat pastry flour
-1/2 c. cold water
-1/2 c. mashed potatoes
-1 tsp baking powder
-shredded carrots
-chopped frozen spinach (1/2 c.)
-a block of firm tofu, well drained
-garlic powder, salt, basil to taste

mix together the flour, water, mashed potatoes, and baking powder. knead it with your hands, until it makes a nice dough-y dough. roll the dough into a ball, cover it with a damp paper towel, and let it rest for 1/2 hour. while it's resting, preheat the oven to 350, and combine the rest of the ingredients into a bowl. this is the filling. Add seasoning, but add more than you think you'll need. Trust me. My first batch was bland. Once the dough has rested, cut it into 4 parts and work with each part individually. flour the countertop and your hands and roll out the dough to be pretty thin (like when you make cookie cutter cookies-thin). if you don't have a rolling pin, use your hands for the first part and then a can for the final flattenings. once it's flattened cut it into four pieces, spoon in as much dough as it can fit, and pinch it shut. repeat. with each quarter, making 4 knishes out of each quarter. cook them in batches of 8 at 350 for about 25 minutes.

I didn't take a picture, but they look adorabe and taste delicious. it's a good thing to bring to a party or to impress your mom with when she comes over to visit.

Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Mushroom Gravy

Midwestern. I got this from a nonfat cooking recipe site awhile ago, and I've never been able to find the website again. I'd site the site if I knew it.

TVP Meatloaf
-2 cups prepared veg broth
-1/2 cup ketchup
-2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari (I use Braggs Amino Acids soy sauce)
-2 cups TVP
-1 cup quick oats (or bread crumbs)
-1/4 cup flaxseed
-1 tbsp nutritional yeast
-2 tsp garlic powder (or 2 cloves of minced garlic)
-1 tsp onion powder
-2 tsp oregano
-2 tsp basil
-any other seasonings you like (i used hot sauce)

in a medium bowl, mix the broth, ketchup and TVP and let it set for 10 min until all the liquid is absorbed. Then, mix together everything else. Form it into a loaf on a cookie sheet, bake at 375 for 40-45. In the last 20 minutes of cooking, put more ketchup on the top.

my mushroom gravy: the rest of the veg broth that came in the carton (about 2 cups), 2 tbsp earth balance butter, chopped up portabellas, a squirt of Braggs. I simmered that, and then thickened it with corn starch.

I make my mashed potatoes with almond milk, roasted garlic, and earth balance and they are amazing. No idea what the ratios are. Normal Mashed Potato Ratios.

I doubled this recipe and it served 10 adults comfortably at my birthday party, but I also filled them up on snacks beforehand...