The holidays are the perfect time to cook up some scrumptious vegan recipes you've been holding onto for a special occasion. Whether you invite the family over for a vegan-style Thanksgiving feast or simply cook for a few of your closest friends, there are lots and lots of options. Instead of taking the easy way out and getting a store-bought Tofurky Vegetarian Feast for the big meal, take matters into your own hands and take some cues from our vegan friends across the Internet who offer delightful holiday recipes to share with all types of palates.
Image by Kevin Prichard Photography via Flickr
Tofu Turkey
There's nothing better than a hand-stuffed Thanksgiving tofu turkey basted with tamari-oil glaze for your vegan guests. Non-vegans will be amazed at how good it tastes (as they always do when it comes to vegan dishes). Allrecipes.com has a beautifully easy recipe that makes about 10 servings.
Line a medium-size colander with cheese cloth and place it in a large bowl. Add five 16-ounce packages of crumbled, extra-firm tofu into the colander and place another piece of cheese cloth over the tofu. Rest something heavy, like a pot, on top of the cheesecloth and tofu. Chill for 2-3 hours (ideally overnight).
Prepare the stuffing below while chilling tofu or just before you take out of fridge. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
For glaze, mix in a bowl:
1/2 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup tamari
2 tablespoons miso paste
5 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon of honey mustard
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
Whisk to combine glaze ingredients. Take tofu out of your fridge and remove weight and top cheesecloth. Hollow out the tofu so there is 1 inch of the tofu shell lining the colander and scoop the rest into a side bowl. Brush the tofu lining with a small amount of the miso seasoning and scoop stuffing (recipe below) into center of tofu shell. Place leftover stuffing on top of the stuffing and press down firmly. Carefully turn the stuffed tofu onto a parchment-lined baking sheet placing flat side down. Press sides to form oval shape then brush half of the tamari-oil glaze over top and sides and place three sprigs of fresh rosemary on top. Cover with foil and bake for one hour. Remove and uncover, brush with remaining sauce and bake one additional hour.
Stuffing
In a large pan over medium-high heat, add:
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 finely-diced red onion
1 1/3 cups diced celery
1 cup chopped mushrooms
Cook 5-7 minutes until all veggies are tender. Add:
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoons dried sage
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons of dried rosemary
1/4 cup tamari
Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir and sauté for five minutes. Add 3 cups bread stuffing, gently stir together and remove from heat.
Pair this culinary delight with Buzzfeed-endorsed fluffy mashed potatoes and savory mushroom gravy, spotlighted on postpunkkitchen.com. Bake up a rich and creamy voluptuous autumn spice pumpkin pie using ppk's recipe or find it in their pie book, "Vegan Pie in the Sky."
Add your famous veggie dish of choice and you're Thanksgiving table will entice even the pickiest of eaters to it. Your meat eater friends will be asking for your special tofu turkey every year. Break the misconceptions in the family about vegan food looking distasteful by photographing these pretty Thanksgiving dishes and put them on photo postcards for the holidays. This might just open Aunt Sandra's eyes to the fact that vegan style and living the healthy life might not be so bad. And, they won't be unbuttoning that top button to make room for the pie. For your non-vegan relatives, do a mashed potato taste test putting vegan style vs. animal product style and see what they say. You may find cousin Ethan intrigued by the lifestyle and asking more questions.