A Vegan Thanksgiving Menu

If you want to do it up healthy this Thanksgiving, while giving thanks to animals and the planet: try a vegan menu. You'll find a whole menu of options below, including a beautiful fall salad with persimmons (maybe the best way to use them), a chestnut stuffing that will keep them coming back for more, a holiday standard: mashed potatoes and gravy, but with a parsnip twist, and for those of you needing a mock-meat option, a link to Bryant Terry's decadent seitan with gravy. As for dessert nothing can beat an apple crisp or pie, both of which can be made with the vegan spread Earth Balance, instead of butter. Bon appetite!

Toasted Walnut, Persimmon, and Cranberry Salad

This salad screams fall making it the perfect starter for a Thanksgiving meal. It also has an array of eye-catching colors, which will help decorate the table on its own.

serves 4-5

Ingredients
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. rice vinegar
4 tsp. Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
6 cups salad greens
1 ripe persimmon, peeled, if desired, and chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh fennel bulb
1/2 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts


1. Whisk together oil, vinegar, and mustard in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Put the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Drizzle dressing over.


Chestnut Stuffing

Nothing says Thanksgiving more than stuffing, and you really can't go wrong with this one because it is delicious with a capital "D"! The addition of veggie sausage makes it a meal in itself.

serves 10

Ingredients
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 lb. breakfast sausages (like Morning Star), crumbled
1 tsp. rubbed sage
5 tbs. Earth Balance, divided
2 medium onions, diced
3 organic celery stalks, diced
1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and diced
1⁄2 cup white wine
1 15-oz. jar or box cooked, peeled chestnuts, chopped (2 1⁄2 cups)
1 lb. loaf whole-wheat bread, cut into 1⁄2-inch cubes (8 cups)
1⁄4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 cups veggie broth

1. Preheat oven to 375 ̊F. Coat 4-qt. baking dish with cooking spray. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and sage, and cook 7 to 9 minutes, or until sausage is browned. Place in a bowl to cool.

2. Melt 3 Tbs. Earth Balance in same skillet, add onions, celery, and fennel, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until vegetables are soft and translucent. Deglaze pan with wine, and add chestnuts. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until most of liquid has evaporated.

3. Place bread cubes in large bowl. Stir in onion and fennel mixture, then sausage. Mix in fresh herbs, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in broth, adding more if necessary without making stuffing too wet.

4. Spoon stuffing into prepared baking dish, and dot top with remaining 2 Tbs. Earth Balance. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 30 to 40 minutes longer, or until top is browned and crisp.


Mashed Potatoes & Parsnips

There's no need for butter in these spuds, because yukon potatoes are super creamy on their own. The recipe comes from the vegan Thanksgiving menu in the Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates cookbook.

Ingredients
10 cups thinly sliced organic yukon potatoes
3 cups peeled and thinly sliced parsnips
6 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1. Combine the potatoes and parsnips in a large pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil on high covered, then reduce heat and simmer until the vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, saute the garlic in the olive oil on medium-high heat, stirring constantly foe one minute, making sure not to brown. When the vegetables are cooked, reserve 1 cup of cooking liquid, then drain the vegetables and return them to the pot. Add the garlic and oil to the vegetables and mash with the cooking liquid. Stir in the salt and pepper. Serve hot.


Mixed Mushroom Gravy

Awesome vegan gravy from Bryant Terry and his Vegan Soul Kitchen cookbook. The only change I made was to use store bought broth rather than homemade stock to save on time.

2 Tbs. olive oil
1/4 lb. button mushrooms
1/4 lb. baby bella mushrooms (or crimini), sliced
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1 cup unflavored rice milk
1 cup mushroom broth
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper

1. Heat 1 Tbs. olive oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add all mushrooms, and sauté 5 minutes. Stir in flour and remaining 1 Tbs. oil. Reduce heat to low, and cook 10 minutes, or until flour begins to brown, whisking constantly.

2. Whisk in rice milk, mushroom stock, salt, and white pepper. Simmer 15 minutes, or until thickened, whisking often.


Mock-Meat Main
If you want to go for a meaty main try Terry's Smothered Seitan Medallions. The dish is timely to prepare, but definitely worth the effort.

Happy Cooking!!!