A Vegetarian Thanksgiving
Tofu "Turkey" with Stuffing
Garicky Mashed Potatoes
Brown Gravy
"Chicken" Gravy
Wild Rice and Sweet Potatoes
Colorful Corn Salad
Garlic Green Beans
Cranberry Sauce
Applesauce Spice Cake
Tofu Pumpkin Pie
Hot Holiday Apple Punch
Tofu Turkey with Stuffing
Turkey:
Ingredients:
5 pounds of firm tofu
1 pound of tofu for the drumsticks - optional
Stuffing:
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 large onion, chopped fine
1 and 1/3 cup celery, diced (about 4 stalks)
1 cup mushrooms, finely chopped
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup sage (may use 1/8)
2 teaspoons marjoram
2 teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoon winter or summer savory
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon rosemary
2 teaspoons celery seed
1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
3 cups Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing
Basting mixture:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup toasted sesame oil
1/4 to 1/3 cup soy sauce or tamari
2 tablespoons miso
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon mustard of choice
Directions:
Mash tofu or mix well with hands. Be sure that all of the lumps are
out. Line a 12 colander with wet cheesecloth over lapping the
sides. Add the mashed tofu to the cloth covered colander, press
down and cover with the overlapping sides. Place the whole thing in
a large bowl. Cover the cheesecloth with a plate that fits inside
the colander and place a 5 pound weight on the plate. Refrigerate
and let sit for 2 to 3 hours.
When time is up, start the stuffing. Saute' the onions,
celery and mushrooms in the 2 tablesoons sesame oil. When soft, add
the garlic and all the rest of the stuffing ingredients, except
stuffing, mixing well. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add herb
stuffing and mix well.
Remove tofu from fridge and take off weight, plate and top of
cheesecloth. Hollow out tofu to within 1 inch of the sides and
bottom, placing the tofu in a bowl. Place the stuffing inside the
shell and pack in firmly. Cover with the remaining tofu and pat
down firmly. Turn stuffed tofu onto a greased baking sheet, flat
side down. Gently press on sides of turkey to achieve a more oval
shape. If desired at this point, you may mold drumsticks out of one
pound of tofu, and place on each side of the turkey.
Mix up the basting mixture and baste tofu turkey with half of it.
Cover the turkey with foil, and bake at 400 degrees for about 1
hour.
Remove foil, baste with all the remaining mixture except a few
tablespoons and return to oven for 1 hour more, or until the turkey
is golden. Remove from oven and use rest of basting mix. Using at
least 2 large spatulars, move to a large plate. Serve with the
gravy of your choice, if you wish, and cranberry sauce.
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Garlicky Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients:
1 lg head garlic, horizontally split in half
1 ts oil
russett potatoes
2 tb margerine
potato cooking water
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven 350. Drizzle garlic with oil. Cover tightly with foil
and bake 30-40. Let cool until easy to handle (can be done a day
before). Squeeze out garlic.
Cover potatoes with water (peeled and chopped--however many potatoes
you'd like) and bring to a boil. Cook 20-30 mins until fork tender.
Drain, reserving water. Mash potatoes with margerine and garlic,
adding enough potato water back in to bring it to desired
consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.
I always use 5 pounds to potatoes, and double the garlic. I also
add chives just before serving. It's great if you add a sweet
potato or two into the potatoes--adds a nice color!
I use the leftover gravy (made from seasoned thickened veg stock),
plus leftoever potato water, the peels from the potatoes and the
skins from the garlic as the base for my next pot of soup stock.
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Vegan Gravy
Ingredients:
8 Tbls vegetable oil
3-6 cloves of garlic, squashed and minced
3 slices of yellow onion, chopped
8 Tbls all-purpose flour
2 Tbls nutritional yeast
4 Tbls low sodium soy sauce or tamari
2 1/2 cups water (to start)
1/2 tsp ground sage (dry)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup red wine (optional--but a huge help. I like cabernet
sauvignon) and 2 Tbls
balsamic vinegar
6 sliced mushrooms (optional)
Directions:
I can't take all the credit for this great gravy. Unfortunately I
cannot recall exactly where I came upon it. My apologies to the
original source. I made some slight adjustments. It was a HUGE hit
with my family--even the meat eaters!
In a medium saucepan heat oil on a medium or medium-low heat. Add
garlic and onion and cook until slightly tender and translucent.
Add the flour, yeast and soy (or tamari) to make a paste or roux. Be
careful not to let it burn. GRADUALLY add the water, stirring
constantly. With frequent stirring, bring the gravy to a boil and
allow it to thicken. Add pepper, mushrooms, wine and balsamic
vinegar. If you don't want to add wine, you might try a bit more
balsamic vinegar or a red wine vinegar in its place.
If the gravy is too thin (unlikely) add a small amount of
cornstarch which has been dissolved in some cold water. (Dissolving
the cornstarch in water first will prevent lumps.)
You can add more water to the gravy if you want a lighter gravy for
certain dishes. The flavor is very strong and can easily handle the
extra liquid. It's even better if you let it sit in the fridge
overnight and gently reheat it. This is great over a lentil loaf,
bisquits, potatoes--just about anything you would want to smother
with a rich gravy! Enjoy!
Serves: Approx 4 cups
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
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Vegetarian "Chicken" Gravy
Ingredients:
2 tblsp reduced-calorie stick butter/margarine
2 tblsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp veggie poultry seasoning
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp paprika
1 cup low-salt vegetarian chicken-flavoured broth
Directions:
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Add flour, poultry seasoning, salt, and paprika, stirring with a
whisk.
Gradually add broth, stirring until blended.
Cook 5 minutes over medium-high heat or until thick, stirring
constantly.
Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 1/2 tblsp)
Note: Chicken broth is the vegetarian chicken-flavoured powder
(similar looking to the name brand 'Bovril'). I've bought it in
bulk from a large health food store and I've also seen it available
at regular grocery stores sold next to the real chicken broth.
Usually the directions call for 1 tblsp for 3/4 cup hot water, so
add a bit more powder and 1/4 cup more water to equal 1 cup broth
required for this recipe.
P.S. This gravy is awesome with mashed potatoes! In my family,
there are still a couple of meat-eaters and they really like this
gravy, too.
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 15 minutes
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Wild Rice and Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:
1 cup of cooked Wild Rice
1 cup of cooked Basmati Rice
1-2 uncooked sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces.
1-2 T fresh chopped parsley
Salt to taste. (I put quite a bit for this dish.)
Directions:
I cook the rice together in a rice cooker with equal amounts of water.
Fill into plastic lunch box. Mix for cooking. Nuke for 10 minutes on
high.
Note: This can also be made using a pre-cooked sweet potato. Then
the nuke time is reduced to 3 minutes for reheating.
Variation: I think this would be good with a couple of table spoons
of orange juice for extra flavoring added before cooking.
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Colorful Corn Salad
Ingredients:
6 ears of corn
1 can of black beans
two roasted red peppers
Directions:
Cook lightly 6 ears of corn (I put mine in-husk in the microwave for
4 minutes, 2 at a time). Slice the corn off the cob and put it in a
bowl. Add 1 can of black beans, rinsed (the medium-size can -- is
that 10oz? I forget). Chop two roasted red peppers (I roasted my own
under the broiler, but jarred or canned is probably fine too, just
rinse them) in pieces about the same size as a kernel of corn and
add that to the bowl.
Dressing:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tsp. garlic powder (or 1 clove fresh, crushed)
1/2 tsp. cumin powder
2 T. white vinegar.
Directions:
Mix well and toss with the salad. Let sit at room temperature for an
hour to combine flavors.
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Garlic Green Beans
Beans:
3 lb cans french cut green beans or
2 small bags frozen french cut green beans or
3 boxes frozen french cut green beans
Marinade:
2/3 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon salt
Make one day ahead. If frozen beans are used, cook first. Mix
marinade and toss with beans. Heat thru before serving.
This makes enough for a crowd, but can be cut down for 2-4 servings.
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Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients:
1 bag of fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup apricot brandy
a little bit of lemon juice (optional)
Directions:
Wash the cranberries and pick out the bad ones. In an oven proof
pan (9x13 is a good size) mix the cranberries, sugar, and brandy.
Cook for 2 hours at 350. Can be served warm but I find that they're
best when chilled.
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Applesauce Spice Cake
Ingredients:
1/2 cup molasses
1 cup applesauce
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 3/4 cup flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour)
2 tsp. ginger (optional)
Directions:
Combine the molasses and applesauce in a large bowl. Combine remaining ingredients and stir
into the liquid. (If the batter seems very dry, add a little more
applesauce or a little water.) Bake in a nonstick or pan-sprayed
8*8-inch baking pan, in a 350 degree oven, for 30-45 minutes or
until it tests done.
The optional ginger makes an acceptable gingerbread. I have also
had success leaving out the ginger and adding 3 or 4 tablespoons of
cocoa (I guess you could use carob) to make a tasty but not very
sweet or rich chocolate cake. If you use cocoa you might need to
add extra sweetening, but that depends on your taste.
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Tofu Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients:
1 can (16 ounces) pureed pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 package (10-12 ounces) soft tofu, processed in blender until
smooth
1 9-in unbaked pie shell
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 F. Cream the pumpkin and sugar. Add salt,
spices, and tofu, mix thoroughly. Pour mixture into pie shell and
bake for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 350 F and bake for another 40
minutes. Chill and serve. Don't use the low fat tofu, then the pie
tastes like it was made with tofu. This pie is soooo yummy, it will
fool almost anyone. I made it last Thanksgiving for my whole family,
I am the only one, and everyone asked for seconds. They begged me
to make another one for Christmas dinner. Top with non dairy topping
and it will fool any pumpkin pie lover. Nutrition Information:
calories-195; fat-6g; saturated fat-2g
Serves: 8
Preparation time: about 1 hour + chilling time
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Hot Holiday Apple Punch
Ingredients:
1 gallon apple juice (natural, unfiltered)
1 4 inch piece of vanilla bean
2 cinnamon sticks
2 valenica or navel oranges(5 inch diameter or use 3) organic
2 tbsp real vanilla extract
maple syrup (if really necessary) to taste
Directions:
Slice the oranges into rounds. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise.
Pour the juice into a crock pot or stainless steel pot, add the
oranges, vanilla extract and bean, and cinnamon. Bring up to a
moderate boil and hold there for at least 15 minutes. Then reduce
the heat to a simmer, and continue to cook 30 - 45 minutes longer.
Add maple syrup if you must. May be kept warm all day-just add more
juice in small amounts each time.
Serves: 16 8oz
Preparation time: 1 hour
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Holiday Recipes from The Veggie Place (11/12/2001)