Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on all that we are thankful for as well as a time to enjoy an abundance of foods traditionally from the harvest. If you are having a plant-based Thanksgiving dinner, this is an opportunity to give your Thanksgiving dinner a complete makeover and create new traditions.

However, you may still want to enjoy some of your favorite old traditions, other than the turkey, without using any animal-based foods. Here are some suggestions:

1. Stuffing. If you use butter to prepare your stuffing, substitute olive oil or Earth Balance (vegan butter) and add nuts or seeds such as pecans, walnuts, or pumpkin seeds. Roast the stuffing inside of red bell peppers. The juices from the red bell peppers will bake into the stuffing, adding even more flavor.

2. Mashed Potatoes. Rather than use butter and cream, try substituting Earth Balance (vegan butter) and a non-dairy milk such as almond milk or coconut milk. 

For something even richer, try braising a head of whole garlic cloves (separate the cloves) and a large onion, cubed, in 2-3 cups of vegetable broth with a couple of fresh sprigs of rosemary or thyme at 400 °F until the garlic and onion have just caramelized and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 35-40 minutes. 

Add the caramelized garlic and onion to a high-speed blender, along with 1 ½ cup of raw cashews that were soaked for 3-4 hours, then drained, and about ¼ cup of unsweetened almond milk and blend into a smooth paste that can be added and mashed into cooked potatoes to make incredible garlic-mashed potatoes!

3. Gravy. Even if you’re not having any turkey, you still may want to have gravy to put over your potatoes and stuffing! It’s easy to make a gravy without using the drippings. 

Start by dicing and caramelizing an onion, then add 4-8 ounces of sliced or diced mushrooms and a clove of garlic, minced or pressed, and sauté until the mushrooms are soft (add water or vegetable broth as needed, about a tablespoon at a time, to prevent the mushrooms and garlic from sticking or burning). 

Stir in about a half teaspoon each of thyme and sage, and then add a tablespoon of flour and continue to stir until smooth (the flour will thicken). 

Slowly add a cup of vegetable broth, a little at a time, stirring constantly as you dilute the flour/mushroom mixture to prevent any lumps from forming. 

Once all the liquid has been added, bring it to a boil, stirring constantly until the gravy thickens, about 3-5 minutes. Add sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. 

You can serve the gravy as is with pieces of onion and mushrooms, or use an immersion blender to puree the onion and mushrooms into a deliciously smooth gravy.

4. Sweet Potatoes and Yams. The culprits in most of these recipes typically include butter, milk or cream, eggs, and/or marshmallows. You can substitute vegan butter such as Earth Balance and a non-dairy milk such as almond milk. You can also substitute coconut milk for the cream. 

If the recipe calls for egg and the sweet potatoes or yams are whipped, the egg is used to help firm up the casserole. You can use 2-4 tablespoons of cornstarch in place of the egg and get the same effect without any cholesterol. 

If your recipe calls for marshmallows, you may not be aware that they are made with gelatin and sometimes eggs, both animal-based foods. Most health food stores such as Whole Foods carry vegan marshmallows that are made with plant-based gelling agents such as agar and no eggs.

5. Pumpkin Pie. If your pumpkin pie recipe calls for evaporated milk or heavy cream, and eggs, you can substitute 12 ounces of silken tofu for the milk or cream, and ¼ cup of cornstarch for the eggs.

 The silken tofu will add a creamy texture along with protein and calcium, and the cornstarch will help the pie firm up. 

Bake the pie for 40-45 minutes until the crust is browned and the outermost inch of the pie is firm. The rest will firm up as the pie cools.

Those are my tips. What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving dishes?

Happy Thanksgiving!

In Part 1 I we looked into wet cooking methods, methods that cook the veggies using water. In Part 2, we are going to look at methods for cooking veggies other than those that use water. In other words, dry cooking methods. 

Sweating. Not you after running in the hot sun. Sweating is a “low and slow” cooking technique, sweating is a low-temperature technique used at the beginning of cooking to develop flavor in a dish. Finely-cut vegetables such as onions, garlic, bell peppers, or celery are cooked in a skillet with fat or other liquid such as water, vegetable broth, or wine over very low heat until they are completely softened. The purpose of sweating is to slowly release and concentrate the flavors of the vegetables without changing their color. Sweating creates the first “layer” of flavor in a dish, and is especially desirable when preparing soups, sauces, and dishes that are light in color. 

Roasting. This method concentrates and intensifies the flavor in vegetables by browning and caramelizing sugars at the surface of the veggies. To roast the perfect veggies, start by cutting the veggies into even-size pieces, typically bite-sized, meaning about 1-2 inches. Lightly coat the veggies in an oil such as grapeseed oil or olive oil before roasting to evenly brown the surface of the veggies and keep the inside from drying out (oil prevents moisture from evaporating from within the veggies).

Before roasting, season the veggies with sea salt and pepper to highlight the natural flavor of the veggies. You can add additional seasonings, hearty herbs (such as rosemary or thyme), and/or spices for more flavor. You can also coat the veggies with liquids such as balsamic vinegar, which adds both sweet and sour notes, or vinaigrettes and dressings, which also add flavor. Don’t add too much liquid or the veggies will steam rather than roast.

Spread the even-sized cut veggies out on a greased or parchment-lined baking pan in a single layer without crowding. Place the cut-side down where possible for the best browning. If you are roasting different kinds of veggies, it’s best to roast them separately because different veggies have different cooking times, and this way you can properly cook all veggies.

Most veggies are roasted in a hot oven between 400 & 475 °F. In general, the smaller the veggie, the higher the oven temperature needs to be since it takes less time to cook through and brown.

Bite-size pieces of food are typically roasted at 475 °F to produce a crispy, golden exterior and a tender, moist interior.

Harder, or larger cut veggies are best roasted between 350 & 400 °F to prevent the surface from burning before the veggies are cooked through.

Veggies with high amounts of water (e.g., tomatoes) are slow-roasted at around 250 °F. The lower temperature allows moisture to slowly evaporate, concentrating flavor and deepening color.

Roasting times vary depending on your oven and the size and type of veggies you are roasting.

The baking pan gets hotter along the sides and edges than the interior, so veggies along the sides and edges tend to cook faster than veggies on the inside of the pan. You may have to move veggies around in the middle of the process. Roast until crispy and browned on the outside and moist and cooked on the inside.

Serve the roasted veggies on a plate or a shallow dish. Do not serve in a deep dish or bowl because the pieces at the bottom will steam, and the crispy browned sides will get soggy.

Roasting is great for many veggies, including (but not limited to) cauliflower, broccoli, red bell peppers, chile peppers, sweet potatoes, yams, potatoes, onions, eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, and mushrooms.

Dry cooking techniques are all about building flavor into the veggies! I never start a dish without first dicing and caramelizing an onion, usually followed by some diced peppers (red bell pepper, jalapenos, serranos, or pasilla peppers), then adding some garlic, sometimes followed by diced fresh ginger, depending on what I’m making. Then I build the rest of the dish on that flavorful base, whether it’s a soup, a sauce, a stew, or a stir fry.

Try it! You will be amazed by how great veggies can taste! These aren’t your mother’s veggies!