November 24, 2010

Our Thanksgiving menu ( if all goes according to plan)

The plan for Thanksgiving dinner is set but flexible, just in case. I never know what whim might cross my mind at the last moment, or what ingredient might have been forgotten. I keep changing things as the day gets closer but here it is the day before and this looks like the menu.



Appetizers: baba ghannouj, homemade pita, cashew cheese, pickled things



Main dish: stuffed, roasted seitan filled with rice, wild rice and sourdough bread stuffing (lots of veggies in there, too), and gravy



Sides: sweet and tart carrots, roasted brussels sprouts with garlic, cranberry-apple sauce, raw butternut squash salad (from Mark Bittman), green onion salsa (from Viva Vegan), maybe green salad

Desserts: pumpkin pie (possibly the fat-free one from Happy Herbivore. Has anyone tried it?), apple and blueberry tart with apricot jam

If you're a last-minute planner and still undecided about what to serve for your main dish, how about an Un-Turkey? Miyoko Schinner, creator of the original Now and Zen Un-Turkey, generously shares her recipe for this beloved creation on her latest blog post. Get the Unturkey recipe here. I've never tasted or made one, but I'm thinking of possibly incorporating the seasoning mix into my seitan this year. The recipe includes the seitan, seasoning mix, marinade, dressing and gravy.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I've got to go start the cooking.

17 comments:

  1. That looks delicious! Andrea, I hope you and your family will have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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  2. I see you're going for the raw butternut salad! Sounds like a great dinner plan...the stuffed seitan sounds excellent and looks the business in that photo for sure! Sweet and tart carrots...yum!

    The Un Turkey recipe is very ingenious...I'll have to give that a try sometime. We'll be having a vegan version of the portabella wellingtons from the Cafe Flora cookbook.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and all your family!

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  3. Wow, that roasted seitan from Thanksgiving Past looks great. Happy American Thanksgiving to you all, your menu sounds fab but let us know about that raw butternut salad. Unturkey, no, way too real, even though it isn't. Portabella wellingtons, Rose? Now that sounds very fancy! Sad that it's business as usual for us in Canada...

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  4. Happy Thanksgiving! Your feast looks great

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  5. Mihl,
    Thanks! We'll have all of our family at the table this year and everyone is bringing a dish.

    Rose,
    I figure if the salad doesn't work raw, I can always cook it on Friday. Or Saturday. Or whenever it becomes necessary to cook again.

    Your wellingtons sound delicious I hope we get to see a picture.

    Zoa,
    If I'm not too burned out from cooking, I'll take photos of everything. In any case, I'll report back on the salad. Un-turkey doesn't have to look real, but I'm curious about the taste and texture. The seitan is baked, boiled and baked again with a yuba "skin." That sounds like a lot of work. Mine is only baked.

    I believe you already had Thanksgiving in Canada. But, I suppose you could celebrate twice.

    Melody,
    Thanks! I hope everything turns out. I'm trying a couple of new recipes including the pumpkin pie, which is making me a little nervous. Pumpkin pie is my favorite part of the meal.

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  6. That all sounds delicious! Especially the pickled things...

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  7. Oh, I remember you bringing that stuffed seitan to our Thanksgiving!!! We'll be thinking of you!

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  8. Yum, looks like it'll be a great Thanksgiving meal! I was under the crazy assumption that butternut squash has to be cooked. I'm curious to hear about that raw salad. :-)

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  9. Cami,
    My daughter-in-law is bringing the pickled things but she didn't mention sauerkraut. :D

    Claire,
    We'll be thinking of you, too. I had a great time at your Thanksgiving. Si hi to everyone for me. Will E be there?

    Chow Vegan,
    I think most people are under that assumption, but not Mark Bittman. I'll have to see for myself tomorrow. I sure hope he's right about this.

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  10. Happy Thanksgiving! It sounds great. I'm scared of seitan/satan but it seems pretty popular. :-)

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  11. I've never seen roasted seitan look so good! What is the recipe? How do you do it? Happy Thanksgiving to you & your family!

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  12. oh my, what a beautiful feast. your roast looks lovely. thanks for posting that link to the unturkey recipe! i used to be obsessed with those until they were discontinued. i found a recipe online but there was something not right about it, so i never tried it. this one sounds perfect. i'll attempt it for xmas, i think. happy thanksgiving to you too!

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  13. Happy Thanksgiving! I'm sure your dinner will be delicious!!

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  14. Aimee,
    Seitan wouldn't be your meal of choice if you avoid gluten. It does taste pretty good, and has a satisfying chewy texture. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

    Shellyfish,
    If you follow the link in the post you'll see how I do it, but I don't have a recipe. You can make your favorite seitan based on about 6 cups of vital wheat gluten and 1/2 cup of chickpea flour. Make your favorite stuffing, roll out the seitan and fill it. Bake covered for about two hours, then uncover and bake until done, basting occasionally. This is vague, I know, but I always forget the details. Last year I wrote it all down and then misplaced the directions.

    Emily,
    I hope you try the un-turkey and post about it. I'm really curious. I made the seasoning mix yesterday and will probably use it to make our seitan, though I do hate tampering with my tried-and-true method of just throwing things into the bowl. We'll see. Happy Thanksgiving to you.

    Jessica,
    Thanks! Happy Thanksgiving to you, too.

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  15. This all looks SO GOOD! Andrea, I want to visit you for Thanksgiving! I hope you and your wonderful family all have a great day!

    (John wants us to try the roasted seitan recipe. Looks a bit fiddly... I foretell rather a lot of bad language...)

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  16. Happy Thanksgiving it looks great!

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  17. Penny,
    Thanks! Of course you can come visit. I've been preparing food all day and now am going to relax until the guests arrive. I just hope everything tastes good - I always worry like that. When I first started making the seitan, it involved a lot of bad language, as you call it, and was quite traumatic. Now I've got it figured out, and it's a snap. No problem at all.

    Dreaminitvegan,
    Thank you. Of course all the pictures are from past Thanksgivings and are no guarantee this year's will be good. I sure hope so.

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