Thanksgiving for veg*ns!

I know it's over a month away but I'm getting totally jazzed thinking about Thanksgiving already!! What are some of your favorite veg*n holiday dishes?  Could be an appetizer, main dish, side, dessert, breakfast, whatever! 

My friend and I are having a pot luck dinner party on Saturday, the 22nd, complete with a sleepover, so we also need some easy breakfast/brunch ideas that will serve a lot of people. 

This is my first turkey-free Thanksgiving and I'm kind of excited.  The sides and desserts are always the best part of the meal anyway! :)

This year, I'm going to do my walnut/apple/celery salad with a champagne vinaigrette again.  I'm thinking also about some chickpea croquettes with a tomato coulis.  I have not decided on a main dish yet.

Ohhh, chickpea croquettes sound good! 

Don't forget to post recipes, people!  Here's the recipe for one dish I cannot wait to have an excuse to make again!  Sweet potato casserole.  I try and make it a LITTLE less guilty by using reduced fat milk, but otherwise, it's just a total indulgence. :)

Here's the recipe for the salad: http://caloriecount.about.com/celery-apple-wa lnut-salad-champagne-recipe-r153210

I found a different recipe for the chickpea croquettes than the one I've used previously, I want to try it out first before posting it.

this is only vegan if you find/make a vegan puff pastry (which is possible), but it's AMAZING.

lentil puff pastry:

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/recip e.php?recipeId=1820

Here are some dishes I made for a huge vegan Thanksgiving last year. I will try to get recipes on calorie count--if anyone is interested, just pm me. It's a lot of roasted root veggies and beans--they might be a little high in calories from their natural sugar content but they are soo great and just ooze cold-weather comfort to me. Great autumnal colors, robust flavors, and pretty seasonal (not to mention how absolutely AMAZING your place will smell after cooking any of these dishes!).

Roasted cauliflower with maple glazed pecans

Roasted fennel and carrot soup

Roasted beets and kale with white beans

Wilted spinach with cranberries, sunflower seeds, and garlic

Fennel-apple stuffing with walnuts

And sweet potato mousse for the sweet tooth :)

Just a happy FYI :)

are listed as being vegan on the PETA Accidentally Vegan Website:

http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/VeganSh oppingQS-Frozen.asp?Category=Refrigerated%20a nd%20Frozen%20Foods

While we're on the topic, has anyone had the tofurky roast or any similar product?  I know I'm the only one who will be eating it, but I'm thinking I might want to get one, so that I can make some yummy leftover sandwiches on Wonder Bread.  Just wanted to know if it was worth it.  Similarly, ever try to make your own? 

I've had a tofurky roast...and I thought it was seriously vile. I love tofu and like some meat subs like veggie burgers and chikn nuggets, so I thought I'd like tofurky...ew, it was just disgusting. I've heard good things about the quorn ones, though.

I really like quorn chicken products, never tried their turkey but I imagine it's similar. I have made my own tofurky and if you don't mind putting the time into it, it's way better than the store bought stuff. Really the only time consuming part is "draining" the tofu.

Good luck and let us all know how it goes :)

PS

How do you feel about vital wheat gluten (seitan)?

I don't mind mock meats like seitan, I am just a bit lazy and since I'm the only one who will be eating it, I guess I'd like to just buy something pre-made (yeah yeah it's highly processed I know).  Maybe I can just half a seitan roast recipe or something.  I've never made seitan before!

last I looked the quorn chicken products were veggie, not vegan :(  Garden burger was making a Chik'n patty I really loved and it has disappeared off the shelves lately.... bummer.  Last year I made some really wonder ful mashed potatoes with baked garlic, vegan margerine, vegan sour cream (tofuti?) and just enough soy milk to losen it up.  Also did my stuffing vegan with "chicken seasoned" veggie broth - I think it is just the regular seasonings that would traditionally go with chicken/ turkey - it was good - but pretty much made the standard meal - I enjoyed it very much for being my first vegan holiday - even the vegan pumpkin pie from the co op rocked!

Yeah, quorn products contain whey and egg whites I think.

Incase you decide you'd like to make your own tofurky, I'll throw up how to do it here. Like I said, it's actually really easy and most of the prep time is just draining water out of your tofu to achieve a "meatier" texture. I make mine with tofu and veggies, and you can easily make a "gravy" out of veggie broth, cornstarch, herbs, and a little vegan margarine spread to go with. If you don't want the work at all, the gravy also goes well with seitan (store bought is pretty good just look for low sodium if you can...I boil mine about 10 minutes in veggie broth and water when I get it home and then bake it with various veggies).

(Modified to serve 2-4 people and not stuffed)

http://caloriecount.about.com/karis-tofu-turk ey-veggie-roast-recipe-r153685

It's been a long time since I've done a vegan holiday meal. 

Starters were usually soups - maybe butternut squash, or a fresh fruit cup
Dessert was a glazed fresh fruit tart

A whole grain and nut loaf made in a loaf pan lined with savoy cabbage leaves looks great on the table and is delicious.  It's especially nice with a sweet sauce you can make by melting red currant jelly and adding a splash of vinegar and salt.

Brown rice and nut stuffed acorn or delicata squash halves, or baby pumpkins are festive too.

My favorite thing to make is a big, colorful assorted vegetable platter.  I use a large, 3 tier plate that is meant to serve dessert pastries.  What I'm trying for is as much variety in color, texture and flavor as possible. Keeping things at the right temperature is a challenge, so you have to plan it all out. Some of the things I've arranged on the platter are:

Roasted cherry tomatoes or stuffed plum tomato halves
Roasted baby potatoes with an herb coating
Roasted baby carrots
Roasted baby beets
Fried wedges of sweet potato or squash
Fried, breaded eggplant slices
Steamed baby zucchini, snap peas, broccoli and cauliflower
Stuffed small peppers

You get the idea.  Some things can be done in the oven and kept hot, and the steamed vegetables can be done ahead and spend a minute in the microwave just before serving.  Garnish the plate with curly kale and radish roses or some other fancy garnish.  It can be done on a very large platter or even separate plates lined up down the center of the table.

It really does make a big impression when you carry it in.

I never worried about the protein portion of a holiday meal.  My whole point was to construct a beautiful feast.  However, I did use tofu in my grain and nut concoctions to hold the mixture together, so everybody got their protein.

Baked apples!  Pretty much just apples, orange juice, raisins, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and sugar baked until they're mushy.  Delicious.

I love acorn squash stuffed with dried fruit, mushroom, onion, and a tad of allspice.

Sweet potatoes, of course, mashed up with some molasses and pecans on top.  

And this pumpkin pie recipe looks yummy, too.

My mom and I went to a local health food store and bought a bunch of Quorn products - it's the only place in the area that carries that brand!

But anyway, we got the naked chik'n cutlets (which I tried and they're AMAZING) and a roast, which we'll prepare for me when Thanksgiving rolls around (it's a frozen thing and doesn't expire for a while).

I'm super excited :D  I've never tried any tofurky-like things.

I appreciate all of you who have responded so far!  Some of this stuff sounds delish!  Please note that this isn't just thanksgiving for vegAns, though -- I put veg*ns so that people could feel free to post vegetarian recipes as well...unless all of you happen to just be vegan, then that's clearly fine. :-P 

I'm going to experiment with making my own seitan prior to Thanksgiving.  If it turns out OK, I'll probably give making a stuffed seitan loaf a try!

I've had the Tofurkey, And I really like it.

I am so Not a vegan or vegetarian-but my sister is ---and The Quorn Roast is DELICIOUS!!

All of the Quorn products are delicious, but they're not vegan. Here's something I tried and it turned out well. Plus it's really simple. I laid a block of tofu on it's long side and sliced it in half. Then I sliced the 2 halves, diagonally, in half. So you get 4 triangles. I took a paring knife, and cut pockets into each triangle. ( You should press out most of the water between towels, and use firm or extra firm tofu. ) I fill the triangles with my favorite stuffing, and the season the outside with nutritional yeast, salt&pepper, and garlic (use whatever you like). I like to sautee them in a bit of olive oil to give them a little color, but you can skip that step, and just heat them in the oven. Bt the way, they freeze wonderfully, and the freezing makes the tufu more firm and chewy.