Vegan Thanksgiving Recipe #6: Vegan Pumpkin Pie

So, I've never made vegan pumpkin pie.  Now, I'm a pro at making "regular" pumpkin pie, but vegan...this is a first. Because of this, I can't promise that this recipe will be a success. Every recipe I've looked at simply replaced the evaporated milk with silken tofu. I'm choosing to also replace the sugar with dark agave nectar.  I'm still deciding on how I want to make the crust (or if I'll pre-buy) and whether or not I want to use fresh pumpkin (like, scrape it and puree myself). We'll see.

I can't imagine this pie tasting horrible. I mean...it's PUMPKIN. Pumpkin is amazing. Here are what pretty much all the recipes say:

Photo from Simply Recipes

Ingredients:
3/4 pound silken tofu
1 16 ounce can pumpkin puree
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 crust

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375
Mix all ingredients (blend/stir/whatever works)
Pour into pie-crust. Bake for 1 hour OR until toothpick comes out clean.

(I've seen some people review these recipes and say that their pie definitely needed more time in the oven. After I make this Thanksgiving Day, I'll update the recipe as I see fit.)

Vegan Thanksgiving Recipe # 5: Shallot & Hazelnut String Beans

This is a blend of a few recipes I've seen online. So, it's still my own version, but heavily inspired by others I've seen out there.

Photo from Cooking Light

Ingredients:
1 pound string beans (cut off stems)
Olive oil (to your liking)
5 shallots (sliced thinly)
1 garlic clove, minced
salt & pepper
1/3 cup hazelnuts (chopped)
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves (must be fresh, not dried!)
1/2 tablespoon dried Thyme

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 425.
In a baking dish, toss string beans, shallots, garlic, and salt & pepper with olive oil (lightly coated).
Roast for 15-20 minutes, until string beans become lightly browned.
After pulling out of the oven, immediately add the zest, hazelnuts, Thyme and parsley.

Enjoy the fresh, light, and healthy taste as a side to your Thanksgiving meal!

Vegan Thanksgiving Recipe #4: Fig-Pecan Suffed Acorn Squash

This recipe is totally not my own. I saw this online and couldn't help but want to make this immediately. I found this on Tiny Green Mom, a wonderful site with a little bit of everything, from crafts to cooking, all with the focus of organic & eco-friendly living. This might be the recipe I'm most excited to try.

From Tiny Green Mom's blog.

Ingredients:
2 acorn squash (halved lengthwise & seeded)
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper
3 Tbsp "butter"
1/3 cup agave nectar (you can find this in the baking aisle near the sugar & flour)
3/4 cup dried, de-stemmed figs (chopped)
1/3 cup pecans (chopped)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Rub insides of squash with olive oil & sprinkle with salt & pepper.  Turn upside down onto a foil-lined cookie sheet. Bake 30-40 minutes (or until soft).
3. Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl.
4. Remove squash from oven and turn right side up. Fill halves with fix mixture.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until soft & bubbly.
6. Let cool & enjoy!

Vegan Thanksgiving Recipe #3: Curried Corn & Red Pepper

Ingredients:
4 cups of corn
1 sweet onion
3 red bell peppers
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon curry powder
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
In a skillet on medium-high heat, saute bell peppers in olive oil. Once cooked (don't over-do it, leave a little crunch), add the corn and turn to medium heat. After 5 minutes add all of the seasonings.

Easiest side dish EVER.

Vegan Thanksgiving Recipe #2: Vegan Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:
4 Sweet Potatoes
1/4 cup "butter"
1/4 cup soy milk
4 Tablespoons all-natural Maple Syrup (the real stuff!)
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
2 tsp grated orange peel
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions:
Steam cubed sweet potatoes about 20 minutes or until tender
   -I leave the skins on my potatoes but I won't judge if you chose to peel yours first.
Mix with all other ingredients.

Easssyyyyyyy.

(Pictures will be posted from Thanksgiving day!)

Vegan Thanksgiving Recipe #1: Vegetable Pot Pie

This will be our main dish for our Vegan Thanksgiving! For a healthier version, skip the crust.

Ingredients:
Filling:
1 medium onion, diced up
5 carrots, peeled and diced
5 potatoes, washed, peeled, and diced into 1/2-inch chunks
1 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp ground thyme
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp peppercorn medley, ground
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup frozen peas
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided—3 tbsp, 2 tbsp
1/3 cup gluten-free flour mix (or sweet rice flour or potato flour)
1 cup soy milk
Optional :
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup baby lima beans 


Crust: 
1 cup gluten-free flour mix
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 ¼ tsp baking powder 

1 cup soy milk

Directions:

Prep work first! Prep the potatoes and the veggies. Clean, peel, and dice them.  Then, mix 3 tablespoons EVOO and add spices.

In large, deep skillet, heat 3 tablespoons oil & add onions, carrots, potatoes, parsley, thyme, sea salt, and pepper.  Allow to cook on medium-low or medium heat until veggies are softened.  About 10-15 minutes.

Then put the veggies mix into a bigger pot, then add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil.  Allow mixture to simmer for 2 minutes, then add peas & cook until tender (about 5 minutes.)

Preheat oven to 375.  In a saucepan, mix the 1/3 cup flour & 2 tablespoons oil until blended & heat on medium-low a minute until thickened.  Add the soy milk gradually to make a white sauce. When the mixture is almost thickened, add to the veggies mix.  When mixture is thickened nicely, pour into a greased casserole dish or pie plate.

In same saucepan as used before, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder. Gradually add in the soy milk to make the crust. Pour over top of filling in casserole dish or pie plate.  Even out the topping with a spatula, note quite going to the edge of the dish (leaving this space allows venting). **We usually end up making twice the pie crust to spread around because we love the extra crust! Place pot pie into oven and bake for 55+ minutes or until crust is lightly browned.

Happy Vegan Thanksgiving (Countdown: 7 days)

My incredible husband had the perfect idea the last week.  He said "Let's stay home for Thanksgiving, make a vegan feast, and then you can have all these recipes to post to your blog so everyone else can do it, too!" Gosh, I love him so much. And, apparently he likes you all, too.

So, here's the dealio. This is our menu of what we're going to make for our Thanksgiving meal. Remember, it's vegan, so you're not going to see the traditional turkey. Nor will you see a "tofurkey" (sorry, just can't bring myself to do it).

- Vegetable Pot Pie
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes (trust me, they are going to be decked out with some amazing spices)
- Quinoa Corn Chowder
- Whole Grain Stuffing
- Pecan-Fig Stuffed Acorn Squash
- Curried Corn & Red Pepper
- Shallot & Hazelnut Green Beans
- Vegan Pumpkin Pie
- Raw Chocolate Covered Strawberries (dairy free)
- Raw Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
-Apple Pie

How good does that all sound? Yeah, that's what I thought, too.

Everyday, for the next 4 days (Saturday through Tuesday), I'm going to post THREE RECIPES A DAY. That's 12 recipes for you! Why? because I want you all to be able to see these recipes ahead of time so if there's anything you want to make for your special Thanksgiving meal, you have the recipes readily available and have enough time to run to the grocery store if you need.

All 10 of our menu dishes will be posted and then there will be 2 bonus dishes that we're not making, so that, just in case there's something on our list you hate, you'll have 2 other options to chose from. Sound like a plan? Good.

Have I mentioned that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday?