Nov
Thanksgiving Vegan Style
Well, it was another great traditional Thanksgiving for our family. Our tradition is to have a vegetarian meal with the whole family helping to create it. This year, since I became a vegan, we left out all of the eggs and milk that we had used in previous years.
We replace the turkey with a tofu loaf. That’s what my daughters Emi and Hana are busy working on in these pictures.
We also make a lot of standard Thanksgiving fair – like stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, veggies, cranberry sauce and of course pumpkin pie.
The difference is that all of our versions of these holiday favorites is made without any animal products. So, the gravy is made with miso paste. This is a fermented soy bean paste that is used extensively in Japan. It makes a delicious broth. With some garlic powder, sage and corn starch it makes for a great gravy.
The pumpkin pie is of course made with pumpkin, but instead of using eggs and milk we blended tofu in our food processor until it was smooth and creamy. We also use maple syrup as the sweetener and fresh ginger root to give it exceptional flavor.
The cranberry sauce it a family favorite. It’s not some goop out of a can. It’s raw cranberries, an apple and an orange (peel and all) tossed into the food processor with some sugar and blended to the consistency of a coarse apple sauce. Mmmm…
Now, I think I’m going to get myself another slice of that pumpkin pie with a cup of coffee with some coconut creamer.
Joe
