Thanksgiving, Sunday Edition

I realize that I usually don't post here on Sundays. However, Thanksgiving is this Thursday, so I'm posting a few more Thanksgiving recipes today, including Essence-of-Thanksgiving Gravy and Easy Cranberry Sauce. (Of course, these can be enjoyed any time.) Enjoy!

Note: Since Thanksgiving is Thursday, I'll be taking Thursday off. However, I will attempt to post a double-blog on Wednesday, then be back on Friday. Hope your Thanksgiving is wonderful.

THANKSGIVING POT PIE

This is from the November 2009 issue of Vegetarian Times, and begins, “Working toward her master's in social work, Adrianne Dickson, who won first place in VT's 2009 Reader Recipe Contest for this recipe, still finds time to read cookbooks for fun. 'I first developed this recipe while living in Montana after my boyfriend told me he loved pot pie,' she explains. 'I started making the crust in a bag when we were working as raft guides and didn't have any place to roll out a crust.'" Serves 8.

To view this online, click here.

Note: The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of red wine. If you're like me and don't normally have wine (or any alcohol) around the house, no problem. I tend to use water in place of it. So don't let the red wine keep you from trying this recipe if you don't have it around; simply use water. Of course, someone's liable to think, "You can't do that!" Yes, I can, and so can you.

Filling

2 medium potatoes, diced (2 cups)

2 large carrots, sliced (1 cup)

3 Tbs. olive oil, divided

1 16-oz. pkg. firm tofu, drained and cut into cubes

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. San-J Tamari Soy Sauce, divided

1/2 tsp. granulated garlic, divided

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, divided

2 cups sliced button mushrooms

1 large onion, diced (2 cups)

1 cup chopped broccoli florets

2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1/2 cup plain soymilk

3 Tbs. red wine

1 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme

1 Tbs. chopped fresh sage

1 tsp. hoisin sauce

1/2 tsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce

Crust

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening

1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary

1 tsp. chopped fresh sage

To make Filling:

Cook potatoes and carrots in large pot of boiling salted water 10 minutes, or until just tender. Drain, and set aside.

Heat 1 Tbs. oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu, and cook 5 minutes, or until tofu begins to brown. Stir in 2 Tbs. tamari, 1/4 tsp. granulated garlic, and 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper, and cook until all liquid has evaporated.

Heat 1 Tbs. oil in skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add mushrooms, and cook 2 minutes. Add onion, broccoli, and garlic, and sauté 6 to 7 minutes, or until onions begin to soften.

Push veggies to side of Dutch oven. Add remaining 1 Tbs. oil to bottom of pot. Stir flour into oil with fork to make roux; stir until smooth. Stir roux into vegetables.

Stir broth into vegetables. Once gravy is smooth, add tofu, potatoes, carrots, soymilk, remaining 1/4 cup tamari, and wine. Stir gently, then add thyme, sage, hoisin sauce, Worcestershire sauce, remaining 1/4 tsp. granulated garlic, and remaining 1/8 tsp. cayenne. Remove from heat, and set aside, or transfer vegetables to large casserole dish.

To make Crust:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix together flour, salt, and shortening with fork or pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Stir in up to 4 Tbs. cold water, if necessary, for dough to stick together. Gently knead rosemary and sage into dough, and shape dough into ball. Place dough ball in plastic bag, and push out from center of ball to shape dough to size of Dutch oven or casserole dish. Remove dough from bag, and lay over vegetable filling in Dutch oven or casserole dish. Poke holes in dough to allow steam to escape. Bake 45 minutes, or until Crust is golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

nutritional information Per Slice: Calories: 394; Protein: 12 g; Total Fat: 22 g; Saturated Fat: 6 g; Carbohydrates: 36 g; Cholesterol: less than 1 mg; Sodium: 978 mg; Fiber: 4 g; Sugar: 5 g; Vegan

EASY CRANBERRY SAUCE

This comes from One Green Planet's newsletter. The recipe states, “My Easy Cranberry Sauce is not very sweet. It has a tangy tartness and makes a beautiful side dish for your holiday table.”

To view this and other cranberry recipes, click here.

12 oz. Bag of fresh or frozen cranberries, with 1/2 cup set aside

1 cup sugar

zest of 1 orange

2 Tbs. Water or orange juice

Set aside 1/ 2 cup cranberries in a bowl. Put the rest of the cranberries into a saucepan. Add sugar, orange zest and water or orange juice and cook over low heat. Stir until sugar dissolves and cranberries soften, about 10 minutes. Raise the heat to medium high and cook until cranberries burst, about another 10 minutes. Reduce heat back to low and add in the cranberries you set aside. Add more sugar if you want, and salt and pepper to taste. Let cool (you can refrigerate it if you like your cranberry sauce cold) before serving.

CARROT CORNBREAD

This comes from the November 2015 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 65. The Chef is Isa Chandra Moskowitz of Modern Love in Omaha, Nebraska, and the recipe begins, “'This cornbread is the essence of autumn in Nebraska, with a warm orange hue that shines a little brighter at the Thanksgiving table than your average cornbread. It’s perfect for sopping up gravy and sauces,' says Moskowitz. Carrot purée keeps a simple cornbread recipe moist and gives it a gorgeous color." And what do I say about this recipe, which serves 12? Yum!

To view this online, go to http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/carrot-cornbread/

3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup refined coconut oil, melted

1 1/4 cups cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

Steam carrots in steamer 15 minutes, or until very tender. Transfer to food processor, and purée until smooth. Cool.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 13- x 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Stir together almond milk and cider vinegar in measuring cup. Set aside to curdle.

Whisk 1 cup carrot purée with maple syrup in large bowl. Whisk in coconut oil, then almond milk mixture.

Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt in separate bowl. Fold cornmeal mixture into carrot mixture. Spread in prepared pan, and bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until top is golden and firm to touch. Cool. Cut into 12 squares, and serve.

nutritional information Per Per slice: Calories: 170; Protein: 2 g; Total Fat: 5 g; Saturated Fat: 4 g; Carbohydrates: 29 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 220 mg; Fiber: 2 g; Sugar: 9 g; Vegan

HOLIDAY BREAD CORNUCOPIA

Both this and the Fork-and-Knife Roasted Vegetables can be found on page 54 of the November 2015 issue of Vegetarian Times. This one begins, "This cornucopia is easy to make using poster board and foil, and the result looks like a centerpiece created by a professional baker. Fill it with hot roasted vegetables, or use it as a bread basket for your holiday feast. The cornucopia can be made a day ahead." Serves 12

To view this online, go to http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/holiday-bread-cornucopia/.

1/4 cup sugar

2 0.25-oz. pkg. dry yeast

6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (2 lb.), plus more for flouring work surface

1 Tbs. plus 1 pinch salt, divided

1/2 cup olive oil, plus more to coat bowl

1 large egg

1/2 cup melted butter, optional

Dissolve sugar in 2 cups warm water. Stir yeast into sugar-water mixture, and let stand 5 minutes.

Pulse flour and 1 Tbs. salt in bowl of food processor, or combine in stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Add yeast mixture and oil, and process 1 minute, or beat with mixer 3 to 5 minutes, or until dough forms smooth, sticky ball that hits against sides of food processor or mixing bowl.

Rub large bowl with oil, place dough in bowl, cover, and let rise 1 hour in warm place. Punch down dough, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 4 hours, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper, and have small glass of water ready. Halve poster board so you have one 20- x 15-inch piece; shape poster board into cone, and tape to hold. Trim open edge of cone so it stands flat on baking sheet. (Trimmed cone should be 7 inches wide at mouth and 15 inches long.) Smoothly cover outside of cone with foil, turning edges in, as necessary. Fill cone with crumpled parchment paper or foil to keep cone from collapsing. Stand cone on prepared baking sheet, and coat foil with cooking spray.

Roll out one-third of dough to 20- x 6-inch rectangle. (Keep remaining dough in refrigerator so it won’t get too soft.) Cut dough into four 20- x 11/2-inch strips. Wrap 1 dough strip around wide base of cone on baking sheet, wetting ends, and pressing ends together to seal so you have a ring of dough. Wet end of second dough strip, press end onto first strip, and wrap around cone, overlapping first dough strip by one-third to one-half of strip width. Wet end, and press to hold in place. Continue wrapping third and fourth dough strips around cone, working your way up to narrow end. Repeat with remaining dough until cone is completely wrapped in overlapping strips of dough. When finished, braid three strips of dough, and wrap around base (wide end of cone). Lay cone on its side on prepared baking sheet, best-looking side up.

Beat egg with 1 Tbs. water and remaining pinch of salt in small bowl. Brush egg wash all over cornucopia.

Bake cornucopia 20 to 25 minutes, or until light golden brown. Remove cornucopia from oven. Carefully remove crumpled parchment paper from inside of cone, then gently pull cone away from sides of cornucopia with tongs, and remove. Return cornucopia to oven, and bake 20 minutes more, or until inside of cornucopia is dry and beginning to brown. Brush hot cornucopia with melted butter, if using. Cool.

nutritional information Per Per serving: Calories: 338; Protein: 8 g; Total Fat: 10 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Carbohydrates: 53 g; Cholesterol: 16 mg; Sodium: 584 mg; Fiber: 2 g; Sugar: less than 1 g

FORK-AND-KNIFE ROASTED VEGETABLES

This recipe begins, "Winter squash, cauliflower, mushrooms, and Brussels sprouts make a colorful roasted vegetable assortment that’s enhanced with a little sweetness and spice. (The food stylist used colorful cauliflower varieties and heirloom squash for even richer hues.) Spoon the vegetables into the Holiday Bread Cornucopia or pile on a platter, and serve with the Essence-of-Thanksgiving Gravy." Serves 8

2 small acorn squash, 1 small kabocha, or 1 red kuri squash (skin left on), cut into 3-inch wedges (3 lb.)

1 small head cauliflower, separated into large florets (1 lb.)

24 cremini or button mushrooms (12 oz.)

8 oz. Brussels sprouts, halved

2 small onions, cut into quarters, stem ends left intact

1/2 cup olive oil, divided

4 tsp. honey

2 tsp. white balsamic vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)

1 tsp. spicy seasoning mix, such as barbecue rub or Cajun seasoning

Preheat oven to 350°F; line two baking sheets with parchment paper or coat with cooking spray.

Toss together squash, cauliflower, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, and onions with 1/4 cup oil. Spread on prepared baking sheets, and roast 10 to 15 minutes, or until vegetables begin to brown. Flip vegetables with tongs, and roast 10 to 15 minutes more.

Stir together remaining 1/4 cup oil, honey, vinegar, and garlic.

Remove baking sheets from oven. Flip vegetables, and daub with honey mixture, sprinkle with seasoning mix, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Return vegetables to oven, and roast 5 minutes. Flip vegetables once more, daub with honey mixture, and sprinkle with seasoning mix. Roast 5 minutes more, or until glistening and browned.

nutritional information Per Per 1 1/2-cup serving: Calories: 229; Protein: 4 g; Total Fat: 14 g; Saturated Fat: 2 g; Carbohydrates: 25 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 100 mg; Fiber: 4 g; Sugar: 6 g; Gluten-Free

ESSENCE-0F-THANKSGIVING GRAVY

This also comes from the November 2015 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 56. It begins, "This savory sauce tastes like Thanksgiving because the long simmer time concentrates the classic fall flavors of onions, celery, mushrooms, and fragrant herbs. The gravy is thinner than most so that it can easily be drizzled over the Fork-and-Knife Roasted Vegetables." Makes 3 cups.

To view this online, go to http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/essence-of-thanksgiving-gravy/.

2 Tbs. butter

1 Tbs. olive oil

2 large onions, quartered and sliced (4 cups)

1/2 bunch celery, coarsely chopped (4 cups)

1 lb. mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup white wine, optional

4 sprigs thyme

4 sprigs marjoram

2 sprigs rosemary

Heat butter and oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, celery, and mushrooms, and season with salt, if desired. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 10 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften. Uncover, add garlic, and cook 30 minutes, or until vegetables are very soft and most of liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally.

Stir in flour, and cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until flour begins to brown. Stir in wine (if using), and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add 5 cups water, thyme, marjoram, and rosemary. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Strain gravy through fine-mesh sieve. Rewarm, if necessary.

nutritional information Per Per 1/4 cup: Calories: 53; Protein: 1 g; Total Fat: 3 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Carbohydrates: 6 g; Cholesterol: 5 mg; Sodium: 16 mg; Fiber: less than 1 g; Sugar: 1 g