ALT-1 Vegetarian Thanksgiving Menu Ideas
On Thanksgiving Day, many of us look forward a variety of foods that are rich in the earthy spices that fall brings to mind. Vegetarians are no exception. Vegetarians also enjoy the Thanksgiving Day holiday, including the array of wonderful food, but vegetarians also have an added advantage for partaking of the Thanksgiving Day buffet. Vegetarians do not fill up on turkey, so long after carnivores are asleep, vegetarians can continue to indulge. Not only that, but since many of the foods that vegetarians eat are vegetables and they are cooked very little, the added vitamins keep up the energy levels that many of us need to ward off colds and illness commonly associated with travel, socializing and changes in temporary living conditions. Even the pickiest of carnivores will want a taste of the following recipes that also happen to be vegetarian. This vegetarian menu for Thanksgiving Day includes a couple of different suggestions for each course and a link for some wonderful Thanksgiving Day cocktail recipes. * Salted Almonds * A variety of olives * Marinated Mushrooms * New Mexican Pecan-Pumpkin Salsa and Pita Chips
- Vegetarian Pumpkin Bisque * Salad with Mixed baby greens with Lemon-Vinaigrette Dressing * "Waldorf" Salad
- Vegetarian Loaf with mushroom gravy * Portabella Risotto
- Corn Grilled in the Husk - Place corn cobs with husk intact on a hot grill and turn one-quarter turn every 2-3 minutes until outer husk is completely charred. Appx. 10-12 minutes. Serve with your favorite butter flavoring or olive oil infused with your favorite spices.
- Edamame and Carrots - Peel and cut carrots into bite-size pieces. Boil in salted water until tender. Add edmame and continue steaming for 1 minute. Drain and season with salt and vegetarian butter flavoring.
- Spiced Mixed Fruit * Vegetarian Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Thanksgiving Day Cocktail Recipes
- XOX* Recipes *XOX*
~Marinated Mushrooms~
1 pound small mushrooms cup red wine vinegar 1/3 cup water 2 Tbsp. canola or corn oil tsp. sugar or sugar substitute 1 Tbsp. finely chopped onion 1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley tsp. dried basil, crushed 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (2 teaspoons) tsp. salt tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Clean the mushrooms, cutting off the ends of the stems and leaving them whole. Set aside. Place all the other ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the mushrooms and bring to a boil again. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 to 10 minutes or until the mushrooms ar tender. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate in a covered container for several hours before serving.
~New Mexican Pecan - Pumpkin Salsa~
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 pounds pumpkin, peeled, seeded and diced 1/4 cup toasted pecans 1/4 cup dried cranberries 1/4 cup maple syrup 1 tablespoon New Mexican red chile powder 1/4 cup water 2 tablespoons apple cider 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar 1 teaspoon fresh sage, minced
Bring a large pot of water to boil, add sugar, salt, and pumpkin and cook until tender (about 5 minutes). Drain in a colander and reserve. In a saucepan, add cranberries, maple syrup, chile powder and 1/4 cup of water, and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add this mixture to pumpkin with apple cider, vinegar and sage. Adjust seasoning and serve. Makes 2 to 3 cups.
~Vegetarian Pumpkin Bisque~
1 tablespoon peanut oil 1/3 cup finely chopped onions 1/3 cup finely chopped celery 1 teaspoon fresh thyme 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 bay leaf 1 medium size pumpkin (about 3 lbs.) Salt to taste Freshly ground black pepper About 1 quart vegetable stock, or vegetable broth Garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds (optional)
Preheat oven to 350F. Pierce the pumpkin several times and cook in the microwave on high power for 3 to 5 minutes until the shell softens. Cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds. Place the pumpkin halves cut-side down on a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until tender and easily pierced with a fork, about 40 minutes. Let cool. Reserve the juice on the baking sheet. Scoop the pulp out of the pumpkin skin with a spoon and set aside. Heat the peanut oil in a deep saucepan over low heat. Add the onions, celery, thyme, nutmeg and bay leaf. Season lightly with salt and pepper and cook for 10 minutes. Add the pumpkin pulp and the stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until the onion and celery are completely tender, about 15 minutes. After removing the bay leaf, puree the mixture in a blender, in batches, being careful not to overfill the blender. Reheat the bisque. Add stock if it is too thick. Serve hot.
~Lemon-Vinaigrette Dressing~
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil 1 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. rice vinegar 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley 1 tsp. lemon juice tsp. salt, or to taste 1/8 tsp. minced fresh garlic Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in jar with tight-fitting lid. Cover and shake well before using. Toss onto green salad to coat.
~"Waldorf" Salad~
4 small apples, pared, cored and diced 2 tsp. lemon juice diced celery cup plus 2 tablespoons imitation mayonnaise 6 large prunes, pitted and diced 1/3 cup drained, canned water chestnuts, sliced tsp. cinnamon dash salt 1 teaspoons seasame seeds, toasted 3 cups ruby red grapefruit sections, no sugar added
Place apples in a large salad bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice and toss to coat apples. Add remaining ingredients except sesame seeds and grapefruit; toss to combine. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve on chilled plates, garnishing with grapefruit sections. Makes 6 servings.
~Vegetarian Meat ~
4 cups cooked brown rice 1 can garbanzo beans Olive oil 4 cloves minced garlic 1 teaspoon soy sauce 1 teaspoon liquid smoke 4 tablespoons semolina 1/2 cup onion, minced 1/2 cup bell pepper, minced 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes 2 teaspoons ground sage 1 teaspoon thyme
It is best to use brown rice that has not been cooked and cook it yourself, omitting any cooking directions that have you adding butter. Drain and process the garbanzo beans by blending them with enough olive oil to completely break down the beans to the consistency of hummus or just by plain hummus. If you decide to process the garbanzo beans yourself, there will be unused garbanzo beans. In a small fry pan coated with nonstick spray, saut the garlic, onions and bell pepper until tender. Process the brown rice together with 1 cup of processed garbanzo beans, soy sauce, Liquid Smoke and semolina. Turn the mixture out into a mixing bowl and add the sauted ingredients. Mix well and form into single servings loafs. Bake either in single serving loaf pans or as one whole loaf. You may also brown in a frying pan coated with cooking spray. Makes appx. six servings. Serve with your favorite packaged vegetarian mushroom gravy.
~Portobello Risotto~
3 cups vegetable broth 1 cup red wine 8 ounces portabella mushrooms 2 tablespoons butter substitute 1 cup Arborio rice 2 tablespoons fresh thyme or 1 tablespoon dried thyme
Bring broth and wine to simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm. Saute mushrooms in the butter in a separate saucepan over medium-high heat- until mushrooms are tender. Stir in the rice, one tablespoon of thyme and all but 1/4 cup of the broth mixture. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the rice is almost tender- stirring occasionally. Mix in remaining 1/4 cup of broth mixture. Cook for a few more minutes or until the rice mixture is creamy, stirring occasionally. Top with parmesan cheese or a vegetarian substitute.
~Spiced Mixed Fruit~
8 frozen apricot halves, no sugar added cup water 6 tsp. sugar or sugar substitute 1 Tbsp. lemon juice 2 cinnamon sticks tsp. whole cloves tsp. rosemary 2 small apples, cored and sliced 2 small oranges, peeled and sectioned
Place apricots in bowl; allow to thaw. Drain juice from apricots into small saucepan; add water, sweetener, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and rosemary. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until syrupy. Remove from heat and cool. Strain syrup into bowl over apricots and discard spices. Add apples and oranges; mix well. Voer and chill. To serve, divide fruit and syrup evenly into 6 sherbert glasses. Makes 6 servings.
~Vegan Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting~
1 1/2 cups flour 1 cup brown sugar 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp allspice 1/2 tsp ground cloves 1 tsp ginger 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla 1 Tbsp vinegar 5 Tbsp oil 1 cup warm water
Mix all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Make 3 wells, add vanilla to one, vinegar to one and oil to onepour the warm water over all, stir only until combineddon't over mix. Pour into pan and bake for 30 minutes or until done. Let cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting or top with spiced apple sauce.
~Cream Cheese Frosting~
1/4 cup non-hydrogenated margarine, softened 1/4 cup vegan cream cheese, softened, softened (Tofutti) 2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream together margarine and cream cheese until just combined. Use a handheld mixer to whip while adding the confectioners' sugar in 1/2 cup batches. Mix until smooth and creamy adding vanilla after thoroughly combined. Keep tightly covered and refrigerated until ready to use.
