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Turkeyless Vegans Hold Thanksgiving Feast
A Vegan Thanksgiving to Remember

Thanksgiving is a treasured American holiday that's synonymous with many nostalgic threads: turkey roasting in the oven, family coming to dinner, treasured friends celebrating together, special preparations for the feast, a roaring fire for the gathering, peeling chestnuts, and cooking the time-honored cranberry sauce. While vegans hold many of those same images, we certainly veer in another direction when it comes to the turkey roasting in the oven. We seek a higher plane, one that honors the living turkey and respects its right to live free of the butcher's knife. We rejoice at the Thanksgiving table because we are free from the need to kill an animal, cook it, and eat its flesh forkful by forkful.

Instead, vegans throughout the country, put their creative energies into cooking a host of varied delicacies from the plant kingdom. To date, no single dish has taken on national status to replace the bird. Rather, each family prepares its own favorites for the annual feast.

We invite you to share our recipes for the delectable meal we serve to our family and friends.

Our centerpiece entrée, the Thanksgiving Torte remains the same as last year, because it has become a favorite family tradition for several years. Baked in a springform pan and unmolded onto an attractive footed cake plate, this aromatic and earthy composition of wild rice, walnuts, pecans, mushrooms, soy sausage, and sage is served with Mushroom Gravy on the side. Because we only serve this dish at Thanksgiving, its lusty, savory flavors have crept into our memories with a warming nostalgia that brings everyone to the table with bursting anticipation.

Other side dishes such as Cranberry Fruit Confetti, Creamed Chestnuts, Roasted Potatoes, and Brandied Fruit and Cranberry Relish remain Thanksgiving favorites that grace our holiday table each year.

For this year's Thanksgiving feast we offer a few variations on side dishes to add spark to your special celebration meal. You'll notice that color really comes to the foreground. The Harvest Vegetable Roast combines squashes, onions, tomatoes, and bell peppers with accents of black beans and fresh cut corn dotting the vegetable landscape.

Always an appealing addition to a meal, mushrooms will join our colorful array of side dishes this year. We've combined our Mushroom Medley with sage, rosemary, onions, and garlic. Mushrooms are often described as earthy; we agree they do have a definitive earthy depth. However, we also consider them rugged and robust and look forward to inviting them to our table.

Our Red Baron Salad #1 livens the table with a spirited, freshness that can only come from raw vegetables that offer stout and zesty appeal without fail. As suggested by its name, the Red Baron Salad touts elegance, partly because of its colors and flavors, and partly because of its appealing presentation.

While so many dishes that appear on the Thanksgiving table are cooked, a raw salad with extraordinary flavors offers a welcome change with its crisp crunchy textures. The lusty hue of the deep red beets also adds dimension to the autumn colors at the table.

Finally, the moment arrives for the awaited pièce de résistance. Apples 'n' Cream Pie sports the stalwart spicy flavors so favored during the holiday season. Resting at the base of this tantalizing pie is a layer of cinnamon spiced apples. Forming a plush quilt over the apples is a thick blanket of creamy spiced tofu. Baked to perfection and garnished with nutmeg, the pie is a succulent treat you can proudly serve at dessert time.

The Thanksgiving plate that reflects the brilliant colors of autumn brings both comfort and anticipation to the diners. Our Harvest Vegetable Roast most certainly looks appetizing, while offering a medley of the season's gleanings, some from the vine, some from the earth, and others from the bush or stalk. We've not cluttered the recipe with too many seasonings to allow the true flavors of the vegetables to blossom. The emphasis is on freshness and simplicity.

2 or 3 zucchini squashes, angle sliced into 1/2-inch (1 cm) chunks
3 large pattypan squashes, cut into 8 wedges
2 large yellow crookneck squashes, angle sliced into 1/2-inch (1 cm) chunks
2 large onions, peeled and cut into 8 wedges
3 ears of fresh sweet corn, kernels cut off the cob
4 tomatoes, cut into 8 wedges each
2 red bell peppers, cored and cut into 1 1/2-inch (3.5 cm) squares
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh thyme leaves (optional)
Large sprig of basil for garnish

1. Combine all the vegetables and black beans in a 12-inch x 15-inch (30 cm x 37.5 cm) Pyrex baking dish.
2. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme leaves, and toss to coat well.
3. Roast, uncovered, at 375 F (Gas Mark 5) for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring ingredients about half way through. Fork-test for tenderness and adjust baking time if needed.
4. Transfer to an attractive serving bowl or deep platter, and garnish with basil. Serves 8 to 10 as a side dish.

Mushrooms, an earthy treasure, never fail to gather aficionados at the table. They make an appealing side dish at the Thanksgiving table because they blend so well with the varied flavors of the harvest bounty.

MUSHROOM MEDLEY

12 fresh or dried shiitake mushrooms

1/2 pound (225 g) oyster mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 pound (450 g) cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 C. (240 ml) onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely minced
Pinch of dried rosemary
Pinch of dried sage
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

1 C. (240 ml) raw cashew pieces
Fresh sage leaves for garnish

1. If using fresh shiitakes, slice them, and proceed with Step 2. If using dried shiitakes, put them in a medium bowl, and pour boiling water over them just to cover. Allow to stand for 1 hour. Then using a kitchen scissors, snip off the stems close to the base, and slice the mushrooms. Save soak water for a tasty soup base by freezing or refrigerating it.
2. Put the sliced shiitakes into a large skillet, and add remaining ingredients except the cashews. Sauté over high heat, stirring frequently, until mushrooms and onions are softened, about 2 minutes.
3. Add cashews and toss well. Transfer to an attractive serving dish and serve garnished with fresh sage leaves. Makes 6 servings.

Concluding a Thanksgiving feast without dessert would seem incomplete. You would just feel in your bones that the finishing touch of the feast was missing. We couldn't let that happen. Our feast will end with an indulgent, decadent, celebratory dessert that may have you coming back for seconds -- that is, if you have room.

APPLES 'N' CREAM PIE

1 prepared whole grain pie crust for a 10-inch pie plate

Apple Filling
3 apples, peeled, cored, quartered, and sliced thin
1/4 C. (60 ml) black raisins
1/4 C. (60 ml) Florida crystals or evaporated cane juice
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
2 t. lemon juice
2 T. water

2 T. Florida crystals
1/8 t. ground cinnamon

Spiced Cream Topping
2 12.3-oz. (340 g) pkgs. extra firm silken tofu
1/8 t. salt
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/8 t. ground allspice
1/8 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 C. (60 ml) Florida crystals
1/4 C. (60 ml) maple syrup
1 T. + 1 t. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (Gas Mark 4). Gently lay prepared pie crust into the 10-inch (25 cm) pie plate and flute the edges. Prick the bottom with a fork in several places. Bake, unfilled, for 10 minutes. Remove and cool. Set aside. Do not turn off oven.
2. Apple Filling: Combine apples, raisins, Florida crystals, cinnamon, lemon juice, and water in a 2-quart (2 liter) saucepan. Cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn heat down to low and steam 10 minutes. Cool apples and drain off any liquid.
3. Add the 2 T. Florida crystals and cinnamon and toss well. Spoon into cooled pie crust.
4. Spiced Cream Topping: Combine topping ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Spoon over apple filling, and spread to the edges. Sprinkle with a dash of nutmeg.
5. Bake at 350 F. (Gas Mark 4) for 30 minutes. Cool completely. Refrigerate several hours or overnight before serving. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

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