Vegan Thanksgiving 2011 Menu

Here is my final menu for this year's vegan Thanksgiving:

Gingered Carrot Soup 
Pumpkin Stuffed with Quinoa, Wild Rice & Lentils (recipe posted on this blog)
Kale Salad with Pear, Daikon and Lime (recipe to be posted on this blog)
Roasted Brussels sprouts and shallots (see Marvelous Meatless Meals FB page)
Cranberry Conserve & Chutney (recipe posted on this blog)
Quinoa-quinoa corn bread (recipe by Bryant Terry in his book Vegan Soul Kitchen)
Ginger Dusted Pumpkin Cheezecake (recipe by Robin Robertson)

Cranberry Chutney and Conserve

Cranberry Conserve

 Here are two recipes using fresh cranberries. They are recipes that my family has been making for years but had quite a bit of sugar. Of course, cranberries don't have much in the way of natural sugar so you do need to add some, but I wanted to see if I could make them with a less refined sweetener like brown rice syrup. I like my cranberries a little on the tart side; add more sweetener if you like your cranberries sweeter.


Cranberry Conserve
4 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup Sucanat
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1 large orange, juiced and zest of rind
1 lemon, juiced and zest of rind
1 cup chopped nuts ***would be great with walnuts or pecans; I make it with almonds as we have allergies in my family to the others
1 cup raisins or juice-sweetened cranberries or half of each
1/2 cup water

NOTE on the sugar:this amount of sweetener will make the conserve slightly tart. Taste it after you add the sugars and if it isn't sweet enough for your taste then add additional Sucanat. You may substitute any dry sugar for the Sucanat such as maple sugar, date sugar, coconut sugar, Rapadura sugar.

Place cranberries and water in saucepan and cook over medium heat until the cranberries begin to burst. Add the Sucanat and brown rice syrup, the juice from the orange and lemon, the zest from the orange and lemon, and the raisins.
Cook for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add the nuts.
Pour into a mold or bowl to set.
It usually sets well enough to be unmolded onto a decorative plate. 

Cranberry Chutney
In a saucepan simmer 1/2 cup sliced onions with 1/2 cup brown rice syrup, 2 Tbsp agave, and 2 Tbsp water, for about 10 min.
Add 1/4 c apple cider vinegar, 2 small apples (peeled, seeded & diced), pinch sea salt, 1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger, 1/4 tsp each mace & curry, and grated rind of 1 orange.Simmer another 10 min.
Add 2 cups fresh cranberries, 1/4 cup currants, and the juice of 1 orange.
Taste for sweetness and add any additional sweetener now. Remember it is a savory flavor, not as sweet as cranberry sauce.
Simmer slowly for about 10 min until all the cranberries have burst. 

Cranberry Chutney

Vegan Thanksgiving 2011: Quinoa-Wild Rice-Lentil Stuffed Squash

Last year was my family's 3rd annual vegan Thanksgiving. Each year we try a new dish or two and also make some family favorites. The sides are never an issue, but deciding on a main dish has had me stumped. We are definitely NOT fake turkey people, and since my husband can't eat any gluten we are not able to consider anything with seitan or any pot pie type dishes. My goal with the main dish, and the whole meal for that matter,is to present food that is festive,which highlights the flavors of autumn and celebrates the bounty of the harvest season. Last year I stuffed two kabocha squashes with a mixture of quinoa, wild rice and lentils, with leeks and mushrooms. It was delicious and festive and we are making it again this year.

 
Start by cooking the pumpkin.Cut the top out the way you would if you were making a Jack-O-Lantern. Scoop out the seeds and rub the inside with olive oil, a sprinkle of sea salt and a smashed garlic clove. Place the squash in a large roasting pan with about 1/2 inch water in the bottom and cover with foil. Bake 375 for about 45 min or until it can be pierced with a fork.

The filling (enough to fill 2 kabocha squashes or small pumpkins): 
Cook 1/2 c wild rice in 1½ cups water.
In a separate pot cook 1/2 c quinoa in 1 cup water or broth.
In a separate pot cook 1/2 c French lentils (black beluga lentils can be substituted) in 1½ cups water or broth, until tender.Drain any extra liquid.
In 1-2 Tbsp olive oil saute 1 cup thinly sliced leek (or onion), 1 stalk chopped celery, 1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms, 1 clove minced garlic, and 2 Tbsp chopped fresh sage until vegetables are softened.
Toast 2 Tbsp pine nuts (or more if you love them and can afford them at about $16/lb).
In a large bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, cooked wild rice, cooked lentils, sauteed vegetables and toasted pine nuts.

Stuff this mixture into the baked kabocha shell, place in a roasting pan,cover with foil so it doesn't burn, and bake 1/2 hour or longer. Bake with the squash top NEXT to the shell, not on top....the squash will change shape as it bakes and you may lose your top inside the pumpkin. Any extra stuffing can be baked in a separate dish.

stuffed squash sliced for serving

Roasted Butternut or Tomato Soup (or both!)??

Sometime in early October the shadows fall over my vegetable garden and I know that any tomatoes still on the vine will never turn red. A friend taught me to put the unripe tomatoes in a brown bag and wait. Eventually most of them will turn reddish; nothing like a ripe summer tomato but good enough to turn into salsa or roasted tomato soup.

 I ended up with a bunch of ugly, blemished, not-so-ripe tomatoes from the garden and was thinking of making the roasted tomato soup. But then I also had a lovely butternut squash and kind of felt like making that into soup. So I decided to roast both together and make a roasted tomato-butternut soup. The result was delicious.

Peel and cube a butternut squash; place in roasting pan.
Quarter a bunch of plum tomatoes or any tomato you have that is blemished, ugly, or about to become compost; place in roasting pan.
Add garlic cloves, shallots or onions, or any combination.
Add a fresh herb; basil or rosemary or sage.
Add 1 Tbsp olive oil and a few pinches sea salt.
Roast at 400 degrees for 20 min, stir and roast another 20 min or until squash is tender enough to pierce with a fork.
Remove from oven and let cool.
Once the vegetables are cool, puree in blender then add to soup pot. At this point you can thin the thick puree with veg broth or water or add some coconut milk. Season further with additional herbs. Add some white wine if desired. Reheat until desired temp is reached. Serve garnished with freshly chopped herbs if you have them (parsley, basil, cilantro etc).